Worldwake Draft Results

Last Saturday was our Worldwake "Release" Draft day. I tell you, the set is popular! Counting the draft pile, we went through a whole box in just a few hours. We didn't get any Jaces but we saw 4 Mythics (Comet Storm; Novablast Wurm; Wrexial, the Risen Deep; and Abyssal Persecutor) and all but 1 of the manlands (we doubled up on Ravaging Ravine) so I'd call it a decent box.

After we got off our new card craziness we got going with the draft. Of course, I let the players keep one Rare they opened but the rest have to go to the prize pool. Right off the bat, Damon started laughing and wrote his rare down. Unfortunately for the rest of us, it was Abyssal Persecutor. This naturally put him into a mostly black deck. The rest of of were unsure how well our decks would work (we're not pros here, ya know!) so we were just taking the best we could get.

As I got my first few picks I was hopeful I had recruited enough fliers and Calcite Snappers to be okay on the offense, so I went W/U with two manlands: Lavaclaw Reaches and Celestial Colonnade. Man, was the Lavaclaw Reaches the WRONG thing to do! I figured I would have had enough land search/deck thinning to get to my splashed Mountain and Swamp, but each time I'd have rather had a Plains or Island than them. Needless to say, each Game 2 I swapped out the Mountain, Swamp, and Lavaclaw Reaches for a couple Islands and a Plains.

Match 1 was against Damon's U/B Persecutor build. What hurt me was every time he stuck Persecutor he won; all he had to do was bounce Persecutor to his hand after I was in negatives for the win. The combination of a 6/6 with Flying and Trample was just too much for me. Even with the fliers I had, I couldn't absorb enough damage and deal it to kill the Persecutor. Wrexial, the Risen Deep sealed the game in his favor Game 1. Game 2 I got a fast start with some early fliers and an Enclave Elite guaranteed I could outrun him to the finish. Game 3 was Persecutor winning, but barely with a score of 10-9 when time was called. (Our tiebreaker is to finish the current turn and check life totals. Higher life total wins the match if it's Game 1 or 3. For Game 2 matches, the Game 1 winner wins. Most of this is a time issue, as we don't have a lot of time to finish up our tournaments.). One of the games I did get Goliath Sphinx out, but it just wasn't enough and either met a bounce spell or was killed blocking a Persecutor.

We do a "double elimination" of sorts with our tournaments. We play one round, separate the losers and winners, and basically run two tournaments the rest of the way: one for the first-round losers and one for the first-round winners. This way we're all guaranteed at least two matches during each tournament. So I got...

Match 2: My U/W Fliers vs. Mick's G/R Burn/Aggro Allies
We only did one game here, so the match came down to the winner of this getting 4th place (out of 5 players. Yeah, not a lot, but it's still a lot of fun!). I started off pretty early with Basilisk Collar and some 2- and 3-mana fliers. I kept attacking for 2 while Mick was building up.  I eventually got Lightkeeper of Emeria, so I effectively turned an Uncommon 3/3 into a bigger Vampire Nighthawk. The game kind of stalled life-wise for me: I'd attack and gain 3, he'd attack and take 3-4 out of me at a time. He ended up getting a Graypelt Hunter up to 10/4 through its own effect and Claws of Valakut. A few attacks there would have dealt the death blow but he kept holding back on it. I really think Mick had the match well in hand but maybe tiredness got the best of him? I won a game I shouldn't have, but it was interesting fighting around all he had.

I ended up 1-1 out of 2 matches in 4th, but I got to take home a Wrexial, the Risen Deep; Celestial Colonnade; a foil Bajuka Bog; and a few other cards I can't remember right now. That's not too bad for $9. ;)

Our winners, their places, and the type of decks they played:
1st: Damon, U/B
2nd: Wayne Eanes, ?? (memory's shot. Sorry!)
3rd: Tiff Higgins, G/W Beatdown
4th: Preston Hamill (aka The Loveable CardGameNut!), W/U Fliers
5th: Mick Pheres, R/G Ally Beatdown/Burn

Thanks to our 5 guys (and gal. ;) ) for making this Worldwake Draft so enjoyable!


PS: We hold these "Release" drafts around a week after a set is officially released, so be sure to try and make the Rise of the Eldrazi Draft May 1st. Will Eye of Ugin be worth anything play-wise? Come by and find out!