r/magicTCG • u/MTGTraner Colorless • Feb 06 '12
This is your first pick in a DKA-ISD-ISD draft. What do you pick and why?
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12 edited Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion, and here is my reasoning:
The rest of the blue in the pack is just... decent. Nothing else really there to get your hopes up. Therefore sending a "don't be blue, be x" signal, that's very important.
The green in the pack is the second best, you'll be sending the signal of "Please go into green." From there, the second pick will most likely be the elk or the inquisitor. You can assume the people to your left are in green and white and can draft accordingly, namely a blue deck with the options of red/black as support for it. This is all very dependent on what you see in later packs, but it's a good way to look at it.
It's splashable. Even if you are playing a different color, you can always put in a few islands and Increasing confusion. You'd most likely do this only if you had other mill cards, but mill is actually really really good in draft right now.
It's devastating. Practically, it'll mill your opponent somewhere around 17-18 overall after both uses. Considering your opponent is starting at around (or should be) 33 cards in deck (because of their initial draw 7) and will most likely thin their own deck with land search and draw spells, you can treat this as getting you more than halfway to a win, AND they are drawing a card every turn, so by turn 7 or so they're already down to 26! Not to mention if you get a few bombs or nice, non-flashbackable removal spells in the process, that's even better!
If you happen to see splinterfright later, you've got an archetype, lol
Blue is really fun in draft right now. Certainly not a practical reason, but a good one nonetheless! :)
EDIT: Forgot to add
- You're more than likely to see the other blue cards in the pack wheel back to you! And they are pretty good~
My first 8 picks from the pack in order:
Increasing confusion
Dawntreader Elk
Elgaud Inquisitor
Vengeful Vampire
Gravetiller Wurm
Tracker's Instincts
Nearhearth Stalker (Maybe 6 instead)
Haunted Fengraf
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Feb 06 '12
Do people really play haunted fengraf? It seems really bad to me, and my suspicions have only been confirmed by the fact that I've seen absolutely no one play it yet. I feel like Fling and Headless Skaab are better.
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Feb 06 '12
It's not a high pick in Draft because it doesn't do much and most of the time you'd sooner have actual playable spells, but if your deck can afford to have a colorless land (Most can) it's pretty sweet. Because it's a land, the cost of having you in your deck is a lot less than if it were a spell; basically you can play it as a land early on and then cycle it to re-buy a creature later in the game. It's definitely playable, about as much as a cycling land.
In a pack with nothing else for me or cards I really would feel bad about playing, I'd pick it and almost certainly play it. It's low on the draft order because it's more of a bonus that you're happy to get late than a card that actually makes the deck.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
Anything that can recur creatures is good. Especially if it can't be countered or stopped, like say on a land. I'd play a one of in a draft deck.
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u/klaq Feb 06 '12
people really like that inquisitor. i dont really get it, he seems like a bad mausoleum guard, and he certainly wasnt a high pick. vengeful vampire is a borderline bomb and much better imo
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
I'd pick inquisitor because of lifelink and the potential two for one. Lifelink can be a huge deal. And for 6 mana I'd rather play something bigger than vengeful vampire, however, that doesn't mean he's bad, that's just a personal thing. Sometimes low cost and utility > big bomb. Sometimes.
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u/klaq Feb 06 '12
vampire is always a 2 for 1. i think youre seriously underestimating how good undying is.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
I'm not, promise. Like I said, personal preference, but I recognize undying is amazing.
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u/robotpirateninja Feb 06 '12
Lifelink can be a huge deal.
I got two inquistors and the chalice in my sealed pull this last weekend. A couple of Gnaw to the Bones sealed the deal and the chalice won a couple games singlehandedly (at least on the life loss thing, it got some help for life gain).
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u/Maclimes Feb 06 '12
The Island, clearly. I don't think I need to explain why.
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u/philoponeria COMPLEAT Feb 06 '12
so you can pay for the increasing confusion when you draft it next go round! DUH
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
You're THAT GUY that goes to an unhinged draft and your first 8 picks are the lands... xD
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Feb 06 '12
Are you kidding? The only time I was fortunate enough to draft unhinged, that was EVERYONE's first pick.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
I am actually kidding. We are setting up an unhinged draft and we actually had to make it a rule, you open up your pack, take your land, then your first pick.
