Well, I’ve finally managed to play a Mirrodin draft, albeit online. (Playing RPGs every Friday evening does tend to cut out Friday Night Magic for me). The deck I drafted would probably be termed a classic infect deck, and I won almost every game with infect.
1 Plague Stinger
1 Corpse Cur
1 Blight Mamba
2 Contagious Nim
2 Ichorclaw Myr
1 Ichor Rats
3 Cystbearer
2 Ezuri’s Archers
1 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
2 Tel-Jilad Fallen
1 Hand of the Praetors
1 Engulfing Slagwurm
1 Tel-Jilad Defiance
1 Instill Infection
1 Galvanic Blast
1 Darksteel Axe
1 Withstand Death
1 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Mountain
9 Forest
5 Swamp
1 Untamed Might
Sideboard
1 Darksteel Myr
1 Wing Puncture
1 Kuldotha Rebirth
1 Trigon of Infestation
1 Psychic Miasma
1 Goblin Gaveleer
1 Relic Putrescence
1 Lifesmith
1 Blunt the Assault
1 Mountain
1 Island
1 Neurok Replica
1 Whitesun’s Passage
1 Golem’s Heart
1 Liquimetal Coating
2 Turn Aside
1 Mountain
2 Copperhorn Scout
The Hand of the Praetors came up in my third pack, and I was glad to see it. The Engulfing Slagwurm was about a 4th or 5th pick, and it won me at least one game – the other game it came out, I just couldn’t deal with a single fliers (and I’d mulliganed down to 5 cards and ended up having too many lands).
With the exception of my Darksteel Axe, hardly any Equipment saw play in any of the games. I didn’t come up against any significant infect, but some metalcraft and other just sort-of-quick decks, but my deck was quicker and the Slagwurm could turn things around nicely.
My favourite win was getting an opponent to 8 poison counters, then dropping the Hand of the Praetors followed by an Ichor Rats – the combination giving him 10 poison counters and me the match win. I ended up winning the tournament, which felt really good, though I expect that infect decks will prove harder and harder to draft as people get the hang of the format.