In the beginning of the draft, there were rumblings of trying to keep things silent and serious, to better mimic Pro Tour conditions. That lasted all of one pick. How does your group draft? For us, there’s no pick or pack that doesn’t deserve some exclamation of glee, or soliloquies on a neighbor’s drafting skill and/or lineage. It’s all in good fun, I’m sure, but those drinking ditties are foul. I bring this up because this pack earned such a string. I really should stop getting so mad every time somebody passes me a pack short Disintegrate. Also, nice blue.

There seems to be a top three blue common, a top three blue uncommon, and could it be? The best blue rare in the set? (I say it beats out Psi Blast and ties with Teferi, not that rare rankings mean a whole lot.) The point being: Nice blue. Guaranteed power, for the not-so-small price of horrid signaling. And you know, that’s okay. I don’t know what my neighbor took here, but I don’t like much over Vesuvan Shapeshifter. The card is beyond incredible. Even so, the fine stuff I’m passing it here may mean I get cut off blue. In the worst-case scenario, I splash for one of the best rares in the set. In the best case, I have a stronger mana base for a deck that includes one of the best rares in the set. That seems like a worthy “gamble.”

My pick: Vesuvan Shapeshifter

Riding high after being passed Vesuvan Shapeshifter, and exhausted after finding so many rhymes for “mama” and “jive turkey,” I make a mispick in this pack. Considering the previous two boosters, the best cards here are Empty the Warrens, Crookclaw Transmuter, Terramorphic Expanse, Fury Sliver, Mogg War Marshal, and Gauntlet of Power. Of those, the Gauntlet, War Marshal, and Fury Sliver are easy cuts. The Gauntlet is a fine, perhaps underrated, card, but it fits best in decks that are near-mono. Red and blue, being very popular colors, make this an unlikely possibility. In addition, splashing for Rift Bolt or Shapeshifter further reduces the chance of a single color build. The War Marshal is a perfectly fine card, but slightly weak compared to the other choices above. Similarly, Fury Sliver has its place at the high end of the curve or in a more sliverish deck. Since I currently have no idea what kind of deck I’m building or any idea where the holes in the curve lie, I’d rather stick with cards that are universally safer and includable.

Terramorphic Expanse is a very interesting choice here. While I don’t care for it in two-color decks, it’s invaluable in three-plus. Considering the quality of the first two picks, taking strides to play them is perfectly reasonable. If I was certain I was not playing red/blue exclusively, I’d be all over the Expanse here. But we don’t know that yet. Ideally this deck does play only two colors, and as I said, I really don’t like the card without a special reason to use it. Comes-into-play-tapped lands are rough in the tempo-centric Time Spiral drafts. Expanse is a safe pick, in that it’s guaranteed playable in all decks, merely unexciting in some. Safe… doesn’t interest me. I’m going to make the assumption I’ll be with a two-color deck and draft accordingly. If something comes along later that says to abandon ship and shift I’ll of course listen, but I don’t like to weaken my core plan without a compelling reason. The balance on this point is tricky, and I certainly wouldn’t look down on someone who took the Expanse for insurance purposes. I’m just a shoot-the-moon kinda guy.

For me, this pack is a choice between Crookclaw and Empty the Warrens. Let me start out by saying that in triple-T, I’d take Empty the Warrens here in a heartbeat. By now, most people realize how strong this card is. Four power for four mana is quite likely, and the storm-suspend mechanic means there’s some other critter in play at the same time. Adding in opportunities to get more goblins just increases Empty’s power. Crookclaw Transmuter is great as a three-power flier with card advantage potential, it just doesn’t quite reach Empty the Warren status.

Ah, but this isn’t triple-T anymore, is it? Planar Chaos is in the mix, and that cuts a leg out from under the storm plan. Foolishly, randomly, I hadn’t read last week’s Peabody-nominated Limited Information, where the author discusses the dip in power level of Empty the Warrens-type cards. The other problem with the pick is that Empty isn’t a great splash card, whereas Crookclaw is functional in the role. I know I just got done saying I’m planning on playing two colors, but that doesn’t mean I want to paint myself into a corner either. Sometimes you hope a pick works out and sometimes you depend on a pick working out. The former is far safer than the latter, although given a strong enough card, the risk would be worth it. In TTT I would argue Empty the Warrens was worth the risk. In TTP, missing a pack of Halberdiers and Errant Ephemeron puts it just under. Thus, I should have taken Crookclaw Transmuter here. It was a mistake, but that happens. I’ll try not to do it again.

