So here's my notes on the same rotisserie draft Eric Chan posted about.
Before I made my first pick, I wrote up a basic list ("Original Plan" below) of what kind of deck I was looking for at the end of the draft. I don't know how typical this is for cube rotisseries but I wanted something better than just picking cards without a real plan in place, so this is what I did.
Looking over 450 cards is a *lot*, and I ended up missing quite a few cards. Some I caught in time, some I didn't. Them's the breaks. As it turns out many other drafters felt the same way. I think all of us are going to do a better job scouring the cube (the WHOLE cube, including three-color sections that "aren't yours") next time.
In going through these notes to format them for the forum, I am making new notes as well but leaving the originals exactly intact; new notes will be written in
italics.
Original Plan
1-2 CMC (8 cards)
< >
Ainok Bond-Kin
[ ]
Experiment One
[ ]
Dromoka's Command
[ ]
Silumgar Assassin
[ ]
Ainok Survivalist
[ ]
Thrill-Kill Assassin
{ }
Wall of Omens and/or
Wall of Blossoms
{ }
Travel Preparations
3 CMC (8 cards)
< >
Abzan Falconer
< >
Curse of Predation, or
Varolz
< >
Twilight Drover
[ ]
Salt Road Quartermaster
[ ]
Abzan Charm
{ }
Sandcrafter Mage
( )
Unmake
( )
Harsh Sustenance
-
{}
Dead Reveler
4 CMC (5 cards)
< >
Daghatar, the Adamant
< >
High Sentinels
[ ]
Corpsejack Menace
[ ]
Longshot Squad
[ ]
Crowned Ceratok
-
{}
Siege Rhino
{}
Galepowder Mage
{}
Loxodon Hierarch
5 CMC (2 cards)
<x>
Ghave
< >
Swarm of Bloodflies
<> = on-color for other drafter(s) AND very important
[] = on-color for other drafter(s) OR very important
{} = only somewhat important and/or not likely to be taken
() = removal -- value changes depending on how much of my removal is taken
note that at the beginning of the draft, "on-color for other drafters" really only meant "single-color". once everyone was into a pair at least, that was revised (see: corpsejack menace)
====
draft thoughts
pick 1:
-- taking ghave to stake the claim right away. current super-high-priority targets are daghatar, sentinels,
curse of predation -- those are the single-color cards i really really want.
pick 2:
-- with two other golgari drafters it's tempting to take the
corpsejack menace before they can get to it, but one of those drafters is behind me and i don't think the other terribly wants it.
(between Rob and Panda, pick 2) no one seems to be threatening the deck too much; possible threats:
Jake -
corpsejack menace
Panda -
high sentinels,
ainok bond-kin
Spencer -
swarm of bloodflies, but w/e
Rob -
high sentinels of arashin and
ainok bond-kin? I don't know where he's going
of those folks, only the person threatening corpsejack is behind me. if the white drafters look like they might be headed for flyers, the high sentinels probably comes first; otherwise, i should snap the corpsejack before jake takes it.
(removal plan:
abzan charm,
silumgar assassin,
unmake,
harsh sustenance) quite a bit of removal in the plan, one of which i am basically a lock on unless someone hates it. should make sure to keep an eye on those in the mid-draft though.
ruthless ripper is a possible backup if things get real bad (or somehow all my early drops go away)
(panda takes
alesha, who smiles at death and
hidden dragonslayer) panda is in mardu, only really it's just boros right now. he's likely big on the white cards i want, esp
ainok bond-kin. jake and eric are both behind me. nabbing
corpsejack menace 3rd, then a white card 4th is probably the best plan.
also, how is
herald of anafenza not on my list? fixing that stat. that's a spicy one for rob potentially as well.
right now, three different people seem to be doing a strategy based on lots of small guys potentially -- panda (because it's what mardu does, but he could still be boros), rob (
monastery mentor), and eric (
blood artist). being able to deal with that type of deck will be important.
with all that in mind,
zealous persecution is a card, it kills
blood artist (and his homies unfortunately) and a monastery army. the only person likely to take it is eric, who is behind me. if i leave it for him, i feel he is extremely likely to take it, as it's very good in the
blood artist deck AND very good against it. however taking it involves leaving
corpsejack menace for jake. how likely is jake to take corpsejack? i have no idea if it fits with his theme, but it's a pretty efficient creature before you even read its text box, so he may be willing to hate it even if it does nothing other than be a dude. given it has even a minor synergy with his likely plan (kresh, bloodhall) i think he's extremely likely.
