I could either go into Wrath of God / Snapcaster Mage and pivot to more hard control or Parallax Wave for some serious shenanigans (both options would probably mean abandoning the Burning of Xinye, but I can also play RW Wildfire), but I decide to stay open and take the Arid Mesa.
There’s a good chance I’ll be Grixis Wildfire so Watery Grave is a solid option here. I wouldn’t want to make black a primary color at this point so Damnation is out of the question.
Rolling Earthquake is always a powerful option as a sweeper / finisher (or force a tie, hehe). Jace Beleren is a strong pick, but I think Rolling Earthquake is more useful overall.
I’m actually pretty surprised Angel of Invention wheeled. I took Faithless Looting though because really didn’t want to pivot into white at this point.
This was in the same pack as Dack Fayden / Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh. This tells me that people are probably splashing red just for those, but nobody else is committed to red enough to play Sarkhan but me.
I decide to stake my flag in green with Primeval Titan since it’s actually been quite a long time since I’ve built Wildfire with green. Hopefully the Earthquake or Shriekmaw wheels.
I was hesitant to take Dragonlord Atarka early, but then I remembered the Eureka wheeled and there was nothing else I really wanted in this pack anyways.
I really couldn’t use Gideon / Braids / Jitte / Armageddon, so I take Tendo Ice Bridge to keep me a bit open. Gideon and Armageddon in this pack signals that white is very open.
I’m actually surprised to see the Tinker here because I really haven’t seen any mana rocks floating around (I guess they’re pretty spread out). Coalition Relic is the only useful card in this pack for me and maybe I can wheel that Pithing Needle.
Mana fixing is always solid. I really wanted to go in on Greater Gargadon, but I didn’t have any RG lands at this point because I originally was planning on going Grixis.
Rolling Earthquake not being able to snipe walkers definitely raises Sorcerous Spyglass’s value in my deck. I really wanted to take Mutavault, but I need answers to planeswalkers and my mana fixing really wasn’t there yet to support Mutavault.
I have some decent options in this pack. Snuff Out was a bit of a stretch since black is my tertiary color. I take Treetop Village since I already have Primeval Titan and hopefully the Snuff out / Kolaghan’s Command can wheel.
I debated between Yavimaya Elder and Bayou and went with Bayou. I had enough fixing, but I could pass on Elder if I’m not creature heavy trying to abuse Skullclamp / Natural Order / Recurring Nightmare / Reveillark / etc.
Kolaghan’s Command didn’t wheel, but that’s okay. Between Cultivate / Kodama’s Reach and my fetch / dual, I should have a good amount of swamps to somewhat reliably pay the alternate casting cost.
Aww, Keranos didn’t wheel (RIP blue splash). I honestly don’t think I noticed Maelstrom Pulse the first time around, but that’s okay because a BG card would probably wheel anyways.
- This deck was really short on playables which made me maindeck Faithless Looting
- I didn’t have high expectations for this deck, but I ended up going 3-0. It was surprisingly powerful and consistent, I only had one game taken off me and that was up against Selesnya Wake Super Ramp in the finals.
- Pernicious Deed MVP! Deed was clutch everytime I cast it.
I love RW Wildfire. The Wraths and walkers with provides (along with Sun Titan and BSA) just gives the deck such power. But, I'm happy to play any color Wildfire deck. One of my fave archetypes (probably third in line to RecSur and BX reanimator).
At pick 4, I would've gone either Damnation for BR(x?) Wildfire or, more likely, Gearhulk for RG Wildfire. Gearhulk curves so well into Wildifire. Not only can it survive the Wildfire, it can make sure another creature does as well. It's really potent in this deck, I've found.
Nothing in this pack really stands out to me besides Venser, which is extremely versatile.
P1P2: Burning of Xinye https://i.imgur.com/G35gTmk.png
Eureka / Burning of Xinye are the two archetype definers. I decide to go with Burning of Xinye since Eureka carries more risk.
P1P3: Arid Mesa https://i.imgur.com/JkV5Yt9.png
I could either go into Wrath of God / Snapcaster Mage and pivot to more hard control or Parallax Wave for some serious shenanigans (both options would probably mean abandoning the Burning of Xinye, but I can also play RW Wildfire), but I decide to stay open and take the Arid Mesa.