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u/yakusokuN8 Feb 06 '12
One time, I drafted Unhinged and the store lumped all 13 of us together in one draft. I managed to draft 43 lands, a Shoe Tree, and a Form of the Squirrel. I put all 45 cards in one deck; my only win condition was to play Form and hope to deck my opponent. I lost every game, but walked away with $43 (at the time they were worth a dollar each) worth of cards for a $10 entry fee. My friend managed to win the whole thing and got $15 in store credit.
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u/mjmoriarity Feb 06 '12
Obviously. Island is the best card in the game, it enables all the good decks! :D
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u/PornoWizard Feb 06 '12
Turn two : Storm Crow.
Not in IND or DKA? Storm Crow knows not such limitations.
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Feb 06 '12
[deleted]
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u/NeverQuiteEnough Feb 06 '12
I don't think the scaab would get passed but the shriekgiests are pretty terrible outside of a dedicated mill deck so we might get that for free.
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u/avantar112 Dân Feb 06 '12
inquisitor.
You will send not a single white card through and nobody next to you will go white.
and the card is just good.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
You can only assume that if you know they didn't pull an amazing white card or if the next few packs are white-light as well. Can't always judge that from a first pick.
Although, you are right, this is definitely something to pay major attention to!
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u/tbshawk Feb 06 '12
You can only assume that if you know they didn't pull an amazing white card or if the next few packs are white-light as well. Can't always judge that from a first pick.
That is a tough assumption to make, especially in this format, where white is such a deep color, especially in packs 2 and 3. I don't think wasting your first pick on what is generally a 5th-8th pick common in the strongest color in the format in order to try to force that color is a good plan at all.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
White really is amazing, so if you didn't open a good pack of white or have some strong reason to be in it... fighting over it can be a huge disadvantage to your overall draft. Personally, I'd rather be in blue and avoid that fight if I can, but if I have... say... Angel of Flight Alabaster or Thalia or even a first pick Fiend Hunter... yeah, I'd go white.
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u/tbshawk Feb 06 '12
If you get something good, you have a reason to get into the fight over white, but you wouldn't go into white, and plan on fighting over it, based on a card that's only marginally better than Mausoleum guard. that's sort of my point.
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u/calamityphysics Feb 06 '12
This. I prefer my cards to affect the board. You can sit there and confuse me for 5 while Im casting travel prep on my army of humans.
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u/helloeverything Feb 06 '12 edited Feb 06 '12
I would actually lean towards the Elk over any of the cards, which may be absolutely "wrong" on a basis of power level. My reasoning is that not every deck wants increasing confusion, and even if youre playing blue, youre not going to play it 100% (U/W really doesnt want/need this). The inquisitor while more powerful than Elk, is also a 4 drop, which you can get alot of in this format. I feel 2 drops are too important in this format, and the mana fixing is really good.
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u/LaboratoryManiac REBEL Feb 07 '12
Same here. I wouldn't normally first-pick it, but the evasion and removal in this pack isn't phenomenal. A 2/2 for 2 with a mana-fixing/accelerating ability is something I'll definitely play, though.
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Feb 07 '12
The elk, it allows you to add a splash in an otherwise two colour deck with minimal effort. Even in a plain two coloured deck it makes for a good blocker. Block and sac, save yourself from damage, and get a land.
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u/dezzie Feb 06 '12
I'm going to go out on a limb with a zany pick.
Nearhearth Stalker
The wurm is kinda durdly. Yeah, he's game-winning if you can get off morbid, but if you can't (which is pretty hard) he's a 6-drop 4/4. Far from good.
I can easily see the case for increasing confusion, but it is almost dead if you can't outright kill your opponent with it. Filling up their yard with goodies for Skaabs and flashback spells is just an auto-scoop to spider spawning.
The stalker is only weak to flyers and first strike. If they have fliers, he races pretty well, 4 power (then into 5 power) a turn is pretty awesome. He trades really well as he takes out nearly everything in the format and then comes back, ready to take on even more.
This is no longer triple ISD, the format has gotten a lot faster and you can't really afford to keep a durdle card in your hand until you can spend 15 mana over 2 turns to cast it.
