Draft Report for 18 December 2007

For the very final draft of 2007 (as in final final final). we conducted a quiet 8 man draft at Yishengs house. After people like Keeyao, Stanley, Sebby, Shiyang, and even veteran drafter Jityao, pulled out, we were left with just about enough people to have a reasonably nice draft.

Jonlim - GB treefolk with Doubark and duo TT witch
Terry - UW merfolk aggro with silvergill adepts
Mark - UW merfolk control with STS engine
Clem - R elementals
WX - WG kithkin elf with imperious perfect
YK - RW kith/giants with blach splash for final revels
YS - RB goblins with mad auntie
Leon - 5 colour jank-o-deck with HON

Result board:


Finals report
1st/2nd place match:

Jonlim



2 time defending champion of the past 2 lorwyn drafts, Jonlim has been pretty consistent in recent times as a lorwyn drafter. Today he plays a GB treefolk deck not unlike the one he used to beat Terry on the 5th december draft finals at Linus' house. Can he strike it 3rd time? Here is his decklist.

Jonlim's GB treefolk deck

Maindeck:
10 Forest
8 Swamp
1 Wanderer's Twig
1 Moonglove Extract
3 Battlewand Oak
1 Masked Admirers
1 Treefolk Harbinger
1 Woodland Changeling
1 Cloudcrown Oak
1 Nath's Elite
1 Changeling Titan
1 Briarhorn
1 Oakgnarl Warrior
1 Dauntless Dourbark
1 Gilt Leaf Ambush
2 Lignify
2 Nameless Inversion
1 Eyeblights Ending
1 Skeletal Changeling
2 Warren Pilferers
2 Thorntooth Witch
1 Final Revels

Notable SBs:
1 Lignify
2 Bog Strider Ash
1 Rootgrapple
1 Cloudthresher
1 Oakgnarl Warrior
1 Immaculate Magistrate
2 Lys Alana Huntsmaster
1 Elvish Handservant
1 Incremental Growth


Yinkwan



Flashback Linus' house draft, Yinkwan at 20+ life and Linus at 2 life. Linus was at the verge of conceding 3rd spot to Yinkwan. However, horrible plays and sheer luck turned the game around and Linus found himself "stealing" 3rd spot from Yinkwan. Since then, Yinkwan has learnt his lesson and clinched 3rd spot in the draft at Leon's house. Now, he aims to do much better, as he is guaranteed a Top 2 placing. Will he make it even sweeter by winning?

Yinkwan's RW Kithkin/Giant deck

Maindeck:
6 Plains
7 Mountains
2 Swamp
1 Ancient Amphitheatre
1 Vivid Meadow
2 Blind Spot Giant
1 Plover Knights
1 Avian Changeling
1 Lash Out
1 Kinsbaile Balloonist
1 Cloudgoat Ranger
2 Axegrinder Giant
2 Knight of Meadowgrain
1 Final Revels
1 Wizened Cenn
2 Stinkdrinker Daredevil
2 Kithkin Greatheart
1 Giant's Ire
1 Moonglove Extract
1 Thundercloud Shaman
1 Goldmeadow Harrier
1 Lairwatch Giant
1 Kithkin Harbinger

Notable SBs:
2 Flamekin Spitfire
1 Hurly Burly

Game 1:

Yinkwan wins the die roll and plays first. Plains is matched by Swamp. a Mountain and a Kithkin Greatheart are then matched by Forest and Woodland Changeling. Plains and Stinkdriker soon follow, while Jonlim drops a Forest and Battlewand Oak. Yinkwan misses his land drop , while Jonlim drops his Forest, a Cloudcrown Oak, and swings with the 5/7 Battlewand Oak, sending Kithkin Greatheart to the grave. Yinkwan then casts Kithkin Harbinger for Goldmeadow Harrier and passes. Jonlim plays Forest and Battlewand Oak number two and swings with Cloudcrown Oak, 5/7 Batttlewand Oak and the Woodland Changeling. Yinkwan blocks the Woodland Changeling with Stinkdrinker Daredevil and Kithkin Harbinger, expecting tricks from Jonlim but there was none. 8 to the dome instead.

Jonlim 20 Yinkwan 12

Yinkwan drops his Goldmeadow Harrier and passes. Jonlim drops Swamp and Warren Pilferers for the Woodland Changeling, to give the 3/3 some haste. He attacks with the hasty 3/3 and the Cloudcrown Oak. Kithkin Harbinger gets in the way of Warren Pilferers, and another 3 damage taken by Yinkwan. Things aren't looking very good for him.

Jonlim 20 Yinkwan 9

Yinkwan drops Mountain and a fatty 6/4 Axegrinder Giant. Jonlim Drops swamp and attacks with Warren Pilferers, double Battlewand Oak, and a Cloudcrown Oak. Giant gets in the way of Cloudcrown Oak. In the first real combo of the finals, Jonlim uses Nameless Inversion on the Axegrinder Giant. Since the Inversion is a treefolk spell, both Battlewand Oaks suddenly become 3/5 each, and with the Pilferers, 9 damage gets through to spare Yinkwan further agony in the best possible start (perfect game) Jonlim can get and the worst one for Yinkwan.

Jonlim 20 Yinkwan 0 (Jonlim leads 1-0 on aggregate)

Game 2:

Yinkwan opts to go first. An Ancient Amphitheatre reveals Blind Spot Giant and a turn 1 Goldmeadow Harrier sees him off to a good start. Jonlim drops Swamp and passes. Yinkwan drops plains and swings.

Jonlim 19 Yinkwan 20

Jonlim drops Swamp and passes. Yinkwan lays mountain and Blind-Spot Giant. He swings with the 1/1.

Jonlim 18 Yinkwan 20

Jonlim lays Swamp and passes, obviously getting a mana flood of the wrong type. Yinkwan drops plains and Kithkin Harbinger for a Kinsbaile Balloonist. He swings again with the Goldmeadow Harrier and passes. at end of turn, Jonlim Nameless Inversions the Blind Spot Giant.

Jonlim 17 Yinkwan 20

Jonlim lays Forest and ends. Yinkwan plays the Kinsbaile Balloonist down and swings with both the Goldmeadow Harrier and the Harbinger. At end of turn, Jonlim plays Briarhorn.

Jonlim 15 Yinkwan 20

Jonlim lays Forest and casts Masked Admirers, then casts and sacks Wanderer's Twig for a Forest. Yinkwan drops Mountain and Plover Knights, and then Balloonist and the flying Harbinger comes through.

Jonlim 12 Yinkwan 20

Jonlim does nothing. Yinkwan lays PLains and Moonglove extract, a quick swing with Plover Knights, Balloonist and Harbinger drop Jonlim to 6 and a 1 turn clock to find an answer.

Jonlim 6 Yinkwan 20

No answer. Yinkwan wins, answering the 20-0 loss in the first game with a 20-0 win of his own.

Jonlim 0 Yinkwan 20 (aggregate 1-1)



Game 3

Jonlim subs out Skeletal Changeling and Oakgnarl Warrior for Lignify and Cloudthresher. "I need the element of surprise" he says. He goes first. Swamp, Vivid Meadow, Swamp, Plains, and then Knight of Meadowgrain comes down for Yinkwan. Jonlim drops Forest and Moonglove Extracts the poor knight. Yinkwan drops Mountain and a Kithkin Greatheart. Jonlim drops Forest and a Battlewand Oak. Yinkwan drops Plains and Lash Out on the Battlewand Oak wins the Clash (Moonglove Extract vs Forest) taking Jonlim down by 3 life points. The Kithkin Greatheart charges in for an extra 2 damage.

Jonlim 15 Yinkwan 20

Jonlim regroups by using Lignify on the Kithkin Greatheart. Yinkwan casts Mountain down and then a Stinkdrinker Daredevil. Jonlim drops a Forest, and Eyeblight Endings the Stinkdrinker Daredevil. Yinkwan has another Stinkdrinker and lays it down, while Jonlim Curses. Moonglove Extract was also played by Yinkwan. Jonlim passes.

