TTC - What's the Pick?

[Graham]

James, Graham, Paul and Kathleen each crack a pack of DGM and debate which pick is the firstest pick.

[Cybren]

you realize the "fear" keyword was based on the spell "terror", right?

ALSO: sinkhole was an LD spell for BB. :O

EDIT: I must correct you oh god i have a problem it's panoptic mirror on time warp oh god oh god someone get me help

[Bluenoser]

I'm with Paul. The Pontiff may have BB in its cost, but it still leaves you open to go quite a few routes. You aren't even pigeonholed to Orzhov; you could make a slow, grindy, Dimir or Golgari deck as well that could make great use of it.

Anyways, I just prefer to avoid taking too many colours before I can get a few signals from the board. Also, as was said, take those Grisly Spectacles!

[Zig13]

Guard Duty from Rise of the Eldrazi for 1 white as an aura gives a creature defender. It's not bad in a deck that is focused on evasion or non-combat win-cons.

I really like Clear a Path as a card as it does something really unique. It's the kind of card that it's worth keeping a couple of playsets of in case it becomes more relevant in the future. I actually tend to hate-draft it over other out-of-colour options as a 4th/3rd/2nd from last pick.

Exava is definitely the pick in limited. I really don't like Warleader's helix myself but then I don't like Lightning Helix much either. Paying "extra" for tacked-on lifegain just doesn't feel good. I'd prefer to gain life from Extort and/or Lifelink.

@Cybren As they said it may have been the scepter in the initial script but then they realized it only works with instants.

[Lancer]

Looking forward to you guys broadcasting from Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle.

Also, in regards to the Friday Nights triva, it wasn't an Isochron Scepter. If I recall correctly, it was a Time Walk imprinted on a Panoptic Mirror. And I believe it was in the episode "Friday" because then Kathleen comes in and tells everyone that it's time to go. Might be wrong on the last bit there...

Edit: Yup, it was on "Friday." My suspicions were right though, it wasn't Time Walk, it was Time Warp, since Panoptic Mirror lets you cast it for free the cost isn't restrictive and you guys didn't have to pay buttloads for a time walk.

[Bluenoser]

Also from Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. Maybe for a Halloween TTC!

[erjhunter]

The fear keyword wasn't based on Terror, it was based on the card Fear. The flavor of it is just that artifacts are constructs that don't have emotions, so they can't be intimidated, or made afraid or whatever. Doesn't work as much these days when artifacts creatures have become like legitimate characters and such, but that's the thinking.

Regarding that Mirrodin pack, the first pick is clearly Longbow. The card is legitimately insane in a format full of tiny little guys. Plus it is a super cheap artifact which helps out your affinity and Nim Lashers and whatever other artifact synergies you have. Especially because you can do things like ping a guy, re-equip to a different creature, ping that guy again to kill creatures with more than 1 toughness. The 3 mana for equip is way too cheap for the effect. I mean, just look at Wolfhunter's Quiver. Sure that has a little more upside, but the equip cost being so high is definitely designed to avoid players being able to move it around so easily.

I'd totally take the Pontiff. He is just too big to get through and if you untap with him you only need to cast like 1 or 2 spells to end the game. He also keeps you more open than taking a multi-colored card does.

[Drecon]

[Grandpa mode]
Back in the day Goblin War Wagon was considered fringe playable. The drawback is pretty bad, but a 4 mana 3/3 was actually a lot better in the day. Basically you only played it if you really, really needed something to fill your curve.

Awe Strike was actually pretty good. Just attack, if they block prevent all damage to your guy and kill the opponent's guy. Never a first pick, but a card you will never be sad to run.

Viridian Longbow was a bomb, but yeah, Clockwork Dragon is a bigger Bomb, and the right pick, no contest.
Pyrite Spellbomb would probably be a nice third pick.

It's possible to force affinity in Mirrodin, but Clockwork Dragon pretty much fits in that deck... So it seems to be the right pick anyway.

