What do we know about Shadowmoor Draft?

A scant three days prior to the Release of Shadowmoor, I am trying to put together some general principles that are universal to all Shadowmoor drafts. I have only drafted the set three times, but hope to do so again tonight. I am trying not to overstate things, but still come to some useful conclusions. Here is what I can come up with thus far:


Green is good.

G/(R or W) seem to be the de facto strongest color combinations, given the aggressive curve and incredibly efficient creature drops at uncommon and to a more limited extent, common. Having enchantments at uncommon that nerf -1/-1 counters and fliers doesn't hurt. And hey, if you think there is a better color out there, let us know why in the comments.


White removal is probably better than any other color.

It is certainly better removal than white usually gets. I have discussed it before, but I will do so again; Last Breath, Inquisitor's Snare, Prison Term, Curse of Chains, Mercy Killing, and Æthertow. These are all at uncommon or common. Pairing white with blue gives control decks a chance to beat aggro.


The mill deck appears to be unviable. Or at least more difficult to build than expected.

Our Pseudonymous Drama Student attempted to draft this last Friday, at a ten man table. If ever there was a time to try out this sort of a deck, triple base-set draft with ten people early in the set's life would be the time. But it did not pan out. (I did see at least one game that the PSD took by milling, but as CBG reported, I think the total record was something like 0-4 in matches, 2-8 in games.)


R/B aggro can work. But it appears to have less staying power than Green aggro decks.

The Captain drafted one hell of an aggro deck last week, with multiple Ashenmoor Gougers and Sootstoke Kindlers. He curved out in game one and ran my B/U deck over like nothing. Only hitting my Din of the Fireherd game two (I think it was on turn 8) allowed my to get there and game three was very tight as well. I think with some direct damage to seal the deal, this could be a real contender.


Mono colored decks don't just draft themselves.

But Mark Rosewater keeps telling me to draft them. It may be possible to go mono, but thus far it appears that conventional two or three color decks are proving more successful- and ubiquitous. Drafting mono may require a surfeit of underdafted cards in a single color, or perhaps just a totally new perspective on drafting. Or maybe I should just try it some time.


Counter manipulation is very good against non-aggro decks.

Leech Bonder is sick against any deck that doesn't try to kill by turn eight. Actually, it's still not terrible against aggro decks either. On the first swing it will trade with a 3/3, assuming you have the one blue mana to untap it. Paired with Persist creatures (on either side of the board), the Leech becomes downright unfair. And that's only one card. There are a few -1/-1 counters flying around Shadowmoor, I hear. When in doubt, draft the Fate Transfer.


Any disagreement is welcome in the comments, in addition to other principles you have found to be true. I want people going into the release weekend with a solid base to work from.

T

ps- Shameless plug: NEW MIX! You can Download here.

This is one of several spontaneous, one-take mixes I did to prep for an upcoming show- The Marquette University COEP Diversity Gala. Because the focus is diversity I used some housey tracks with a diverse feel. I tried to mix in some "authentic" world music artists (Issa Bagayogo, Anslem Douglas, Despina Vandi, etc.) with more mainstream names as well (M.I.A., Groove Armada, Boozoo Bajou). I tried for a more "live" feel, no editing, more effects processing on the fly.