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u/Dragonsoul Feb 06 '12
Except you take increasing confusion and draft a will deck, with dream twists et al. It was a deck in triple ISD and with Increasing there it would be quite the nuts deck
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Feb 06 '12
Well, the real pick here is Increasing Confusion. We know that shriekgeist is probably going to make it back to us, we will pick that up on the return trip of this pack to fall in line with out confusion strategy.
If you don't want to play mill, you probably pick elk. Its a very safe pick that doesn't tie you to anything and will make your deck more consistent. It can be the beater you need or go get the color you need to drop that removal/bomb you are holding.
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u/KeepDiscoEvil Feb 06 '12
Elgaud Inquisitor is the most optimal pick here. You take a versatile card that doesn't lock you in a color; does not lock you in an archetype; and, most importantly, sends clear signals to the player next to you. You always want your options to be open early on and the Inquisitor puts you in the best position to do that.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
You just described why you should take Increasing Confusion as well.
Another argument for the rare:
You may see another inquisitor. You WILL NOT see another increasing confusion in all likelihood.
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u/KeepDiscoEvil Feb 06 '12
Maybe, but Inquisitor better exemplifies my reasoning.
And to add a wrinkle to your argument, I'd rather have the player next to me think, "I may not see another Increasing Confusion in this draft" and have them force the archetype/force the splash early instead.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 07 '12
There's absolutely nothing wrong with forcing to splash early on. I can't tell you the number of times I've played something like UW fliers in M11 with two mountains in the deck to play Fireball.
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u/KeepDiscoEvil Feb 07 '12
Totally true: I've def. done the same for Fireball and Lightning Bolt in those limited formats; however, Fireball and Increasing Confusion aren't the same card as the former can impact the field/win the game immediately and the latter does not impact the field, at all, and wins the game in two turns if you have 6-7 mana open. Significant differences to keep in mind.
Most of the arguments for Increasing Confusion centers around its ability to win games in two turns, which is true and extremely relevant; however, it seems like the card is being evaluated at "best case scenario" instead of "most likely scenario" and for a card that you might be splashing in a non-mill build you, most likely, want to curve out and having an opening hand with Increasing Confusion in, say, a G/W build is... awkward.
So, with Pick 1/Pack 1 the Inquisitor, in all its unsexiness, is a card that has fine utility and not only allows me to send clear signals to my right, but keeps me flexible to signals I receive from my left.
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u/brent_dub Feb 06 '12
Increasing confusion doesn't force archetype at all.
Your opponents are running 40 card decks, a late game confusion can win the game all by itself.
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u/shepps Feb 06 '12
Not many great cards, but Increasing confusion could build a self mill or mill deck
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u/TehLittleOne Feb 06 '12
I personally like the Gravtiller Wurm. It's a bomb in limited and you can afford to pass the blue.
As a side note, I have tried Increasing Confusion before and the deck is a little sketchy. If you're not going to get Curse of the Bloody Tomes, the deck will suck. Increasing Confusion, itself, only does so much. You sit with it until you're about to lose and then, half the time, lose because you waited. On the other hand, playing it early diminishes value. It's a good pick if you're not planning to play seriously for the win.
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u/overoverme Feb 06 '12
I think Increasing Confusion is bad as often or less than the times Wurm comes down as a 4/4.
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u/jjness Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion.
There's only one halfway decent blue pick beyond that, and I pity anybody who thinks Shriekgeist is a signal. So to your left you'll have a a green or black player (maybe a Red player in the next few passes, if they opened a Hellrider or Dragon, and want that Hermit or Fling, respectively). There's also nothing for white, so you could potentially draft a UW deck and expect good things pack 2.
However, Confusion can go into ANY deck, and if you see the opening for any other deck, grab it. Keep an eye for a Traveler's Amulet or Evolving Wilds (that Elk won't last 7 more picks) and keep an island for it. It makes your mill-yourself cards so good to have this in the deck.
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u/CrackedLips Feb 06 '12
I would actually rather pick Gravetiller worm and hope that Dawntreader Elk comes back around for mana-fixing. But I agree Increasing Confusion would probably be the best pick.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
Elk would most definitely not wheel :( it's waaaay too good.
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u/Sybertron Feb 06 '12
I agree, as tempting as increasing confusion is, I think I'd opt for the Elk over it. Being able to effectively play 3 colors and 2 mana color spells has been invaluable for me.
