Hi everyone, welcome back to the re-launch of the new improved content on Daily Metagame. In the upcoming weeks I will feature my drafts from our weekly Thursday night drafts. Today's draft was my third time drafting with all three sets of the Aftermath Block and we had eight drafters.

Pack 1

Pick 1:

There was not much to debate about here. [Boundless Hellfire] is by far the best card. Having it would allow me to deviate from a normal deck. By itself it is can win a game through damage while stopping your opponent from killing you with allies. Always take it and never pass it. As soon as I took [Boundless Hellfire] first pick, I knew I wanted to be [Skodis the Nethertwister]. His flip goes along well to counteract the damage I will deal to myself, while also adding more damage I could deal to my opponent.

Pick: [Boundless Hellfire]

Pick 2:

When I looked at the pack, the choices for me were [Renshol, Herald of Nature], [Neferset Runecaster], [Neferset Flamecaller], [Araxian, Herald of Trickery]. None of these options were overly exciting. I passed on the [Neferset Runecaster] because Alliance has so many good four drops that he would just clog up my four drop spot more. Next I eliminated the Darkcaster because I found that his home is in decks with ally attachments. Four became two and the choice was between the two Empower allies. I decided that the better of the two for my deck was [Renshol, Herald of Nature] solely for his healing power.

Pick: [Renshol, Herald of Nature]

Pick 3:

Last pack had zero Alliance allies and this pack offered only one, albeit a good one. At this point I thought Alliance was out of the picture from what I seen from the packs. I decided that it was time to move in on a low costed Protector with high health. He should be able to suck up some attacks and allow me to use [Boundless Hellfire] more often since I will have more health.

Pick: [Wrex]

Pick 4:

Well this is unexpected. My assessment in the last pack seemed to be off as this pack offered four Alliance allies to only one Horde ally. The choice came down to [Kedan Burstbeard] and [Sunstalker Maelan]. This decision was tough, but I picked the [Kedan Burstbeard]. Skodis' flip is too powerful to not take a gamble. [Kedan Burstbeard]'s AoE damage can also make a huge impact, allowing me to destroy multiple allies in one turn.

Pick: [Kedan Burstbeard]

Pick 5:

There were three good choices from this pack, [Ashton Barstow], [Drain Soul], and [Gnomebliteration]. All three cards would make my deck, but the choice is clear. I wanted to start cutting Warlock as much as possible to hopefully force other people out of my class. The additional healing and ally removal is also too much to pass up.

Pick: [Drain Soul]

Pick 6:

I had not played with [Kraven the Gravebound] before, so I decided to take him. [Traitors!] would have also been a decent option, but the chance to take an Alliance ally out of my opponents hands was too much to pass up. It also helped that the pack was weak overall, so it is not like I was passing up on much.

Pick: [Kraven the Gravebound]

Pick 7:

Hello [Bazul, Herald of the Fel]. You fit perfectly into my deck. Easy pick here with the runner-up being [The Defense of Nahom].

Pick: [Bazul, Herald of the Fel]

Pick 8:

Out of the three Alliance allies the only one that excites me is [Shadowseer Thraner]. Not only does [Shadowseer Thraner] have a big body, but she also offers the chance to win games that you shouldn't by decking your opponent.

Pick: [Shadowseer Thraner]

Pick 9:

Pick nine offered a tough choice between [Gnomebliteration] and [Bishop Ketodo]. At this point I had zero quests and I believe that [Gnomebliteration] is one of the better quests in the block for draft. While I will never be excited about [Bishop Ketodo], he did offer the option to try to force players to my left to stay out of Alliance. Crown of the Heavens offers some of the best Alliance allies available in the block, so having more seats to my left without Alliance players would be a huge advantage. In the end [Gnomebliteration] won out because it will always make my deck, where [Bishop Ketodo] is not guaranteed to make it.

Pick: [Gnomebliteration]

Pick 10:

I would need equipment to turn take advantage of [Kedan Burstbeard] and [Rune of Zeth] seemed like a good place to start. I liked the idea of [Rune of Zeth] in my deck. The first reason was that it would allow me to start aggressively digging for [Boundless Hellfire] as early as turn 2. The next reason is that the games where I had [Boundless Hellfire] in hand, it gave me the option to not play an ally that would just die to my own [Hellfire]. The last reason that I liked it is that it would never be a bad top deck later in the game, plus it lets you get four cards deeper to find the powerful Eternal ability.

Pick: [Rune of Zeth]

Pick 11:

I picked [Rune of Zeth] for the same reasons above.

Pick: [Rune of Zeth]

Pick 12:

Not much to see here. I took the best of the slums.

Pick: [Goetia]

Pick 13:

Blah…

Pick: [Courage]

Pick 14:

[Baradis Darkstone] could potentially be played, but hopefully not.

Pick: [Baradis Darkstone]

Pick 15:

Pick: [Alaria the Huntress]

The deck is looking good so far. I had one big bomb, an ally removal ability on top of that, one quest and a couple of decent allies. With Crown of the Heavens coming up next I knew that my focus this pack was going to be on my ally curve.