"The draws are conspiring against me" - Jonlim

Yinkwan lays down Kinsbaile Balloonist. Jonlim finally grabs his 6th land, a swamp, and Thorntooth Witch a.k.a Mr. Nameless Inversion comes down. Yinkwan attacks with the Balloonist and a flying Stinkdrinker to take Jonlim down by a further 3 life. Goldmeadow Harrier on the Postcombat.

Jonlim 12 Yinkwan 20

Jonlim drops Forest, and another Thorntooth Witch trigger the first to kill the Stinkdrinker Daredevil. Yinkwan attacks with the Balloonist and Harrier refusing specifically to give the Harrier flying. Jonlim gets suspicious and doesnt block. (Intention was to let Thorntooth Witch block, play Thundercloud Shaman and sack Moonglove Extract to kill Witch). Sensing up-to-no-good-random shits, Jonlim raises his brows. However, Yinkwans trick didnt work. Jonlim takes 3. Yinkwan lays Kithkin Harbinger for a Plover Knights.

Jonlim 9 Yinkwan 20

Jonlim plays a Dauntless Dourbark, and double trigger on the Thorntooth Witches kill the Kithkin Harbinger and Kinsbaile Balloonist. Jonlim swings with double Thorntooth Witch, one gets blocked by the earlier 0/4 Lignified Kithkin Greatheart, and the other goes through.

Jonlim 9 Yinkwan 17

Plover knights comes down for Yinkwan. Jonlim drops Cloudcrown Oak and double Nameless Inversion triggers (2 Thorntooth Witch) occurs again. This time Plover Knights and Goldmeadow Harrier are the victims. Jonlim swings with an 8/8 trampling Dauntless Dourbark and double Thorntooth Witch for a whopping 14 damage.

Jonlim 9 Yinkwan 3

"That is really really sick" - Yinkwan

Yinkwan lays Thundercloud Shaman and kills nothing. That wasn't going to help his situation much.

Jonlim 9 Yinkwan 0 (Jonlim leads 2-1 on aggregate)


Game 4

Yinkwan opts to play. Vivid Meadow. Forest. Ancient Amphitheatre revealing nothing. Forest. Mountain and Avian Changeling for Yinkwan. Forest and Moonglove Extract for Jonlim. Mountain for Yinkwan, and a hopeful swing from the Avian Changeling is met by Moonglove Extract. Yinkwan then plays Kinsbaile Balloonist on the postcombat. Jonlim drops his 4th Forest in a row and Dauntless Dourbark. Yinkwan drops Mountain and a Cloudgoat Ranger, before swinging with Balloonist.

Jonlim 18 Yinkwan 20

Jonlim drops Swamp and Cloudcrown Oak. Yinkwan thinks hard and passes. Jonlim drops Forest and then Lignify on the Cloudgoat Ranger. He attacks with the 8/8 trampling Dourbark.

Jonlim 18 Yinkwan 12

Yinkwan lays down a Goldmeadow Harrier and a Blind Spot Giant. Jonlim lays a Swamp and Thorntooth Witch comes down. Yinkwan then plays plains and then Goldmeadow Harrier taps down CLoudcrown Oak. He then FINAL REVELS giving all his creatures +2/+0 and goes in for the alpha. He turns to tap all and was going to sweep his cards when Jonlim pointed out that Blind Spot Giant cannot attack as Cloudgoat Ranger got Lignified earlier. Despair for Yinkwan, he did not count on that to happen. Jonlim was left with 3 life. It was the worst possible play YK made in this finals (not counting the one in the group stages) and HE KNOWS IT. and when Jonlim alpha-ed in the next turn, Yinkwan was left shaking his head, knowing that he lost to bad play on his own part. After all the hype and early nerves, the onlookers were almost dissappointed to see the match end because of a single bad play.

Jonlim 3 Yinkwan 0 (Jonlim wins match, 3-1 on aggregate)

Jonlim's patience and nerve was tested many times throughout this matchup, but a cool head and calm mind was enough to see him through, while Yinkwan was doing the hard work, but also committing the most basic errors, which was dissappointing by his standards. It could have been different if he had tried to be a little more patient with his plays, thinking through each decision a little more, but as it stands, Jonlim has won the draft, 3 times in a row now.

Finals report
3rd/4th place match:

Both Mark and Wei Xiang have not been placed in the Top 4 before. This is the first time for both of them and it is a considerable achievement. Of course, getting 3rd place would be a nicer treat. Mark is playing Merfolks with a crazy amount of Judge of Currents while WeiXiang has concocted a very aggressive Kithkin/Elf deck with the scary Imperious Perfect to boot.



Mark's UW Merfolk deck

Maindeck:
10 Island
7 Plains
2 Æthersnipe
1 Avian Changeling
4 Judge of Currents
2 Inkfathom Divers
1 Silvergill Douser
1 Stonybrook Angler
1 Surgespanner
2 Broken Ambitions
1 Captivating Glance
2 Faerie Trickery
1 Neck Snap
2 Ponder
2 Scattering Stroke
1 Whirlpool Whelm
1 Summon the School

Notable SBs:
1 Wispmare
1 Ethereal Whiskergill
1 Protective Bubble
1 Aquitect's Will



WeiXiang's WG Kithkin Elf deck

Maindeck:
17 combination of Plains and Forests (exact ratio unknown)
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Goldmeadow Harrier
1 Hoofprints of the Stag
1 Austere Command
1 Plover Knights
1 Battle Mastery
1 Kithkin Harbinger
1 Changeling Hero
2 Nath's Elite
2 Wren's Run Vanquisher
1 Kithkin Daggerdare
2 Elvish Branchbender
1 Moonglove Extract
1 Woodland Changeling
1 Imperious Perfect
1 Fistful of Force
2 Gilt-Leaf Seer
1 Cloudcrown Oak
1 Leaf Gilder
1 Elvish Promenade

We begin the report with WeiXiang 1-0 up after racing to a fast aggressive start.

Game 2:

Mark lost and opted to go first. Turn 2 JOC was swiftly responded by a Wren's Run Vanquisher revealing Woodland Changeling. Mark had no turn 3 play and WX promptly knocked down a Gilt Leaf Seer, which was Broken Ambitioned by Mark (Douser > Swamp, Mark wins clash). The resultant mills were: Cloudcrown Oak, Nath's Elite and double Forest. Vanquisher turns sideways for 3 damage which was let through.

Mark 17 WX 20

Plains and a Douser comes down. JOC swings in for the "I gain 1, you lose 1" trick.

Mark 18 WX 19

WX is unfazed. Down comes Woodland Changeling and Kithkin Daggerdare to buff his army. WRV comes in again for 3 damage.

Mark 15 WX 19

WX makes another move to bolster his position. The ever fearsome Nath's Elite comes down (Captivating Glance <> Imperious Perfect), though the Imperious Perfect right at the top of WX's library isn't something very heartwarming. He does get the Perfect for a turn though so WX can't use it. Imperious Perfect slams down on the table from WX and WRV and the Woodland Changeling comes down once again. This time Mark is ready. Nath's Elite gets in the way of WRV, trading with it, while Douser nerfs Woodland Changeling again, however, WX calmly taps the Kithkin Daggerdare to pump up the Woodland Changeling. Mark takes 2 more damage (factoring in the lifegain from JOC trigger)

Mark 11 WX 19

Mark drops a Inkfathom Divers and passes the turn. WX doesn't let up on the assault despite the minor setback on the previous turn. Imperious Perfect is already boosting up his army and it isn't hard to see why he still remains calm. He taps Imperious Perfect for an elf token and then Elvish Promenade for 4 tokens makes Mark a sad man. Oh, and these are 2/2 tokens btw. A 3/3 Woodland Changeling comes charging in, and Daggerdare makes it fatter to 5/5, though Douser stems the bleeding nerfing it back to 2/5, and JOC triggers, Mark taking only 1 damage.

Mark 10 WX 19

Mark gets his 6th land and down comes Æthersnipe on the Imperious Perfect. The 2/2 elf dudes suddenly grow skinnier. Infathom Divers comes charging in, triggering JOC in the process. Damage was let through.