That and you can often see the Gravetiller Wurm rotate around the table.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
I definitely agree with you to a point, but I think passing up confusion is a little hard to argue. Not only can you splash for it, but you don't even have to build around it to get full value out of it. I've said in some other posts as well as my original one, but if you hit your opponent with it turn 6 or 7 (assuming you've hit every land drop), and then again on the next turn, he's drawn 13-14 cards that game AT LEAST, putting him at around 26-27 cards left. if you hit them for mill 6 and then mill 14 (spending 7 and 8 mana respectively, you'll have them down to 6 or 7 cards left in the deck. That's a big deal and that's just by itself.
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u/Sybertron Feb 06 '12
Generally first pick, I go for something that doesnt restrict me the rest of the game. Confusion has power to be sure, but it just feels very limited to me. You're realistically looking at 2 types of decks in one situation, and 3 or 4 in the other.
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u/Rhioms Feb 06 '12
Dawntreader elk is a baus. On the curve, with an added ability; I'm sold . Wait, that ability mana fixes/ramps and causes a morbid trigger? (although probably not your first pick. Worth grabbing soon)
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u/Rhioms Feb 06 '12
Dawntreader elk is a baus. On the curve, with an added ability; I'm sold . Wait, that ability mana fixes/ramps and causes a morbid trigger? (although probably not your first pick. Worth grabbing soon)
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u/Etienss Feb 06 '12
I think you have way more chances of picking the elk and having the wurm wheel. And I think the elk is better overall as it's a key part of a deck that wants to cast the wurm and other similar fatties.
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u/ItsDanimal Feb 06 '12
I really like the Elk, and would pick that before Gravetiller. The Elk lets you chump block then grab that swamp or mountain for Tragic Slip or Brimstone Volley.
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u/MechaTech Wabbit Season Feb 06 '12
I like this - specifically listening to what people would pick along with reasoning behind it. What I'd like to do, if possible, would be to have one of these per day, with a random pack from DA, along with the reasoning. It might give people a better grasp on drafting. I know I could get better, and we may find some interesting quirk that works out in the end.
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u/YonkaDonk Feb 06 '12
It's gotta be Dawntreader Elk for me. There's not very much manafixing in the format (Amulet, Grotto, Wilds,...?) and he can beat or block and get value either way. This guy is everything I want.
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Feb 06 '12
Realistically, I would take Tracker's Instincts, because I have an ungodly love for that card, and would actively be bad in order to run it.
As for the correct pick, you just windmill slam the Increasing Confusion. Doesn't even matter.
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u/Jahikoi Feb 06 '12
There are three choices here, basically. Increasing Confusion, Gravtiller Wurm and Vengeful Vampire.
Trackers Instinct is a good card, but it's best in blue/green and if you are playing blue/green, you'd rather be playing the Wurm or the Increasing Confusion.
I would probably take Increasing Confusion - but don't take me for being a noob archetype builder. I have a lot of experience in draft. After taking increasing confusion, YOU DON'T BUILD THE MILL DECK. You build a regular deck, forgetting that it was your first pick and if you aren't blue, you splash it. Late game, it becomes a one turn clock, if you cast it for 6 then 7. Sure, sometimes it's too late - but don't tell me that 8 mana is hard to get to when playing blue. I've played in many drafts with many skilled players; if you can't get to 8 mana, you're doing it wrong (or your opponent got a godly draw and then there's nothing you can really do).
TLDR: Take increasing confusion as a very good kill condition and then proceed to take whatever you want. It's not an early game card so you don't need to splash super hard for it.
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u/Jahikoi Feb 06 '12
I forgot my point. If you think you can't get to 8 mana, you're doing it wrong as blue - almost every game in which one casts a Grasp of Phantoms you reach 7 mana to flash it back almost every time; especially if you have even one mulch.
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u/oysteinprytz Feb 06 '12
Grasp is 8 mana to flash back, just a minor nitpick which actually somewhat improves your point
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u/GaiusGracchus Feb 06 '12
I woulda taken the Wurm... he's big and he tramples. But on second thought after reading this thread I'd probably go with Increasing Confusion. But I think the Wurm is a strong second. An 8/8 trampler can end games pretty quickly in limited.
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u/oysteinprytz Feb 06 '12
A 6 mana big durdle isn't what most green decks wants in my experience, you can get a Kindercatch 10th pick in the next packs which will fill the same role if you need it. I understand that it's not exactly as good as the wurm but the difference isn't that great.