corpsejack > zealous, because the card that's good for you is good against everyone. but i'm going to be looking hard at zealous for 5th pick. panda might take it too, but that's a risk i'm willing to take for now.
ainok surivalist gets the bump to backup status; it's a sweet looking card, but surveying the distribution of counter-making cards, i feel ok without it.
speaking of the deck distribution, the plan currently looks like:
counters on one creature: 10
counters on multiple creatures: 6
caring about counters: 5*
i probably want more cards in that last category, and i can afford to pass on some cards in the first category.
scale blessing is a very good card i didn't see before and is probably better than
longshot squad. i somehow missed
tuskguard captainp? and
battlefront krushok might edge out
swarm of bloodflies. that makes the distribution like this:
counters on one creature: 8
counters on multiple creatures: 7
caring about counters: 7
twilight drover is one of those cards i'm not really sure about. i'm kind of fine as long as eric doesn't get it.
on a completely different topic,
abzan ascendancy is a card. no one is going to take it though. cards i can take if i get fucked on other things:
murderous redcap;
selesnya guildmage;
strangling soot. also,
valorous stance is a fine card to be aware of.
... hm. there's no cards in this list that fix, at all. all my fixing is going to have to come from lands. that should be okay, but good to know.
oh hey
vinelasher kudzu, i didn't see you there before.
reap what is sown is an ok backup for
abzan charm (not really though).
pick 3:
-- damn. with my thoughts above, shoulda seen that
curse of predation snipe coming. oh well, i have a backup anyway. casey is mentioning switching colors because two of his key players are gone, i'll have to keep an eye on that.
brutal hordechief is a pretty good combo with sidisi, actually. still looking at zealous 4th, hopefully eric doesn't take it.
pick 4:
-- jake mildly signals a move onto the +1/+1 counters theme, which i did see coming since a lot of jund's cards occupy that space. vinelasher moves up hard,
tuskguard captain and
wall of blossoms a little. this is going to be a tight draft -- several competitors for white value, lots of competition for black value, and what little jake wants of green is basically exactly what i want as well. removal is going to have to take a back seat to ensuring that i get the cards that make the deck sing first.
in retrospect i rushed this pick a little -- eric is the only one competing for zealous persecution, which i noted earlier and forgot about. ah well, these things happen.
no one but me is in selesnya; i can push
dromoka's command. i think i need to get vinelasher next. after that i have a tradeoff to consider -- do i focus on the white cards to keep them from panda and rob, or the green cards to keep them from jake and ryan (and tailsy)? i don't exactly know which direction jake is going to go but he doesn't have many options. it'll mostly depend on what i see rob and panda do, though ryan's and casey's picks could shake things up.
casey sniped the
abzan falconer, and took battlepriest (which *gasp* i deliberately didn't have on my list, too many fours). he's basically drafting the same deck as me at this point, so i'll have to cut hard on the green and white cards.
twilight drover looks a little better at this point, since i might have to do a tad bit of go-wide. he also now competes for
dromoka's command.
this sequence of picks is going to be pretty key; if casey takes a clutch card from me (tuskguard or krushok) it could be all over. but if i take both of those, it leaves high sentinels, which is also bad. rock and a hard place. given that he already has two +1 counter lords, i suspect he's likely to take a +1 counter creature with one of his next two picks; however he could also try to cut the lords from me. i think i need to hedge and take one of each.
pick 5:
-- with an eye toward either bond-kin or high sentinels. vinelasher will have to wait. crossing my fingers, krushok is hopefully not going anywhere.
jake and eric take solid cards but nothing that hurts. rabblemaster is actually weak vs tuskguard and zealous persecution.
abrupt decay -- another card i somehow missed (this cube is *deep*). i maintain that it's too early for fixing.
pick 6:
-- casey, proceed to walk all over two of my critical choices.
