M12 Draft 1

    So today I had time to go to my local FNM to do an M12 draft with this being the second one I’ve been able to do so far. This isn’t so much my thoughts on the formats but a look at my deck and how my battles were won and lost.

    Briefly touching on how my deck was formed I opened a skinshifter and nothing else so I picked it while being rather unexcited and moved onto the next pack which gave me a shock. Green/Red isn’t the best thing in the world and I was kinda hoping to be able to keep open to another color. Between where I was at I would rather keep the shock than the skinshifter. So when I got an oblivion ring next it was easy enough for me to switch to red/white agro as green quickly become unviable.

   
    All in all my picks were all ok but at the end of the day I didn’t have any bombs not even a serra’s angel or grim lavamancer. That left me with a very strange  midrange agro deck that I had my doubts about but nevertheless I moved forward.

Boros Draft Deck

Creatures
X1 Bonebreaker Giant
X1 Goblin Piker
X1 Blood Ogre
X1 Auramancer
X3 Assult Griffin
X1 Fiery Hellhound
X1 Arbalest Elite
X1 Griffen Sentinel
X1 Stormblood Beserker
X1 Benalish Veteran
X1 Crumbling Colossus

Sorcery
X1 Fireball
X2 Act of Treason

Instant
X1 Stave Off
X1 Chandra’s Outrage

Artifact
X1 Crown of Empires

Enchantments
X2 Pacifism
X1 Oblivion Ring

Lands
X10 Plains
X8 Mountains

Relevant Sideboard Cards
X1 Combust

   
    So it’s an alright red/white deck with a lack of one and two drops but with a solid midgame but a terrible late game. The plan is to get in damage with my loads of three drops and then throw down assult griffins to rule the air. So how did it work out?

Game 1
Opponent: Black/Blue/Green

    It’s interesting when you see an island into forest to play a rampant growth getting a swamp as you have to think that black or green would be the splash. Well after talking to my opponent he said he was splashing all the colors with no real central gameplan. Yet the first game goes well for him as I’m only able to land a Benalish Veteran to get him down to 12 before he kill it off with a doom blade. After that he plays a Skywinder Drake and uses a swiftfoot boots he had played earlier to evade my creature control. Many turn of drawing removal later and I’m dead. (He also played a Sorin but that was less relevant as I had an O-Ring).

    Next round I had a decent curve but he followed up with a series of removal spells which eventually sunk me. Some child of nights later I was dead once more.

Results:0-2

Game 2
Opponent: Green/Black

    So whenever I see a Green/Black draft deck in the format the two cards I dread the most would be Jade Mage and Onyx Mage. Those two cards are rather good together sure it’s five mana but it trades with everything with the notable excepting of my army of assault griffins. As he laid down his mages the only thing that I was really worried about was an overrun so I kept my attackers back so I wouldn’t die. Then finally he player the last card in his hand which was a rampant growth giving me the all clear to bash in and take the game.

    The second match was uneventful as he mulled to five making my job easy enough as I played Stormblood Berserkers and go in to kill him off as he draws nothing but lands. I slam down Crumbling Colossus and next turn the match goes to me.

Results:2-0

Game 3
Opponent: Blue/Black

    Once again I have an initial feeling about seeing my opponent play their lands. Seeing a swamp followed by an island puts my chances of winning to about 1:5. The reasons being that it’s likely my opponent will have flyers who can match mine in the skies and enough removal to deal with my colossus and Bonebreaker Giant.  As it turned out that was exactly what happened in game one as things were going fine until she tapped down and played a Sengir Vampire to which I died three turns later.

    The next game went much the same way with my creatures just ending up being outclassed at around turn five or six and at that point nothing much could be done.

Results:0-2

    So I ended up going 2-4 before ending my career for the night and taking out my standard deck to play against my last opponent. The deck seemed to be alright and I really thought that act of treason would have been better but I was never able to get close enough in the early game to finish them off leaving me in a world of hurt.