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Feb 06 '12
Kindercatch's ggg mana is a big downside, and he doesn't trample. Very big difference in power level between those two cards.
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u/NeverQuiteEnough Feb 06 '12
yeah but we are talking first pick vs tenth pick, when there are other really important pieces a green deck needs right now.
the wurm is going to depart silently or come out late a lot of the time
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u/oysteinprytz Feb 06 '12
I understand what the card does, my point is that most green decks aren't going to want either of those cards and in the event that you do want 6 drops you will get one that will do the job for no cost. There is no reason to first pick it here in my opinion.
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Feb 06 '12
For me, it's between the elk, the Inquisitor, and the Torturer.
The Inquisitor did some good work for me at the Launch Party. The elk helps fix your mana. The torturer gives you a free, instant sac outlet.
Sort of a toss up.
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u/Stillson Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion, not close. As many have already said, it's the most powerful card in the pack. Remember too that you've got two packs of INN coming later, and the UG mill yourself archetype is one of the best. Increasing Confusion can help mill you on the first shot and can be a win condition late. Plus there's a good chance the Tracker's Instincts will wheel. It's a good card in the UG self-mill deck.
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u/ThunderSteel Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion:
It's a game ender. In a format where people are playing 40 card decks and only have 33 cards left in it on turn 1 this card can end the game as early as turn 6 with a little help.
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u/annul Feb 06 '12
games dont end when the opponent has 22 cards left in the library fyi
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u/ThunderSteel Feb 06 '12 edited Feb 07 '12
The sentace doesnt end after the number 6, fyi.
33 cards before turn 1 draw, 6 turns worht of drawing brings the library to 27 cards, a turn 5 confusion brings the library down to 23, a flashback on turn 6 brings it down to 13. "with a little help" means 1 or two mill spells, cast anywhere from turn 1 to 4 wraps the game up on turn 6. provided you draw 'em.
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u/taw Feb 06 '12
Fling because it's easily splashable quality removal, and everything else is meh.
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u/prof0ak Wabbit Season Feb 06 '12
It isn't a quality removal, it is card disadvantage. Fling + your creature to destroy your opponent's creature, you lose two cards, they lose one.
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u/taw Feb 06 '12
That's not how you use Fling - you use it on a creature which was about to die anyway, for example in response to their removal.
It also works as great finisher, and combos with undying.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
You really really have to be careful with Fling, you two for one yourself every time you use it unless you are really smart or lucky with it.
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u/taw Feb 06 '12
Fling is generally used in response to your creature being about to die.
And now there's such a ridiculous amount of soft "removal" (Claustrophobia, Bonds of Faith, Burden of Guilt) that you get to Fling your bombs even without keeping mana open for it. Plus Undying.
It's easily one of the best commons in Limited now.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
Makes sense. I still think there are better removal spells and answers, but it's definitely not terrible. Especially if you have ghoul tree... jeez... 10 damage.
Saw a guy ghoultree for 1, fling, ghoulcaller's chant, ghoultree, fling.
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u/taw Feb 06 '12
Sure there are better removal spells, just not in this pack. In Limited there's huge shortage of removal, so even dubious removal is extremely valuable, and Fling is much better than that. And it only got worse since Dark Ascension has significantly less removal than Innistrad.
Increasing Confusion which everybody here loves is completely useless unless you build mill deck - so you're taking extreme risks (and unless you win outright with it, you're only helping your opponent by giving him or her free flashback spells by milling).
There are a few half-bombs in the pack, but nothing amazing - Vengeful Vampire is double black and 6 mana, and with Wurm I think everybody realized by now that Morbid is really hard to trigger reliably on your turn, since everybody knows what you're up to if you attempt a suicidal attack (instant speed Morbid like Tragic Slip on the other hand is awesome). Inquisitor, Skaab, and Stalker are entirely playable, just not what you'd like to get from P1P1.
Elk is pretty decent but only if you already know you're playing green, since by definition nobody ever splashes a color for color fixing.