P1P4: Watery Grave https://i.imgur.com/TFDwbr6.png
There’s a good chance I’ll be Grixis Wildfire so Watery Grave is a solid option here. I wouldn’t want to make black a primary color at this point so Damnation is out of the question.
P1P5: Blood Crypt https://i.imgur.com/xb0ursv.png
Again, probably going Grixis and there’s not much else I can use in this pack. I’m starting to see that green is fairly open.
P1P6: Rolling Earthquake https://i.imgur.com/5YpQyJB.png
Rolling Earthquake is always a powerful option as a sweeper / finisher (or force a tie, hehe). Jace Beleren is a strong pick, but I think Rolling Earthquake is more useful overall.
P1P7: Chandra, Torch of Defiance https://i.imgur.com/CputDy9.png
This pack was just screaming RED IS OPEN. I take the Chandra, Torch of Defiance hoping to wheel either Dack Fayden or Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh.
P1P8: Char https://i.imgur.com/UKlRphd.png
Not much I can use here and I can play Char if I’m really desperate. I’m starting to notice that red and black aren’t very open
P1P9: Thundermaw Hellkite https://i.imgur.com/ZxyYcaz.png
This pack pretty much cemented the fact that red was wide open.
P1P10: Faithless Looting https://i.imgur.com/N35db56.png
I’m actually pretty surprised Angel of Invention wheeled. I took Faithless Looting though because really didn’t want to pivot into white at this point.
P1P11: Sword of Body and Mind https://i.imgur.com/n2gt7OX.png
Just a random hate pick in case someone picked up Stoneforge Mystic or something.
P1P12: Hanweir Garrison https://i.imgur.com/t8mG0U6.png
Random hate pick against any red aggro player. Gearhulk reminds me that green is pretty open and that I should look into that in pack 2.
P1P13: Cultivate https://i.imgur.com/1eS0ZBL.png
This is when I decide that I should really start going into green since both red and green are wide open.
P1P14: Flickerwisp https://i.imgur.com/pIc2UTp.png
White also seemed pretty open….
P1P15: Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker https://i.imgur.com/UOoBrdK.png
This was in the same pack as Dack Fayden / Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh. This tells me that people are probably splashing red just for those, but nobody else is committed to red enough to play Sarkhan but me.
P2P1: Primeval Titan https://i.imgur.com/3SYuLCm.png
I decide to stake my flag in green with Primeval Titan since it’s actually been quite a long time since I’ve built Wildfire with green. Hopefully the Earthquake or Shriekmaw wheels.
P2P2: Dragonlord Atarka https://i.imgur.com/f9gasaz.png
I was hesitant to take Dragonlord Atarka early, but then I remembered the Eureka wheeled and there was nothing else I really wanted in this pack anyways.
P2P3: Tendo Ice Bridge https://i.imgur.com/zjZWMGq.png
I really couldn’t use Gideon / Braids / Jitte / Armageddon, so I take Tendo Ice Bridge to keep me a bit open. Gideon and Armageddon in this pack signals that white is very open.
P2P4: Garruk Relentless https://i.imgur.com/nbgxRcZ.png
Garruk is a solid card and I can probably wheel the Kodama’s Reach since Cultivate Wheeled in pack 1
P2P5: Inferno Titan https://i.imgur.com/LL62op0.png
Inferno Titan is probably the best titan overall and is the only card that is remotely useful to me in this pack, win / win!
P2P6: Coalition Relic https://i.imgur.com/Gj2v2j0.png
I’m actually surprised to see the Tinker here because I really haven’t seen any mana rocks floating around (I guess they’re pretty spread out). Coalition Relic is the only useful card in this pack for me and maybe I can wheel that Pithing Needle.
P2P7: City of Brass https://i.imgur.com/T1DMFpt.png
Mana fixing is always solid. I really wanted to go in on Greater Gargadon, but I didn’t have any RG lands at this point because I originally was planning on going Grixis.
P2P8: Maze of Ith https://i.imgur.com/3fPky0n.png
Maze of Ith is always a strong option in durdley decks, plus I have Primeval Titan to fetch it.
P2P9: Shriekmaw https://i.imgur.com/c6BveBY.png
I have the lands to splash black, time to go Jund!
