NT has been my favorite faction pairing for the current draft format. Here's a draft showing what sort of strategies I look for and how that influences my picks.

Drafting

Pack 1

This is not a close pick. Borean Windweaver has the best combination of power and flexibility of any heroic in draft. It doesn't require any specific archetype or deck construction to be useful and can be potent as both a leveled threat or an underleveled utility creature. And it leaves us open to follow whatever faction or archetype the packs lead us to.

Crypt Conjurer, Aether Root and Ice Grasp are not cards that you can successfully build around in draft. Firefist Uranti is ok paired with Uterra where you can pump it into a serious threat, but otherwise is easily shut down by common debuff spells like Bitterfrost Totem and Metatransfer. I like Frostspeaker Shaman a little bit better that Firefist because it is harder to deal with, but there are still a lot of situations where it won't do enough control the board.



Pick: Borean Windweaver

Borean Windweaver Borean Windweaver

Frostspeaker Shaman Frostspeaker Shaman

Crypt Conjurer Crypt Conjurer

Aether Root Aether Root

Firefist Uranti Firefist Uranti

Ice Grasp Ice Grasp Catacomb Spider feels like the best card in the pack and I really like playing NT. If we're lucky enough to pick up a Zarox, the Raging



Pick: Catacomb Spider

Catacomb Spider Catacomb Spider

Cinder Colossus Cinder Colossus

Contagion Surge Contagion Surge

Aetherguard Aetherguard

Rimehorn Charger Rimehorn Charger For me, the pick is between Aethertap Shaman and Bitterfrost Totem. Shaman is a solid creature with a relavent ability but I feel like the creature quality is high enough in NT that I don't have to worry about picking enough playable bodies. Bitterfrost Totem is a premium spell and is incredibly useful as an underdrop play in decks that are trying to be aggressive. I'll take Totem but Shaman would be fine as well.



Pick: Bitterfrost Totem

Blood Boil Blood Boil

Aethertap Shaman Aethertap Shaman

Bitterfrost Totem Bitterfrost Totem

Conflagrate Conflagrate Spider is the only good card in the pack so it's the clear pick.



Pick: Catacomb Spider

Catacomb Spider Catacomb Spider

Stormspear Stormspear

Contagion Surge Contagion Surge This is a nice place to pick up a Sparkstone Elemental. I've played NT defender decks in the past and they've worked pretty well. It doesn't necessarily put us into that archetype but it will give us the option if the picks are there.



Pick: Sparkstone Elemental

Sparkstone Elemental Sparkstone Elemental

Rot Wanderer Rot Wanderer





Pack 2

There are three reasonable cards in this pack; Blood Bindings, Shatterbolt and Flamestoke Shaman. Shaman actually has some decent targets that I could pick up like Ashurian Brawler Razortooth Stalker Bitterfrost Totem



Pick: Flamestoke Shaman

Vigor Leech Vigor Leech

Blood Bindings Blood Bindings

Shatterbolt Shatterbolt

Chant of Dragonwatch Chant of Dragonwatch

Umbruk Icecrusher Umbruk Icecrusher

Flamestoke Shaman Flamestoke Shaman Glad I didn't take a spell in the last pack. I'll pass all of the average creatures and take more debuff.



Pick: Bitterfrost Totem

Rimehorn Charger Rimehorn Charger

Scavenger Scorpion Scavenger Scorpion

Demonweb Watcher Demonweb Watcher

Zombie Infantry Zombie Infantry

Bitterfrost Totem Bitterfrost Totem Frostshatter Strike is another premium trick in NT and I'm ok taking it over an average creature like Zombie Infantry.



Pick: Frostshatter Strike

Blood Boil Blood Boil

Rot Wanderer Rot Wanderer

Frostshatter Strike Frostshatter Strike

Zombie Infantry Zombie Infantry Here's a pick that is influenced or enabled by our earlier Sparkstone Elemental. Without the animator, Flame Jet is the best card in the pack, but I would be getting pretty spell heavy in my card selection. Sparkstone makes Cinder Colossus a legitimate pick as a late game win condition and potentially pushes me towards a more focused plan, rather than a generic good-stuff deck.