My pick: Empty the Warrens

As I mentioned above, our conversations turn to topics of surprising variety. One of these has been the “rooms in the mansion” conversation. As in, what kind of rooms would you have built in your dream house? Obviously there’s a huge movie and video game library, great chefs, etc. We had more esoteric ideas, like the “ribbons of peanut butter” room, or the “trampoline and Velcro room.” My vote? A gigantic ball pit.

I was an advocate of the ball pit for so long. Now, I think I’m going to have to change it to the “fourth-pick Lightning Axe” room.

My pick: Lightning Axe

It got worse! What we got here is poor red, poor blue, adequate green, white, and black, and YOU WIN THE GAME OMG, a card quickly shoved to the back of the pack. Getting cut off notwithstanding, is it time to move to a new color? I think not. None of the green-black-white cards are awful, yet none of them are exciting as splash cards either, or even particularly amazing in the maindeck. Playable certainly, but if I’m going to make the big move towards changing colors, I want a more compelling reason to do so than 2/2 reverse fear. Of the remaining U/R cards, Temporal Eddy is the best of the bunch. Eddy has always been a little tough to pin down, occasionally amazing and other times strictly mediocre. On the hope it would be amazing for the final deck, safe in the knowledge it would be playable no matter what, I remained on target and took the blue sorcery.

My pick: Temporal Eddy

Yes, vanishing made Clockspinning a better card. That’s like saying compost a la mode tastes better than regular. While technically true, you still know what you’re eating at the end of the day. Ideally I would get a Chronozoa in Planar Chaos and do crazy time counter tricks and… You know, that’s a pretty long sentence. Let’s try…

Ideally I would get Chronozoa in Planar Chaos.

My pick: Thallid Germinator

A fairly difficult pick. Ironclaw Buzzardiers are best in aggro, and the Wall is obviously a defensive card. The question is, which style is this deck? Pre-Chaos I’ve found R/U to generally veer towards controlling paths, with hard-to-stop fliers or One Big Turn inciting the final points. Planar Chaos makes these strategies slightly tougher to pull off, which in turn leads to more aggro builds. Stingscourger is still my favorite common in the set, and he loves playing the aggressive role. Above all that, I prefer drafting aggro over control because I believe aggro plays better against quality opposition than control decks. Considering the talent at this table, I want all the edge I can get.

My pick: Ironclaw Buzzardiers

There’s that black again. The only thing I have against the color is that it’s no good. Aside from that, it’s great. Besides, the lovely and underrated Dream Stalker is in this booster. And why is the Stalker of Dreams such an appealing card? Two actual words and a phonetically-satisfying jumble: Reality Acid and Stingscourger. One kills a permanent dead, and the other just makes an opponent wish he were. Either way, Dream Stalker plays real nice in R/U TTP. That’s all besides your classic combos involving Riftwing Cloudskate, Fathom Seer, and having tons of toughness (combos with not dying). I think Dream Stalker was an underrated fella in the olden days, although it could legitimately table. Now that its value has risen even more, I’m going to outright label it a gift.

My pick: Dream Stalker

It’s not that Chronatog Totem would be more useful more often than the Reef. It’s that Dreadship Reef, if/when it does become useful, will be overall much stronger than the Totem. The signals in this draft have been weird, but I respect the fact that I may diverge into three colors, and one of those colors may be black. If so, I’ll be far happier with the Reef than the Totem. If I stick with R/U then the Totem would fit better, but it would never be exciting. Thus, I take the card with some scrap of influence and potential.

My pick: Dreadship Reef

See my inflammatory Clockspinning argument above, than check out the Dream Stalker love-fest a little below it. I take the Dream Stalker.

My pick: Dream Stalker

Meh, nothing to see here. Card most likely to be played and card I least want played against me? Check and double check.

My pick: Drudge Reavers

I admit, this pick also made me consider black as a main color. Clearly my distaste for B/X builds is shared by others. Either way, I’m happy no one else is playing this card. It’s a scary song!

My pick: Haunting Hymn

Honestly, this should have been Plated Pegasus here just in case I found a windfall of Grapeshot, but no one ever sides in Pegasus anyway. Afeard of being short playables, I took the Eye. This pick did prompt a group discussion on whether Ophidian Eye or Keen Sense was a better bad card in G/U decks. Thoughts?

Which is better in G/U decks?   Ophidian Eye Keen Sense The 19th land

My pick: Ophidian Eye

I’m not the only one who still finds Clockspinning a trap card. I mean, it’s possible it has a place, but really I’m hoping the person on my left sticks with a white deck.

