My draft deck #1: U/R Time Ebb

 Today I'll be showing you a deck I drafted on Cockatrice, along with discussing some of the picks and one particular play I liked a lot.

So this is the deck itself.

1 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Air Servant
1 Messenger Drake
2 Disperse
2 Goblin Shortcutter
2 Act of Treason
2 Water Servant
1 Shiv's Embrace
2 Time Ebb
1 Marauding Maulhorn
1 Regathan Firecat
1 Blur Sliver
2 Pitchburn Devils
1 Chandra's Phoenix
1 Essence Scatter
1 Chandra's Outrage
1 Flames of the Firebrand
1 Archaeomancer
8 Mountain
9 Island
SB: 1 Griffin Sentinel
SB: 2 Bramblecrush
SB: 1 Naturalize
SB: 1 Encroaching Wastes
SB: 1 Capashen Knight
SB: 1 Burning Earth
SB: 1 Sporemound
SB: 1 Elvish Mystic
SB: 1 Advocate of the Beast
SB: 1 Seismic Stomp
SB: 1 Divine Favor
SB: 1 Dragon Hatchling
SB: 1 Plummet
SB: 1 Dark Favor
SB: 1 Deadly Recluse
SB: 1 Predatory Sliver

  If you notice, there's only 13 creatures INCLUDING Archaeomancer, which means it's more than a little light on that account. But it makes up for it a little by the fact that it runs THREE servants, two Water Servants and an Air Servant, both cards massively tempo-positive. Chandra, Pyromaster was my P1P1, since not only does she offer tempo in terms of life, she makes creatures unable to block, which is a massive advantage. Her 0 is also a great ability and is nearly card draw in red. Another couple of tempo positive cards I love in M14 draft are Goblin Shortcutters. Not only are they 2/1s for 2 to begin with, late-game making something unable to block can be HUGE. As you can see, I picked up two Time Ebbs and two Disperses, for some massive advantage, as well as a singleton Archaeomancer to recycle my burn/tempo cards. Shiv's Embrace is a card you want to look for if you're in red, hopefully within six picks, as it's card-quality is akin to a bomb.

  In one game, my Water Servant and Marauding Maulhorn were staring down a Predatory Sliver, a Steelform Sliver, a Striking Sliver, and two Hive Stirrings tokens. I had three mana open, those being one mountain and two islands. I swung in with both creatures, the Maulhorn unsurprisingly blocked by the 2/3 striking, and a 2/3 Hive Stirrings token. When the blockers were declared, I cast Disperse on the Predatory sliver, taking away the lord effect, reducing the Striking and the token to 1/2 creatures, and pumping my Water Servant for 1, making it a 4/3. This way I effectively 3-for-1ed his board, and won the game in the subsequent turn.

 If there was anything I would do to this deck, it would be to obtain a few more creatures, possibly fliers such as Nephalia Seakite and Warden of Evos Isle. Besides that, it's quite solid, and I had fun with it.

 The next article will be posted today itself, and it will be by our first guest author. I hope you like his insight and ideas. Until next time, take care, and have fun drafting!

Cheers,
Brick

The Time Ebb archetype (a.k.a No cake for you! :D)

Time Ebb. Known in some circles as the blue Swords to Plowshares, it forms one of the most powerful tenets in M14 draft. Now, this card is perhaps one of the most sought-after commons in the format, and is potentially a blowout against some decks, and is quite the topdeck in clogged boardstates.

 This archetype is one of the many goodstuff decks and blue can be paired successfully with any color, and monoblue is also known to be particularly powerful. It's most viable color pairs are Red or Green, the latter being slightly better given the right cards.