Pick: Cinder Colossus

Cinder Colossus Cinder Colossus

Spirit Torrent Spirit Torrent

Flame Jet Flame Jet Windcaller Shaman lines up with the defender plan since I can use it to move damaged walls around for additional blocks. It's also just a great utility card to have in your deck.



Pick: Windcaller Shaman

Spirit Torrent Spirit Torrent

Windcaller Shaman Windcaller Shaman





Pack 3

I could pick another Cinder Colossus to really commit to the defender deck, but I'm not ready to do that yet. I'm still thinking of it as my plan B if I don't get the aggressive NT cards that I want and Kadrasian Stoneback is too good of a card to pass for plan B. It's a little bit of a nonbo with the defender strategy because your walls clog up the board but also a little bit of a combo because of surprise attacks with Sparkstone



Pick: Kadrasian Stoneback

Witherfrost Banshee Witherfrost Banshee

Cinder Colossus Cinder Colossus

Necrotic Wurm Necrotic Wurm

Kadrasian Stoneback Kadrasian Stoneback

Duskspire Zombie Duskspire Zombie

Conflagrate Conflagrate I took the Steam Sentinel here to lean a bit more towards the late game defender deck, but it's still a fine underdrop/high attack creature in non-defender decks. It's not that committing of a pick. Plunder Imp would edge out Zombie Titan for the more neutral pick.



Pick: Steam Sentinel

Plunder Imp Plunder Imp

Zombie Titan Zombie Titan

Necrotic Wurm Necrotic Wurm

Grimgaunt Spectre Grimgaunt Spectre

Steam Sentinel Steam Sentinel Another Windcaller Shaman will be great for a defender deck. So far I have Borean Windweaver Sparkstone Elemental

A side note. Dirge Banshee plus Windcaller Shaman is my favorite gimmicky combo in draft so I'm sad that I don't get to pick both of these cards.



Pick: Windcaller Shaman

Windcaller Shaman Windcaller Shaman

Dirge Banshee Dirge Banshee

Demonweb Watcher Demonweb Watcher

Flowstone Primordial Flowstone Primordial Not. Close.



Pick: Death Current

Death Current Death Current

Contagion Surge Contagion Surge

Conflagrate Conflagrate I'm getting some pretty nice fifth picks in this draft. I'll take the Cloudcleaver Titan because it diversifies my win condiditons. In my Oratek primer I talk about how having high mobility finishers is a good compliment to a defender strategy and that's the reasoning that underlies this pick.



Pick: Cloudcleaver Titan

Cinder Colossus Cinder Colossus

Cloudcleaver Titan Cloudcleaver Titan





Pack 4

Avalanche Guardian is a nice card for defender decks because it does work without relying any support cards. With beefy stats and mobility, the card can often get 2-for-1's all by itself.



Pick: Avalanche Guardian

Blood Boil Blood Boil

Witherfrost Banshee Witherfrost Banshee

Ashurian Mystic Ashurian Mystic

Avalanche Guardian Avalanche Guardian

Grave Ghast Grave Ghast

Unrelenting Dead Unrelenting Dead This Stoneback is a little bit riskier than the first but it's just so much better than all the other cards in the pack.



Pick: Kadrasian Stoneback

Demonweb Watcher Demonweb Watcher

Contagion Surge Contagion Surge

Zombie Titan Zombie Titan

Kadrasian Stoneback Kadrasian Stoneback

Grave Ghast Grave Ghast I already have two Bitterfrost Totems and a Frostshatter Strike so I'll take the Nargath Bruiser.



Pick: Nargath Bruiser

Ashurian Brawler Ashurian Brawler

Nargath Bruiser Nargath Bruiser

Bitterfrost Totem Bitterfrost Totem

Frostshatter Strike Frostshatter Strike I'll take this Frostshatter Strike. It puts me at five total spells after four packs, but I'm ok going a little spell heavy if they are all top quality.