My pick: Clockspinning

I proclaimed aloud during the exploration of pack two that the readers would lambaste my bones over this decision. Here’s a preview: “Why does Noah McStupidPants hate Tromp the Domains so much?” I like Tromp, I swear! But let’s not kid around, that Germinator pick in p1p6 was an aberration. If I’m taking Tromp the Domains here, it’s the third color. That’s not a Good Thing, but for a card like Tromp it’s a perfectly fair trade off. The issue with that pick is simple: to take Tromp the Domains here, I’m passing a Lightning Axe. I don’t want to do that, for the simple reason that Lightning Axe is cheap and amazing. If that’s too abstract, consider that by taking Tromp here, I also cut into my capability to splash some other third color. It’s not just that I’m taking Tromp and passing Axe, it’s also that I’m taking green above everything else, and passing Lightning Axe to do so. Taking the Axe here allows me to keep my capabilities available while still adding an awesome card to the final deck. It’s my concession to the long view, but I do like keeping one’s options open. Trust me when I say this was a very tough pick during the draft, but then as now, I’ll stand by this choice.

My pick: Lightning Axe

Chornosavant is a fine card – not as good as Tromp, but worth playing. In fact, Chrono’s second ability is much more likely to trigger alongside dual Lightning Axe. Are there any other cards worth considering? In this booster, there’s also Tolarian Sentinel and Flowstone Channeler in color. The Sentinel is interesting as complementary to Dream Stalker. There’s a limit, though, on how many cards I want with that effect before I actually receive a combo card. The Sentinel is reasonable on its own, no doubt, but I think this pack can do better. The Flowstone Channeler is such a card, in-color, in a good place for the mana curve. It’s also a source of much-needed, albeit limited, removal. It’s no Lightning Axe, but then again, Chronosavant is no Tromp the Domains. My arguments above remain in effect; taking an off-color card here precludes all others. The Channeler isn’t amazing, but it’s a functional ogre, and I like what it does in a deck. It’s worth the pick here.

My pick: Flowstone Channeler

Ah but for Tromp, mine own Mystic Snake! If only I had considered the possibility that I’d be passed a blue/green rarer-than-rare. You may remember instead I snagged a second Lightning Axe over the green sorcery. Anything here that plays well with two discard-centric instants? In the color(s) being played? Named Mystical Teachings?

My pick: Mystical Teachings

Wow, that’s an awesome present this late. Coal Stoker is an incredible card in draft, especially in the R/U archetype with storm and morph. It’s a tier one common, and to get it this late is exciting. The rest of the table can only wonder what my muted giggling portends.

My pick: Coal Stoker

People have said Sage of Epityr is fairly playable. I remain unconvinced, but the fact there are still questions this late is a credit to the format. Regardless, with two Dream Stalkers and Empty the Warrens (and Vesuvan Shapeshifter!), I like it more than Spell Burst and Voidmage Husher. Someone on my right has a really good deck.

My pick: Sage of Epityr

The Zealot almost got the hate draft here until I remember the card doesn’t do anything without multiple brothers. The Syphon-Mage actually would have been a reasonable card to hate away, but I took Drifter on the very slim chance it makes the final build. Drifter isn’t the worst card, but maindeck inclusion is definitely depressing. A decent sideboard option though.

My pick: Drifter il-Dal

Alright, enough black to my (I’m sure) appreciating neighbor. I’d much rather prevent an opponent from receiving a very mana-efficient madness outlet than add a Paradise Plume to the deck.

My pick: Trespasser il-Vec

This isn’t a bad pack for five cards left. You could D-draft a number of these, but Ignite Memories does have some small capability as a sideboard card. An unlikely event, but far more common than me playing or playing against Havenwood Wurm.

My pick: Ignite Memories

The weird thing about Sangrophage is that when it’s good, it’s really good. That’s an extremely rare occurrence mind you, but I have no qualms making it even rarer.

My pick: Sangrophage

See above, except this one could actually be playable if PLC produces the goods. A nice grab for #14.

My pick: Mystical Teachings

Y’all remember the time I loved Stingscourger, which is every day ever? I do.

My pick: Stingscourger

We had a discussion on the role of this column for cards like Stingscourger, cards with “undefined” strengths. One Geneva attendee wished I hadn’t let the cat out of the bag on this little GOBLIN-goblin-goblin so quickly. I retorted that Stingscourger’s quality wasn’t exactly hidden knowledge, and besides, I didn’t really have the influence that he attributed. We couldn’t come to an agreement on the issue, so I’ll ask you guys.

