Another week, another Vintage Cube draft! I really do love this format, and am glad Wizards have let it be around for longer this time. I have been drafting it a lot and am enjoying every single moment of it.

Last week, I managed to 3-0 with a fairly average (in my opinion) mono red deck. Let's see what I come up with this week.

THE DRAFT

Pack 1 pick 1:



My Pick:



This pack was really a choice of two cards: Mox Pearl or Time Walk . Either choice is probably correct, but it's hard to go past the fast mana of the Mox. It also keeps me more open (you should play off-colour Moxen in any deck) so that was why it won it out.

Excluding the power out of the pack, it's a tough choice. I probably would have taken Exhume as a key part of a reanimator deck, but I could also see taking Sphinx of the Steel Wind for an artifact or Tinker based deck.



Pack 1 pick 2:



My Pick:



It's always hard to go passed fast mana, so Azorius Signet got the nod here. It also goes well with my first pick, with both of them producing white mana. Wall of Roots would have been my second choice.



Pack 1 pick 3:



My Pick:



This pack was a choice between Snapcaster Mage and three of the four lands (excluding Verdant Catacombs ). I ended up taking Underground Sea ; I could see myself maybe playing Esper control, though I could have equally seen myself playing Jeskai control and taking Plateau .





Pack 1 pick 4:



My Pick:



I was initially going to choose Creeping Tar Pit here, and aim for Esper control. Instead, I decided to take Lotus Bloom as a way to stay open. I'm actually in unfamiliar ground here - I normally like knowing which archetype I'm in by now, but instead I am quite open. I'll have to keep an eye out for what key archetype cards are coming around so I can commit.



Pack 1 pick 5:



My Pick:



It's a pity both Mishra's Workshop and Inkwell Leviathan were in the same pack here. Both of them lead me to believe an artifact-based deck might be open. I took Workshop because mana, and I doubt I'll get Leviathan back, but I'm hoping.



Pack 1 pick 6:



My Pick:



Alright, time to pick my first coloured card, and it's Sphinx's Revelation . I'm wondering if some sort of artifact control deck might be possible; if I can pick up a Tezzeret or some high end artifacts it might work out.



Pack 1 pick 7:



My Pick:



This pick was out of Tundra or Brain Maggot for me, and Tundra was the much better card.



Pack 1 pick 8:



My Pick:



Supreme Verdict wins out over Oblivion Ring and Hypnotic Specter in this pack, even if I do have a soft spot for the Specter. I'm certainly looking to draft a control deck now, something I normally try to avoid, but you take what you are given.





Pack 1 pick 9:



My Pick:



Sphinx of the Steel Wind coming back makes me happy. It's on colour and I can cast it early with Mishra's Workshop, so it was an easy choice. It has some form of inbuilt protection so makes a decent finisher.



Pack 1 pick 10:



My Pick:



I debated taking Disenchant over Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet here; artifact removal is good, and there are some very good enchantments floating around (Oath of Druids , Sneak Attack , etc). In the end, I decided the lifelink on Kalitas was enough for me to take it.



Pack 1 pick 11:



My Pick:



This doesn't seem like a deck that wants Ravages of War , and I don't think I want Razaketh, the Foulblooded either. I also don't think I want Mirran Crusader but as the cheapest of those three options, that's what I took.



Pack 1 pick 12:



My Pick:



Again, the white cards here are nothing I want, and I'm not looking to move into reanimator with Shallow Grave , so I took Blackcleave Cliffs as a way of fixing mana.



Pack 1 pick 13:



My Pick:



I'm not a huge fan of Nezumi Shortfang , but it can do a job and might make the deck.





Pack 1 pick 14:



My Pick:



Porcelain Legionnaire is more at home in an aggressive deck, so I probably won't end up playing it.



Pack 1 pick 15:



My Pick:



Again, Angel of Invention is not a card I am likely to play, but if I am short on finishers perhaps it will make the cut.



Pack 2 pick 1:



My Pick:



It was either Karakas or Spellskite in this pack for me. I like both cards in the cube, but Spellskite got the nod due to being an artifact.



Pack 2 pick 2:



My Pick:



This was a tough pick, as there were three cards I really thought would be good here: Banisher Priest , Celestial Colonnade and Hostage Taker . I decided to continue my theme of taking lands and took Colonnade - it's a good finisher in a control deck and dodges sorcery-speed removal.



Pack 2 pick 3:



My Pick:



Another pack with three cards I wouldn't mind - Angel of Sanctions , Hedron Archive and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon . In the past, I've had Hedron Archive used against me in these types of decks to great effect, so I decided to take it and try it.



Pack 2 pick 4:



My Pick:



Geist of Saint Traft is another good card in a control deck. I was tempted by Sorcerous Spyglass as well, but opted for the Geist.



Pack 2 pick 5:



My Pick:



This was a pretty easy Shambling Vent pick. There was nothing else I really wanted and works as a good finisher like Celestial Colonnade.