That is, I predict that after this pick he will walk all over two of my critical choices. I mention this because reading this in retrospect I was initially confused.
more fixing being taken; rob's deck looks insane etc etc. ryan's deck is shaping up really well too. i don't see any threats to picks though.
pick 7:
-- it's the card jake is most likely to snipe for pure value. next will probably be bondkin, since casey is likely to take that one.
at some point i'm going to need to hop on the fixing train. fixing that's available:
bayou, godless shrine, godless shrine, overgrown tomb, overgrown tomb,
sandsteppe citadel, sandsteppe citadel, savannah, temple garden, temple garden, evolving wilds, terramorphic expanse, windswept heath, verdant catacombs -- 14, and that's not counting all the fetches still left i could use to get a dual, or the trilands i could play in a pinch to get two of the colors.
i do need to pay close attention to other folks who might want my trilands.
also hey, casey didn't take anything i wanted that go-around! not letting my guard down though.
(jake takes verdant catacombs) ok there's only one fetch left that can get 2 different basics for me. hm. probably still need to take the ...
pick 8: ...
, because there's like eleven other drafters that want that card here.
pick 9:
pick 10:
pick 11:
pick 12:
those four picks all made while i was away from these notes at eli's house. in the mean time, panda dances around a bunch of white-black removal without taking unmake (whew!) and casey takes
experiment one, but i already had vinelasher. at this point, the only card i have marked as <> left is varolz, but i think the <> marking is inaccurate; jake doesn't want it and ryan doesn't want it, and no one else is in those colors.
rob was hounding me about
dromoka's command at eli's house, and i'm thinking i agree, but i think i want that unmake before eric snatches it.
grim affliction >
strangling soot lololololol
pick 13:
-- planning on
dromoka's command next. eric might be touching into green a little more than i'm comfortable with. if that's the case (we'll find out together when he makes his next two picks) i'll have to start protecting (that is, taking) my three-color cards way earlier than i wanted to.
oh hey, another card i forgot about:
lotleth troll. oh hey, there it goes. eric didn't move to green yet. i think i can float that stuff just a tad longer.
pick 14:
-- grim affliction's gotta be next, i think. if it gets snatched, spread the sickness is an okay substitute (but i should grab it right away).
eric is exposing that his green splash really is one card, though i don't know how much i believe him given that he's got both a dual and a fetch.
beastmaster ascension is a brutal enough card that i may want to hate it at some point soon, and it has slightly increased value in that i could play it if i really wanted to.
non-free fixing is down to 8 cards, of which i need 4.
pick 15:
-- as discussed.
scale blessing is the card casey is most likely to snipe from me, so that'll almost certainly go next.
oh man that
thrill-kill assassin is clutch. did not expect that!
ainok survivalist is probably what i will try to fill that hole with; not nearly as good but it also gives me access to pinpoint enchantment removal.
pick 16:
-- as discussed. i think
twilight drover is likely to get sniped soon, and i may have already waited too long on it. it's a great card for eric, but it's also a great card for casey. if by some miracle casey hasn't taken it, twilight drover is my next pick. that's the last of the really synergistic cards i'm worried about having sniped, so the pick after that is probably wall of omens.
following that, i think i start scooping up my non-free fixing. with 9 white cards, 6 green cards, and 6 black cards, with a lot of my early game being green and white, i think the order is temple garden, misty rainforest (last remaining fetch), overgrown tomb, godless shrine.
panda "snipes"
mikaeus, the lunarch from me (i didn't actually want to spend that much mana on that kind of effect anyway).
pick 17:
thinking about it, since everyone else has gotten off the fixing train, it might be time to start sniping some of the lower value cards from people that want them. reap what is sown may be a good 18th pick; it does leave
wall of omens for panda though.
pick 18:
-- decided to float both wall and reap just a little longer
(Note: a little? is there a Wall of Omens in my 45? 
); neither is at all critical, and the fetch is the last one left and so is likely to be snatched soon. i don't think i have any worries about the wall (esp since there are two), but casey is likely to snatch the reap soon. going into casey's pick (#20), if it's still there, i think i'm taking it.
that leaves #19 (next pick, going into eric). i'm not all that worried about any of the cards that are left i actually want (but an ascendancy snipe might happen). given that, i'm going to make the ballsy move and take a card multiple others -- but especially eric -- might want, but is a backup pick for me: swarm of bloodflies!
pick 19:
pick 20:
-- in case i decide i need to adjust the deck makeup a little.
pick 21:
-- given eric took travel prep right after this, i feel like i had pretty good timing here.
pick 22:
-- let's talk about this one briefly because i don't think i mentioned it until now. comparing with
sandcrafter mage, the card i originally had in this slot, i get the flexibility of making a 1/1 flyer instead, in exchange for 1 toughness and the ability to put the counter on something else (thus giving that guy an ability unexpectedly). i believe i like outcast's flexibility more; i'm not sure whether my deck needs a little go-wide at this point, so having that option will be a little hedge, and outcast is a stronger card in general.
