M10 Draft Walkthrough #2

September 4, 2009 | Posted by Dee

Planar Cleansing This is from a triple M10 draft in the 4-3-2-2 queue on Magic Online. Sadly, I won’t be doing draft videos regularly since video takes too long to produce and I want to recap every draft I do.

Pack 1 pick 1:
Razorfoot Griffin, Craw Wurm, Dread Warlock, Goblin Piker, Divination, Blinding Mage, Mist Leopard, Negate, Angel’s Mercy, Soul Bleed, Phantom Warrior, Armored Ascension, Elite Vanguard, Planar Cleansing, Island

My pick:
Planar Cleansing

In hindsight, I think Blinding Mage is better. I picked Planar Cleansing to try it out but it wasn’t as strong as I thought. Once your opponent has seen Planar Cleansing, it’s pretty easy to play around. Also, Planar Cleansing is more of a defensive card. It doesn’t really help you improve your position if you have a battlefield advantage or the battlefield is stalemated. Sure, it is a great reset button, but just because you reset the board doesn’t mean you’ll recover faster than your opponent.

Blinding Mage, while a weaker card, allows you to be flexible in your colors whereas Planar Cleansing makes you commit to heavy white if you want to play it. The inflexibility from playing Planar Cleansing comes surprisingly often since there are strong but color-intensive cards like Seismic Strike, Consume Spirit, Tendrils of Corruption, and Howl of the Night Pack.

I don’t think Planar Cleansing is a true bomb, but later in a draft, if I know that white will be a main color, I’ll take Planar Cleansing over Blinding Mage.

Pack 1 pick 2:
Assassinate, Goblin Piker, Gorgon Flail (FOIL), Veteran Swordsmith, Deadly Recluse, Zephyr Sprite, Solemn Offering, Drudge Skeletons, Entangling Vines, Firebreathing, Wall of Frost, Inferno Elemental, Drowned Catacomb, Forest

My pick:
Drowned Catacomb

Rare draft. If a rare is worth at least 3 tix, I draft it. Drowned Catacomb was worth 3 tix at the time of this draft.

Pack 1 pick 3:
Panic Attack, Oakenform, Palace Guard, Unholy Strength, Emerald Oryx, Firebreathing, Disorient, Safe Passage, Armored Ascension, Relentless Rats, Act of Treason, Twincast, Island

My pick:
Safe Passage

I’ve been overrating Safe Passage. Now I think Armored Ascension is better because it usually ends the game if left unchecked. Any card that can singlehandedly kill your opponent quickly is definitely solid in M10 draft because it’s a bomb driven format. You want to give your opponent less time to draw their bombs.

Yes, you can get blown out by removal but with tight play, you can often reduce the blowout factor. For example, waiting until their tapped out before playing it or waiting until they have no cards in hand.

Safe Passage is a good card but it usually doesn’t affect the game as drastically as Armored Ascension.

Pack 1 pick 4:
Giant Spider, Ponder, Veteran Swordsmith, Kelinore Bat, Seismic Strike, Craw Wurm, Yawning Fissure, Tome Scour, Soul Warden, Acolyte of Xathrid, Fabricate, Swamp

My pick:
Giant Spider

This is where I wished I had taken Blinding Mage first pick. I wanted to take Seismic Strike but it doesn’t play well with Planar Cleansing.

Pack 1 pick 5:
Panic Attack, Griffin Sentinel, Holy Strength, Raging Goblin, Glorious Charge, Weakness, Fog, Shatter, Flashfreeze, Lurking Predators, Plains

My pick:
Lurking Predators

I took Lurking Predators to try it out. I never got to play it in any of my games.

Pack 1 pick 6:
Fiery Hellhound, Unsummon, Kelinore Bat, Deadly Recluse, Berserkers of Blood Ridge, Oakenform, Coral Merfolk, Kraken’s Eye, Tempest of Light, Mountain

My pick:
Deadly Recluse

Pack 1 pick 7:
Goblin Piker, Firebreathing, Serpent of the Endless Sea, Glorious Charge, Disentomb, Naturalize, Fabricate, Manabarbs, Swamp

My pick:
Glorious Charge

Pack 1 pick 8:
Fiery Hellhound, Ponder, Sparkmage Apprentice, Ice Cage, Jackal Familiar, Centaur Courser, Black Knight, Forest

My pick:
Centaur Courser

Pack 1 pick 9:
Goblin Piker, Divination, Mist Leopard, Negate, Angel’s Mercy, Soul Bleed, Island

My pick:
Divination

I should’ve just taken Mist Leopard since Divination is not an exciting splash. Plus, mana consistency will be important with Planar Cleansing in my deck.