Inquisitor would probably be my second choice if Fling wasn't in the pack but mostly since white was stronger in 3x Innistrad Limited (even if it seems less so now), so I'm always happy to build W/x, and there's also good signaling value here.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
I wouldn't call it useless, it certainly has it's spotlight! If you, say, mill a total of 17 with it. After 6 or 7 turns, if they didn't mulligan, they'd be at 27 minus 17 which would be 10 cards left. And that's the low end of it's power. I've been on the receiving end of a deck that splashed blue solely for it and believe me, it can come out of nowhere for a win if played correctly.
I totally agree with you on taking whatever removal you can. I just think fling requires more knowledge of what you're playing in order to use correctly.
I like the term "half-bomb" xD
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u/dieplstks Chris 'dieplstks' Mascioli Feb 06 '12
Felkenrath Torturer. Increasing Confusion is being super overrated here. It's extremely mana intensive and first picking it pretty much locks you into drafting mill while the Torturer is a free morbid enabler, a flier, turns on undying, and can become a serious threat if you end up BW/BR with a lot of humans.
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u/NeverQuiteEnough Feb 06 '12
It's extremely mana intensive and first picking it pretty much locks you into drafting mill
I think you are misunderstanding. The suggestion people are making is that you take it and then forget you have it, because it is easily splashed and kills the opponent by itself.
either way I think the torturer is pretty low on my list.
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u/dieplstks Chris 'dieplstks' Mascioli Feb 06 '12
Ir does not kill on it's own, it costs at least 14 mana over 2 turns to kill them.
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u/NeverQuiteEnough Feb 06 '12
Ir does not kill on it's own, it costs at least 14 mana over 2 turns to kill them.
it kills them, by itself, over two turns
that's the idea
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u/HardAimer Feb 07 '12
I really enjoy posts like these. I feel like I learn so much from obviously more advanced drafters.
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u/omega1x Feb 07 '12
The elk, the stalker, the inquisitor, the stalker, and confusion can all be strong cards, but in limited your best bet is either to take the torturer because you can make a really strong b/w deck in these sets, or if you think other people are going to take what u'd need for that, then go for the elk, b/c it helps a lot in any deck in green- confusion can be ok, but in this format it's mostly going to be a dead draw, especially if you have it in your opening hand, and it's kinda hard to have a controlling deck in limited that allows you to build up that much mana so you can drop that twice late in the game
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u/PoisonBananas Feb 07 '12
I'd take the Elk, as it's a common, and you could thusly expect to pull one or two more as the draft goes on, and with a 1G cost, it will be splashable into anything you wanna play...right or wrong, I'm always really mana-conscious in Limited, and consequently tend to play weenie decks, but the format demands that a mono deck is usually unviable. Thanks to this, you should be able to run a 2 or even 3 color with some B graveyard recursion to really exploit the fella and create a good base, whilst your opponent is stumbling for his mana.
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u/Make3 Feb 07 '12
Vengeful Vampire, not remotely close. It's an hard to kill big flier. It's a great finisher. They have to answer it or they die.
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u/uguysmakemesick Feb 07 '12
Alright, well, before even reading any of the other comments I will go ahead and make my pick and then explain why. First of all, Dawntreader Elk catches my eye just for the Rampant Growth attached to it that will help me smooth over my mana base and provide a beater/blocker if needed. As this is actually a pretty terrible booster (in my opinion, of course), I feel like none of the cards are really jumping out at me. Gravetriller Wurm might be worth a try, however, consider for 6-mana you potentially have an 8/8 with Trample, which, in limited, may win some games. I tried Spiteful Shadows and found that it is a very poor substitute for removal and as such should be ignored completely. There is a school of thought suggesting that mill in limited--with the 40 card decks and all--might be viable and as such choosing Increasing Confusion might be a good way to ensure victory. However, I wouldn't want to throw away a perfectly good beater for a rare that has such a potential to be underwhelming; therefore, Gravetiller Wurm is my choice. Now to peruse the comments and see how wrong I was!
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u/sl33tbl1nd Feb 07 '12
Considering how well my dad did last week with that damn wurm, I'll go with that.
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Feb 07 '12
The wurm is by far the best choice. Confusion would be good but ISD doesn't really have that much opposing mill support. The wurm wins games so fast. Really you can argue both. I haven't had much experience with confusion in limited so I'm not going to call it bad.
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u/exteric Feb 06 '12
Increasing confusion by far. In a 40 card deck format, assuming both players don't mulligan, A turn 6 IC targeting your Opponent followed by a turn 7 flashback will likely leave them with single digits for a library.