so. we're coming out of pick 22 and the deck is essentially built, which feels great. i have 4 more slots to fill out for the cards i want to start:
wall of omens/blossoms,
ainok survivalist (which may actually end up in the sideboard), varolz, and ascendancy. of these i believe ascendancy the only one likely to be sniped, thankfully by eric who is behind me right now. so i think the next pick is ascendancy to make sure that doesn't happen. after that...
it may be time for a ballsy move. i still feel i don't need to be on the fixing train really, as all 8 of the non-free fixers that were there seven picks ago are still there now. as discussed above, my deck is essentially built; the remaining cards are either extremely unlikely to be sniped (varolz) or have good backups (omens/blossoms and survivalist/aquastrand).
prophet of kruphix.
hear me out here: first of all this card has a ton of raw power. it wins games. even with no synergies, it can completely dominate a board if unanswered. in this deck, given that i'm picking with the intent to maximize the impact of any one play (as well as produce synergies), my cards in general hit hard, meaning that being able to play more of them is even better in this deck than it would be in others. further, it allows me to turn on counter-lord effects as an instant, mostly by being able to flash a counter lord... but also any creature that can put counters on other creatures can make surprise counters with a prophet in play. just what the card does normally -- that is, let me tap out without tapping out -- is *insane* when it means i can turn on counter lords on your opponents turn way more often (both because of the available mana and because those lords now have flash).
also, what was the straggler fetch i ended up being able to get? ... misty rainforest!
this is happening. this is really happening. (i'm now crossing my fingers that ryan doesn't get this card -- it'd be bonkers in his deck, and frankly, i'm shocked it's still in the pool halfway through the draft.) but i need to make sure i'm responsible with my fixing.
i need 6 full fixers just in my three colors. misty rainforest is only half of one; sometimes it's going to have to grab tundra (or whatever), so it's not a whole card worth of fixing. most likely, i'm going to get 2 citadels. if i can avoid the basic fetchers it'd be nice, as they put lands into play tapped and i really don't think i want to be doing that. so one each of tomb/shrine/garden, plus 1 more of either of the green ones (since i have a green fetch). that makes a good plan for the 6 "responsible" fixers.
so how many blue producing lands? when i draw prophet i don't want to be stuck with it for too long. again, given that the deck is basically built at this point, i think the answer is ... basically all of them. well, all the duals. i don't want them to (always) come in tapped, so i think the trilands are a nogo, and also i'd prefer they all be fetchable. tundra and tropical island are the 2 nonshock blue-producing duals i care about that are still left, and they are both potential targets for other players. including both the duals and the shocks there are 7 remaining blue fixing lands; realistically i don't expect to get all of them but i don't know what number i'd stop at.
now. as excited as i am to get this thing rolling, the responsible thing to do is to take
abzan ascendancy next rather than stab myself over eric sniping it; prophet is in no danger of being sniped by jake or eric (jake miiiiight shock me here though) but eric has indicated his green splash is for real. (...on that note, he may be threatening
sandsteppe citadels?)
but after i take abzan ascendancy i am going to SHOCK THE WORLD (ryan please float this card just *one* more pick!).
next four picks are abzan ascendancy, prophet, tropical island, tundra. shocklands are backups the two lands (assuming i get the prophet in the first place), but i'm not sure which ones yet and am too tired to cogitate on it presently.
after those picks i continue to (finally) ride the fixing train, hopping off briefly to pick up cards whose redundancies have been snatched up. i'll be focusing on blue fixing first, but as soon as the first one of my duals is taken i'll be switching gears onto my "responsible" fixing.
there's 23 picks left. 4 i've described above; realistically i expect to get maybe 1-2 more blue fixer beyond that. 6 are going to be spent on abzan fixing. 3 more will fill out the nonlands i've been floating. that leaves plenty of room to "breathe" -- 8-9 picks to be spent on sideboard cards (i'm looking at you, loxodon hierarch; incidentally, that card is probably high on casey's list and i might want to take it soon... not thinking about that right now!) and hate picks (which absolutely WILL NOT HAPPEN after i take the prophet, i'm sure).
