Here's another example of my picks from a recent draft. This time I'm picking Uterra/Tempys with an emphasis on dino tribal.

Drafting

Pack 1

The two standouts here are Uterradon Rex and Thunderstomp. They are both powerful tribal effects that are easy to build around in draft. Both cards would push me into Umbruk to maximize the number of dinosaurs I can pick (although I have seen the occasional NU Dino deck that didn't look too bad). If I didn't want to play Umbruk, the pick would be Forgewatch Sentry. I don't think the card is that powerful, mainly because of it's mediocre level 3. Yes, it can eat underleveled creatures for free but it loses a fight with nearly every other level 3 creature. Not to mention Shatterbolt Oxidon Spitter

I think Uterradon Rex and Thunderstomp are similarly powerful but, in a tie, I will go with the creature. It will be more consistently useful than a spell.



Pick: Uterradon Rex

Uterradon Rex Uterradon Rex

Forgewatch Sentry Forgewatch Sentry

Dragon Slayer Dragon Slayer

Onyxium Allomancer Onyxium Allomancer

Thunderstomp Thunderstomp

Forge Guardian Delta Forge Guardian Delta I want to be in UT so the pick is going to be one of the Tempys cards, and specifically one of the two Shamans. Despite the random effect on Blizzard Shaman, it is the stronger card. The fact that it isn't level gated means that you can use it underleved to move big level 3 creatures past blockers and finish off an opponent. Windcaller Shaman is good but I like it more in defensive decks where you need to precisely move around damaged walls for a second block or get multiple When this creature moves. Flank



Pick: Blizzard Shaman

Windcaller Shaman Windcaller Shaman

Blizzard Shaman Blizzard Shaman

Glacial Crush Glacial Crush

Grimgaunt Spectre Grimgaunt Spectre

Darkheart Wanderer Darkheart Wanderer Cloudcleaver Titan and Torrent Soldier are both good cards, but I want to be more aggressive than controlling in this deck. Cloudcleaver Titan is better in that strategy. Stormforged Avatar requires too much of a commitment to Tempys to be good, especially when there are a lot of Uterra dinosaurs that I want to pick.



Pick: Cloudcleaver Titan

Stormforged Avatar Stormforged Avatar

Verdant Sphere Verdant Sphere

Cloudcleaver Titan Cloudcleaver Titan

Torrent Soldier Torrent Soldier Here are a couple filler creatures to choose from. I'll take the better leveling body. 6/6 vs 5/5 isn't enough of a difference at level 1 to make me choose the Grovekeeper since I probably won't trigger the ability.



Pick: Stag of Lys

Stag of Lys Stag of Lys

Tuskin Grovekeeper Tuskin Grovekeeper

Gemheart Sprout Gemheart Sprout Esperian Wartusk is just ok in UT, but the breakthrough can be useful if you have pump spells leveled up.



Pick: Esperian Wartusk

Esperian Wartusk Esperian Wartusk

Soothing Radiance Soothing Radiance





Pack 2

Soothsayer Hermit is a very good heroic. It can fetch up a particular creature that you need to handle or situation or, more likely, fetch another on-level card. It is most powerful in rank 3 where you can fetch your late game bomb and play it multiple times per player level. It can even fetch itself, if that's the only level 3 card in your discard pile. It's one of the few cards that brings late game consistency to Uterra decks.

However, Mosstodon is amazing in Dino decks. It's a cross-lane trick (Soothsayer isn't), works underleveled (Soothsayer doesn't) and can turn close boards into runaway games. It's not just that you are giving free stats to creatures, but so many of the dinos you can buff get really annoying the longer they stick around. Razortooth Stalker, Umbruk Glider, Kadrasian Stoneback, Uterradon Rex, Shardplate Delver, etc. So yeah, it's pretty good.



Pick: Mosstodon

Avalanche Guardian Avalanche Guardian

Soothsayer Hermit Soothsayer Hermit

Ashurian Mystic Ashurian Mystic

Mosstodon Mosstodon

Torrent Soldier Torrent Soldier

Static Shock Static Shock Flame Jet is a fine removal spell but I'll stick with the aggressive creature for now. I will want some Flame Jet like effects in this deck eventually.