Pack 2

Pick 1:

For a first pick, there was not much debate for me. [Kalam Blacksteel] was the easy pick as it is a good ally with the best keyword for Limited. This pack should make the Horde drafters to my right happy.

Pick: [Kalam Blacksteel]

Pick 2:

This pack is much better than my first pack. The choices were [Lucy Elizabeth], [Frimzy Fuzzbum], and [Splashtooth]. [Splashtooth] got the consideration for its Delve power that fits a curve if I was trying to play [Boundless Hellfire] on turn 4. He was quickly cut from consideration as the other two allies are more powerful. Normally [Frimzy Fuzzbum] is slightly stronger than [Lucy Elizabeth] but this was a perfect example that you need to consider your deck. [Frimzy Fuzzbum] does a good job at keeping your allies in play, but with an AoE ability that I want to play early and often keeping allies in play is not important. [Lucy Elizabeth] was the last one standing and she would be a good fit. She helps me not take damage post [Boundless Hellfire] and is all around a good ally.

Pick: [Lucy Elizabeth]

Pick 3:

Pack three offered lots of good choices. I needed to narrow down my choice between [Jadefire Hellcaller], [The Battle Is Won, the War Goes On], [As Hyjal Burns], and [Flamesinger Zara]. From the allies, [Jadefire Hellcaller] was better fit for the deck. He would either burn my opponent which would go along with some of the other cards I already had, or he would make them discard, making my AoE more effective because it naturally leads itself to be card advantage through killing multiple allies. Both quests are in the top two from Crown of the Heavens. I decided with the two Runes I picked up in pack one, I could skimp on card drawing quests. I also needed a way to turn on off-class Empower allies from pack three and [Renshol, Herald of Nature]. I decided to take the quest because it is slightly more powerful and either ally can be easily replaced by other three drops.

Pick: [The Battle Is Won, the War Goes On]

Pick 4:

I was given another chance at [The Battle Is Won, the War Goes On], but this time I decided to take an ally. [Jadefire Rogue] was my choice as I felt it was the strongest of the options. I liked him particularly for his health, which should allow him to live through my opponent's turn 4 and to combo with my flip to take down a big ally on turn 5.

Pick: [Jadefire Rogue]

Pick 5:

This was unexpected. I was worried that no Warlock cards were in packs one through four. I was starting to think that there was a Warlock drafter to my left, which would have been weird considering that I passed zero Warlock cards in pack one. [Shroud of the Nethermancer] is the weakest of the three Shrouds, but who cares as it is still is a very good card. This pack offered an easy pick.

Pick: [Shroud of the Nethermancer]

Pick 6:

I think this pick took all of two seconds. [Father Charles] is my favorite Alliance five drop. His come into play power can drastically alter the game and his body is a good size.

Pick: [Father Charles]

Pick 7:

Damn, that was a lot of good Warlock cards. [Shaafun], [Master's Embrace], [Fear and Loathing], and [Essence of Aggression] are all cards I would want for any Warlock deck. [Master's Embrace] would be good, if I had any Pets, so it got the cut. [Fear and Loathing] and [Essence of Aggression] are both good, but I would want some good Hunters in my deck to consider either. [Shaafun] was the last choice and all around the best option. His big body and damage dealing when he comes into play is too good to pass up. [Shaafun] also worked with my Shroud, which helped make the decision even easier. Too bad this was pack seven instead of pack two or three, as I would have loved to get one of these cards back on the wheel.

Pick: [Shaafun]

Pick 8:

Not much to think about here. Only one card would have been good for my deck.

Pick: [Emree]

Pick 9:

Not much for playable cards for me here. I decided to take [Sign in Blood] because it fit well into my deck. It would go along with the game plan of doing nothing much turns 1-3. [Signed in Blood] would take away my opponent's options later in the game, which is exactly where I want him to be if I can kill all of their allies.

Pick: [Signed in Blood]

Pick 10:

Hate draft time. There are no overly powerful cards in the pack. With [McCloud the Fox ] still in the pack I do not think anyone is in Hunter. One major hint was the seventh pick option at [Master Embrace]. I decided to go with [Vor'zun] since he could fit into more decks.

Pick: [Vor'zun]

Pick 11:

Just what I needed: another do nothing quest.

Pick: [Signed in Blood]

Pick 12:

A decent three drop twelfth pick, I will take it.

Pick: [Flamesinger Zara]

Pick 13:

[Vor'zun] was the pick for the same reasons as before.

Pick: [Vor'zun]

Pick 14:

Playable ally versus unplayable ally, this was not hard.

Pick: [Dar the Beastmaster]

Pick 15:

Pick: [Power Generator Hood]

My ally curve got a lot better in pack two. Pack three should be straight forward. I need to fill in the rest of my ally curve, I should pick up some good card drawing quests, and hopefully pick up a powerful ally or two.

