I've played 4 Daily Events in the past week or so, going 3-1, 3-1, 1-2 (drop), and 3-1.I'm up to 11 QPs right now.
I've managed to have really good success in drafts with either W/x decks or G/B Infect.
If you go white, you want to draft white hard and make it your primary color, splashing only a second color. I find red or blue works best. Red gives you removal and blue gives you more flyers. Getting Leoning Skyhunters and Kemba Skyguards are key to this archetype. If I see an early Serum Raker, that can push me into blue, otherwise, I'll likely try to get the W/r deck. Kuldotha Ringleader is surprisingly good, especially if you can play T2 Leonin Skyhunter, T3 Kemba's Skyguard (attack for 2), T4 (attack for 4), T5 Kuldotha Ringleader (attack for 4), T6, attack with all three (6 in the air). I've won lots of games turn 7 and 8 on those three cards alone. Wardriver is less desirable than the Ringleader because double red conflicts with white's best flyers. You can't play T2 Wardriver, T3 Kemba's Skyguard, for example.
Glint Hawks, Glint Hawk Idol, and cheap equipment are particularly good here. Removal in Galvanic Blast and Arrest are obviously good, but Leonin Relic-Warder is surprisingly good, often making opponent choose between removing him to get a Core Prowler back, or killing a Kemba's Skyguard. If you get enough two-drop 2-power guys (even Oxida Daredevil), the value of Concussive Bolt, Rally the Forces, and even Seize the Initiative can all go up as they quickly become blowout tempo plays.
WB is bad because of black's emphasis on Infect and WG is usually underwhelming because of green's emphasis on Infect, green's lack of removal, and green's lack of evasive guys (all reasons to play red or blue instead).
GB Infect tends to be either really good or so-so, but I often draft it because it gives the best chance to get the best deck and go 3-0 (remember I'm still trying to win events to get QPs). I've been very successful lately with a pretty single-minded tactic:
1) If there is premiere removal in the pack (Go for the Throat, Spread the Sickness, Grasp of Darkness, Skinrender, Contagion Clasp, Contagion Engine) take it first.
2) If there is Viridian Claw or Bladed Pinions, take it. First Strike + Infect = unfair. Viridian Claw equips for only 1, which is a steal and Bladed Pinions gives your guys evasion, which is ridiculously good. Unless there's an infect creature who is outrageously good, I'll take these two equipment over a creature.
3) If there is ANY creature with Infect, take it.
MBS infect guys I draft in order:
Flesh-Eater Imp (I can't champion this guy enough; he absolutely is RIDICULOUS in draft, winning games all by himself)
Phyrexian Vatmother
Phyrexian Hydra
Phyrexian Crusader
Viridian Corrupter
Blight Widow
Core Prowler
Plague Myr
Septic Rats
Rot Wolf
Scourge Servant
Flensermite
Phyrexian Juggernaut
The rare infect guys are all good and I'd take them over almost anything else in the pack. After the rares, the Corrupter is card advantage and tempo; it's so good. Blightwidow stops flyers, but more importantly, the four toughness makes it really hard to stop. Plague Myr is a two-drop Infect guy AND he can let you play Scourge Servant on turn 4 or Blackcleave Goblin/Tel-Jilad Fallen/Carrion Call on turn 3. Septic Rats is quite often a 3/3, which usually costs 5 mana. Rot Wolf is seriously underrated, IMO and I like it much better than the Scourge Servant. Flensermite is a 2-drop, but the worst of all the two-drops for Infect. I will note that I once played him turn two and played Viridian Claw and equipped turn 3 and he almost went all the way.
SOM infect guys I draft in order:
Skithryx, the Blight Dragon
Hand of the Praetors
Tangle Angler
Plague Stinger
Corpse Cur
Cystbearer
Ichor Rats
Ichorclaw Myr
Blight Mamba
Necropede
Contagious Nim
Blackcleave Goblin
Tel-Jilad Fallen
Carrion Call
.
.
.
Vector Asp - he barely counts as an Infect creature as he doesn't naturally have Infect and screw up your curve if you ever have to play his ability or play him anything but turn 1, or on the same turn as you play another Infect creature (for example, on turn 4 after Contagious Nim). Having an opening hand of:
Vector Asp, Blight Mamba, Contagious Nim, Blackcleave Goblin, Forest, Swamp, Forest makes things awkward, since your plays on turns 2 through 4 are Infect guys and Vector Asp won't be poisoning your opponent until turn 5. I really, really dislike this guy unless you're seriously desperate. I will play non-Infect guys with a bigger body over this most of the time, because Tangle Mantis can hold the ground against most creatures far better than Vector Asp.
The rares are ridiculous and are taken over anything else, even removal. Tangle Angler wins games where you can just force your opponent to make 2 or three creatures block him while the rest of your team gets in there. Flying + Infect is really, really good in draft, so Plague Stinger is so good. Corpse Cur is card advantage which beats almost everything else and Cystbearer is above the curve for creatures at three mana in draft, let alone creatures with Infect. Ichor Rats can poison your opponent directly, but the one toughness means it dies to Myr, unlike Cystbearer. It's better late game, but I prefer the Cystbearer most of the time, as you can apply pressure better, in the absence of removal. Blight Mamba turn 2, Cystbearer turn 3 is one of my favorite starts (Plague Myr on turn 2, Cystbearer on turn 3 is THE best start I love).
After that, the two-drops really shine as early pressure on your opponent and Contagious Nim is better than the four-drops. The Goblin has one less power than the Fallen, but the Haste is so key; I've won many games because I've played EOT Carrion Call, then followed up with Blackcleave Goblin on my turn for 4 poison out of nowhere.
4) Draft Virulent Wound, Morbid Plunder, or green pump next. Untamed Might is better than the bottom half of the infect guys, but worse than the top half of the infect guys, IMO. Virulent Wound and Morbid Plunder are both really good, but I wouldn't take them over a creature with infect.
5) If there is a black or green creature, take it. If there is a Myr, take it. This is the right call most of the time after 1-4. There's always a real danger in B/G infect of simply not having a critical mass of creatures in the deck, so I try to overcompensate and around picks 9-12, I'll draft creatures more than anything else. Dross Ripper and Tangle Mantis don't have Infect, but they can stop you from losing a race to random Bears and Hill Giants your opponent plays.
6) Pick up other green "tricks". 5 and 6 often change places depending on how the deck is looking, but I'm including cards like Wing Puncture, Withstand Death, and Tel-Jilad Defense here that may be cards # 39 and 40 in my deck after including removal, Infect creatures, and non-infect creatures.
I've seen people play Green/not-black Infect decks, but these are usually bad ideas. Black/blue Infect can be good with the right build, but is usually strictly worse than Green/Black just because you have half as many infect creatures. White has some infect creatures in MBS, but I avoid that strategy completely. Pairing green with red can give you removal and blue can give infect guys evasion (I recently lost when some guy gave his infect guy all his equipment then played Neurok Invisimancer for the win), but GB infect is the best by far, it's not even close.
I'd also read LSV's article.
I think he overrates Fangren Marauder FAR too much, but he's won far more money than I've ever spent or won combined, so maybe he knows what he's doing more than I do.
[Edited 7 times, lastly by yakusoku on February 28, 2011]
Topic Closed
Magic Online Trading League Bulletin Board
UBBFriend: Email This Page to Someone! 
posted February 28, 2011 12:35 AM
