Drafting With Kyle - RTR/RTR/RTR #4

Kyle Boggemes

About Kyle Boggemes

Kyle is a tournament Magic player who enjoys writing about the game and drafting is his favorite format. He has a number of high-profile finishes under his belt:

• Second place finish at Pro Tour San Diego
• 4th place GP: Washington DC
• Two Limited GP top 16s

Drafting with Kyle - RTR/RTR/RTR #4

Booster 1 - Return to Ravnica

Pack 1 pick 1:

My Pick: New Prahv Guildmage

There isn’t much in competition with the guildmage.  I prefer the white guilds over the others so I’m happy to open it.

Pack 1 pick 2:

My Pick: Towering Indrik

I’ve come around to splashing in my decks and the dip into green makes it easier (Gatecreeper Vine and Axebane Guardian).  Although Knightly Valor will keep me in two colors, the Giant Spider is strong enough to consider a splash on the guildmage.

Pack 1 pick 3:

My Pick: Frostburn Weird

I really like this card as do most people by now.  This pick gives me the option to be Azorius splashing Towering Indrik.  It was a difficult pick and I went with the best card in a vacuum. 

Pack 1 pick 4:

My Pick: Concordia Pegasus

At the beginning, I could table this card.  It has been a few drafts since I have been able to get my hands on one so I took it earlier and was not disappointed. 

Pack 1 pick 5:

My Pick: Keening Apparition

At this point, I’m Azorious with a Selesnya card.  I avoid the Common Bond because splashing for a combat trick is a risky maneuver.  It’s also worth noting that Keening Apparition has been very solid for me in every white draft. 

Pack 1 pick 6:

My Pick: Aerial Predation

There’s nothing for me in Azorious and I have the option to play the removal spell.  It’s also a card I would rather not face.

Pack 1 pick 7:

My Pick: Giant Growth

Another Azorious-free pack; it may be time to move in and ditch the weird.

Pack 1 pick 8:

My Pick: Swift Justice

I hedge with the card that I’m happy with in Azorious and Selesnya.

Pack 1 pick 9:

My Pick: Axebane Stag

Pack 1 pick 10:

Rakdos Shred-Freak Giant Growth Traitorous Instinct Faerie Impostor Havoc Festival

My Pick: Giant Growth

Green looks pretty open; I basically missed out on Common Bond and blew a pick on the weird.

Pack 1 pick 11:

Trained Caracal Survey the Wreckage Seek the Horizon Izzet Staticaster

My Pick: Izzet Staticaster

Pack 1 pick 12:

Cancel Isperia's Skywatch Grave Betrayal

My Pick: Isperia's Skywatch

I can splash this in Selesnya.

Pack 1 pick 13:

Terrus Wurm

My Pick: Terrus Wurm

Pack 1 pick 14:

Drainpipe Vermin

My Pick: Drainpipe Vermin

Booster 2 - Return to Ravnica

Pack 2 pick 1:

My Pick: Sunspire Griffin

This is a mediocre pack for me so I go with the cheap efficient beater.

Pack 2 pick 2:

My Pick: Voidwielder

I can take this or Gatecreeper Vine, but I stay with the powerful spell.  This was likely a mistake as I could use some fixing.

Pack 2 pick 3:

My Pick: Trostani's Judgment

Pack 2 pick 4:

My Pick: Keening Apparition

Pack 2 pick 5:

My Pick: Korozda Monitor

Some pretty solid black cards, but I’m already splashing for blue.  It’s best to stick with the solid creature.

Pack 2 pick 6:

My Pick: Avenging Arrow

I initially underrated this card, but was impressed playing against it.  There weren’t any amazing creatures I could take anyway so it was worth the chance.

Pack 2 pick 7:

My Pick: Golgari Longlegs

You need some fat creatures in these green white decks to punch through the opposing creatures that don’t get over the walls.

Pack 2 pick 8:

My Pick: Giant Growth

I can’t imagine being sad with three of this card.

Pack 2 pick 9:

My Pick: Korozda Monitor

Pack 2 pick 10:

Trained Caracal Viashino Racketeer Mind Rot Spawn of Rix Maadi Sluiceway Scorpion

My Pick: Sluiceway Scorpion

Pack 2 pick 11:

Tenement Crasher Search Warrant Dispel Guild Feud

My Pick: Dispel

I’ll sideboard this even if I’m splashing blue against the right deck.

Pack 2 pick 12:

Crosstown Courier Electrickery Mind Rot

My Pick: Electrickery

Pack 2 pick 13:

Trained Caracal Seek the Horizon

My Pick: Trained Caracal

Pack 2 pick 14:

Bellows Lizard

My Pick: Bellows Lizard

Booster 3 - Return to Ravnica

Pack 3 pick 1:

My Pick: Jace, Architect of Thought

I would like to play this card even though I’m in Selesnya.  This means I have to choose a base color and splash the other two.  Green looks like the base because Korozda Monitor is double green.  I will have to abandon the Sunspire Griffin.