Pick: Aethertap Shaman

Flame Jet Flame Jet

Soothing Radiance Soothing Radiance

Grapplevine Grapplevine

Ether Hounds Ether Hounds

Aethertap Shaman Aethertap Shaman Two dinosaurs to choose from but Kadrasian Stoneback is definitely the better card. As mentioned before, it gets really annoying with both Mosstodon and Rex buffs.



Pick: Kadrasian Stoneback

Stag of Lys Stag of Lys

Stouthide Stegadon Stouthide Stegadon

Blizzard Shaman Blizzard Shaman

Kadrasian Stoneback Kadrasian Stoneback This pick is kind of close. Both dinosaurs and pump spells are necessary to make the deck work, but Ursine Strength is a top tier spell while Uterradon Mauler is a middle-of-the-road dino. I should have an easier time picking the dinosaurs I need rather than the pump spells. I'm also eight picks in without any spells so it's time to start getting some.



Pick: Ursine Strength

Uterradon Mauler Uterradon Mauler

Spiritbloom Dryad Spiritbloom Dryad

Ursine Strength Ursine Strength I also want a few good burn spells in the deck and Burnout certainly qualifies.



Pick: Burnout

Burnout Burnout

Stormspear Stormspear





Pack 3

Patron of Deepwood is tempting. I would consider taking it, not building around it, then play it opportunistically in games (i.e. only when I get the trigger). Treat it as a vanilla creature that randomly gives me a bonus creature. On the other hand, I could take Featherfang, which has good stats at every level and is more likely to get buffed by my tribal cards. I chose Featherfang in the end.



Pick: Featherfang

Featherfang Featherfang

Ashurian Brawler Ashurian Brawler

Grapplevine Grapplevine

Steam Sentinel Steam Sentinel

Gemheart Sprout Gemheart Sprout

Patron of Deepwood Patron of Deepwood None of these creatures are very exciting for my deck but Toorgmai Mender has the highest potential to do something useful. I will plan on saving it as an underdrop then use it to win a trade later in the game or make a leveled threat (Cloudcleaver Titan, Kadrasian Stoneback) harder to kill.



Pick: Toorgmai Mender

Toorgmai Mender Toorgmai Mender

Sparktail Manticore Sparktail Manticore

Cavern Hydra Cavern Hydra

Vigorwisp Vigorwisp

Esperian Steelplate Esperian Steelplate Another close pick between a good creature and a good buff spell. Ashurian Brawler would help increase the pressure in rank 1 but I don't have many tricks to help it get past a blocker. I still only have two spells and Whispers of Dendris can be quite powerful on the right board. This is one of those 50/50 picks where I'm not sure there is a right answer.



Pick: Whispers of Dendris

Ashurian Brawler Ashurian Brawler

Rimehorn Charger Rimehorn Charger

Grapplevine Grapplevine

Whispers of Dendris Whispers of Dendris Cavern Hydra is the only card in this pack.



Pick: Cavern Hydra

Chant of Dragonwatch Chant of Dragonwatch

Gemheart Sprout Gemheart Sprout

Cavern Hydra Cavern Hydra Now I regret taking that first Whispers. I don't really need two in the deck but it's still better than a Stormspear.



Pick: Whispers of Dendris

Whispers of Dendris Whispers of Dendris

Stormspear Stormspear





Pack 4

I forgot to record this pack but I don't think there was anything interesting in it besides a Roaming Warclaw.



