[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries?list=PLs4gxqbLAAD7PPPlJC8S-6BJ3dFbse9yJ&w=640&h=360]

Today’s Lesson

The third installment of Forced Fruition takes us on a journey of discovery and trying to slow roll our way to victory. In this BNG-THS-THS draft, a theme of slowly draining our opponent quickly develops out of pack one. We employ some drafting strategy to fill out the rest of our deck in packs two and three. I’ll let you be the judge of how well it works in the matches, but either way, I’m very happy to be able to bring you this episode.

Drafting Packs 1 and 2

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDGz-LHn9vM&w=640&h=360]

Drafting Pack 3 and Deckbuilding

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0SUmuQ7vZI&w=640&h=360]

[deck title=Down the Drain]
[Creatures]

*2 Scholar of Athreos

*1 Observant Alseid

*1 Setessan Battle Priest

*1 Leonin Snarecaster

*1 Keepsake Gorgon

*1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel

*1 Erebos’s Emissary

*1 Cavern Lampad

*3 Servant of Tymaret

*1 Baleful Eidolon

*1 Felhide Brawler

*1 Tormented Hero

*1 Reaper of the Wilds

*1 Burnished Hart

[/Creatures]
[Spells]
*1 Excoriate

*1 Necrobite

*1 Claim of Erebos

*1 Viper’s Kiss

*1 Boon of Erebos
[/Spells]
[Lands]
*5 Plains
*9 Swamp

*3 Forest
[/Lands]
[/Deck]

Match 1 Game 1

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kBWyMSbT8I&w=640&h=360]

Match 1 Game 2

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7PXAb-JaWY&w=640&h=360]

Match 1 Game 3

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpOston_8ZE&w=640&h=360]

Match 2 Game 1

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCzIlUSXDeQ&w=640&h=360]

Match 2 Game 2

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ykhy7pPNIw&w=640&h=360]

Match 3 Game 1

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWDlkVXT2QQ&w=640&h=360]

Match 3 Game 2 + Wrapup

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmo_erG_rYs&w=640&h=360]

What Did We Learn?

Overall, the drain plan proved to be too slow versus some of the more aggressive decks (a.k.a. most good decks in any Draft format). Going all-in on [card]Servant of Tymaret[/card] and [card]Scholar of Athreos[/card] was a bit overkill. I still believe that Scholar is a fantastic card and any deck that’s running white should play it and just throw a swamp or two in the manabase for the eventuality of a stalled board. Other things I would have done differently include putting [card]Bronze Sable[/card] in my main deck over [card]Felhide Brawler[/card].

The [card]divine verdict[/card] (I’m going to chalk not putting that one in the maindeck due to a [card]memory lapse[/card]) on this archetype is: don’t go too hard or you’ll find yourself drowned in sorrow.

-Andrew