 The cards you want to see in this deck type are tempo cards, such as Disperse, and Claustrophobia, and the main intent of this deck is to swing the boardstate in your favor with such tempo plays and fliers, such as Nephalia Seakite, Trained Condor and Air Servant, the latter being on of the strongest creatures in the format, dominating combat in the sky. Water Servant is also a card you want to see in this deck, as it powers through on the ground. An interesting two-card interaction that's possible in this deck is Trained Condor with Scroll Thief, giving evasion to the Thief and drawing you cards with ease, while making a tempo swing of 3 life. Counterspells such as Cancel, and Essence Scatter are welcome in this deck type since they generate immense tempo and are generally Blue's best 1-for-1 against the larger Red or Green creatures. Draw power is also immensely valued in this deck type, and Divination and Opportunity are cards that make the deck resilient. Sensory Deprivation is also a decent late-pick card and is good filler for your deck.

 Pairing Blue with Red means that you want to pick up strong red burn spells such as Shock, Flames of the Firebrand, and Chandra's Outrage. Now these cards are played in almost any Red deck but a high number of these marks a special caveat for this deck. It means that you can run up to two copies of Archaeomancer, recycling good tempo cards and providing a good chump block if need be. The reason you don't want more than two of Archaeomancer is that the card isn't really good at combat, and more than two results in a dead card in your hand with no targets. Other Red goodstuff like Pitchburn Devils or Marauding Maulhorn are always nice to see. In U/R, with a high instant and sorcery count, Young Pyromancer is quite game-changing, as instant speed 1/1 Elemental tokens can't be sneezed at.

 Pairing Blue with Green is a far safer bet, since Green beats is quite strong in this format. The cards you want to look for are high power/high toughness Green creatures, such as Rumbling Baloth, and Advocate of the Beast is it's clear counterpart. Enlarge is probably one of the cards that can win you the game, while taking out your opponent's creatures. Elvish Mystic is probably a card you want to pick up mid-packs since a turn 2 Advocate or a turn 3 Baloth are great plays, and hastens the game. Mystic makes you parallel your opponent's deck even on the draw, a great advantage. And it's always a plus when your Mox Emerald can attack!

Drafting the deck

 Drafting this deck is a lot more straightforward than drafting the Blood Bairn archetype. Your first few picks can include Water and Air Servants, as they are of the highest card quality. These two cards are generally of higher quality than the rare you see. Further on, about pick 5~6 onward, evaluating card quality becomes even more important. Opportunity and Divination are fine picks, but it's usually better to get your creature base settled first over the tempo plays and card draw spells. Remember, it's the creatures that win you the game, not draw. As stated earlier, evaluating card quality is of highest importance, for example, in the middle of pack 1, Opportunity or Divination is stronger than Seacoast Drake. A good creature base of 16~17 is generally recommended here, but even as low as 15 can still win you the game, depending on your non-creature spells. Also, discount Archaeomancer in your creature count when you're making your picks, and think of it as more of a chump block and a regrowth effect.

Playing the deck

 On the draw, it's usually a good idea to leave mana up for your counterspells, especially if you're in U/R. Running out your threats is a good idea, but moving into the control route is easier for U/R. In U/G however, it's a good idea to run out your Baloths and your Advocates and other generally big creatures, and save the tempo for the later game. In M14, there are a large amount of enchantment spells that buff creatures. Be sure to use your Disperses and Time Ebbs on enchanted creatures, and creatures with +1/+1 counters on them for value. Here Disperse shines, since it's at instant speed. Disperse is also a great response to Hunt the Weak, which fizzles the spell itself, along with the potentially devastating fight clause, and leaving you with the stronger board state.

Opening hands and mulliganing

 On the subject of opening hands, a good hand consists of about 3 land and 4 other cards, and at least a couple of nonlands that are castable or close to castable. However, it is possible to keep 2 land hands, given a Divination or a cheap flier or two. Opening hands in this archetype are quite simple to evaluate. Even land-heavy hands (e.g 5 land hands) can be kept, since your draw spells can easily fix your hand. 5 land hands are especially keepable in U/G since your creatures usually are high CMC.

 Well, that's about all I can think of about this archetype at the moment. Blue is a very broad, and strong color, and can be paired with almost any other color in the color pie, and can be played on it's own, as well. Feel free to drop comments on any facets I might have missed and as always, have fun drafting!


Cheers,
Brick