Cubing with Big Nass #9

Posted on January 21, 2013

Welcome to the season finale of Cubing with Big Nass! It seems that I just can’t get away from drafting blue-based control decks, and I have another sweet deck for you guys to check out this week. I spoke last week about how challenging it can be to play against combo, and this week’s episode is a really good example of that. Read on to find out more. There’s even a little surprise in the last game! As always, a text recap follows the video links.

Draft

Match 1, Game 1

Match 1, Game 2

Match 2, Game 1

Match 2, Game 2

Match 2, Game 3

Pack 1, Pick 1:

My Pick:

We might as well start off with a pick that many people will disagree with. There are definitely a few defensible first-picks here, but ultimately, it’s very hard for me to pass up on a card that says, “Draw three cards,” on it for the low cost of one blue mana. The only Sword I go out of my way to draft is Sword of Fire and Ice, so the Sword of Feast and Famine wasn’t really a consideration, though it wouldn’t be a bad pick. Mox Jet, Grim Monolith, Ajani Vengeant, and Sylvan Library are all good first-picks as well, so this really comes down to preference. There are plenty of arguments to be made for taking any of these cards, but I had to make a decision.

Pack 1, Pick 2:

My Pick:

I really haven’t been impressed by Sword of War and Peace in Cube. Sure, it’s good in the aggro-versus-combo matchup (for the aggro deck, that is) and in matchups in which the color protection is relevant, but I’m certainly not taking it second here. The fact that I think that most aggro decks are unplayable in a powered Cube doesn’t help its case. I’ve mentioned a few times that Old Man of the Sea is a pet card of mine, but I can’t really justify taking it over Vindicate.

Pack 1, Pick 3:

My Pick:

I see no reason to jump into non-Esper colors just yet. Akroma's Vengeance is fairly mediocre as far as board sweepers go, whereas Baneslayer Angel is pretty darn good in a lot of matchups. Tidehollow Sculler is more of a sideboard card, at least in the control deck I’m ostensibly trying to draft.

Pack 1, Pick 4:

My Pick:

The Gravefather is among the better finishers for this deck, and I’m happy to slam it down. Nothing else in the pack really comes close.

Pack 1, Pick 5:

My Pick:

Moat is actually unbeatable for a lot of decks, and cards like Baneslayer Angel should help me dominate the skies.

Pack 1, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Flametongue Kavu would be a good reason to dip into red were it not for the premium white cards still in the pack. It pains me to pass a Goblin Guide this late, but it’s a little too late to move in on mono-red. That’s too bad since I never actually had a chance to draft a mono-red deck in this Cube. Too busy durdling, I guess.

Anyway, I don’t think Supreme Verdict is necessary since I already have Moat and would rather hold out for a Wrath of God or a Damnation. Planeswalkers are generally quite good, though I would obviously prefer the 4-mana Elspeth, Knight-Errant.

Pack 1, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 9:

My Pick:

I really wasn’t expecting Sylvan Library to come back. I’ll keep an eye out for green dual lands from here on out.

Pack 1, Pick 10:

My Pick:

I’m taking the Signet here in case I want to play Sylvan Library. Otherwise, I’d snap-take Old Man of the Sea.

Pack 1, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 12:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Okay, pick-fourteen Flametongue Kavu shouldn’t realistically ever happen.

Pack 1, Pick 15:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 1:

My Pick:

The person to my right is going to be happy with a second-pick Umezawa's Jitte. I assure you: I’m happier with the first-pick Upheaval.

Pack 2, Pick 2:

My Pick:

These aren’t the dual lands I’m looking for. Oh well, I could pick worse than a Gideon Jura.

Pack 2, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 4:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 5:

My Pick:

I think I should have taken Miscalculation. Phyrexian Arena makes my deck a lot less often than most people think. It’s really good in aggressive decks, but in decks that take infinity turns to win, it can ultimately be a liability.

Pack 2, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 7:

My Pick:

I think it’s pretty close between the Finkel and the Dimir Aqueduct. If I had a Shelldock Isle, I’d definitely take the land.

Pack 2, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Serendib is a boss, but I feel that I have enough cheap instants to make Snapcaster Mage really good.

Pack 2, Pick 9:

My Pick:

I’ll need some discard and/or counterspells if I have any hope of beating combo.

Pack 2, Pick 10:

My Pick:

This is kind of why I don’t value board sweepers that highly in Cube: They’re pretty easy to find. The only ones I care about picking up are Wrath of God and/or Damnation.

Pack 2, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 12:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Both the Demon and the Chronicler are quite good. I think I give a slight edge to the Demon in this deck, but I could be wrong.

Pack 2, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 15:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 1:

My Pick:

I’m not sure if this pick is right. I wanted to give myself the option of playing a fourth color, but even if I don’t, it’s hardly bad. Restoration Angel, Watery Grave, or either of the Signets would have been fine as well.

Pack 3, Pick 2:

My Pick:

I love being passed Library of Alexandria. It’s like Christmas and my birthday rolled into one.

Pack 3, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 4:

My Pick:

Looking back, I should have taken Glen Elendra Archmage here. I need to hedge more against control and combo than I do against aggro. I have plenty of anti-aggro cards already.

Pack 3, Pick 5:

My Pick:

This is a fairly tough pick. Normally, I would take Careful Consideration, but I have enough card-draw. Force of Will, Duress, Wall of Omens, and Diabolic Edict would have easily made my deck in addition to the Sower of Temptation I ended up taking. I feel that Sower of Temptation is enough of a blowout in the matchups in which it’s good, and that’s enough of a reason to take it.

Pack 3, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Someone at this table is going to have all the pieces of a Survival of the Fittest/Recurring Nightmare deck.

Pack 3, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 9:

My Pick:

By this time, I’ve decided I’m not playing the Sylvan Library.

Pack 3, Pick 10:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 12:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 15:

My Pick:

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Here’s where I ended up:

"Alexandria, Not Sylvan"

Planeswalkers (2)
1 Elspeth Tirel
1 Gideon Jura

Despite some hindsight mispicks, I think the deck turned out quite well. I played two intense matches against two different combo decks. In Round 1, I managed to beat a reanimator deck with the seldom-used “target you” option of Ancestral Vision.

Round 2 is the one I find myself still thinking about. It was against a Sneak Attack deck, and I won the first game. I made a judgment call in the second game that probably cost me the match. There was a moment when my opponent had an opportunity to kill me with a Sneak Attack but didn’t. I inferred from this that he didn’t have the pieces of his combo, so I tapped out for an Elspeth Tirel in order to tick it up and get rid of his Lotus Bloom the following turn. I died immediately afterward. Had I played Gideon instead, I might have won, though there’s no way to be sure. In the third game, he had the nut-perfect and combed me out on turn three. There was nothing I could have done.

I got a little grumpy in the video, so I apologize if that’s off-putting to you. I did have some fun with it, so if you stuck around to read the whole article and watch the whole video, I hope you enjoyed the little clip I inserted.

Thanks for reading and/or watching, and I’ll be back next week with some thoughts on Gatecrash Limited. Until then, take care.

Nassim Ketita

arcticninja on Magic Online

http://www.youtube.com/nketita

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