Mark 11 WX 16

WX resurges in with Elvish Branchbender, and then throws the Imperious Perfect back. He throws the 3/3 Woodland Changeling and 2 buffed elf tokens into the fray. Æthersnipe stands in the way of the Woodland Changeling while one of the elf tokens gets doused. Surprisingly no Daggerdare tricks this time and the Woodland Changeling dies. 2 damage goes through but the JOC trigger through the douser gains Mark back 1 life. JOC is really keeping Mark in this game, although he needs to pull something good out to truly gain a foothold in this game.

Mark 10 WX 16

The "pull something good out" finally happened when the 2nd Æthersnipe touches down for Mark, targetting the Imperious Perfect once more. WX grudgingly accepts it and takes it back into his hand. Inkfathom Divers and the original Æthersnipe comes in, and both dont get blocked. Mark gains 1 life, WX takes 7. Now we have a game on our hands.

Mark 11 WX 9

WX drops the Imperious Perfect straight back in. He taps his Elvish Branchbender, deciding that he would start using his Forests as Heavy Artillery. Here comes a 7/7 Forest bashing its way in. Silvergill Douser taps to nerf the Forest. WX once again uses his extremely-annoying-for-Mark Kithkin Daggerdare to pump it back up, and the result? a 7/10 Forest -.-' Ouch.

Mark 5 WX 9

Mark casts Summon the School and passes. WX makes an 8/8 Forest and SWINGS WITH ALL except the Daggerdare. After declare blockers step, there was one 2/2 elf token left unblocked, despite the fact the Mark had the option with blocking with Douser and/or JOC. This came back to haunt him when WX cast Fistful of Force and won the clash, resulting in a 6/6 unblocked guy to win the game.

Mark has to learn his lesson here. When an alpha strike comes in, defend at all costs. You never know what tricks might come in. If JOC and/or Silvergill Douser had did their part by blocking, the game would easily be in his hands as he could swing the next turn for the win.

Mark 0 WX 9 (WX leads 2-0 on aggregate)

Game 3

Mark curses to himself while both players shuffle up for the 3rd, and possibly the final game. If he had turned the tide in the previous game, the scores would have been at 1-1 and there would be everything to play for, but at 2-0, there was a mountain to climb. Turn 2 douser was met by a turn 2 Kithkin Daggerdare. Turn 3 saw no spell from Mark while WX swung with Daggerdare. Mark blocked with Douser and then tapped it, but was dismayed to be shown a Fistful of Force (Island <> Goldmeadow Harrier), and winning the clash guaranteed Mark 3 mana on the next turn. Both players opted to place their clashed cards on the bottom. Mark played an island. Using his mana from the Scattering Stroke and his lands he Æthersniped the Daggerdare. WX dropped a forest and played it down again plus an Elvish Branchbender. Æthersnipe swings in the next turn for 4 damage.

Mark 17 WX 16

Cloudcrown Oak was cast down by WX, who does not seem afraid of the Æthersnipe. Mark merely shrugs and plays Broken Ambitions for 2 (Wispmare > WRV) and winning the clash, pulls out 3 Forests and a Nath's Elite from WX, not exactly what Mark wanted to see going down the drain. WX swings with the Elvish Branchbender and pumps it to 4/4 with the Kithkin Daggerdare. Mark accepts the damage and this is turning out to be a race.

Mark 13 WX 16

Island and Æthersnipe swing. Enough said.

Mark 13 WX 12

Woodland Changeling laid down. Branchbender swings.

"Wait" - Mark

Neck Snap. Bye Bye Branchbender.

WX looks sad. Mark drops Plains and Inkfathom Divers, Scry 4 (Ponder Ponder Island Island) and rearranges. WX drops Gilt-Leaf Seer and attacks with Woodland Changeling, pumping it with Daggerdare for a 4/4 surprise.

Mark 9 WX 12

Mark Ponders for another Ponder, and Ponders again (island island plain). He sighs and rearranges his library.

"Does he know that Ponder allows him to shuffle?" - Yinkwan whispers to Jonlim

Æthersnipe whacks. In comes another 4 damage.

Mark 9 WX 8

Elvish Promenade comes in for WX, Scattering Stroke from Mark puts a stop to the nonsense (Island vs Forest) . Woodland Changeling whacks and Inkfathom Divers stands in its way. Kithkin Daggerdare pumps the Changeling and the 3/3 blocker dies. Mark lays a Plains and whacks with Æthersnipe. WX sacks the Gilt-Leaf Seer to it. WX drops a Nath's Elite, winning the clash (Plains < Island)

Mark 0 WX 8 (WX wins match, 3-0 on aggregate)


Play errors probably cost Mark this match. His deck had enough to keep WX at bay and possibly win this matchup, with the correct plays, but due to certain errors, he could only extend the handshake, and reflect on what it could have been....

Errors to correct:
Game 2 - Attacking/Blocking decision error
Game 3 - READ THE CARD CALLED PONDER!!! You can shuffle your library with it -.-

Lorwyn Draft scheduled for 18 December 2007

There is a Lorwyn Draft scheduled for 18 December 2007 at Yishengs House. Participants involved please report at Serangoon MRT at 830am on Tuesday. Please do not be late as it will delay the whole draft. As usual, please bring cash for cards, card sleeves, and lands. See you soon and I cant wait to draft with u guys soon.

Drafters involved: Jonlim Soonyoong Jityao Leon Keeyao Yinkwan Stanley WX Mark Yisheng

Draft Report for 12 December 2007

This day was a very diverse draft. First and foremost, Chinyiksin was replaced by Muz in the 10 man pool. Here were the breakdowns of the various players and decks played.



Jonlim - R/G/U elementals, gassy smokebraiders

(smokebraider/Æthersnipe/faultgrinder/briarhorn)











Leon - W/U kithkin/merfolk control splash R/stall to late game

(cryptic command, surgespanner, sower, brion, thoughtweft trio, cloudgoat ranger, arbiter)











Jityao - R/B elementals, disruption/acceleration/stall to late game

(smokebraider/mournwhelk/faultgrinder/vess)









Y.K. - G/B elves, beatdown with late game wincons

(strangle/epic pprtions/oknarl warrior/huntsmaster/shriekmaw)









Stan - Mono W kithkin, low curve aggro fast beatdown

(wizened cenn, cenn's heir, kinsbaile balloonist)









S.Y. - R/B elementals, incarnation special

(smokebraider/ashling/hostility/dread)









J. Tay - G/B elves/kithkin/merfolk, low curve aggro with STS engine

(imperious perfect, judge of currents, summon the school)









Muz - W/G/B treefolk/merfolk, midrange beaters with treefolk bomb

(timber protector, doran the siege tower)









K.Y - G/B elves, low curve aggro beatdown

(imperious perfect)









Yish - R/B goblins, low curve aggro beatdown with fear

(Fodder Launch, Pie Sneak, Warren Pilferers)









Key notes to the card picking: no one went faeries as there was not enough to hold a deck together, and 8 smokebraiders being passed around made for 3 elemental players who all drafted very strong decks. Nonetheless, Leon was the one who caught the eye with many many bombs in his U/W deck, and Jonlim, whose elementals deck boasted a whopping 5 smokebraiders, 3 briarhorns and 3 Æthersnipes. Another interesting fact was that of the other 2 elemental players, none were weak, Jityao opting for disruption through smokebraider powering out mournwhelks and faultgrinders, while Shiyang has 2 bomb incarnations in the form of Hostility and Dread. Heres how our finalists arrived at their position.
























3rd/4th placing match - preview and report (On field note-taker: Muz)







Yinkwan (G/B elves) vs Yisheng (R/B goblins)














It is interesting to note that whenever Yinkwan drafts Lorwyn, he ends up with elves.









