Uber Draft Results & Prerelease Info

The Uber Draft was a really fun event, where we had 16 players come out for some chaotic drafting madness. We started with the Top 8 awards presentation, where Michael Smith was awarded a Fire & Lightning Premium deck for his victory in the Invitational. Joe was given an IOU for the Ajani vs. Bolas duel decks for his runner-up finish, and everyone else was given some promo cards for participating. I was also quite honored to receive a gift from all of you, as Hunter and Alycia led the group that bought me the rare textless foil Doran, the Siege Tower card from 2007 States. Thanks so much to everyone who chipped in! Now I'll think of you all every time I pull out my Commander deck after I move to South Carolina in August. :)

In the draft itself, I also managed to give everyone else a parting gift of my own:

4/29/11 Top Finishers: Uber Draft

1. 4-0 Boros (!) by Dominic Casali

2. 3-1 Grixis Control by Noah Senzel

3. 3-1 Green/Black Aggro by Hunter Garrett

4. 3-1 Black/Red Beats by Jordan Arnold

5. 3-1 Green/White Ramp (Maybe?) by Scott Record

I started the draft intent on tapping Islands and drawing cards like I usually do, but after three picks the blue dried up, and I ended up being pushed into red and white thanks to Seal of Fire, Cerodon Yearling, and a Legions White Knight. Pack two brought some Unhinged goodies, as I added an AWOL, Fascist Art Director, and a (foil!) Dumb Ass to my pool, along with some white removal and some cheap, efficient creatures. I was set to be almost mono-white, splashing red, and then I had the good fortune of opening Akroma, Angel of Fury from my Planar Chaos pack, so I ended up more solidly into Boros, picking up a Saute and an Orcish Cannonade along with a late Daru Encampment to go with my 6 soldiers and add a little extra synergy.

Sorry, but I'm the only one I got to see play much, so this report's mostly going to be about me. In round 1, I got Chris's blue/green deck down to 4 life, and he stabilized with an Overbeing of Myth, but then my third Mountain showed up and Akroma finished the job. I flooded with him at 1 life in game 2, but got turn 6 Akroma and tap effects from Benalish Trapper and Repel the Darkness to make sure she connected to win the last game despite his Gravity Well and reach blockers. In round 2 against Hunter, it was my turn to stabilize at 1 life, and I won game 1 with the unlikely Daru Encampment/Dragonstalker interaction. Game 2 was also fairly close until Akroma showed up.

I played against Kevin Crowley's green/white deck in round 3, out-aggroing him in the first game. The second game followed the familiar pattern of doing some early damage and stalling out before Akroma could evade his pair of Ballynock Trappers and finish the job. The finals against Noah was a really fun match. We traded blows in game 1, but he took possession of the board by Swerving my removal spell, and then finished it off with his bomb flyer: Crosis, the Purger. In game 2, however, I was ready for it with my Bound in Silence (a 3-mana Rebel Tribal Pacifism) and managed to finally push through the last point of damage with a Mourning Thrull. Game 3 was unfortunately not too exciting, as Noah never found blue mana and was slowly beat down by 2/2's. Upon taking him to 3, I finished the match off with what I hope comes to live on in Uber Draft lore: a lethal Saute to the dome.

It was a really fun event, and everyone seemed to have had a good time. I am glad that this semester, which is probably the best one FITSSFF Magic has had on a whole, went out with such a good event. Thanks to everyone who came to events, and for all of you being a great group of people and making this group so much fun to be a part of. It was an honor and a pleasure to have run these events for three years, and I hope I was able to make it as fun for you as it was for me.

One last order of business: the New Phyrexia Prerelease is this weekend, and if you're still in town, give our local gaming stores one last event before you head out for the summer. Here's the schedule:

Wizard's Wall:

Saturday, May 7 @ 5 P.M: $25 Sealed

Sunday, May 8 @ Noon: $25 Sealed

Dogs of War:

Friday, May 6 @ 11:45 P.M: $25 Sealed

Saturday, May 7 @ 1 & 4 P.M: $12 SOM-MBS-NPH Draft

Saturday, May 7 @ 7:30 P.M: $25 Sealed

Sunday, May 8 @ Noon: $12 New Phyrexia Draft

Get Your Fun On:

Friday, May 6 @ Midnight: $25 Sealed

Saturday, May 7 @ Noon: $25 Sealed

Saturday, May 7 @ 3 & 7 P.M: $12 Draft (unspecified format)

Sunday, May 8 @ 3 P.M: $25 Sealed

Sunday, May 8 @ 7 P.M: $12 Draft (unspecified format)

Note that attending drafts will not earn you a prerelease foil (which is Sheoldred, Whispering One for this set), while attending Sealed events at all locations will. Also note that the seniors are graduating Saturday morning, so seniors or anyone attending graduation will probably only be attending events on Saturday evening or Sunday.

Best of luck to everyone at the prerelease and thanks again for all your support this year. I hope everyone gives their best effort to the new Committee members next year. Have a great summer and hopefully I'll see you all again sometime next year; I'm sure my parents will want me come home to visit Melbourne fairly often. Until then, may you planeswalk to wonderful and amazing places, both in Magic and the realm of life!

- Dom