Do you think reading a columnist’s opinion makes someone more likely to believe that opinion?   It makes a person less likely to believe that opinion It’s irrelevant Yes Yes, but only if they say it does

Someone’s going to enjoy the white from this pack for weeks to come. For this U/R/b player, the choices revolved around Aether Membrane and Body Double. I said earlier that defensive cards are tough to gauge in R/U, and passed Aetherflame Wall because of it. Now that the deck is more defined, I can say with confidence it’s split right down the middle between aggression and control. That makes the Membrane more appealing, plus it’s vastly stronger and more annoying than Aetherflame Wall. On the other hand, I find Body Double interesting. Its power intrinsically goes up as the game goes on, and plays well with the removal the deck has collected so far. The real decider is that this deck is missing a strong finisher in the truest sense of the word. Good tempo, good removal, but no one card I could point to to finish the job. With Body Double I could do just that, or more precisely, point to a card in their graveyard to do just that.

My pick: Body Double

This pack had a number of justifiable picks for this archetype, ranging from aggressive (Gossamer Phantasm), removal (Erratic Mutation), more 1/5s(Aquamorph Entity), or the random (Frenetic Sliver). None of those, unfortunately, were named Stingscourger.

My pick: Stingscourger

If I lived in a world a little grayer, a world without Stingscourgers, I’d point to Shaper Parasite as the numero uno common in Planar Chaos. Grudgingly I’ll admit that in some decks, a lot of decks, the Parasite could edge out the goblin. Regardless, there’s nothing here that comes close to the excellent morph-’taal. That pair of Dream Stalkers only add to the potency.

My pick: Shaper Parasite

Around the prerelease, I couldn’t quite get a bead on the Dreamscape Artist. Harrow was always a great card, and repetitive castings seemed solid. Yet this version is fragile and a touch slow for the first couple of times. Curious, I gave it a shot in my Sealed deck. The fact that the deck was four colors helped, but I really loved how Dreamscape Artist performed. Unlike Greenseeker, the deck was thinned extremely quickly, making its influence on the game fairly immediate. Since then I’ve become quite a fan of the card, making sure to pick one up in all my blue decks. It’s not a super-high pick, but given a three-color or slow build, its effect on your board and deck is noticeable. The Deadeye does have some char here as a 3/3, but without knowing if there is going to be another chance at a Dreamscape Artist, I take my shot.

(The card performed well for me that evening, but perhaps my experiences were above the norm. Anyone want to chime in with their experiences?)

My pick: Dreamscape Artist

I take another Dreamscape Artist here, and looking back I’m not sure why. I clearly like the Artist, but Aquamorph Entity is no slouch either. Perhaps I thought I needed more fixing and/or there was going to be more non-RU cards played? I know why I skipped Piracy Charm, as it didn’t offer anything the deck was really looking for. Still, passing the Entity is a weird move.

My pick: Dreamscape Artist

This pick is surprisingly close, between two blue removal spells (wha…?) The Acid without a helper is essentially trash, but helpers it does have. The Erratic Mutation is paradoxically more consistent, but with three one-cost cards, +1/-1 wouldn’t be breaking down any doors. The decider for me is that, while Reality Acid does have help, those helpers have lots of other targets as well. Who wants to be put in a decision where they have to return Reality Acid or Shaper Parasite? Erratic Mutation is fine on its own, although I would be hoping to double-cast Mystical Teachings before it fired.

My pick: Erratic Mutation

For blue decks especially, Primal Plasma is going to be 70/20/10 Hill Giant/Wind Drake/Wall. Only one of those forms matches the actual casting cost, but I particularly like that card in Limited. An easy decision.

My pick: Primal Plasma

Could I be the only blue/red drafter? That’s exciting. Frenetic Sliver is quite powerful, and more importantly, a real pain for an opponent to play against. Those are two great attributes for playing against one’s close friends. While there are some strong cards here to take away from opponents, nothing else here is on the same power arc that Frenetic Sliver is. A lucky grab.

My pick: Frenetic Sliver

Between Gossamer Phantasm and Keldon Marauders, I have to think the Phantasm will deal more damage, although there is plenty of variance. Passing that Riftwatcher is a bit concerning. Vowing to keep an eye on rebel searchers, I take the potential maindeck creature.

My pick: Gossamer Phantasm

Two Frenetics are about as good as one, times two. Good enough for me. This pack is saying Shade of Trokair or white in general is getting underrated this draft, which is interesting. Atypical?

My pick: Frenetic Sliver

Also, people aren't much into Uktabi Drakes. On the other hand, the first six packs had them, so people may simply have been saturated. Either way, the sketchy discard spell has more appeal, but only just.

My pick: Wistful Thinking

I don’t care about red fear, and I actively hope they play Blue Braids. What’s left but a potentially scary sliver? This is the end stage; the reasoning for picking a card is getting tenuous.

My pick: Reflex Sliver

Similar to above, Vampiric Link is near-unplayable and certainly a card I’m not afraid of them running.

My pick: Uktabi Drake