Pick: Roaming Warclaw

Spark Bot Spark Bot

Spark Bot Spark Bot

Roaming Warclaw Roaming Warclaw

Spark Bot Spark Bot

Spark Bot Spark Bot

Spark Bot Spark Bot A tough pick between Deepbranch Prowler and Blood Boon. I really like Prowler as a way to punish Alloyin leveling decks, which are very prevalent right now. Not only is it a big level 1 body but it can't be chump blocked by Tech Explorers Forge Oracles



Pick: Deepbranch Prowler

Deepbranch Prowler Deepbranch Prowler

Blood Boon Blood Boon

Cavern Hydra Cavern Hydra

Torrent Valkyrie Torrent Valkyrie

Flowstone Primordial Flowstone Primordial Windborn Hellion is very good but I don't have many cards to support it at this point (Blizzard Shaman, Cloudcleaver Titan, Kadrasian Stoneback). Rimehorn Charger would be a nice aggressive creature but it isn't anything special. Conflagrate can be very useful on the right board but it's not essential to my deck. The fact that Hellion has average stats at every level ('cept maybe level 3) even without movement triggers makes me ok with taking it as a speculative pick. Afterall, there are quite a few cards that fit both the dino and Mobility themes (Kadrasian Stoneback, Umbruk Glider, Razortooth Stalker, Gemhide Ravager).



Pick: Windborn Hellion

Rimehorn Charger Rimehorn Charger

Windborn Hellion Windborn Hellion

Grapplevine Grapplevine

Conflagrate Conflagrate This is a Blood Boon I will take. Magma Hound is very good, but again, I'm favoring aggression over control.



Pick: Blood Boon

Blood Boon Blood Boon

Magma Hound Magma Hound

Flowstone Primordial Flowstone Primordial Another burn spell is fine at this point. I don't need an effect like Glowhive Siren in this deck.



Pick: Flame Jet

Glowhive Siren Glowhive Siren

Flame Jet Flame Jet





Pack 5

The dinos are strong with this one. Not even anything to fight for the spot.



Pick: Uterradon Rex

Uterradon Rex Uterradon Rex

Rimehorn Charger Rimehorn Charger

Oxidon Spitter Oxidon Spitter

Verdant Sphere Verdant Sphere

Stormspear Stormspear

Soothing Radiance Soothing Radiance Nargath Bruiser is a great combat trick even though +2 health doesn't seem like a significant effect at first glance. You need to play with it to realize how useful it is. Putting a reasonbly sized creature on the board while saving another creature from dying is how you build a board advantage. So much of Solforge draft is managing the stats of your creatures, making sure you have just enough on one but not more than you need on another. Bruiser is ideal for this. Shatterbolt would be my next pick but I've already got two quality burn spells and I don't really need another.



Pick: Nargath Bruiser

Rimehorn Charger Rimehorn Charger

Nargath Bruiser Nargath Bruiser

Grapplevine Grapplevine

Vigorwisp Vigorwisp

Shatterbolt Shatterbolt I could take the Windcaller Shaman for more Hellion support but dinosaur tribal is still my primary theme. I picked Featherfang over Uterradon Mauler for the less conditional body (doesn't need to block) but I don't think Mauler is a bad pick either.



Pick: Featherfang

Uterradon Mauler Uterradon Mauler

Featherfang Featherfang

Windcaller Shaman Windcaller Shaman

Steam Sentinel Steam Sentinel A few weeks ago when Deepbranch Prowlers were running rampant, I would've taken the Steam Sentinel here, but that's died down with the new draft pool. I'll take the Spiritbloom Dryad for the big body that can attack without any help.



Pick: Spiritbloom Dryad

Steam Sentinel Steam Sentinel

Gemheart Sprout Gemheart Sprout

Spiritbloom Dryad Spiritbloom Dryad

Still passing the Magma Hound for the aggressive card.



Pick: Deepbranch Prowler

Deepbranch Prowler Deepbranch Prowler

Magma Hound Magma Hound





Pack 6

My current spells are Burnout, Flame Jet, Blood Boon, Ursine Strength and 2 Whispers of Dendris; six total. A lot of people try to minimize the number of spells in their decks but I take a slightly different view. It's true that spells have weaknesses, mainly that they are situational and they generally don't help you build a board advantage. But they are great tempo plays, meaning that once you have a board advantage, they help leverage that advantage into a win. Burn spells remove blockers while pump spells keep your most powerful threats alive for another attack. I don't want to get to deep into it but I'll just say that I typically like 2-4 burn spells and 3-5 pump spells in my Umbruk aggro decks. Since Ursine strength is a premium pump spell and there are no premium creatures competing with it, I'm happy to pick it.



