By now I’m sure most of my readers are aware of our Magical Release Cycle. Therefore you know that today’s article will be talking about the Midnight Draft and likely the Launch Party. Our Midnight Draft was a roaring success, I’m pleased to announce. 32 folks braved the late-night horrors for a chance to draft triple Dark Ascension. We only offer the chance to draft triple small sets twice: the Midnight Draft and the FNM the day after. People who like to experience this…unique…format only have a few chances, and we, at The Game Preserve, are happy to oblige.
To prepare for the night I had practiced drafting triple Dark Ascension online. It was not a friendly format. Outside of maybe Spirits, it seemed to me that any combination with Green was bound to do well. I, however, knew I couldn’t go Green when the person on my right opened a Huntsman of the Fells pack one. After a few picks I quickly realized I was going to have to go Zombies. Oh well, there are worst archetypes.
- Black Cat x 5
- Diregraf Captain x 1
- Headless Skaab x 1
- Stormbound Geist x 1
- Sightless Ghoul x 2
- Nephalia Seakite x 1
- Relentless Skaabs x 2
- Deadly Allure x 1
- Tragic Slip x 1
- Thought Scour x 1
- Avacyn’s Collar x 1
- Reap the Seagraf x 4
- Altar of the Lost x 1
- Death’s Caress x 1
- Island x 8
- Swamp x 8
- Evolving Wilds x 1
The deck wasn’t bad, but its mana curve was a little off. I had hopes, even if they weren’t that high. They were quickly shattered.
In round one I was up against someone who had drafted Mono-Green, a type of deck I felt was very strong in the bizarre format. He not only had four Young Wolves, but also multiple Rootbound Geists. He played creatures at a pace I simply could not match. He beat me in two outrageously quick games. I neither had the removal nor the quick creatures to put up a fight. It was nearly an unwinnable matchup for my deck.
I continued playing him and his deck throughout the night when we both had time. I think my final record against his deck was something like 3-12. Mono-Green was simply beastly.
The rest of the evening was largely uneventful. I had a bye followed by a round against a three-color flyer deck. Unfortunately most of the flyers in Dark Ascension tend to be a bit on the small side so I won in three games. Honestly, the most interesting thing of the night was the deck that won my pod. It was four-color flashback. Basically, he had three or four Griptides, an outrageously powerful card, and several Mystic Retrievals. He could easily lock you out of the game by constant Griptides and then let his Nephelia Seakites clean up. It was interesting, if annoying. I played him in a causal game between rounds. Nothing is worse than getting your Skaabs Grip-locked.
Over all, triple Dark Ascension is nowhere near as fun as triple Innistrad or even triple New Phyrexia. It was a bit depressing. However, what the format lacks in the triple form, it makes up in its true draft form: one Dark Ascension, two Innistrad. This small set, more so than others in recent history, wants to be played along with its big brother. The set is an extremely good supplement to Innistrad. While I could complain that its triple format is no fun, I really can’t. The set simply wasn’t designed that way. Dark Ascension has wonderful utility cards, and fantastic synergies with Innistrad. So while I wouldn’t recommend the Dark Ascension to people who don’t have any Innistrad, for those who do, the set is a excellent supplement.
Thankfully the sealed release tournament wasn’t six packs of Dark Ascension. We had 35 folks show up for the event. All were eager to open their packs in search of the notorious Sorin. We decided to have the sealed pool made up of three packs of Innistrad and three packs of Dark Ascension. Everyone liked the idea. It allowed for more of the new cards and more cohesive decks. While I didn’t open anything super exciting, I managed to open what wins sealed events: solid commons, good uncommons, and bomby rares.
- Deranged Assistant x 2
- Shriekgeist x 1
- Mindshrieker x 1
- Loyal Cathar x 1
- Headless Skaab x 1
- Stormbound Geist x 1
- Niblis of the Mists x 1
- Drogskol Captain x 1
- Warden of the Walls x 1
- Tower Geist x 1
- Nephalia Seakite x 1
- Mausoleum Guard x 1
- Relentless Skaabs x 1
- Murder of Crows x 1
- Silverclaw Griffin x 1
- Manor Gargoyle x 1
- Requiem Angel x 1
- Artful Dodge x 1
- Mask of Avacyn x 1
- Midnight Haunting x 1
- Bone to Ash x 1
- Griptide x 1
- Island x 8
- Plains x 8
- Evolving Wilds x 1
Nothing feels better than a pool full of flyers. The event itself was extremely well-run and ended at not midnight. My games that day were either hard fought or quick. It was the best kind of Magic. I got in quick good games and long hard battles. The only completely un-fun match was my only loss that day.
That loss wasn’t what kept it from being enjoyable, but it was the way in which it was lost. It was an annoying combo deck that combined Falkenrath Noble and Curse of Death’s Hold. As I mentioned before, many flyers in this block are quite small; this is especially true with spirits. With the Curse on the field my flyers became even smaller, and with the Noble out I could neither attack nor block without losing life. You can also notice that removal was not one of the things my deck excelled at. Once my opponent’s combo was in play, Magic ceased being played. I could do nothing but wait and watch as he attacked or spot-removed my creature to slowly whittle away at my life total. I had literally no recourse. I forfeited both games quickly after seeing the combo. It was extremely un-interactive.
My last game of the day was the exact opposite of that loss. It went to time in game two. For half the game I was stuck with only one Island and a hand full of great Blue cards. I was getting beat up by his creatures, and if I managed to land one of my white flyers it was quickly dispatched by his solid removal. I was down to five life when I finally drew my second Island. It was then that I began orchestrating the comeback of all comebacks. I quickly landed my own Blue flyers and powerful scabs. This finally prevented him from just attacking me to death. I got him down to five life as well, but he responded by playing his Gather the Townsfolk, as well as a Butcher’s Cleaver. He had five blockers to which he could give lifelink. It was miserable. But I overcame. His life total started bouncing wildly as he attacked or blocked. I kept drawing more and more creatures and he, more and more lands. It was a true battle of attrition. I, thankfully, had out my Requiem Angel so whenever my undying creatures died I traded up and gained a flyer. In the end I was able to swing all whipping his board and leaving him with 2 life. He could have won it if he had drawn his second Fires of Undeath, but instead he drew a mountain. I took one of the best games of Magic I’ve ever played.
All of this leads me to the same conclusion I had at the pre-release. Innistrad-era limited is some of the best limited Magic ever. There is room for just about any archetype, be it combo or tribal. The format is as healthy as can be. I can’t recommend enough getting some Dark Ascension and Innistrad packs and doing a draft at home with your friends, or if you don’t have enough Magic playing friends, come on in and play at our Friday Night Magic Events. If you are a fan of limited Magic come in and try out this format before Avacyn Restored changes the format completely in May.