Pick: Frostshatter Strike

Flowstone Primordial Flowstone Primordial

Frostshatter Strike Frostshatter Strike

Grave Ghast Grave Ghast This pick might be wrong. I was starting to get hesitant about the defender strategy after I picked up my second Kadrasian Stoneback



Pick: Flowstone Primordial

Flowstone Primordial Flowstone Primordial

Steam Sentinel Steam Sentinel





Pack 5





Pack 6

I could take the another Razortooth Stalker but I'm not hurting for Hellion support. I currently have nine cards to create triggers for it. I will take the Magma Hound instead and add some flexibility to my plays.



Pick: Magma Hound

Avalanche Guardian Avalanche Guardian

Blood Bindings Blood Bindings

Razortooth Stalker Razortooth Stalker

Ghastly Renewal Ghastly Renewal

Organ Harvester Organ Harvester

Magma Hound Magma Hound Here's another pick between Hellion support and a generically good card. Again, I already have two Windcaller Shamans and Ebonskull is a really nice high attack creature. It's close but I think Ebonskull is the pick.



Pick: Ebonskull Knight

Windcaller Shaman Windcaller Shaman

Ebonskull Knight Ebonskull Knight

Explosive Demise Explosive Demise

Stormspear Stormspear

Ghastly Renewal Ghastly Renewal Honenstly, the last few picks have been kind of a toss up for me, all of them being between quality cards that play different roles in the deck. It's hard for me to say what the correct amounts are for each type of card but I do know that even with powerful synergies, you still need high attack creatures, multi-lane effects and single target removal to make your deck run well. I mostly do it by feel.

In this pack, it's between a synergy card (Razortooth Stalker) and a utility card (Bitterfrost Totem). I'm still at just five spells in the deck and I really value the options that a powerful debuff spell like Totem gives me in draft so that's what I'm taking here.



Pick: Bitterfrost Totem

Razortooth Stalker Razortooth Stalker

Organ Harvester Organ Harvester

Storm Caller Storm Caller

Bitterfrost Totem Bitterfrost Totem Nothing exciting. I'll take the creature with the highest attack.



Pick: Cavern Slime

Cavern Slime Cavern Slime

Grave Ghast Grave Ghast

Necrotic Wurm Necrotic Wurm Either of these cards would be fine. I don't think seven spells is too many in a deck like this but I'll pick the Rimehorn Charger for one more mobility creature.



Pick: Rimehorn Charger

Frostshatter Strike Frostshatter Strike

Rimehorn Charger Rimehorn Charger

Game Summaries

Game 1: I was up against an AN midrange deck that was packing a bunch of removal. They leveled two Fleshreavers in rank 1 and was able to get really good value from them throughout the game. Between that and Death Current three, I was never able to setup my board the way I needed to. The game was close but I felt on the back foot for the majority of it. Things ended with a spectacular misplay when I tried to block lethal damage with an Ebonskull Knight...on the rank up. I was dead anyway, but it was salt in the wound of a particularly painful game.

Game 2: Another AN opponent. This time I hit Windweaver plus Hellion in rank 1 then again in rank 2. The second time around was a little too much for them to handle and I built enough of a lead to finish things in the middle of rank 3.

Game 3: Round 3, my opponent was playing an NU deck with a lot of pump spells. Bitterfrost Totem and Frostshatter Strike were able to keep his board under control while Hellion did its thing. Once I got ahead on board, keeping the pressure on was pretty easy. Spiking two level threes at the second rank up might have helped, too.

Game 4: This one didn't even make it to rank 3. They had an aggressive start with Grave Ghast into Zombie Dreadknight but Bitterfrost Totem let me clear the giant zombie without falling behind. Windborn Hellion showed up in rank 2 with triggers on board and my opponent conceded. They were already behind and probably looking at a hand of blanks to deal with a growing level 2 threat.

So a successful run with a deck that started out heading in one direction, then did a complete 180 half way through the draft. It's actually one of the things I really like about drafting NT, a lot of the cards are good at supporting multiple archetypes. If I had seen a bunch of Graveborn Gluttons and Necroslimes instead of the Windborn Hellions, I could've stayed on the late game control plan and still had a pretty decent deck. NT also has really high card quality so you often have the luxury of picking the solid stats vs the utility creature vs the synergy card based on what your deck needs rather than "whatever's not terrible". Hopefully seeing the thought process behind the picks helps you the next time you go Byzerak.