If you've been reading my articles, you'll know I'm a bit behind on the format at the moment. However, over the last week, I have been able to get in a few drafts and brush up on more articles and podcasts and feel like I am starting to get up to speed. Here's hoping my hard work pays off this week!

Also, at the end of the article, I've included a "What's the Pick?" section. I invite you to leave a post in the Comments section at the end of the article with your pick and the reason why you would pick it!

Anyway, let's get drafting.

THE DRAFT

Pack 1 pick 1:



My Pick:



There was nothing in this pack the immediately stood out to me, to be honest. Sifter Wurm was the card I was the most happy to first pick, with the only other ones in contention being Aerial Guide and Lethal Sting , neither of which I want pick 1 pack 1.



Pack 1 pick 2:



My Pick:



This pack is a little better, with Oketra's Avenger and Banewhip Punisher the best cards. Punisher is the better of the two so I snapped it up.



Pack 1 pick 3:



My Pick:



Ambuscade is a pretty easy pick here, being one of green's best commons. A rare and an uncommon are gone from the pack so I'm not assuming this is a sign green is open, but I'll take it while I can.



Pack 1 pick 4:



My Pick:



This pack isn't good. It really came down to Overcome or Manalith . Overcome is okay but only really goes in creature-heavy decks, whilst Manalith goes into the ramp decks which are quite good in the format. Having taken a seven mana card earlier, I took Manalith.



Pack 1 pick 5:



My Pick:



Khenra Scrapper is a very good creature and, apart from Desert of the Glorified , is the best card in this pack. I wasn't sure which to take, but hedged on the Scrapper.



Pack 1 pick 6:



My Pick:



Oasis Ritualist is possibly a signal that no one is taking ramp. This is good for me considering I picked up Sifter Wurm, so I was happy to snap this up.



Pack 1 pick 7:



My Pick:



Another pretty simple pick, it's the best card for me here.



Pack 1 pick 8:



My Pick:



I haven't picked up any Deserts yet, but Sidewinder Naga is in my main colour and might make the cut if I can pick some up.



Pack 1 pick 9:



My Pick:



I debated taking another Manalith here but wasn't sure that I should. I ended up just taking a safer pick in Defiant Khenra .



Pack 1 pick 10:



My Pick:



Traveler's Amulet is not the greatest card but it will let me splash if I want to. Especially as I am going to be base green, this is a real possibility.

Here is the rest of pack one:



Pack 1 pick 11:



My Pick:





Pack 1 pick 12:



My Pick:





Pack 1 pick 13:



My Pick:





Pack 1 pick 14:



My Pick:





Pack 1 pick 15:



My Pick:



Overall, this was a relatively weak pack. I'm base green with a good red card and a good black one, so I can really pivot into any colour in pack two.



Pack 2 pick 1:



My Pick:



Here we have some decent enough cards: Rhonas's Stalwart and Lethal Sting , as well as my pick: Tenacious Hunter . A 4/4 for four mana is efficient, and if it can get vigilance and deathtouch it's even better.



Pack 2 pick 2:



My Pick:



I kind of wanted to pick up Desert of the Glorified here, but I really like Dreamstealer . I'm not sure how good it is in reality, but I have had very good success with it.



Pack 2 pick 3:



My Pick:



I'm honestly not sure why I took Wretched Camel ; it's not the correct pick. I should have taken either Rampaging Hippo or Doomfall . I'll chalk this up to a brain fart.



Pack 2 pick 4:



My Pick:



Ambuscade , Gift of Strength and Tenacious Hunter are all solid picks. I took Ambuscade as it is the best of the lot.



Pack 2 pick 5:



My Pick:





Pack 2 pick 6:



My Pick:



Well, it's a Desert. I don't have a lot of Desert synergies but I do have some (with the Wretched Camel s), so I need some of these at least.



Pack 2 pick 7:



My Pick:



This was an interesting pick. I'm pretty sure I'm in green/black (again), but I have picked up some good fixing so far, making this splashable. If I play against red, I am likely to bring this into the deck as a one mana removal spell is just too good.



Pack 2 pick 8:



My Pick:



Sigh.



Pack 2 pick 9:



My Pick:



Hope Tender can help with the ramp plan, so I don't mind picking this up.



Pack 2 pick 10:



My Pick:



I have to admit, I'm surprised and very happy to get a cycling Desert this late!

Here is the rest of pack two:



Pack 2 pick 11:



My Pick:





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:



Rhonas the Indomitable is a no brainer here, with Final Reward the next best card for me.



Pack 3 pick 2:



My Pick:



In this pack, I went between Naga Vitalist , Crocodile of the Crossing and Bone Picker . The Vitalist is excellent to ramp with, while Bone Picker is a great creature. However, I took Crocodile as it is, at worst, a 4 power creature which makes Rhonas an active attacker and blocker.



Pack 3 pick 3:



My Pick:



Grasping Dunes is a Desert and can help shrink opponents creatures. Plus, it has synergy with Tenacious Hunter and Banewhip Punisher.



Pack 3 pick 4:



My Pick:



I would have been happy with Cartouche of Ambition , Bitterblade Warrior , or Shed Weakness here, but I like the Cartouche a little more than the others.



Pack 3 pick 5:



My Pick:



Festering Mummy is just one of those annoying Magic cards that makes life difficult for opponents to attack in to.



Pack 3 pick 6:



My Pick:



I tossed up between Giant Spider and Supernatural Stamina here. I took the Spider for aerial defence and, while it probably won't make the cut, it can come out of the sideboard when needed.



Pack 3 pick 7:



My Pick:



With a few cards that generate -1/-1 counters, Quarry Hauler could be useful.



Pack 3 pick 8:



My Pick:



Destined/Lead is one of those high variance cards; when you can cast both sides in one turn you often win the game, but it can sometimes be a dead card in hand. I took it anyway, knowing the risk of playing cards like this.



Pack 3 pick 9:



My Pick:



With a Cartouche in the deck as well, I'm happy enough to take and play Trial of Ambition .

The rest of the picks were:



Pack 3 pick 10:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 11:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 12:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 13:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 14:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 15:



My Pick:







THE DECK

The deck seems strong enough. It's got some strong cards, with Rhonas, Sifter Wurm, Dreamstealer, Tenacious Hunter and a pair of Ambuscades, as well as some decent synergies going on with -1/-1 counters and Deserts.

THE MATCHES

I faced a blue/red spells deck in round one, beating it 2-1. Round two was a white/red aggro deck which I lost to 0-2, and round three was an Esper coloured deck which I beat in three close games 2-1. I didn't lose a game where I cast Rhonas, and Razaketh's Rite was better than I thought it would be, including winning me a tight game three of round three, where it let me find Cartouche of Ambition to enchant a Rampaging Hippo, killing a flier that would have had me dead next turn and letting me gain a bunch of life. Destined to Lead was once again mediocre, and I think I am done playing it. I also sideboarded in Chandra's Defeat in two of the matches, but sadly never drew it. Same with Sifter Wurm - I didn't see it even once across the eight games.

Join me again next week for yet another draft, but before then, take a look below!

WHAT'S THE PICK?

Here is a pack I have opened on Magic Online: let me know in the comments what you would pick from this pack.

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