Tormented sole?

@ kaos I have put the most thought into that play of any of the draft. I also talked with Kenji about it, and I agree with you here. I think that my line was ok, but I didn’t really have a great reason to do what I did. I obviously wasn’t playing around Gideon, but I made a play that I thought would win the game for me sooner if I missed a land drop. I think that given the board state, just being patient was the correct line in retrospect.

It’s really tough to evaluate these spots without bias once he untaps and plays Gideon and wins. I think it’s probably better that I lost though because even though Gideon isn’t really a factor when you are making these types of decisions, it has made me take a really close look at that line of play.

One thing as well is that that my read on him was that he was going to block with 2 of his guys but not all 3. He had been reluctant to block all game and I was surprised when he did. If he didn’t, then the overrun was still lethal etc. So my read was off there, but I think the bigger issue is just if I should be attacking there at all, and my stance on it at this time is that being patient and waiting for a land for Overrun was a better line.

@ vanwilder I think it’s being pretty rotty to take this line. I am the aggressor here, and I have my opponent topdecking. If I make the play I made, I get to bash him to 3, with an unblockable guy on my side as well as just better dudes (me= 3/3 and 2/2 him 3/3 and 0/2)

This is a very favorable board state. I am not worried about him winning at this point in the game, I am worried about ME winning. If he draws a land that turn, I can bash with everything and force him to trade his Golem and chump with his Enchantress, while still following up with Cemetery Reaper on my turn if I brick on my draw step.

I don’t think that playing around Divine Favor off the top of the deck is a way for me to win that game the quickest way possible.

@Marin lol ya that guy just follows me around it seems

@ knx I think the Skinshifter pick is close with Stingerfling Spider. I really like Skinshifter though because he is very versatile and also demands and answer fairly quickly. Sometimes they just don’t have that burn spell or doom blade and he gets them really good for a 2 drop. Your points about Spider are certainly valid however, and I would have been happy to have him in my pile.

@ Fedor Ya, see my comment to kaos above, but the short story is I now agree with that line of play over the one I took, but not because of Gideon.

@knx Yes hexproof takes away one of Gideon’s strengths which is to destroy tapped guys. Sacred Wolf however plays into another of Gideon’s strengths which is to make your guys bash into his blockers for unfavorable situations. I think Wolf just gets either eaten or traded off when Gideon comes down Big hasty fliers however is a plan I can always get behind

Re: Reclaim. Your view is a common misconception about this card, so I’m glad you brought it up.

Reclaim is *not* a free 3rd Doomblade. Reclaim leaves you *down a card* for casting it. This is critical to understanding how to evaluate it.

If this returned the card from your graveyard to hand, then it’s a 1:1 and would see play all over the place (compare to Regrowth, 1G sorcery, fixed as Recollect at 2G sorcery for same effect).

But Reclaim is a *lot* different. Reclaim puts it on top of your library, denying you your next draw. So if you do this on end step for example, you have spent one card (the Reclaim) and normally you would have that one card PLUS the card you drew for the turn once you get to your draw step. With Reclaim, you just get that card you dug out of your yard, leaving you down a full card.

This is pretty unacceptable and when you combine it with the fact that it’s conditional upon having something worthwhile in the graveyard, it makes the card essentially unplayable.

Thanks for reminding me about it btw, I meant to reply to that before

@nibelung I actually hadn’t considered that. I have been looking for different twists on the drafts and that may very well be one of them. I am certainly curious about it… hmmm