Pack 2 pick 6:



My Pick:



Whilst there are some good cards here I'd be happy to take (Scrubland , Fact or Fiction , Braids, Cabal Minion ), I couldn't go passed Elspeth, Sun's Champion . It's just too good in this type of deck.



Pack 2 pick 7:



My Pick:



Lingering Souls is another one of those cards I'm happy to have as a bit of a finisher; while the spirits don't do much by themselves, casting it twice makes a difference.



Pack 2 pick 8:



My Pick:



I think Reflector Mage might have been an okay choice here, but Anguished Unmaking is just that much better. Being able to hit Planeswalkers is a big deal.



Pack 2 pick 9:



My Pick:



With all the non-basic lands I have and being in three colours, I'm not sure if Vedalken Shackles will be any good, but there was nothing else here I wanted anyway.



Pack 2 pick 10:



My Pick:



I'm glad to get Banisher Priest back.



Pack 2 pick 11:



My Pick:



As well as Angel of Sanctions .



Pack 2 pick 12:



My Pick:





Pack 2 pick 13:



My Pick:





Pack 2 pick 14:



My Pick:





Pack 2 pick 15:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 1:



My Pick:



Sol Ring is one of the best cards in the cube - never, ever pass Sol Ring. I was a little bummed that I had to pass True-Name Nemesis , though.



Pack 3 pick 2:



My Pick:



There was also no way I was passing Black Lotus .



Pack 3 pick 3:



My Pick:



Dig Through Time is an extremely good draw spell, and it was a pretty easy pick for me here over Darkslick Shores .



Pack 3 pick 4:



My Pick:



I thought about taking Watery Grave but looking at my pool, I think my mana base might be okay. Instead I took Gideon, Ally of Zendikar ; we all know how strong he is.



Pack 3 pick 5:



My Pick:



Another pack with a tough choice - Dragonlord Ojutai , Parallax Wave or Cryptic Command . In the end I ruled out Command because of the triple blue mana requirement, and decided that Ojutai was slightly better for me at this point than Wave.



Pack 3 pick 6:



My Pick:



The cards in this pack are all average for me I think. I ended up taking Kitchen Finks in case I ran into a mono-red or mono-white deck.



Pack 3 pick 7:



My Pick:



Again, not a great pack, but I took Batterskull on the strength of having Mishra's Workshop . In theory, I could power out a turn 2 or 3 (or even turn 1 with Black Lotus) Batterskull.



Pack 3 pick 8:



My Pick:



The original sweeper, Wrath of God joins Supreme Verdict in my deck.



Pack 3 pick 9:



My Pick:



Again, I felt like my mana base was okay at this point, so I took Vampire Nighthawk over Godless Shrine . This may not have been the correct pick, however - it was close.



Pack 3 pick 10:



My Pick:



Vindicate is an upgrade over Anguished Unmaking , though I'll probably just end up playing both. Like I said being able to deal with Planeswalkers is important.



Pack 3 pick 11:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 12:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 13:



My Pick:



I was quite happy (and quite surprised) to see Parallax Wave come back!



Pack 3 pick 14:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 15:



My Pick:



THE DECK

I'm very happy with the end result of this deck. It seems very strong, a thought that was echoed by people I sent a screenshot of it to before the matches. It ticks all the boxes - fast mana, power spells and hard to beat threats. I anticipate doing well with this deck; I think I can at least 2-1 and with a bit of good fortune get a 3-0.

RESULTS

As I had hoped, I went 3-0 (6-2 in games). I played against an Abzan Ramp deck, a weird Esper Reanimator/Tinker deck, and another Esper control deck. The deck was extremely strong; I was able to get out a turn to Elspeth on one occasion, earning an automatic concession from my opponent. The deck just worked - every card was relevant, and I wouldn't have changed a single thing about it.

I also had one of the more intense back and forth games I've had in a while against my Esper Control opponent. It started with them milling me with Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver . I was eventually able to deal with it via Anguished Unmaking , but not before I'd lost a bunch of cards (including Gideon). I then landed Elspeth, Sun's Champion and started making Soldier tokens. My opponent was then able to kill Elspeth with some flyers and then cast Balance, effectively wiping my board and making me discard a bunch of cards. Next turn, I topdecked Sphinx's Revelation , casting it for five. My opponent was low on life at this point but I had Celestial Colonnade out - I attacked, and my opponent cast Venser, Shaper Savant to bounce it. I replayed it and used Parallax Wave to start taking care of creatures, but was getting low on cards left in my library. My opponent then killed the Colonnade; but I drew and played Shambling Vent . I had two cards left in my library and my opponent was at 4 life; if they killed the Vent I would lose. Thankfully, I was able to win with no cards left in my library. It was an epic game and my opponent was fantastic, chatting throughout the whole thing and was gracious in defeat.

FIRST PICK, FIRST PACK

Here is a sample Vintage Cube booster. What would you take first pick, first pack? Let me know in the comments!