However, most of those forays have ended in more times of failure than success. Failing to top 4 for the past few drafts has been a disappointment, but after finding himself unbeaten in the group stages until finally being beaten by Leon's chock-full-of-bombs deck (which was no sin since his deck was full of bombs) He managed to negotiate a very tricky tie against shiyang and his elemental bombs. Yinkwan edged that match 2-1 after falling 1-0 behind, relying mostly on combat tricks to take down the big elementals down and getting favourable trades. However, disaster struck when he lost in quickfire fashion to Jonlim 2-0 in the semi-finals, where jonlim took the game too aggressively in game 1, and a mana screw for yinkwan in game 2, signalled a dissappointing loss. However, it is wrong to write him off because he is one of the most experienced players in the draft pool today, having played constructed both online and offline, and it would be a mistake to underestimate him based on those unfavourable results that have gone his way.


















Yinkwans deck mixes early game critters with lots of removal as well as late game table-turners. His favourable early plays are elvish handservant on turn 1 and building further with a woodland changeling turn 2. Elvish branchbender at the 3 casting cost helps smooth out the curve. Once he hits land drops 4 and 5 his deck revs into high gear as many of his tech comes online, including huntsmaster, nath elite, moonglove winnower, shriekmaw. 3 copies of weed strangle and nameless inversion ensure that pesky blockers or fatties can be cleared out, and 1 emergency copy of lignify reinforces that. His deck shines in the midgame where many topdecks can alter the balance of the game. The removal / psuedo removal cards, strangles, inversions, deathtouch elves, gilt-leaf ambush and nath's elite serve him well to clear a way through to beatdown. Once late game kicks in, the big guns come in. Epic proportions is arguably the best creature aura in lorwyn, while oakgnarl warrior is tough to take down at 5/7 trample vigilance. Being elves, eyeblights ending is mostly useless against yinkwan, and when his creatures get bigger and bigger, they gradually move out of range of the standard removal including tarfire, inversions and moonglove extract. So far, he has not lost a game with epic proportions in play. How will that change against Yisheng? Lets wait and see.









Yisheng is only on his second draft and he is in the top 4 of this 10 man draft pool. No one has achieved such a feat in our circles. The first time he drafted, he made a mono U control deck splashing W for 2 oblivion rings which blew everyone away. Unfortunately, some inexperience on his part denied him a place in the top 4. This time however, he was not to be denied, as he comfortably got the better of everyone else in his group except jonlim who went top. After that, he comfortably dealt with Stanleys fierce Mono W kithkin deck by outracing him, and despite making a few play errors, managed to come away scot free at 2-0. He then lost badly to jityao when jityao's mournwhelks forced him to discard all his tech, and ended up in the losers bracket, facing yinkwan for a mouth watering 3rd/4th place match.



















Yishengs deck goes R/B, which means it has access to much of the most powerful point removal in the format. Moonglove Extract lends its help to him.With Boggart Loggers and Squeaking Pie Sneak, an early damage of 2-4 per turn is not ahard task to accomplish. The back-up of Tarfire and Moonglove Extract can easily create the early-game advantage by destroying creatures that are potential irritants. Caterwauling Boggart and Spiderwig Boggart also prevent opponentsʼ blockers from interfering with the aggressive goblins. Countering monsters with high toughness, Hornet Harasser and Mudbutton Torchrunner also play an important role, with the potential to stall or turn the game in the playerʼs advantage. Not forgetting Fodder Launch and Tar Pitcher, which can be easily employed if oneʼs field is filled with goblins. Boggart Birth Rite, Warren Pilferers and Footbottom Feast are cards that cause recursion to be scary. Thundercloud Shaman, a powerful non-goblin, also helps as an emergency board clearer and sending creatures like Mudbotton Torchrunner to the graveyard. The sole copy of Mournwhelk helps in picking out trumps from the opponent before he can play it, which is effective in turning the tables during late game.







Game 1







Yisheng won the die roll and went first. Soon he was left to rue NOT choosing to mulligan when he missed his 3rd land drop and 5th land drops onwards, and had only Boggart Loggers, Spiderwig Boggart and Mudbutton Torchrunner to show. Yinkwan on the other hand, developed further with Lys Alana Huntsmaster, Hunter of Eyeblights and Elvish Branchbender. Eyeblights Ending on the Loggers, followed by plays involving lots and lots of elves due to the Lys Alana Huntsmaster which generates a steady supply of elf tokens causes Yisheng to lose the opening game without putting up much of a fight.















"My forest is now 8/8. Swing with all" - Yinkwan







"Stuck on 3 lands...." - Yisheng







Yinkwan 12 Yisheng 0 (Yinkwan leads 1-0 on aggregate)











Game 2







Nothing was played until the 3rd turn when Yisheng dropped a Moonglove Extract. Spiderwig Boggart soon followed and then Yinkwan answered with Bog Strider Ash.







"Finally a creature!" - Yinkwan







The treefolk did not get to live long though when Yisheng sacrificed the Moonglove Extract and a Tarfire to send it tumbling into the graveyard and swung.







Yinkwan 18 Yisheng 20







Yinkwan then played Hornet Harasser, and once again Yisheng dealt with the threat. This time, he attacked with his Spiderwig Boggart, and when Yinkwan did not block, Fodder Launch saw all the board empty while Yinkwan was staring at his diminishing life total, as he received another 7 damage total this turn.







Yinkwan 11 Yisheng 20







Yinkwan was drawing land like nobodys business. Yisheng played out his own Hornet Harasser which was duly answered by Nameless Inversion. However, the next turn he followed up with another Hornet and Mudbutton Torchrunner, which Yinkwan did not have an answer to. Yisheng swung with both creatures, and Yinkwan tapped to play Gilt Leaf Ambush which lost the clash. He opted to kill the Mudbutton with the elf tokens and duly received 3 more damage from its go into graveyard effect.















Yinkwan 8 Yisheng 20







Yinkwan was not getting any creatures, and Yisheng ensured a miserable outing for Yinkwan when another Mudbutton Torchrunner saw play, along with Mournwhelk hardcasted. 2 turns of unresisted attacking saw Yisheng grab a perfect game (20-0, not receiving any damage).







Yinkwan 0 Yisheng 20 (aggregate 1-1)













Game 3




"I'm tired, can we play best-of-3 instead?" - Yinkwan




"If you want to play best-of-3, then try to win 3 matches in a row lor!" - Jonlim




Yisheng opens with a turn 2 Squeaking Pie Sneak while Yinkwan has to wait a turn longer for his first creature, an Elvish Branchbender. Pie Sneak went in for Sneaky 2 damage, and the Elvish Branchbender replied for 2 damage, but it all went wrong when Yisheng missed his 3rd and 4th land drop. It got worse as Bog Strider Ash saw play for Yinkwan, though the sneaky goblin managed to get 4 damage in total.









"Jit why u never shuffle properly!" - Yisheng




Yinkwan 16 Yisheng 14




The 5th land drop was nailed by Yisheng and Boggart Loggers came out, but everything went wrong when Yinkwan Weed Strangled the sneak and won the clash, gaining him 2 life.




"Sneaky goblin isn't so sneaky anymore" - remark by Jonlim from the other table




Swinging with Elvish Branchbender and Bog Strider Ash saw Yisheng drop to 10. Yisheng drew into a Footbottom Feast which he used to just draw another card. He was very sad when nothing came up. Yinkwan continued the assault and hit Yisheng down to 6.




Yinkwan 18 Yisheng 6


Mudbutton Torchrunner saw play from Yisheng, who was very frustrated with his land screw. Yisheng used Shriekmaw on the red goblin which responded by killing back the Shriekmaw. It didnt matter as lethal damage hit Yisheng 2 turns later.





Yinkwan 18 Yisheng 0 (Yinkwan leads 2-1 on aggregate)









Game 4




Yinkwan's sideboarded Warren Scourge Elf saw early play on turn 2 while Yisheng knocked down a turn 3 Mudbutton Torchrunner. Woodland Changeling came down for YK the next turn and the immune-to-goblin elf got through for first blood. The Torchrunner then attacked with YK deciding not to block, before Tarfire on the Woodland Changeling sent it tumbling.




Yinkwan 19 Yisheng 19




Yinkwan was unfazed and laid a Ghostly Changeling and the Warren Scourge got through again. Yisheng used Boggart Birth Rite on the Tarfire to get it back, and recast it to knock down the Ghostly Changeling, to the amusement of Yinkwan. He then swung again with the Torchrunner.




Yinkwan 18 Yisheng 18




The problems for Yisheng escalated at turn 5 when Nath's Elite saw play. The Warren Scourge, getting through for damage again. Yisheng responded well by playing down Hornet Harassar and swung again with the Torchrunner.




Yinkwan 17 Yisheng 17




Now Yisheng's problems got a whole lot worse. Nath's Elite forced Hornet to block and took it down, while an unblocked Warren Scourge grew suddenly to 6/6 when Epic Proportions hit play. Being Yinkwan's star card for the past 2 drafts, Epic Proportions is always going to be harsh on Yisheng. 6 unblocked damage with more to come isn't a laughing matter.





Yinkwan 17 Yisheng 11




Yisheng drew into Moonglove extract which came a turn too late. He swung with Torchrunner and sighed, almost resigned that he wasn't going to make it. Yinkwan then took his Shriekmaw out and killed the Torchrunner which traded with the Shriekmaw. He then threw down Woodland Changeling and swung again with the 6/6 unblockable.




Yinkwan 17 Yisheng 5




Yisheng's response was to use handshake, targeted at Yinkwan.




Yinkwan 17 Yisheng 0 (Yinkwan wins match, aggregate 3-1)












1st/2nd placing match - preview and report (On field note-taker: Leon)




Jonlim (R/G/U elementals) vs Jit Yao (R/B elementals)



Jonlim is the defending champion of the previous draft. His treefolk deck packed with bombs was more than a match for Terry's giants in the previous final.















This time he drafted a R/G/U elementals deck relying heavily on Smokebraiders to gain tempo. Mind you, he took 5 of the 8 Smokebraiders that ran around in the card pool. Since getting a very early Incandescent Soulstoke on pick 4/5, there was no looking back as he bolstered his deck with as many Smokebraiders as he could find, as well as any Æthersnipes and briarhorns which went under the radar. The blue splash for Æthersnipes and green splash for Briarhorns make his mid/late game very hard to beat. The result of such picks is a deck which could potentially power out Briarhorns on turn 3, and Æthersnipes or Faultgrinders on turn 4. The supporting cast include Soulbright Flamekin, Inner Flame Igniter, as well as decent removal in the form of Lash Out and Consuming Bonfire. Heat Shimmer was more often than not a very potent game breaker, with the amount of fat running around.









Jityao is the extreme underachiever. Since taking top spot with his mono black control deck that ran Avator Of Woe and Damnation in the Time Spiral/Planar Chaos draft, he has been rather dissappointing in this new Lorwyn format. He tried faeries and didn't do too well, he tried elves and failed even more horribly.















However, with the elemental concoction he brewed up this time, the story seemed to continue. When he placed 4th in the group stages, Jityao was almost down and out, and a quarterfinal match with the top seed of the other group, Leon, was something he wanted to avoid. Despite boasting bombs of every sort, Jityao produced the upset of the day by knocking Leon out cold 2-1, and then eased past Yisheng and his goblin weenies 2-0 to find himself playing for top spot. Also relying on Smokebraiders but playing less copies than Jonlim, Jityao's black splash gives him the edge of having more removal such as Eyeblights' Ending. The star card in his deck is one that is highly underrated, the silent hero known as Mournwhelk. Whether hardcasted or evoked, the 4 copies of Mournwhelk in Jityao's deck are frightening as they strip away tech in hand before they can even be played, rendering bomb cards useless as they sit haplessly in the graveyard. Liliana Vess is not childs' play either, and could prove to be the edge in tight games. This Elementals vs Elementals matchup is especially mouth watering, because although both players opted to play elementals, the game plan was slightly different: Jityao going a more disruption route, while Jonlim aims to power out fat and swarm with elementals as quickly as possible.







Game 1



"How the hell did you beat Leon?!...." - Jonlim, shuffling for the game



"Mournwhelk!" - Jityao, also shuffling



"Mournwhelk strips my hand of everything!" - Leon, note-taker for the match, frustrated








After the handshake, Jonlim wins the die roll and opts to go first.


Mountain for Jonlim was swiftly followed by Vivid Marsh from Jit Yao. Jonlim then plays his second Mountain and the gassy braider makes his appearance.



"Oh, that!" - Jityao, when Smokebraider is played





Jityao merely plays a swamp and passes. Jonlim misses his land drop for the umpteenth time the whole day, but remains unfazed because 5 maindeck Smokebraider answers ALL your mana problems. He draws a card, thinks a bit then passes the turn. Jityao then plays a swamp and Eyeblight's Ending on the gassy braider. Jonlim ensures the braider does its part before dying by tapping it and 2 lands to cast briarhorn in response. Jonlim then attacks with the 3/3 unopposed on his own turn.



Jonlim 20 Jit Yao 17



Jityao evokes a Mournwhelk and Jonlim thinks for some time before Faultgrinder and Consuming Bonfire both hit the bin. He passes the turn, obviously rattled by his own missed land drop. Jonlim misses the next land drop as well, but turns Briarhorn sideways once more and passes.



Jonlim 20 Jit Yao 14



Jityao draws into a swamp, and passes the turn. Jonlim raises his eyebrows slightly, wondering if Jit Yao is hiding some tricks. Jonlim turns Briarhorn sideways yet again. Then gassy braider number two comes down on the postcombat, to the apparant dismay of Jit Yao.



"I'd gladly trade lands for those" - Jit Yao



Jonlim 20 Jit Yao 11



Jityao drops a Vivid Marsh and ends the turn. Jonlim swings Briarhorn, and then drops Flamekin Harbinger for Briarhorn.



"Ooh why didn't i see that" - Jit Yao, when Flamekin Harbinger sees play



Jonlim 20 Jit Yao 8



Jityao evokes Faultgrinder on Jonlim's Vivid Creek and passes. Jonlim plays down Briarhorn, Heatshimmer another one and swings with all. Jit Yao sweeps his cards. First match turned out to be a one-sided perfect game for Jonlim.




Jonlim 20 Jit Yao 0 (Jonlim leads 1-0 on aggregate)







Game 2







Jonlim took out a faultgrinder for a wanderer's twig.



"If he's playing disruption i need to have a better mana fixer" - Jonlim



Both players drew and Jonlim indicated he would keep. Jonlim's deck has been keeping one and two landers all day, with wanderer's twig and smokebraider as get-out-of-jail cards. Jit Yao pondered to mulligan but chose to keep.



Mountain for Jit Yao was responded by Vivid Creek for Jonlim. Swamp for Jit Yao, and then Mountain for Jonlim, along with MVP Smokebraider. Jit Yao didn't like any of this nonsense and Lash Out on the braider at end of turn made sure nothing good came out of it. On his own turn he then laid down Vivid Marsh. Jonlim topdecked another braider, laid a mountain and played it. He then dropped a Wanderer's Twig.



"oh...." - Jityao, upon seeing the second braider



Swamp came down for Jityao, and then Caterwauling Boggart saw play for him. Jonlim sacked his Wanderer's Twig for a forest on the upkeep and laid it down. Jit Yao then made his move with Swamp and then... LILIANA VESS! Vess took down an island from Jonlim's hand to move it up to 6 counters.



"what the hell" - Jonlim





At the end of Jit Yao's turn, Jonlim cast Lash Out on the Caterwauling Boggart, and lost the clash. He played down a Forest and... Æthersnipe came down to bounce Vess. The look of dismay on Jit Yao's face didn't match Jonlim's emotionless look. Jit Yao now had a 4/4 to deal with.





Jityao laid down a Mountain, then Flamekin Bladewhirl revealing Glarewielder and then the Glarewielder himself came down, making himself unblockable for that turn. Glarewielder turns sideways for 3 damage. Jonlim plonks down an Inner Flame Igniter and swings with Æthersnipe which was let through.



Jonlim 17 Jit Yao 16



Jit Yao was adamant and re plays his Liliana Vess which drops an Inner Flame Acolyte from Jonlim.



Jonlim then makes use of his Gassy Braider once more to power out the second Æthersnipe while the first one swings again, and once again Jit Yao let it through. Now Jit Yao had to pay the price for not being able to deal with the second Smokebraider with 2 Æthersnipes staring in his face.



Jonlim 17 Jit Yao 12



Jit Yao plays his Vess for the 3rd time, nailing an Inner Flame Igniter from Jonlim. How often do you see a person looking unconcerned while the opponent has Vess out? Well this was the case here. He passes the turn. Jonlim lays down Incandescent Soulstoke and swings with 2 Æthersnipes and the Inner Flame Igniter which was stoning until now. Flamekin Bladewhirl blocks one Æthersnipe and Lash Out on the same snipe make sures it wont see the light of day again. Lash Out won the clash, and Jonlim was down to 14. Jityao blocked the other snipe with the Glarewielder.



Jonlim 14 Jit Yao 12



Jityao dropped Vess again and pulled a land from Jonlim. He played an Inner Flame Acolyte which did not attack and passed the turn. Jonlim made a big play when he used Heat Shimmer on his own Æthersnipe to bounce the Acolyte, denying Jit Yao the blocker, and swung with 2 Æthersnipes (1 normal 1 Heat Shimmer), which were both 5/5 mind you, due to the Incandescent Soulstoke. The Soulstoke himself turned sideways to target the Vess, but Makeshift Mannequin on Glarewielder to trade with the 2/2 ensured that Vess survived a little longer. Jit Yao's life total was still in trouble.



Jonlim 14 Jit Yao 2

Things were looking ever so slightly better for Jityao as he got his Vess even larger this turn. He dropped back the Acolyte and passed. Jonlim had no cards in hand but the Vess got the counter anyway. Jonlim attacked with his sole Æthersnipe which Jit Yao sacked his Acolyte to. Jit Yao knew he could not go off and tutored with the Vess. He played a Mournwhelk down. Jonlim attacked the Vess with both the Smokebraider and the Æthersnipe. Jit Yao sighed and let it go. Jit Yao then tried to Consuming Bonfire (the card he tutored for) Æthersnipe, before Jonlim pointed out that it was an illegal target. Bonfire can only target non-Elementals and Treefolk.



Jit Yao just screwed it by tutoring fr the wrong thing! He lost the game when it could have been so different.

"Why didn't you tutor for Eyeblights Ending instead" - Jonlim

"I didn't know Bonfire cannot target Æthersnipe" - Jit Yao

"Damn wasted" - Leon

Jonlim 14 Jit Yao 0 (Jonlim leads 2-0 on aggregate)


Jonlim's sideboarding: -3 Consuming Bonfire, +2 Faultgrinder, +1 Soulbright Flamekin
Jit Yao's sideboarding: -1 Consuming Bonfire, +1 Giant's Ire

Game 3


Jit Yao laid a Mountain while Island and Wanderer's Twig came down for Jonlim. Jit Yao then laid a Swamp and a Flamekin Bladewhirl revealing Mournwhelk. End of Turn Jonlim sacked the Twig for a Forest, and laid it down. Jit Yao laid a swamp and swung with the 2/1.
Jonlim 18 Jit Yao 20
Jonlim dropped a Mountain and out came Soulbright Flamekin, which was promptly Lashed Out at end of turn, and won the clash.
Jonlim 13 Jit Yao 20
Jit Yao dropped a Mountain and evoked Mournwhelk. Jonlim binned Æthersnipe and Smokebraider. Bladewhirl came through again.
Jonlim 11 Jit Yao 20
Soulbright Flamekin number 2 came out for Jonlim. Ceaseless Searblades for Jit Yao, and then Bladewhirl turned sideways, and Jonlim traded his Soulbright for it. Jonlim then tapped his Vivid Creek for red mana to play out a hasty 4/2 Inner Flame Acolyte and turned it sideways. Jit Yao decided to take the damage.
Jonlim 11 Jit Yao 16
Jit Yao was aware of the earlier clash for Lash Out where although he won, Jonlim revealed a Briarhorn. He chose not to attack, laid a Swamp and passed. Jonlim took the opportunity and laid a Mountain. He swung with the now 2/2 Acolyte and Jit Yao chose not to block, and then Briarhorn came down targeting the Acolyte for +3/+3.
Jonlim 11 Jit Yao 11
Jit Yao played a Final Revels to kill the Acolyte, with only Briarhorn facing Searblades left. Both players did nothing but lay land on their next turn. Jonlim then Lashed out Jit Yao's Searblades just to clash, and won it.

He played a Briarhorn for nothing, and then a Flamekin Harbinger for Faultgrinder. while Jityao hardcasted a Mournwhelk.
"Since Final Revels is gone, it should be safe now" - Jonlim
Jonlim 11 Jit Yao 8
Jit Yao swings with the whelk and Jonlim double blocks with both Briarhorn just in case. One Briarhorn trades with the Mournwhelk. No combat tricks apparantly. But Jit Yao plays another Mournwhelk. Jonlim then laid down the Faultgrinder to destroy a Mountain and passed. Jit Yao played a Vivid Marsh, and then Smokebraider came down for Jonlim. Glarewielder came down on Jit Yao's side, and he swung with the Mournwhelk.

Jonlim 8 Jit Yao 8
Jonlim Æthersnipes the searblades, and attacks with the Faultgrinder and Briarhorn, leaving Jit Yao at a potential 3-0 defeat.

Jonlim 8 Jit Yao 1
Jit Yao plays down the ceaseless searblades again and a swamp, jonlim hits down mountain and swings with just the Faultgrinder, which was blocked by Searblades, and Lash out came for Jit Yao to finish the Faultgrinder off. Jit Yao revealed a Liliana Vess while Jonlim... a Faultgrinder.
"I think it came a turn too late" - Jit Yao
Liliana Vess came down for Jit Yao and tutored, and Æthersnipe was turned sideways targetting Vess. Poor Vess couldn't even survive one full turn. Jit Yao then used Eyeblight's Ending on Jonlim's Faultgrinder. Jonlim used Wanderer's Twig to search for an island. He attacked with the Æthersnipe which was blocked by Mournwhelk. Jit Yao then cast Lash Out, but he had to topdeck a creature the next turn to have any hope of surviving. He couldn't. And the final post-game handshake ensued.
Jonlim 8 Jit Yao 0 (Jonlim wins match, 3-0 on aggregate)

In the end Jonlim managed a quite comfortable victory over Jit Yao in the elementals match-up to succesfully defend top spot (although the big mistake by Jit Yao in the 2nd game was somewhat the turning point). The 5-smokebraider engine was too much for everyone to deal with, and the other players can only blame themselves for passing Jonlim 5 braiders, 3 Æthersnipe and 3 Briarhorns during the card selection. Having secured top spot 2 times in a row, will Jonlim be able to make it the 3rd time lucky in the next draft? Stay tuned for reports of the next draft. Until then. Its bye for now, but i'll leave u with some of my afterthoughts.
Most underrated card in this draft: Mournwhelk (look at the abuse dished out by Jit Yao)
Most underrated player in this draft: Yisheng (2nd draft only, and a Top 4 finish)
Upset of the day: JitYao beating Leon 2-1 in quarterfinals (Leon was an expected finalist)
Star card: Smokebraider (8 copies running around, 3 elemental players, need i say more?)

Lorwyn Draft scheduled for 12 December 2007

Announcement to all drafters:

There will be a lorwyn draft this wednesday (Lo-Lo-Lo) at Leon's House
Meeting time: 830am
Meeting place: Queenstown MRT

As usual, bring lands and/or sleeves. you may purchase lands at 5 cents each.
And money for boosters.

All slots have been taken up as of now and no one else can join so dont ask.

Good luck and have fun.