P2P10: Sorcerous Spyglass https://i.imgur.com/Z53MwaU.png
Rolling Earthquake not being able to snipe walkers definitely raises Sorcerous Spyglass’s value in my deck. I really wanted to take Mutavault, but I need answers to planeswalkers and my mana fixing really wasn’t there yet to support Mutavault.
P2P11: Gideon, Ally of Zendikar https://i.imgur.com/pUJgCJy.png
I swear everyone is playing black / blue because red / white / green are just wide open.
P2P12: Kodama’s Reach https://i.imgur.com/5NKh9Sf.png
Wheeled as expected, although I wouldn’t have minded taking Scroll Rack.
P2P13: Pernicious Deed https://i.imgur.com/UR2Chol.png
I’m a Jund wildfire deck playing almost no mana rocks, a perfect shell for Pernicious Deed to shine.
The next two picks really don’t matter
P3P1: Taiga https://i.imgur.com/jtZwUAo.png
As much as I wanted to take Vampiric Tutor, I really needed fixing. Need before greed, consistency > raw power.
P3P2: Treetop Village https://i.imgur.com/18E8RzC.png
I have some decent options in this pack. Snuff Out was a bit of a stretch since black is my tertiary color. I take Treetop Village since I already have Primeval Titan and hopefully the Snuff out / Kolaghan’s Command can wheel.
P3P3: Lightning Strike https://i.imgur.com/imDMAtV.png
This pack gave me an idea to try and wheel Keranos since I already had lands for a blue splash.
P3P4: Mana Confluence https://i.imgur.com/aCQk5DI.png
Need more fixing for that Keranos that I’m totally going to wheel!
P3P5: Garruk Wildspeaker https://i.imgur.com/sht2rev.png
Garruk Wildspeaker is a good magic card.
P3P6: Bayou https://i.imgur.com/I7hvKsi.png
I debated between Yavimaya Elder and Bayou and went with Bayou. I had enough fixing, but I could pass on Elder if I’m not creature heavy trying to abuse Skullclamp / Natural Order / Recurring Nightmare / Reveillark / etc.
P3P7: AEtherling https://i.imgur.com/m2HKhaH.png
I really didn’t want to deal with AEtherling, and I could potentially play it with my blue splash?
P3P8: Izzet Signet https://i.imgur.com/acWrezD.png
On color signet for my blue splash!
P3P9: Search for Azcanta https://i.imgur.com/YNLGT0C.png
Another strong card for my blue splash, especially post Wildfire.
P3P10: Snuff Out https://i.imgur.com/q2BOwZX.png
Kolaghan’s Command didn’t wheel, but that’s okay. Between Cultivate / Kodama’s Reach and my fetch / dual, I should have a good amount of swamps to somewhat reliably pay the alternate casting cost.
P3P11: Maelstrom Pulse https://i.imgur.com/YRgwRJX.png
Aww, Keranos didn’t wheel (RIP blue splash). I honestly don’t think I noticed Maelstrom Pulse the first time around, but that’s okay because a BG card would probably wheel anyways.
P3P12: Everflowing Chalice https://i.imgur.com/WmU1z0E.png
I take Chalice over Reef because I decided to kill the blue splash.
P3P13: Archangel Avacyn https://i.imgur.com/0tkHsUM.png
How open is white?
P3P14: Flesh Carver https://i.imgur.com/vSfD1gm.png
White is so open that I don’t even feel the need to hate draft Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Didn’t get a screenshot of the last pick, but whatever.
Final product: Jund (RGB) Wildfire Midrange https://i.imgur.com/LBqBXow.png
Some notes:
- This deck was really short on playables which made me maindeck Faithless Looting
- I didn’t have high expectations for this deck, but I ended up going 3-0. It was surprisingly powerful and consistent, I only had one game taken off me and that was up against Selesnya Wake Super Ramp in the finals.
- Pernicious Deed MVP! Deed was clutch everytime I cast it.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
At pick 4, I would've gone either Damnation for BR(x?) Wildfire or, more likely, Gearhulk for RG Wildfire. Gearhulk curves so well into Wildifire. Not only can it survive the Wildfire, it can make sure another creature does as well. It's really potent in this deck, I've found.
Cheers,
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