Pack 3

Pick 1:

This pack was awesome. I was given a tough choice between [Grimnar] and [Buldrug]. I had already eliminated [Zor'chal the Shadowseer] as an option. I think [Buldrug] is the better of the two Enrage allies. For six drops [Grimnar] would get the nod because he can shut down my opponent's board plus he would work with my Shroud. I decided to gamble this pick. There were late Warlock cards in Crown of the Heavens, which made me think I could pass the [Grimnar] and get it back on the wheel. Overall I really wanted to take [Grimnar], but taking the [Buldrug] would enable me to get a more powerful deck if the Pet came back pick nine.

Pick: [Buldrug]

Pick 2:

[Hadrack the Devoted] is an ally I can really get behind. He is a powerful rare, he will take down two allies, and he lives through my own [Boundless Hellfire]. I eyed the [Bottled Void] for a second, but figured it would come back later.

Pick: [Hadrack the Devoted]

Pick 3:

Pack three was another great pack for me. I could explain why I took [Malar Silverfrost] in detail, but in can be summarized that he is a Protector that can kill multiple allies.

Pick: [Malar Silverfrost]

Pick 4:

Things are starting to become automatic now. [Hellisa] was the clear pick because she is above the curve for her cost, her ability to burn fits our deck, and she can be searched for by the Shroud.

Pick: [Hellisa]

Pick 5:

With two good Pets that I can play on turn 3 or turn 4, I really liked [Dastrin Bowman]. Giving your big Pets long range will make some complicated board states for your opponent. The turn [Dastrin Bowman] comes into play when you have a Pet in play will be beating.

Pick: [Dastrin Bowman]

Pick 6:

I still needed quests and one that could set up my [Buldrug] or search for my bombs, so Seeds seemed like the best option.

Pick: [Seeds of Their Demise]

Pick 7:

Pack seven was a weak pack. I decided to take [Sebastian Malak] but already knew that I would not play him. I should have considered hating the [Chompers] more here, but I felt strongly that there was no Hunter at the table.

Pick: [Sebastian Malak]

Pick 8:

There were two choices here, [Trista, Herald of the Fel] and [Waters of Elune]. Both options draw me a card, but one searches for some of the better cards in the deck.

Pick: [Trista, Herald of the Fel]

Pick 9:

Well that sucked. No [Grimnar] mad me a sad camper. Well I have to roll with what was left. [The Last Living Lorekeeper] was my choice as the healing would be good to offset the damage I would be dealing to myself.

Pick: [The Last Living Lorekeeper]

Pick 10:

[Bottled Void] provided more burn and healing for my deck. This was an easy pick.

Pick: [Bottled Void]

Pick 11:

I needed another good two drop, so [Laetho Moonbranch] was an easy pick. It was also a nice bonus that it would help with my [Renshol, Herald of Nature] trigger.

Pick: [Laetho Moonbranch]

Pick 12:

More healing is always good in this deck.

Pick: [Brighteye]

Pick 13:

Meh.

Pick: [Davius, Herald of Nature]

Pick 14:

Pick: [Davius, Herald of Nature]

Pick 15:

Pick: [Focus Magic]

Final Deck

Hero: [Skodis the Nethertwister]

Allies:

1 [Bazul, Herald of the Fel]

1 [Laetho Moonbranch]

1 [Lucy Elizabeth]

1 [Emree]

1 [Flamesinger Zara]

1 [Hellisa]

1 [Kalam Blacksteel]

1 [Buldrug]

1 [Hadrack the Devoted]

1 [Jadefire Rogue]

1 [Kedan Burstbeard]

1 [Malar Silverfrost]

1 [Shaafun]

1 [Trista, Herald of the Fel]

1 [Dastrin Bowman]

1 [Father Charles]

1 [Renshol, Herald of Nature]

1 [Shadowseer Thraner]

Abilities:

1 [Drain Soul]

1 [Boundless Hellfire]

1 [Shroud of the Nethermancer]

Equipment:

2 [Rune of Zeth]

1 [Bottled Void]

Quests:

1 [Gnomebliteration]

1 [Seeds of Their Demise]

2 [Signed in Blood]

1 [The Battle Is Won, the War Goes On]

1 [The Last Living Lorekeeper]

The deck had come together nicely. I got unlucky in pack three where the player two seats to the left(Niles) had moved into Warlock. Niles was classless going into pack three and opened a [Nether Balance]. Next pack he was rewarded with [Soul Cleave] and my [Grimnar] in the next two packs. Oh well, sometimes you do as much as you can and the packs will open that way.

What did I learn from the draft?

The deck preformed above expectations and I easily went 3-0. [Boundless Hellfire] was ridiculous every time I played it. The [Rune of Zeth] played very well in my deck. The chance to search for my bomb rare enabled me to have it early every game and to have it multiple times in games that went longer. I learned that I would give [Rune of Zeth] another chance in future drafts. I also learned that [Renshol, Herald of Nature] was not as good as I thought it would be. It was hard to trigger (not surprising with only two ways to do so), and even when I did, the effect was okay, but not great. I think [Renshol, Herald of Nature]'s true home should only be in Druid decks and in some Horde decks as the Horde Druids are better than their Alliance counterparts.

So what did you think of my deck? Would you have tried anything differently? Feel free to post on the forums and let me hear your thoughts.

-Tim Rivera