... with that, i'm going to sleep. i think i've written two pages on the prophet of kruphix plan here. i hope the reader is happy.
pick 23:
-- hm, ryan took a tomb. this could mean i need to prioritize "real" fixing over the blue stuff. if the prophet ends up being a wasted pick because i can't reliably cast it, so be it. but there's enough picks left i feel like i can do this still.
pick 24:
-- unfortunately i'm going into all the blue drafters, and the fixing train has restarted, so i'm probably going to lose out on both tundra and tropical island. in any case, the next two picks will be a little more on-the-fly than i'd hoped; i need to get a feel for how hard people are gunning for the abzan fixing i need before scooping up blue fixing.
an absolute flurry of picks happens now, while i realize that esper is a color combo no one is in, so i might be able to get both esper trilands with a little luck.
pick 25:
-- in retrospect this should have been overgrown tomb
pick 26:
-- the last remaining abzan dual :-(
pick 27:
-- called eric wanting these
pick 28:
pick 29:
-- at this point i realize that i missed panda taking my wall of omens. i cross my fingers on jake not sniping blossoms.
pick 30:
-- *phew*.
pick 31:
pick 32:
-- i like these picks more than i thought i would, because vinelasher kudzu
pick 33:
-- the last card i would be super-sad about if it got sniped, going into jake. he's unlikely to want it but the potential downside is awwwwwful.
pick 34:
-- neatly tidying up the 6 abzan fixers i need
so at this point i have all my fixers, and the prophet of kruphix plan has been realized. it's time to start thinking about situational cards, real hate drafts, and the straggling survivalist pick. one of the remaining picks needs to pick up the straggler (very possibly the next one); the other ten will be on sideboard and hate.
candidates for the late picks, in a rough pick order:
loxodon hierarch -- shocked this is still around; generally good card and also protects my army. i feel weak to sweepers and there are lots of drafters with a sweeper that loxo can protect from: rob has demise, spencer has act, jake has deed.
brago, king eternal -- lololol rob thinks this is unpickable by anyone. can reset the counters on ghave and daghatar (that's just my first two picks), or RETRIGGER ASCENDANCY, or flicker a wall of blossoms.
edric, spymaster of trest -- lololol rob thinks this is unpickable by anyone. the dream is flashing thanks to prophet: why thanks, i'll draw some cards
harsh sustenance -- insane for eric, pretty good for panda, pretty okay for me.
hunting triad -- a little go-wide, and some synergy with ascendancy's front side.
longshot squad -- vs fliers.
ruthless ripper -- can hide other morphs (meh) and can hold back a threat.
burrenton bombardier -- vs fliers.
crocanura -- vs fliers (but check how many decks you really want this against, do we need 3 sideboard cards for fliers).
aquastrand spider -- vs fliers (but seriously do i need this many cards against fliers).
spiritmonger -- generically good
eric is serious about that green splash, as suspected, so my next pick is hierarch assuming it's still around, then i'll pick up my survivalist.
pick 35:
-- well damn, two of the above cards are already gone.
pick 36:
pick 37:
-- taking the straggler before someone else does, and god dammit two more are gone.
pick 38:
at this point given how thin the pool is and how many cards i might want are going, i should probably look at blue cards in general. obviously i won't play very many in any given match (2, maybe 3) but hating those cards has value too.
treasure cruise -- HOW is this still here.
sultai charm -- a nice "no" for big stupid guys, as well as naturalize
warden of the first tree -- this guy DOES get counters in the long game.
undergrowth scavenger is a monogreen card i somehow flat-out missed (i know that happened a lot to many folks in this draft, but a monogreen card i don't see until it's gone at pick 37 what the fuck)
pick 39:
-- this has a pretty neat interaction with the counter-moving effects in the deck, which i didn't really give enough credit to earlier. i'm lucky this lasted as long as it did
i'm tempted to take treasure cruise next, going into all the blue drafters. but do i really want to float warden of the first tree any longer than i already have? casey, jake, eric, and ryan can all play it. two on my left and two on my right. i think it'd be a mistake to let that card go any longer. hopefully it survives even jake's and eric's next two picks.
pick 40:
-- cruise gone, eric took it! wow.
sultai charm goes just before my next pick. i think i'll just take a remaining powerhouse:
pick 41:
from here it's pretty much just take the most situational card for my deck; there's some reach guys left and i can find other stuff i'm sure.
pick 42:
(the rest of the picks here are made kind of lazily, for one reason or another.)
pick 43:
pick 44:
pick 45:
