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?)
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?)
No comments:
Post a Comment