From two-colored guild decks to five-colored control monstrosities, there is a huge spectrum of viable decks in Dragon’s Maze limited. With so many possible archetypes, fully exploring the format is a herculean task. In this episode, I try to take the tempo-centric two-color decks of Gatecrash as a blueprint for my drafting.
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Hey simon,
Just wondering how much you have been drafting this set. Because taking deputy over lawmage was definitely not the pick.
Maybe your experience with lawmage has been underwhelming, I dont know really, but that guy can be a bomb really.
Hey,
great draft, and your 2nd round loss just demonstrates that sometimes, when you don’t draw answers (or simply don’t really have them in your decks), it’s impossible to defeat bombs.
One thing I disagree with is the 3rd pick Selesnya guildgate over the beatleform mage – not only is the beatleform mage a very powerful creature, it is also a prominent signal, and taking it would have solidified you in Simic in a way few other picks could. Besides, since Simic is a gatecrush guild and azorius is a RTR guild, I think it’s best to draft assuming you are mostly simic with white as a splash (it might change later, but aspiring to be mosty two colors is important), which also means fixing is not nearly as important as you said, which allows to take powerful, on color cards before taking fixing.
As always, a pleasure wathcing!
I also want to comment on the Deputy pick. I believe that Lawmage is better than it but you were looking for lower casting drops so maybe thats why you picked it. IF you want a 2 drop I think Bettleform mage is actually better than Deputy as well
I don’t even need to see the videos, I already know for sure you will draft a great deck while providing us an huge amount of usefull information, seriously simon you’re one of the best drafters around. Kudos and keep them coming.
What makes Simon’s videos so great is he talks us through everything! I love how he talks himself out of decisions that at first seem correct, and then he goes another direction, all the while explaining why he’s doing it.
He did have a goal in this draft, and it didn’t go perfectly. If you are going a GTC guild, you have to cut those colors hard in Dragon’s Maze. I think he meant to be more white than he ended up. But you have to stick with the 2-color with a splash – the 5-6-6 mana breakdowns are brutal when you stumble at all!
Keep up the drafting Simon – I have faith you will master it and have a lot to teach us when you do!
I just paused the video after pick 4. Deputy over Lawmage is questionable (as stated) and I also think Beck and Call or Turn and Burn (the best removal spell in the set) is also rather suspect. I cannot believe you took a gate over Beetleform Mage, that, IMHO, is simple indefensible.
Okay, back to the video, let’s see if this bites you. :^)
And I forgot, Battering Krasis over Moa?? I think that is the most egregious of all. Not trying to troll, just one man’s opinion.
first of all, thx for the videos
though i think u drafted right, i tried to draft my own from what u got…. going RUG and also got a rly good deck… seems there are often more than 1 possible way.
I would have taken turn and burn p1p1 but beck and call is defensible. I think lawmage over deputy is correct as well mostly because its more splashable and sends a better signal. I see deputies come around late all the time and likely would have wheeled if uw is open. Moving into simic after passing beetleform mages is a mistake. Sending good signals is more important in this set than normal. Once you take the gate over the beetleform mage I think you have to commit to being base uw or gw with simic as the splash.
Great content as usual. You are the best, non-lsv, draft video guy on the web.
Thank you for the videos Simon.
I think you made very poor picks at the beginning of the dragon’s maze pack. Had you taken turn/burn and the two beetleform mages you would have been set up very well going into the GTC pack. It’s entirely possible that simic would have been wide open from your left and you would have ended up with a more powerful deck.
That’s my opinion anyway.
Hi Simon,
I think there are many ways to draft DGM, although people may disagree with your picks you give a justification of each and that is enough, early in a format it can be as important taking a slight risk as an obvious option, to really get an idea on how you want to personally prioritise picks. In fact, you mention about how draft preference is key during your introduction, this draft certainly highlights that, my own path through would have been very different looking at the first 5 picks. I always enjoy your content for the scientific dissection and how you rigorously break down a format, I’m very much looking forward to your future DGM videos.
Keep up the excellent work
Your opponent in match one could have played warped physique on his own creature to kill you instead of bringing you to one. Thanks for the videos.
I think the pick of Deputy of Acquittals over Ascended Lawmage is more reasonable than the above comments make it out to be. When the format was brand new, I would have slammed the hexproof flier, but the more I draft, the lower I value it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great card. The thing is just that it often isn’t much more than an Assault Griffin – something very good but nothing to go nuts about.
Deputy of Acquittals on the other hand almost always overperforms. There is so much stuff going on with this tight little package, it’s ridiculous. It can save your guys from removal and your blockers from bloodrushed attackers. It can be a combat trick with evolve and Bronzebeak Moa. It lets you reuse come-into-play-effects. All those added bonuses are amazing for an innocent two-drop.
In round 2 game 2, what is the reasoning for not attacking with everything the turn before your opponent cast Unflinching Courage? You say it’s too dangerous, but there aren’t really that many combinations of spells that would actually punish you for not attacking with all creatures. I can’t think of any at all.
I think the theory to prioritize 2 drops like in Gatecrash, doesn’t really work!
And the cluestone is not always a problem, because sometimes they stay in hand at turn 3, so the 2 drops doesn’t get better. On the other hand a cluestone ramps to 5 and so your 2 drop loose one attack, against a 5 drop.
And also in a 3 color deck your 2 drops, doesn’t always hit the board on turn 2, because of bad mana.
Anyway very difficult set to draft!