Pick: Ursine Strength

Stag of Lys Stag of Lys

Windcaller Shaman Windcaller Shaman

Blood Boon Blood Boon

Whispers of Dendris Whispers of Dendris

Storm Caller Storm Caller

Ursine Strength Ursine Strength Umbruk Glider is an excellent dino. The combination of Breakthrough and Mobility 3 make it a great finisher. Adding on a Mosstodon buff can make it very hard to get rid of without taking a truck load of damage.



Pick: Umbruk Glider

Tangle Tangle

Umbruk Glider Umbruk Glider

Roaming Warclaw Roaming Warclaw

Primordial Invoker Primordial Invoker

Soothing Radiance Soothing Radiance I'll take Roaming Warclaw over Uterradon Mauler with Death Current Death Currents



Pick: Roaming Warclaw

Uterradon Mauler Uterradon Mauler

Hunting Pack Hunting Pack

Glacial Crush Glacial Crush

Roaming Warclaw Roaming Warclaw I get to pick up another solid finisher in Cloudcleaver Titan over two mediocre cards.



Pick: Cloucleaver Titan

Grapplevine Grapplevine

Cloudcleaver Titan Cloudcleaver Titan

Hunting Pack Hunting Pack Yey! A Magma Hound I get to pick. Let's hope I don't regret passing the other two.



Pick: Magma Hound

Magma Hound Magma Hound

Ether Hounds Ether Hounds

Game Summaries

Game 1: My opponent was playing an Esperian robots deck with a lot of Flowsteel Carriers. I was able to get a slight lead early and continuously push damage throughout the game. I finished things off in rank 4 with Burnout and Ursine Strength. At the time, there was a cute little Scarab on the other side of the field with 33 Armor but only 3 attack.

Game 2: Another AU deck playing more of a standard midrange game with Forge Oracle as a late game trump card. I got ahead early but couldn't sustain my momentum long enough. I think I started racing too early in rank 2, taking a lot of damage from a creature I should have blocked. When my opponent dropped their bombs early in rank 3, I didn't have the life total I needed to manage the situation and negotiate the finishing blow. Their leveling advantage eventually took over the game.

Game 3: I played against a Dysian deck that was trying to do fun things with Dream Tree. Unfortunately, it's much more effective to smash faces with dinos in draft than it is to get free plays from a tree. I got a sizable board advantage in rank 2 and rode it to victory.

Game 4: Another leveling deck, but this time it was AT. I got more momentum going in rank 1 with the help of Deepbranch Prowler and my opponent couldn't recover in rank 2 despite drawing significantly more leveled cards. My strong mobility creatures finished things off in rank 3.

This deck performed just about how I thought it would. I ended up with nine dinosaurs total, which is not a ton but it's enough to consistently hit the tribal synergies. For example, if I play a Uterradon Rex on turn 1, I've got about an 80% chance to draw at least one dinosaur in the following hand. And since all of the dinosaurs in my deck are playable without extra buffs, there's not much penalty for missing.

The main weakness I've found with synergy decks, be it dinosaurs or mobility or NU pump, is that it can be hard to set up your plays when you fall behind. By definition, synergy decks are trying to combine multiple cards to create effects that are greater than the sum of their parts. The more parts you have in play or in hand, the more powerful, your synergies become. But when you fall behind, you're trying to set up your plays with just two, maybe three cards, which means you won't have as many dinosaurs on the field to get a Mosstodon buff, or as many mobility creatures to create triggers for Windborn Hellion.

And that's what happened in my one loss. I got a little behind, my life total got low and I didn't have the freedom to open lane my Uterradon Rexes or my Umbruk Gliders any more. They became average vanilla creatures, which was not enough to win the game. Decks that rely on individually strong creatures or powerful two card combos have an easier time coming back in those situations.

All in all, it was a nice deck and just the type of aggressive strategy that I enjoy playing. Can't complain about a 3-1.

-Happy drafting