Pack 3 pick 2:

My Pick: Hallowed Fountain

Nice rares!

It’s nice that these aren’t even rare-drafts.  I could really use some Azorious duals.

Pack 3 pick 3:

My Pick: Towering Indrik

This deck is looking pretty defensive so I’m happy to get another one of these.

Pack 3 pick 4:

My Pick: Selesnya Guildgate

I need some mana fixing and I’m not missing anything exciting.

Pack 3 pick 5:

My Pick: Centaur Healer

It looked like I was heavy green and decided to stick with the card that was easier to cast.  It was a very close call between the Lyev Skynight.

Pack 3 pick 6:

My Pick: Drudge Beetle

I needed some filler creatures to play early.

Pack 3 pick 7:

My Pick: Centaur's Herald

Pack 3 pick 8:

My Pick: Archweaver

Pack 3 pick 9:

My Pick: Isperia's Skywatch

Pack 3 pick 10:

Tenement Crasher Trained Caracal Inspiration Runewing Urban Burgeoning

My Pick: Runewing

I would rather have an additional flyer than Inspiration.

Pack 3 pick 11:

Dispel Horncaller's Chant Sundering Growth Gobbling Ooze

My Pick: Dispel

Pack 3 pick 12:

Drainpipe Vermin Skull Rend Horncaller's Chant

My Pick: Horncaller's Chant

Pack 3 pick 13:

Downsize Cremate

My Pick: Downsize

Pack 3 pick 14:

Catacomb Slug

My Pick: Catacomb Slug

I was pleased with my deck and my ability to open Jace.

The mana was surprisingly reliable for a deck that was playing more than just a couple spells for the third color.  My actual “splash” ended up being white with eight spells.  The fact that both duals produced white allowed me to play only three Plains.  I wanted more than the bare minimum because some of the white spells were combat tricks and I didn’t want to get bottlenecked.

Notable exclusions:

• Sunspire Griffin- The double white would be too hard to pull off.
• Dispel- This card continually impresses me and it was close to being maindecked.
• Aerial Predation- Most of my creatures could handle flyers so it remains as an important sideboard card.
• The seven drop green creatures- I had too many things to do with my mana already.

Match 1 Game 1

I win the die roll and go first.  We both keep seven.

The game starts as a race between Keening Apparition and Runewing versus Dead Reveler and Thrill-Kill Assassin.  Avenging Arrow takes care of an early unleashed Roustabout.  Swift Justice takes out the Thrill-Kill.  Giant Growth handles Batterhorn.

The major draw to these Selesnya/Bant decks is the abundance of tricks, but you also can’t lose focus of drafting creatures.  Most of the tricks are used in combat which is why Dispel was a contender for the maindeck.

I don’t sideboard in anything.

Match 1 Game 2

He’s on the play and mulls to six, while I keep seven.

This wasn’t much of a game as he gets mana screwed and I have a draw that spits out a creature each turn.  Notice the interaction between Keening Apparition and Deviant Glee.  Assuming he wasn’t mana screwed, the 4 power would be awkward for Towering Indrik and this is a nice answer.

Match 2 Game 1

I lose the die roll, go second, and we both keep seven.

I got stuck at 5 lands and all three six drops for a little while.  A Street Spasm killed two of my guys and then it was returned with Treasure Find.  The Horncaller's Chant was a turn too fast for me to stabilize.

Sideboard in: Dispel

Sideboard out: 1 Keening Apparition

Match 2 Game 2

I go first and we both keep seven.

I have a fast draw and eke out a game with flyers.  Dispel was very good for me this game because it countered Street Spasm when he tried to kill my Golgari Longlegs in response to Giant Growth.

Match 2 Game 3

He’s on the play and we both keep seven.

The game goes back and forth during the early game, but he plays Pack Rats.  I’m a little slow getting my sixth land again and die to the rats.  The game ended up being closer than I expected because Isperia's Skywatch was very impressive.

What I learned:

1. Pack Rats are good.
2. No seriously, Pack Rats are really good.
3. The Axebane Guardian and Gatecreeper Vine would have been very good for my deck.  I should have been taking those as well as the Selesnya Guildgates higher.  The fact that I had two games end with six drops in my hand says I need more mana sources and not just leave it at color requirements.
4. Bant has a lot of tricks which makes it an attractive color combination.
5. Dispel was very good the one game I drew it.

Thanks for reading,

Kyle