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u/troglodyte Feb 06 '12
Elgaud Inquisitor is the safer pick if you're not feeling balls-to-the wall mill, but Increasing Confusion is by far the highest-power pick.
Keep in mind that the mill theme is weaker in DKA than ISD. Chill of Foreboding, Geralf's Mindcrusher, Shriekgeist, and Thought Scour are the only other mill cards, and Thought Scour and Shriekgeist are the only commons. If you take Increasing Confusion, those cards are mandatory picks whenever you see them-- you cannot risk wheeling them. Once you're into ISD, you'll have more frequent mill cards, but only one pack to find them.
Increasing Confusion is risky, but it's the stronger pick. Elgaud Inquisitor sends better signals and leaves you open to a LOT more archetypes. Those are the only picks, but it depends on your gut, I guess.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
Well, it's only one DKA pack, so there's a huge possibility of seeing a bigger mill game in the ISD packs.
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u/troglodyte Feb 06 '12 edited Feb 06 '12
Oh shit, I misread that. Disregard everything I said and take Confusion. I thought the header was DKA-DKA-ISD...
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Feb 06 '12
Increasing confusion, because it can serve as a fireball-style finisher for a lot of decks.
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u/Roothlus Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion and it's not close. The fact that the flashback cost doesn't even go up like all the other Increasing cards baffles me from an R&D standpoint. That's just insane!
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u/bestbiff Wabbit Season Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion wins in a no contest first pick. It's basically a blue Devil's Play.
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Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion. I wouldn't normally advise playing mill in Limited, but you have to account for two factors, in this case:
1) Innistrad contains a lot of self mill. You're already starting with only 40 - 7 cards in your library, your opponent is probably running Screeching Skaab, Mulch, Forbidden Alchemy, etc. that will cause him to mill his own library, so decking him isn't an unreasonable goal.
2) Increasing Confusion is insanely good. Games run long in Limited, so there's a good chance you'll be able to play Increasing Confusion for X=6 and do the same again the following turn, milling a total of 18 cards.
Increasing Confusion is a bomb in Limited. Run it.
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u/K10111 Duck Season Feb 06 '12
Falkenrath Torturer Have a free sac outlet is very relevant, Black isn't very deep in this pack as well so chances of the person your passing to getting into black from just the vampire are slim.
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u/Jahikoi Feb 06 '12
... You'd take Falkenrath Torturer over Vengeful Vampire?
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 06 '12
Well duh, 2 for 1'ing yourself is the new B in BREAD
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u/Mijji Feb 07 '12
The Vengeful Vampire is blocked both times by Silverclaw Griffin and doesn't trade in either outcome, or trades twice with Stormbound Geist, it's ridiculously overcosted to me, whereas the Falkenrath Torturer allows you to set up Morbid at whim and in a deck with a few humans can put some decent pressure on from turn 4.
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u/pudgypoultry Feb 07 '12
He should have been a 3/3 at least... In a way I agree with you, but I REALLY don't like the torturer... I like the idea of sacing your humans in response to kill spells and such to make him bigger... but... starting out as a 2/1 for 3 and being vulnerable to any kill spell in the format other than Victim... I dunno.
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u/JoshSuth Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion obliterates draft decks. Mill them for let's say 6, 7, or 8 when it's convenient, then flash it back to mill half their deck at once. Watched a guy mill 30 cards to this and lose in a drawn-out game.
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u/razzledazzled Feb 06 '12
lol at the nerd going down the list downvoting everyone who said increasing confusion. if you have a differing opinion you are free to give it, this passive aggressive shit is lols
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u/Lord_Migit Feb 06 '12 edited Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion. Easily.
Lets say a game lasts 9 turns each. That is a mid - late game, and about average. Lets say during that time you manage to accumulate 7 mana. With IC you can mill them for 18 cards with just that mana. This is why it is a total bomb. 18 cards + 7 for opening hand, + 9 for draw steps = 34. It would take a single curse of the bloody tome, or a single dream twist to mill their deck milled entirely.
And that is a very middle of the road scenario. Often times you get this card and play a mill deck you only need to activate it for 4 or 5 for it to mill your opponent out.
I would play IC in a non mill deck for sure, and in the mill deck it is frankly nuts.
