Draft Recap

Honestly, I didn't see much of the draft and subsequent matches, as I was busy running Magic Jeopardy!, but I have some general knowledge. Here were the records leading into it:

2-0: Carney, Jordan

1-1: Smith, Joe, Chris, Jason

0-2: Hunter, Noah

In the draft, most players tried to settle into what they were used to playing in Scars of Mirrodin block. Jason found a Flesh-Eater Imp and went straight into Infect, and was rewarded with a Skithiryx later on. Jordan did the same thing as the previous week as well, taking burn and Signal pest, moving into red/white aggro. Michael Smith again followed the control route, drafting blue/red and finding a Koth of the Hammer in pack 3. Noah drafted a blue/black deck featuring unblockable creatures, which was strangely reminiscent of his Standard deck. Carney drafted something he couldn't really explain, and I forget what Hunter and Chris drafted (sorry!). Oh, and of course, Joe drafted a mill deck. Unless you've been hiding under a Magic-shunning rock for three years, you shouldn't be surprised.

The pairings were done independently of the Standard results, setting up a rematch of the Fall Invitational final, but this time with Hunter's tournament life on the line facing Carney. The result was the same, and Hunter was the first player eliminated from Top 4 contention. Joe was quickly felled by Noah, who took advantage of his opponent's severe mana issues, while Smith knocked Jordan from the ranks of the unbeaten. Jason's poison attack also pushed him to 2-1.

I pretty much entirely missed round 4, but I remember that Carney took his first loss to Smith, and Chris was eliminated from contention in this round by Hunter, who still kept playing his best despite not having a chance to advance. He had a chance to eliminate a second player in round 5, but Joe's mill deck was able to grind and shriek a place into the Top 4. Jason won a match he had to win game Carney, but Carney still moved on via tiebreakers. Smith's win over Noah made him 3-0 for the draft and the number 1 seed going into the finals. Unfortunately, despite a last round win and a 3-2 record, Jordan's tiebreakers did not advance him to the Top 4.