Pack 1 pick 10:
Goblin Piker, Zephyr Sprite, Solemn Offering, Drudge Skeletons, Firebreathing, Forest

My pick:
Solemn Offering

Pack 1 pick 11:
Panic Attack, Unholy Strength, Firebreathing, Disorient, Island

My pick:
Panic Attack

Pack 1 pick 12:
Yawning Fissure, Tome Scour, Acolyte of Xathrid, Swamp

My pick:
Tome Scour

Pack 1 pick 13:
Holy Strength, Raging Goblin, Plains

My pick:
Holy Strength

Pack 1 pick 14:
Kraken’s Eye, Mountain

My pick:
Kraken’s Eye

Pack 1 pick 15:
Swamp

My pick:
Swamp

Pack 2 pick 1:
Vampire Aristocrat, Lightning Elemental, Essence Scatter, Razorfoot Griffin, Fog, Shatter, Zephyr Sprite, Solemn Offering, Drudge Skeletons, Entangling Vines, Levitation, Spellbook, Stone Giant, Time Warp, Island

My pick:
Time Warp

Another rare draft. This one was worth 7 tix.

Pack 2 pick 2:
Kelinore Bat, Seismic Strike, Craw Wurm, Wind Drake, Siege Mastodon, Assassinate, Burst of Speed, Angel’s Mercy, Horned Turtle, Soul Bleed, Wurm’s Tooth, Rhox Pikemaster, Relentless Rats, Swamp

My pick:
Rhox Pikemaster

Pack 2 pick 3:
Borderland Ranger, Lightning Elemental, Warpath Ghoul, Divination, Giant Spider, Kindled Fury, Negate, Lifelink, Duress, Angel’s Feather, Sleep, Telepathy, Swamp

My pick:
Borderland Ranger

Pack 2 pick 4:
Llanowar Elves, Griffin Sentinel, Bramble Creeper, Disorient, Holy Strength, Drudge Skeletons, Enormous Baloth (FOIL), Wall of Faith, Cudgel Troll, Diabolic Tutor, Rod of Ruin, Plains

My pick:
Cudgel Troll

Pack 2 pick 5:
Fiery Hellhound, Unsummon, Kelinore Bat, Tome Scour, Kindled Fury, Angel’s Mercy, Zombie Goliath, Ignite Disorder, Mold Adder, Goblin Chieftain, Swamp

My pick:
Mold Adder

Pack 2 pick 6:
Fiery Hellhound, Unsummon, Kelinore Bat, Deadly Recluse, Elvish Visionary, Griffin Sentinel, Jackal Familiar, Dragon Whelp, Demon’s Horn, Forest

My pick:
Dragon Whelp

Bad pick here. I panicked and thought of dropping white since it seemed weak, but it was way too late to switch colors. I should’ve just stayed in G/W and taken Deadly Recluse.

Pack 2 pick 7:
Lightning Elemental, Essence Scatter, Craw Wurm, Dread Warlock, Berserkers of Blood Ridge, Stampeding Rhino, Levitation, Spellbook, Island

My pick:
Stampeding Rhino

Pack 2 pick 8:
Siege Mastodon, Viashino Spearhunter, Unsummon, Berserkers of Blood Ridge, Stormfront Pegasus, Act of Treason, Enormous Baloth, Mountain

My pick:
Stormfront Pegasus

Pack 2 pick 9:
Fog, Shatter, Zephyr Sprite, Solemn Offering, Levitation, Spellbook, Island

My pick:
Fog

Probably better to hate draft Levitation, but Fog can stop Overrun.

Pack 2 pick 10:
Burst of Speed, Angel’s Mercy, Horned Turtle, Soul Bleed, Wurm’s Tooth, Swamp

My pick:
Horned Turtle

Pack 2 pick 11:
Lightning Elemental, Lifelink, Angel’s Feather, Telepathy, Swamp

My pick:
Lightning Elemental

Pack 2 pick 12:
Bramble Creeper, Disorient, Wall of Faith, Plains

My pick:
Wall of Faith

This one should’ve been Bramble Creeper, since walls are mediocre without a lot of evasion guys.

Pack 2 pick 13:
Tome Scour, Angel’s Mercy, Swamp

My pick:
Angel’s Mercy

Pack 2 pick 14:
Demon’s Horn, Forest

My pick:
Demon’s Horn

Pack 2 pick 15:
Spellbook

My pick:
Spellbook

Pack 3 pick 1:
Ice Cage, Veteran Swordsmith, Deadly Recluse, Dread Warlock, Palace Guard, Disentomb, Emerald Oryx, Shatter, Jump, Solemn Offering, Levitation, Bog Wraith, Rise from the Grave, Planar Cleansing, Plains

My pick:
Planar Cleansing

I started laughing when I saw this pack. I thought, I guess I’ll really find out how good Planar Cleansing is since I’ll have two of them in my deck.

Pack 3 pick 2:
Giant Growth, Vampire Aristocrat, Lightning Elemental, Essence Scatter, Entangling Vines, Burning Inquiry, Jump, Mind Rot, Bramble Creeper, Serpent of the Endless Sea, Kraken’s Eye, Howl of the Night Pack, Megrim, Forest

My pick:
Howl of the Night Pack

Pack 3 pick 3:
Kelinore Bat, Seismic Strike, Craw Wurm, Wind Drake, Assassinate, Runeclaw Bear, Yawning Fissure, Zombie Goliath, Negate, Angel’s Feather, Righteousness, Alluring Siren, Mountain

My pick:
Runeclaw Bear

I thought my curve was too high to take Craw Wurm, but M10 is a slow format and there are many defensive creatures that Runeclaw Bear is pretty bad. This pick definitely should’ve been Craw Wurm.