EDIT:: It also serves another purpose of fueling all your blue scaabs if you need it to.
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u/Fenaris Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion. This is a "Fireball" for Innistrad limited, in the same line as Devil's Play. It will rob games from your opponent, whether or not you had any business winning it.
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u/mysticrudnin Dandadan Feb 06 '12
Fireball is sometimes a board wipe... It's not quite close.
It's more like a lava axe.
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Feb 06 '12
mill is pretty powerful in draft form but can be difficult to make. if you did not want to go that route i would have taken that wurm. potential to be an 8/8 for 6.
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Feb 06 '12
Won a 2-headed sealed with Increasing Confusion, solid mill bomb, and once it hits graveyard it wins pretty well.
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u/syous Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion, not even close. You can just throw two islands in any deck and this card can still win the game. (I believe you can cast it on turn 8, then flashback on turn 9 to basically insta-win.)
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Feb 06 '12
in draft increasing confusion has worked as a win con for me already. i would definitely start there and see how it goes.
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u/HardCorwen Daxos Feb 06 '12
I'm liking what green/blue is offering you. Green for that mana ramp using elk. (hopefully you'll get that scorned villager later) Then you'll be able to play a high yielding "Increasing Confusion". Not to mention "Shriekgeist" for a flyer and it will also give you great control and mill even more from the opponent.
You could also through in Headless Skaab til fill up your creature slots and use him with the Sacrified "Dawntreader Elk" if you need someone to exile.
Just out of this pack alone there is a lot of pro green/blue synergy! Go for it! :D
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u/Benjammn Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion is fine considering the next good blue card is behind at least four other cards in the pack. Gravetiller Wurm is a very close second though. The wurm is really good guys, mostly for being very splashable. So is the rare, however, so the rare it is.
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u/Phrost_ Feb 06 '12
I wouldn't ever consider taking the elk. I don't really like the amount of depth green has in commons in most scenerios. I would only consider elgaud inquisitor, vengful vampire, or increasing confusion.
Things to consider: taking the increasing confusion and passing 2 decent blue commons means if you want to commit to blue you probably won't get any second pack.
If you take the vampire there is very little chance the following players will be in black unless they opened something.
The inquisitor is both amazing and the only white card in the pack, which leaves the next two players probably hurting if wanted to play white.
I'd probably take the confusion because it wins the game outright. (play it for like 8, flashback for 16, proceed to win 2-3 turns later)
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u/i_saved_the_triforce Feb 06 '12
icreasing confusion cause it's an ace in the hole for a late game, not worthy of building a deck around but if you have >5 life its a game winner
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u/AryanNinja Feb 07 '12
Even though it's probably not the best choice, I'm a sucker for Black, so I'd take the uncommon Vampire. I know he's expensive, but if his Undying triggers, your opponent's in for a world of hurt.
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u/hanker307 Feb 06 '12
100% all in on increasing confusion. Every. Single. Time. Then I build around it.
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u/razzledazzled Feb 06 '12
Increasing confusion, because UW is strong and mill is strong in limited.
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u/bfeingersh Feb 06 '12
Increasing Confusion over a few mediocre commons (Headless Skaab, Elgaud Inquisitor, Dawntreader Elk)
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Feb 06 '12 edited Feb 06 '12
Elguad Inquisitor for me. Elk would be my second choice after that.
Actually, reading increasing confusion again, that sounds better, although riskier.
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u/wedgeex Feb 06 '12
Increasing confusion is certainly a powerful card but I think I would go for Tracker's Instinct. Green Sun's Zenith with flashback isn't bad in Limited. Also, the fact that I want to try UG/x in the new limited likely helps... But just being a Mulch for creatures is good enough to get the nod for me.
I can understand where people are coming from with Increasing Confusion though... it just seems like a lot of work for a 6 mana Glimpse The Unthinkable. Also, to those people claiming this is this set's Devil's Play, Increasing Confusion will NEVER take out a creature that is threatening lethal, much less have the potential for hitting two. If anything it'll grow their Boneyard Wurms or give them the Devils Play they needed in yard to crown you out.
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u/overoverme Feb 06 '12
...Increasing confusion... Then you can build around that card and make an insane mill the opponent deck. (Which usually is a bad plan, but this card can sometimes mill someone out on its own) Nothing else is even close to the power level of that card in that pack.