Thanks for all the comments! I’m not going to respond to all of you, but reply with some generic thoughts instead :).
Regarding the early Dragon’s Maze picks, I am still trying to figure out the format. In retrospect, picking up two Beetleform Mages and then ending up in Simic would have turned out very nicely. The question is how much of that analysis is based on how this draft format works and how much of it is being results oriented.
In my (limited) experience with DGR, I regularly found that my decks were lacking in two-drops and had far too many 4-drops. In this episode, I wanted to try to compensate for that by picking the Deputy (which qualifies as a two-drop and I’ve seen do amazing things later on) rather than the Lawmage. It was also my reasoning for not going with Beetleform Mage (as it is a 3-drop). I think it’s more important to discuss the strategic implications and intentions of those picks than to simply judge picks based on personal opinion and anecdotal evidence – I definitely could have made different picks, but those were my reasons.
As some food for thought, here are some questions:
A) If you first pick Tithe Drinker, what do you second pick?
C) Is there an argument for first-picking Haazda Snare Squad? What are you looking to draft then?
C) Which of the three split cards is the best to firstpick? Does the guild structure of DGR influence this decision?
D) What do you think of this opening: Beck & Call, Boros Guildgate, Dimir Guildgate? What about just picking all three Guildgates?
I know it’s somewhat difficult to write a reply that sounds neither overly aggressive nor defensive, but to me, understanding what makes the format tick is important. Calling decisions wrong without giving your reasoning does not facilitate that. I currently feel that the early picks of Dragon’s Maze are a slippery slope to maneuver – as each decision can be rewarded by the subsequent packs or backfire and mess up everything. Understanding where you want to be after Dragon’s Maze and how to accomplish that is the key.
Is drafting a Gatecrash guild the answer? Is it strategic cohesiveness, regardless of guilds and colors? Or should one try to aim for 4- and 5-colordecks? With so many options, it is likely that DGR is never going to be “solved” completely. In that case, it might be best to specialize in one of those strategies and take down 8-4′s with it whether or not it is “optimal”. Interesting times for sure!
“I wanted to try to compensate for that by picking the Deputy (which qualifies as a two-drop”
I feel like you’re not giving enough weight to how hard it can be to actually cast deputy on turn 2. It can be pretty tough as you can’t really go base azorious until the last pack, so often you end up in base simic and deputy is rarely castable on turn 2.
Answers:
A) Probably lawmage, because i think it’s that good, but Maw would obviously keep you on Orzhov.
B) Can’t see an argument for first-picking snare squad. It goes best in a Boros deck right? If that’s the case then burn is just better IMO.
C) Turn/Burn is often a 2 for 1, kills anything for 5 mana, and it’s even a good card if you’re not blue. I think it requires less of your deck than Beck/Call and is just as good unless you’re fusing Beck/Call. Both those cards are rav guilds, so I don’t think the guild structure puts one above the other.
D) In weaker packs I can see taking the guildgates, but those packs were all so stacked I don’t think you can justify it.
I have two problems with two-drops. First of all I don’t like playing vanilla bears, especialy when I do not have enough pump spells or bloodrush to push them through. And then most of the two drops are hard to cast on turn 2 anyway. In Dragon Maze I usualy only decide on a three color combination I want to draft, decision what guild I am in and what color will be only a splash doesn’t come until mid Gatecrash pack. As a consequence, it happens that Zhur-Taa Druid or Wojek Halberdiers are sometimes left in sideboard because I draft Naya first and then end up in Selesnya splashing red and so on.
Because of that it might be better to pick more expensive spells and mana fixing in DGM and take some two-drops later. Exception is maybe Kraul Warrior, which is a card i like a lot because it is monogreen and very flexible. Also I think that if you decided to pick Deputy and ship Beetleform Mage on P2p1 anyway, it would be more reasonable to stay out of Simic and rather take Dimir Guildgate on pick three?
Concerning your questions:
1] A have never drafted or seen a good Orzhov deck. I think that 3*GTC Orzhov Archetype was kinda specific and is viable no more. Also when you force Simic or Boros, then you have 2 premium common creatures in GTC that nobody else is interested in. Orzhov have only Kingpin’s pet which will be taken even by non-heavy-in-Orzhov drafters.
From your pack I would choose Lawmage, Boros Guildgate would be probably an option as well. Maw is overvaluated, i think that card sucks.
2] I can see an argument for Haazda Squad If you plan to play Boros. It forces Boros better then Turn/Burn. Since it is monocolored it also leaves you quite open, especialy to Azorious where it can be quite good.
3] I think that Turn/Burn is little better than Beck/Call but the choice is rather stylistic.
4] I am fine with picking Gates early but not over such powerful spells as Turn/Burn or Beetleform Mage. I would also point out that if you want to draft 5c control then cards like Prophetic Prism and Transguild Promenade fix your mana much better than Gates. People sometimes pick those gates very highly just to make their Gatekeepers playable but i think this approach is suboptimal.
The guy who wanted to take Moa over Krasis is an idiot, Moa suck’s.
That was the impostor striking again, and besides moa is so much better than krasis its not even funny.
Except that it dies to Doomblade, but otherwise it’s better.
Crazily enough, slamming gates early appears to be the most conservative strategy. If you can cut off a GTC guild early, your deck can be sick, otherwise you are stuck with a three color pile with low power level that can still stumble on mana. At least if you get gates early you are basically guarenteed something reasonable which can sometimes 3-0.