Players involved: Jonlim Keeyao Jityao Yinkwan Leon James Shiyang Stanley Chinyiksin Brian

Draft Report (finals coverage) for Dec 5 2007

Finals – Terry (RW Giant Kithkins aggro) vs Jonlim (GB Treefolk aggro)



Terry finds himself in his first top 4 ever in draft, and the dizzying heights are well deserved. His Giant Kithkin aggro deck is suited to deal with most situations. Cards combinations like Avian Changeling, Kithkin Greatheart and Blind Spot Giant dominate the early game, Tarfire, Crush Underfoot, Crib Swap, Consuming Bonfire and Neck Snap for a frightening abundance of removal, and the heavy artillery in the form of multiple Thundercloud Shaman, which provide for a one-sided Wrath of God, and 2 Arbiter Of Knollridge help to turn a late game deadlock in his favour, providing for a solid case of one of the best giant decks ever to have been drafted in our drafting circles. Stinkdrinker Daredevil and Plover Knights added speed and firepower to an already very menacing and powerful starting lineup. Will this be the first time Terry tops the draft? His arsenal seems to put his case across as very very strong indeed. Despite the 2-0 loss to Jonlim in the group stages, it is a big mistake to write him off just yet.







Jonlim has been consistently in the top 4 in draft, but taking top place has always been a problem. Plagued by a lack of luck to make the final cut, Jonlim lost out on top place the last time round to Leon’s Bog Strider Ash who swampwalked to victory. This time, his draft pool allowed him to go for either elves or treefolk, and since there were no bomb elves such as Imperious Perfect, the option to go for treefolk wasn’t particularly hard. Despite a deck boasting only 1 direct removal card in the form of Moonglove Extract, and 1 nondirect removal in Final Revels, it was hard to say if the deck would actually work. However the bombs in the deck, including a Timber Protector, 2 Thorntooth Witch and a Liliana Vess (which was surprisingly passed by Terry), were hardly toys to be messed around with. The supporting cast included a smattering of Cloudcrown Oak, Bog Strider Ash, and 2 Warren Pilferers, while both Treefolk Harbinger and Boggart Harbinger among them could fetch any of these cards, the bomb Timber Protector, as well as the ever handy single copy of Changeling Titan jonlim managed to get. The synergy was there, the power was there but was it enough to get past Terry?







Game 1

Jonlim won the cutdeck and opted to go first. Terry played the first creature in the form of Fire Belly Changeling, while Jonlim responded with a Battlewand Oak. Terry then dropped his Stinkdrinker Daredevil, a card never to be laughed at, and then jonlim made his first noteworthy move of the match. Dropping a forest pumped his Battlewand Oak to 3/5, and then playing out Black Poplar Shaman pumped it further to 5/7. Swinging with Battlewand Oak, Terry opted not to block and took the first 5 points of damage in the game.

Jonlim 20 Terry 15

Terry was trying to regroup, and Avian Changeling saw play. To his dismay, jonlim dropped another forest on his turn and swung with the 3/5 Battlewand Oak. Since jonlim had mana open to regenerate it through Black Poplar Shaman, Terry opted to take the damage. To make things worse, jonlim dropped a Moonglove Extract, which was eventually traded with Avian Changeling.

Jonlim 20 Terry 12


A Lairwatch Giant for Terry was matched by Nath’s Elite which lost the clash, and then the following turn Blind Spot Giant was matched by Liliana Vess, which made Terry discard and he chose to discard Tarfire, to the groans of the onlookers. But it was obvious he was trying to get his Arbiter Of Knollridge out from his hand to stem the bleeding, and taking down Nath’s Elite was second priority (Jonlim felt after the game that Terry should not have pushed for the Arbiter Of Knollridge and instead prevented the Nath’s Elite from killing his creatures, and use the 2 removal spells to kill jonlims creatures so the planeswalker would be vulnerable to combat damage).







Nath’s Elite took down Fire Belly Changeling and Lairwatch Giant, and Liliana Vess kept pulling all sorts of trumps from Terry, including Crush Underfoot. Terry was desperate to keep his Arbiter Of Knollridge, but it was in vain as Marsh Flitter and Oakgnarl Warrior hit play, and Liliana Vess went off for an alpha strike of 24 damage in total.







Jonlim 20 Terry 0 (Aggregate 1-0 to Jonlim)

Game 2
Having lost, Terry did not opt to sideboard and Jonlim did likewise. He chose to play first and a Kithkin Greatheart was answered by Battlewand Oak. Avian Changeling then saw play, boosting the Kithkin Greatheart to 3/2 first strike and Jonlim did not block. Jonlim was unfazed and played a forest and attacked with his 3/5 Battlewand Oak, before playing down a Boggart Harbinger which fetched Woodland Changeling, in a bid to stop Terry’s weenies until his bigger treefolk could see play.

Jonlim 17 Terry 17

Terry then swung with his Kithkin Greatheart and Avian Changeling for 5 potential damage. Jonlim cut that to 3 when he sacrificed his Boggart Harbinger to the first striking Kithkin Greatheart.

Jonlim 14 Terry 17

The game then swung dramatically when Jonlim played down Final Revels, taking down the Avian Changeling and Kithkin Greatheart, as well as his own Boggart Harbinger. He played a Forest down and Woodland Changeling and swung with the 5/7 Battlewand Oak to take Terry down to 12.

Jonlim 14 Terry 12

Terry then dropped a Lairwatch Giant, which was matched by Liliana Vess, which made Terry discard a plains. Jonlim was having a creature drought, and Terry had the upper hand when he dropped another Lairwatch Giant and swung to Liliana Vess. Jonlim was in trouble now and was trying to do enough to protect Liliana Vess from dying, as it was obvious he was not going to be able to stall for the bomb to go off. To cut a long story short, Terry saw another Lairwatch Giant, an Arbiter Of Knollridge while Jonlim finally drew out stuff with Warren Pilferers, Boggart Harbinger and Nath’s Elite hitting the board.







Terry then won the game when Thundercloud Shaman came in and dealt 4 damage to all non-giants, killing all Jonlim’s creatures in one massive blast, and all the giants whacked in for an alpha strike of 14 the next turn to level the scores at 1-1.







Jonlim 0 Terry 12 (aggregate 1-1)



Game 3

Jonlim opts to play first and keeps a one lander. Terry developed with Stinkdrinker Daredevil and Blind Spot Giant while jonlim missed his 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th land drops.

When Terry was about to play a Avian Changeling, and Jonlim looked at the top of his deck and found yet another land, he scooped up and handed Terry the free win.











Jonlim 18 Terry 20 - Jonlim concedes (Aggregate 2-1 to Terry)

Game 4
Jonlim plays first in a game he has to win to stay in this match. In a very familiar opening, Terry once again uses Kithkin Greatheart as his first creature while jonlim answers with Boggart Harbinger fetching a Woodland Changeling. Terry then knocks down a Blind Spot Giant and whacks again with his trusty 3/2 first striker which jonlim blocks. Jonlim then drops his Moonglove Extract, while Terry picks up his tempo with a second Blind Spot Giant. The board now is Kithkin Greatheart and 2 Blind Spot Giant for Terry with Jonlim hanging on through a Moonglove Extract. The Kithkin Greatheart and a Blind Spot Giant go into the Red Zone with the Moonglove Extract taking out the Kithkin Greatheart, and 3 damage going though.







Jonlim 17 Terry 20

Jonlim then Warren Pilferers for a Boggart Harbinger and gains haste in the process, but chooses not to attack. Terry swings with 2 Blind Spot Giant and jonlim trades one with his Warren Pilferers. Another 3 damage goes through and jonlim shakes his head when Terry has Avian Changeling on his postcombat main phase.

Jonlim 14 Terry 20

Jonlim lays down the Boggart Harbinger he fetched from the grave with the now-dead Warren Pilferers, and searched for Warren Pilferers number two, which sat prettily on the top of his library. Using the remaining mana he played out a Woodland Changeling. Terry attacks with his Avian Changeling and Blind Spot Giant, which gets traded with the chump blocking Woodland Changeling and Boggart Harbinger. 2 damage goes through and things are looking grim as Terry knocks down a Lairwatch Giant on the postcombat, and if jonlim doesn’t do anything, he will lose the game in 2 turns, and with it, the match as well.

Jonlim 12 Terry 20

Jonlim starts to make his move: Warren Pilferers fetching Warren Pilferers then swings with the hasty 3/3, which terry responds by raising his brows and accepting the 3 damage. On postcombat the fearsome Black Poplar Shaman makes his grand entrance. Terry seems unfazed and helps himself to another Avian Changeling, before swinging with the first Avian Changeling. If not for the Black Poplar Shaman with mana open, Terry would have swung with Lairwatch Giant, but he is still making headway through the air. Now jonlim is staring at a Lairwatch Giant and 2 Avian Changeling in the face, and with the prospect of 4 flying damage going through every turn, Jonlim’s situation is looking grim. However he shows no emotion regardless, although it is very possible he would lose soon.

Jonlim 10 Terry 17


Once again in this see-saw matchup in which dominance is shifted frequently between the 2 players, jonlim gets himself back into the game. Final Revels proves to be the key, and down goes 2 Avian Changeling. Jonlim then attacks with his Warren Pilferers which terry allows through despite the Lairwatch Giant still untapped. Jonlim then plays out his second Warren Pilferers and fetches the Boggart Harbinger from the graveyard for the 3rd time in this game. Terry then takes advantage of jonlim being tapped out to Crush Underfoot the Black Poplar Shaman, and jonlim grimaces. He then decides that times are desperate enough to play out his Thundercloud Shaman which kills nothing and passes the turn.







Jonlim 10 Terry 14

Jonlim does not do anything at all the next turn and passes, while Terry pushes through with his Thundercloud Shaman. Jonlim chump blocks with his 2 Warren Pilferers and one of them dies.







On the next turn, Jonlim then attacks with his remaining Warren Pilferers, which does not get blocked once again by the untapped Lairwatch Giant. On postcombat, Jonlim smells blood and lays down his only copy of Boggart Harbinger for the 4th time this game (only this game, not the whole match) , picking up the final trump card jonlim needs, Changeling Titan.







Terry then fights back by using Consuming Bonfire on the Warren Pilferers the next turn, which proved not to be the best move later on, especially with Changeling Titan looming one turn away. He made the second possibly mistake by pushing for victory and attacking with his Lairwatch Giant when jonlim had mana open, and a Gilt Leaf Ambush with a Changeling Titan on the topdeck was always going to ensure he won the clash. Terry unnecessarily lost his Lairwatch Giant to a puny 1/1 deathtouch elf, while jonlim still has an extra 1/1 to fiddle with. He unhappily drops a lone Kinsbaile Balloonist and passes the turn.







Jonlim 10 Terry 11

Now Jonlim senses he can pull a rabbit out of the hat. With a Warren Pilferers and Boggart Harbinger out, as well as a elf token, he swings through with all his creatures, which Terry lets through for 6 damage. Jonlim then plays a Changeling Titan on his token, and drops a Cloudcrown Oak, just to ensure that there is no way back for Terry.





Jonlim 10, Terry 5

Terry draws a card and lays a Lairwatch Giant and passes the turn. Jonlim simply attacks with his Changeling Titan, Warren Pilferers and Cloudcrown Oak. Changeling Titan gets stopped by Kinsbaile Balloonist while Lairwatch Giant trades with Cloudcrown Oak. Terry takes 3 damage. The death knell is sealed when Jonlim plays down another Cloudcrown Oak. Now he was Changeling Titan, Cloudcrown Oak, Boggart Harbinger, and Warren Pilferers out against an empty board.

Jonlim 10 Terry 2

Terry topdecks a land and shakes his head. Jonlim swings with all his creatures to redeem himself for his poor decision of keeping a one lander in his previous game, and level the scores, sending the match into a decider at 2-2.







Jonlim 10 Terry 0 (aggregate 2-2)



Game 5

Terry chooses to play first. In the first time in this entire draft, both players mulliganed a first time, which Terry having all lands and Jonlim having no lands. Jonlim then kept while Terry mulled a second time. Terry then started. Mountain for Terry. Forest for Jonlim. Mountain for Terry. Swamp and Woodland Changeling for Jonlim. The game then started revving into high gear when Terry dropped his Stinkdrinker Daredevil on turn 3.








Jonlim wanted to take the Stinkdrinker Daredevil out, and made a move that a top drafter would be proud of when he opted to attack with his 2/2 Woodland Changeling, to get blocked by the 1/3 Stinkdrinker Daredevil. Jonlim then played and used Moonglove Extract to finish off the little goblin, to deny Terry the tempo advantage he might have depended too much on in the past few games. Jonlim knew that this play was going to be very important in deciding the outcome of the decider. (Lol get the pun) Terry then dropped a Fire Belly Changeling, while jonlim attacked with his Woodland Changeling for the first 2 damage in the deciding game when Terry let it through.

Jonlim 20 Terry 18

Terry then swung with his Fire Belly Changeling, and jonlim was waiting on it with a Gilt Leaf Ambush, which won the clash with jonlim showing Marsh Flitter and terry showing Crib Swap but it didn’t really matter anyway because Fire Belly Changeling has only one toughness. Jonlim then plays out the Marsh Flitter from the topdeck and attacked with the 1/1 elf and Woodland Changeling for 3 more damage, while Terry opted to Crib Swap the Marsh Flitter(jonlim felt that this was a wrong decision, he should have waited for jonlim to sac a goblin before crib swapping in response). Terry now has to contend with an elf token, a changeling token, 2 goblin tokens and a Woodland Changeling , with no creatures out and at 15 life.







Jonlim 20 Terry 15

Another Stinkdrinker Daredevil came down for Terry as he tried to find a way back. Jonlim showed his dominance by laying Warren Pilferers as a 3/3 vanilla creature and attacking with all his tokens and the Woodland Changeling. Stinkdrinker Daredevil got in the way of one of the Changeling Token but 4 damage still went through and Terry was in serious trouble.







Jonlim 20 Terry 11

Terry then used Thundercloud Shaman for 1, to destroy all the tokens and suddenly now jonlim was left with the Woodland Changeling and Warren Pilferers. However, it did not seem to hurt him much as Thorntooth Witch a.k.a the-nameless-inversion-creature saw play for jonlim.







Terry then swung with the Thundercloud Shaman which got chump blocked by the Warren Pilferers and Woodland Changeling, and traded with the former. Double Avian Changeling came in on the postcombat. Now Terry has the prospect of multiple nameless inversions coming through once again, and such thoughts are never pretty.

As if to mock Terry, Jonlim thought for a long time and then layed down Timber Protector, and suddenly Terry seemed like he was almost resigned to the fact that he would lose. To make things worse, Timber Protector triggered Thorntooth Witch and down went one Avian Changeling. Thorntooth Witch and Woodland Changeling then went into the red zone with Avian Changeling stopping Thorntooth Witch, and 2 damage went through to put Terry on 9 life. Terry then played down a Blind Spot Giant and sighed, passing the turn.







Jonlim 20 Terry 9

Terry's only answer to the Timber Protector and the army of indestructible treefolk was his other Crib Swap which was almost never going to come. Jonlim played down Boggart Harbinger, and Changeling Titan was once again on top of his library, grinning eerily at Terry's chances of survival. Timber Protector, Woodland Changeling and Thorntooth Witch came through and very soon alpha strike damage with the help of Changeling Titan and the redundant trigger of Thorntooth Witch to knock down the remains of Terry's board sealed it and jonlim completed the turnaround to be the only person ever to win two perfect games (20-0) in the knockout rounds of our draft-in-friends-house history, and in the process clinching top spot in the draft and breaking the jinx.






Jonlim 20 Terry 0 (Jonlim wins match, aggregate 3-2)

In the end the mass army of fat treefolk and synergy among cards in jonlim’s deck just proved a tad too strong for terry’s giants to handle. Nevertheless, Terry was still happy with what he went home with, a glorious anthem along with an unhinged booster pack.