Pack 3 pick 4:
Snapping Drake, Oakenform, Cancel, Duress, Regenerate, Convincing Mirage, Soul Warden, Yawning Fissure, Acolyte of Xathrid, Wall of Fire, Merfolk Sovereign, Forest

My pick:
Soul Warden

Pack 3 pick 5:
Goblin Piker, Disorient, Mind Rot, Fog, Trumpet Blast, Zephyr Sprite, White Knight, Whispersilk Cloak, Gorgon Flail, Elvish Piper, Forest

My pick:
White Knight

Whispersilk Cloak would’ve been much better, since it combos very well with big green creatures. Plus, the equipment gives me evasion, which is important since G/W doesn’t have much evasion.

Pack 3 pick 6:
Snapping Drake, Oakenform, Duress, Regenerate, Convincing Mirage, Soul Warden, Yawning Fissure, Acolyte of Xathrid, Fabricate, Swamp

My pick:
Soul Warden

Oakenform may have been better since my deck was looking pretty poor. The green enchantment allows you to get lucky and win games with turn 2 guy, then turn 3 give it +3/+3. However, it is risky to play it because if they have removal, you lose two cards to their one card.

Pack 3 pick 7:
Ponder, Kelinore Bat, Runeclaw Bear, Yawning Fissure, Zombie Goliath, Negate, Phantom Warrior, Traumatize, Island

My pick:
Runeclaw Bear

Pack 3 pick 8:
Wind Drake, Lava Axe, Sage Owl, Unholy Strength, Emerald Oryx, Firebreathing, Mold Adder, Mountain

My pick:
Emerald Oryx

I needed playables so I took the subpar maindeck card over the sideboard card.

Pack 3 pick 9:
Dread Warlock, Disentomb, Emerald Oryx, Shatter, Jump, Levitation, Plains

My pick:
Emerald Oryx

Pack 3 pick 10:
Burning Inquiry, Jump, Serpent of the Endless Sea, Kraken’s Eye, Megrim, Forest

My pick:
Serpent of the Endless Sea

Pack 3 pick 11:
Yawning Fissure, Negate, Angel’s Feather, Alluring Siren, Mountain

My pick:
Negate

Pack 3 pick 12:
Convincing Mirage, Yawning Fissure, Acolyte of Xathrid, Forest

My pick:
Acolyte of Xathrid

Pack 3 pick 13:
Disorient, Zephyr Sprite, Forest

My pick:
Zephyr Sprite

Pack 3 pick 14:
Convincing Mirage, Swamp

My pick:
Convincing Mirage

Pack 3 pick 15:
Island

My pick:
Island

Green/White PlanarCleansing.dec

Creatures (17)

Spells (6)

Lands (17)

Notable Sideboard Cards (5)

Mold Adder is in there just to get lucky, since my deck was so bad :/

The Island and Divination were probably a mistake since an extra Plains would’ve been good for my 2 Planar Cleansing. Glorious Charge is playable enough especially since I have a lot of creatures and Howl of the Night Pack.

Match 1 vs Black/Red

Game one, I was close to outracing him but he kept up with Dread Warlock and Tendrils of Corruption. Then, he played Whispersilk Cloak on Zombie Goliath and I couldn’t win the race even with White Knight.

Game two, I had a fast start and quickly bring him down to five. However, he gets Magma Phoenix on the board. I attacked with Rhox Pikemaster and he blocked with Magma Phoenix, which wiped out the battlefield and took him to 2 life.

He recovered better than me by chaining Disentomb and two Gravediggers. However, I drew Stormfront Pegasus so he had to replay Magma Phoenix. The next turn I drew Planar Cleansing for the win.

Game three was interesting. I started off with back to back Soul Warden. By the time he played Xathrid Demon, I was a 27 life. Then, I untapped and played Howl of the Night Pack for four wolves. Here was the board state:

I drew more creatures and eventually his own Xathrid Demon killed him.

Limited rating change: +10 (1694 to 1704)

Match 2 vs White/Green

In game one, the board was stalemated early except I had Emerald Oryx. He came back though with Craw Wurm and Enormous Baloth. I thought I could trade with Stampeding Rhino and Deadly Recluse. However, he had the backbreaking Safe Passage.

Still, it didn’t matter because I had Planar Cleansing and then followed it up with Howl of the Night Pack for four wolves. His life was low enough from Emerald Oryx so I got the concession.

Game two was bad for me. I mulliganed to four and he had Ant Queen on turn five and then Overrun for the kill.

In game three, he played Entangling Vines on Cudgel Troll. Then, he killed me with Serra Angel, Enormous Baloth, and Craw Wurm while all I had were smaller creatures.

Limited rating change: -9 (1704 to 1695)

Filed Under M10 Draft