Man, I miss old Mirrodin. I must've drafted that block hundreds of times.

On the Iso thing:
It would be legal to put Final Fortune on Iso, but sadly you would lose the game before actually taking your second extra turn. I'm pretty sure that's the only instant that gives extra turns? (well, technically Seedtime, but that's conditional so not really relevant) Maybe with Platinum Angel out...

[erjhunter]

Viridian Longbow was a bomb, but yeah, Clockwork Dragon is a bigger Bomb, and the right pick, no contest.
Pyrite Spellbomb would probably be a nice third pick.

They, uh, didn't open Clockwork Dragon.

Also, yeah, Goblin War Wagon and its cousin Goblin Dirigible were fairly reasonable plays in Mirrodin limited. Like I said before, the format had lots of teeny tiny little guys running around, so anything with a reasonable amount of power was pretty decent. Obviously compared to Peace Strider or Dross Ripper or whatever, it is awful, but Wizards just wasn't willing to print cards like that back then.

[Lurkon]

I think I'd have taken the Pontiff of Blight out of those four, with Exava a close second. I just like the awesome creatures so much.

[RosH]

I don't play magic, but I've been following RTR block pretty closely.

I can see a compelling argument for Unflinching Courage. I'd probably rather play it on turn 5+ though. Turning a Thrashing Mossdog into a 5/5 trample, lifelink, reach that can be scavenged for 3 +1/+1 counters if it's killed is pretty relevant.

Given the choice though, I'd pick Exava.

[JQuill]

I think it's a very interesting pick decision. I think all 4 cards are very close and I would be fine in any of the decks they'd push me towards, so I'd actually eliminate the Pontiff first as it's the most expensive by a fair margin. Courage is cheapest, but does have the added "cost" of needing a creature, which puts it more in line cost-wise with the other 2.

Of the 3 I think the Courage has the most upside but also the most downside. Helix is definitely the most consistent of the 3. And Exava is more consistent than Courage but has more upside than Helix.

So it really becomes a matter of preference. I'm a bit more of a middle of the road player, I want some upside but some consistency, so I'd probably take Exava.

[Omnicrat]

Just clear a path.

As someone who doesn't actually play magic (I have a bunch of really old [and most likely terrible] cards somewhere), I just want to note that it Wizards of the Coast ever printed a joke LRR set, I would buy at least a pack, and would probably try to get a box.

[Drecon]

Viridian Longbow was a bomb, but yeah, Clockwork Dragon is a bigger Bomb, and the right pick, no contest.
Pyrite Spellbomb would probably be a nice third pick.

They, uh, didn't open Clockwork Dragon.

Yeah, I only realized that three hours later, when I was already in bed... Apparently I wasn't paying all that much attention...

That said, I'd probably take Longbow out of the pack, although Spellbomb would be a nice pickup too.
You shouldn't pick the artifact land though. If the person to your right opens up Myr Enforcer and decides to move into Affinity, you've just wasted a pick. Both Longbow and Spellbomb are fine in Affinity and great in other archetypes.
[/Grandpa mode]
(sorry for not closing that in my earlier post, sure it must've freaked out all the OCD'ers here )

[tamaness]

[Grandpa mode]
....
[/Grandpa mode]
(sorry for not closing that in my earlier post, sure it must've freaked out all the OCD'ers here )

It's better if you think of all of the posts in between also being in "Grandpa Mode."

[erjhunter]

I was definitely in Grandpa mode there. As I always am when it comes to Magic, it seems. That's the cost of being obsessed with the history of things.

[Lord Hosk]

I would probably take the exava or the Unflinching courage. Im not a fan of black in RTR draft, it not terrible but I feel its the weakest color, it seems to be a lot of removal and do nothing, Raktos is good but I find those decks I really want to be 60-75% red with black for maybe a drake the gold cards and removal.

[Aisukadps]

double helix, all the way!