Random Draft!

A fellow LoadingReadyRun Forum poster, a jolly fellow named Drecon, and folower of this very blog, has given me a fantastic idea.

In a step-up from the Random Card Challenges, today I am going to start a new section, the Random Draft. This is where i take a booster-pack’s worth of randomly-generated cards from the gatherer on the Wizards MTG site and state which one I pick to draft.

The cards are listed in order of how they were generated then Casting cost, P/T and type, effect and then expansion they were first printed for.

The cards are:

1 Zur’s Weirding – 3U, Enchantment, Players play with their hands revealed. If a player would draw a card, he or she reveals it instead. Then any other player may pay 2 life. If a player does, put that card into its owner’s graveyard. Otherwise, that player draws a card. (Fith edition)

2 Charging Paladin – 2W, 2/2 Human Knight, Whenever Charging Paladin attacks, it gets +0/+3 until end of turn. (Exodus)

 

3 Circle of Protection : Blue – 1W, Enchantment, 1: The next time a blue source of your choice would deal damage to you this turn, prevent that damage. (Alpha)

 

4 Goliath Spider – 6GG, 7/6 Spider, Reach (Ravnica : City of Guilds)

 

5 Flight – U, Enchantment, Enchant Creature, Enchanted Creature is now a flying creature (Alpha)

 

6 Purify the Grave – W, Instant, Exile target card from a graveyard, Flashback: W (Inistrad)

 

7 Bellowing Fiend – 4B, 3/3 Spirit, Flying, Whenever Bellowing Fiend deals damage to a creature, Bellowing Fiend deals 3 damage to that creature’s controller and 3 damage to you. (7th Edition)

 

8 Silent Arbiter – 4, 1/5 Artifact – Construct, No more than one creature can attack each combat, No more than one creature can block each combat. (Fith Dawn)

 

9 Skyshroud Blessing – 1G, Instant, Lands gain Shroud until end of turn (Planeshift)

 

10 Counterspell – UU, Instant, Counter target spell, (Alpha)

 

11 Cabal Coffers – Land, 2, Tap: Add B to your mana pool for each Swamp you control (Torment)

 

12 Nomad Mythmaker – 2W, 2/2 Human Nomad Cleric, W, Tap: Put target Aura card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control attached to a creature you control. (Tenth Edition)

 

13 Dark Heart of the Wood – BG, Enchantment, Scrificea forest, you gain 3 life. (The Dark)

 

14 Muderous Betrayal – BBB, Enchantment, BB, Pay half your life, rounded up: Destroy target nonblack creature. It can’t be regenerated. (Eighth Edition)

 

15 Iron Maiden – 3, Artifact, At the beginning of each opponent’s upkeep, Iron Maiden deals X damage to that player, where X is the number of cards in his or her hand minus 4. (Urza’s Legacy)

 

 

So there’s the cards. Time to deliberate my pick.

 

Firstly, the Cabal Coffers is a great land. It effectively doubles the mana output of your swamps which is a great boost to your deck, but I don’t think it would be my first pick.

 

 

The Goliath Spider is a good card but its rather expensive, in the limited format used when drafting a deck, its too expensive. It might be worth pickingjust to stop oters getting it but not on the first pack.

 

 

Muderous Betrayal is just too expensive to take, it costs three to cast AND two to activate AND half your life…rounded up…erm, nope.

 

 

Then there’s the Zur’s Weirding. This card is complicated but, in short, means you will always know what is in each other’s hands and what each other draws, and have the option to send cards they draw to the graveyard by paying life. This card is the definiton of a double-edged sword, as it basically allows you to get rid of the good cards your opponent draws but gives them the same power over your cards. Not worth the risk.

 

 

The only other option is the Counterspell, countering target spell for two mana, but, and this is my opinion, I would prefer a creature with some good abilities.

 

 

I think my final choice of this “Pack” would come down to the Charging Paladin, Nomad Mythmaker and the Silent Arbiter. If I was going for an attacking deck then the Paladin would be my pick, if I was going about a defensive deck then both the Mythmaker and Arbiter are good and, if i was going for a control Deck, I would pick the Arbiter.

 

 

I think, to give me the greatest opportunity and set of options, I would pick the Silent Arbiter, as it restricts the attackers and blockers and has a high toughness.

 

 

Until next time, play safe and remeber…Have Fun!

 

 

Please note I own none of the material mentioned in this article. Magic : The Gathering is property of Wizards of the Coast and I have no rights or legal ownership of any images or material used. They are used under Fair Use and I make no claims of ownership.