Gatecrash Draft; Orzhov = OP

[Dane]

Ok...this isn't a bitch post. It's really more of a brag post, but also a question, since I seek the knowledge of my betters.

This last Fri, as the wife and I try to do...we went and drafted. I decided, based on past experience, to force Orzhov. First two packs were NOT good, but I kept it up. Third pack, I pulled a Godless Shrine...which was the only rare I drafted the whole night, and amusingly enough, fit in my planned deck (I'll raredraft a shockland regardless if I use it or not.) There were a few other good things I got passed in my third pack, but here's what I ended up with.

[deck]1 Kingpin's Pet
3 Balustrade Spy
1 Executioner's Swing
1 Beckon Apparition
2 Basilica Screecher
1 Court Street Denizen
1 Orzhov Charm
1 Arrows of Justice
2 Purge the Profane
1 Wight of Precinct Six
3 Grisly Spectacle
1 One Thousand Lashes
1 Smite
1 Thrull Parasite
1 Death's Approach
1
Syndic of Tithes
1 Basilica Guards
1 Shadow Slice
Lands[/deck]

So, as you can see...nothing amazing. No Obzedat, no Alms Beast or other bombs. But seriously...I was untouchable. Didn't lose a game. Didn't even end a game under 15 life. I almost felt bad for my opponents...but there's packs on the line!

My second opponent, who I'm on good terms with actually played a third game with me after we reported our official two. At the end...he had 4 life left, and ground creatures. I had at least 6 power in the air, and a Thrull Parasite on the ground. It was obvious he was dead, but I told him "Hang on...let's play it out. I've got a really cool way to kill you." So...on my turn, I attack with ONLY my Thrull Parasite, which he, of course, blocks. I then proceed to Smite my own Thrull, and pop off four extort triggers for game. We both cracked up...

But seriously, given how quickly Orzhov can stabilize with low cost creatures on the ground and in the air, is it stupid to ever draft
anything else, unless there's VERY strong signals to go in other colors?

[Kaitscralt]

3 Grisly Spectacle tends to win games.

I agree though, Orzhov is very strong.

[ganderin_dan]

In my experiences, Simic tends to be wide open, and is the matchup that Orzhov can have a very hard time with.

But when all things are equal, yea, I'd say Orzhov is the place to be. If given the absolute nuts, I'd prefer Boros, but it's becoming harder to do by the day seemingly.

[Dane]

I think a lot of my impression is due to A) the pack contents, and B) the people I played.

The first two people I played were running "Simic." Neither one of them was a problem...but that's probably more a function of A and B above than anything with the guild. Honestly, match #3 was a mirror, and I wasn't threatened by him either, so it isn't JUST the guild. Funny thing was, he picked up a bunch of stuff I passed (Immortal Servitude...I just didn't think I could focus in any single CMC range enough to make it worth it), and I was happy to see some things (Wight of Precinct Six, when I took the Orzhov Charm from the pack the first time around) wheel back to me.

Earlier in the season, I played "Borzhov" a few times...and really liked it, but didn't want to stress my mana base too much.

Honestly, I think ANY guild (yes, even Dimir) can be successful if opened/drafted/played well, but Orzhov just
seems to have a nice spot carved out in the meta. Extort can just plain win games...when you've got triggers on multiple creatures, just killing your biggest one isn't always such a huge win anymore.

But really, I just had a good night drafting, and wanted to try to get some discussion going on in this sub. And yes, Kait...3 Grisly Spectacle WILL win games. No argument there. I tend to draft heavy removal anyway, and the mill with that hurts pretty bad too. Everyone I played was all "How many of those do you HAVE?!?" You guys got the same packs I did! Not my fault you didn't value that higher!

[imopen2]

The deck you drafted is very strong sans a few cards I would very rarely run. The 3 Grisly Spectacle and the abundance of low cost extort creatures you drafted make the deck very difficult to beat.

I have drafted Gatecrash extensively (read: 40+ 8-4s) and have won drafts with basically every archetype available. I tend to swing from one to the other depending on the week, and while I believe WB is very strong, it is one of my least favorite to draft. I think the best thing to draft in the current 8-4 environment is probably UB mill. It is severely under drafted at this moment and can have some ridiculous plays while still allowing you to play most of the good removal and card advantage (cipher is the shit). I have won about 50-60% of the 8-4s in which I have drafted that strategy.

I also think Simic is under-drafted and love the tricks you can play with evolve.

I think Boros is too over drafted to be a great
archetype right now, but certainly if you find WR to be open I would go for it.

[Dane]

Yeah, there's a few cards in that deck that were definitely iffy...but better (at least to my judgement) than anything else I had.

Regarding U/B...I'm going to try to break out of my mold and go for that next draft. I'm really not minding the whole "force an archetype, unless there's some really, REALLY big bomb" thing. Given the power (for limited) of the commons/uncommons in this set, it seems pretty viable.

I just need to give it a go...I've started practicing with Decked Drafter, but it's just not quite the same experience as drafting with other people.

[Link]

I'm in agreement with ganderin, Simic is a guild that can stomp Orzhov.

Well stomp is a strong word, but Simic has the advantag of "Engines" that Orzhov does not. Simic decks are usually a lot more creature dense too, so Orzhov usually runs out of removal and Simic can get one engine online.

Problem is that its a lot harder to draft a good simic engine versus a standard orzhov deck.