M11: Best Draft Picks

[Thomas David Baker]

Just 3-0'ed a draft so feeling like an expert.

What are the 10 best first Common + Uncommon first picks in M11?

I'm pretty sure these are the best 7:

* Fireball

* Lightning Bolt

* Doom Blade

* Mind Control

* Crystal Ball

* Condemn

* Chandra's Outrage

Then 3 from these 7, I guess:

* Cudgel Troll

* Air Servant

* Armored Ascension

* Assassinate

* Serra Angel

* Corrupt

* Sleep

With honorable mention to these 8?

* Gravedigger

* Garruk's Companion

* Rise from the Grave

* Awakener Druid

* Garruk's Packleader

* Duskdale Wurm

* Juggernaut

* Whispersilk Cloak

What do you think?

[Raymond Wat]

S. Hawks are nuts if they get the right draw. The deck I faced was so aggro that it was over in t5 both games, and my deck was nuts too, just needed time to develop.

Fireball 1st pick obv, no arguement there.

Also, Air Servant is nuts too.

Thomas David Baker said:

I had a quite-good Mono W deck with three Squadron Hawks in it the other day. And two of the +2/+1 to your team pump spells (which I also got last pick last night which seems wrong even though it is quite expensive).

I wonder how early one can "go hawk". I guess if you pick Hawks over removal or other actually good cards your deck gets worse not better, even if you end up with eight of them? So it can only happen by luck where you take them over Silvercoat Lions and sideboard cards. I did like having three of them, though. Would have loved the fourth or more.

sokeeffe said:

I just realised the best card is still unmentioned!

Squadron Hawk!

[ross miles]

not sleep. its not as good in m11 as m10 - often ends up a bad fog.

[Amar Dattani]

i agree - also i was not happy when in the rotisserie my sleep got redirected... :(

ross miles said:

not sleep. its not as good in m11 as m10 - often ends up a bad fog.

[Kieran Symington]

Seems like Redirect was pretty nuts in that format. I had a lethal Fireball Redirected into my own Garruk. Not good.

Amar Dattani said:

i agree - also i was not happy when in the rotisserie my sleep got redirected... :(

ross miles said:

not sleep. its not as good in m11 as m10 - often ends up a bad fog.

[Thom Richardson]

how good do you think redirect is?

Amar Dattani said:

i agree - also i was not happy when in the rotisserie my sleep got redirected... :(

ross miles said:

not sleep. its not as good in m11 as m10 - often ends up a bad fog.

[Dan Barrett]

Pretty sure that doesn't work, as your opponent redirects the damage to you, then as the controller of the source of damage, you can elect not to damage Garruk instead of yourself...

Kieran Symington said:

Seems like Redirect was pretty nuts in that format. I had a lethal Fireball Redirected into my own Garruk. Not good.

Amar Dattani said:

i agree - also i was not happy when in the rotisserie my sleep got redirected... :(

ross miles said:

not sleep. its not as good in m11 as m10 - often ends up a bad fog.

[Dan Barrett]

I've played it once in limited and it was fairly hot. Nice Doom Blade on your own guy!

Thom Richardson said:

how good do you think redirect is?

Amar Dattani said:

i agree - also i was not happy when in the rotisserie my sleep got redirected... :(

ross miles said:

not sleep. its not as good in m11 as m10 - often ends up a bad fog.

[Kieran Symington]

That's quite interesting. Maybe I should actually learn the rules of this game before attempting to play it!

Dan Barrett said:

Pretty sure that doesn't work, as your opponent redirects the damage to you, then as the controller of the source of damage, you can elect not to damage Garruk instead of yourself...

[Max Botten]

My top ten would probably be
Mind Control
Fireball
Doom blade
Serra Angel
Crystal ball
Pacifism
Air Servant
Lightning bolt
Chandra's Outrage
Foresee
I much prefer pacifism to condemn, the best white decks are very agressive, so its not that attacking creatures you care about, its the defensive ones, and the lifegain is very relevant. Air servant is very good, but I'm still underwhelmed by it, its only a bomb against a UW skies deck, where it is less vulnerable, and the tap ability is powerful. Having bolt above outrage is a matter than p1p1 you take bolt as a splash, but in a red deck i prefer outrage as it deals with the problematic creatures for a red deck.
Packleader and Cudgel troll are very good and I'd be happy to first pick them... but the fact that they are blocked by siege mastodon and armored cancrix is both annoying and surprisingly relevant

[Dan Barrett]

Not 100% on that btw, so... JUDGE!

Kieran Symington said:

That's quite interesting. Maybe I should actually learn the rules of this game before attempting to play it!

Dan Barrett said:

Pretty sure that doesn't work, as your opponent redirects the damage to you, then as the controller of the source of damage, you can elect not to damage Garruk instead of yourself...

[Max Botten]

I'm certain your right dan, thats how it worked with harm's way anyway

Dan Barrett said:

Not 100% on that btw, so... JUDGE!

Kieran Symington said:

That's quite interesting. Maybe I should actually learn the rules of this game before attempting to play it!

Dan Barrett said:

Pretty sure that doesn't work, as your opponent redirects the damage to you, then as the controller of the source of damage, you can elect not to damage Garruk instead of yourself...

[Thom Richardson]

It doesn't work becuase the player casting fireball is still the controller of the damage. You dobn't actually have the option to redirect it to your own garruk beucause the planeswalker rules say only noncobat damage an opponet controls can be redirected.

306.7. If noncombat damage would be dealt to a player by a source controlled by an opponent, that opponent may have that source deal that damage to a planeswalker the first player controls instead. This is a redirection effect (see rule 614.9) and is subject to the normal rules for ordering replacement effects (see rule 616). The opponent chooses whether to redirect the damage as the redirection effect is applied.

Dan Barrett said:

Not 100% on that btw, so... JUDGE!
Kieran Symington said:

That's quite interesting. Maybe I should actually learn the rules of this game before attempting to play it!

Dan Barrett said:

Pretty sure that doesn't work, as your opponent redirects the damage to you, then as the controller of the source of damage, you can elect not to damage Garruk instead of yourself...