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2 months ago ::
Mar 18, 2013 - 9:44AM
#451
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Date Joined:
Jun 18, 2012
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Easy Beast. We need more 2-drops though.
With the Beast our creature curve is 1-2-3-3-0-1. Yep, needs more 2-drops.
Looking back, the most recently we've not picked a Gruul 2-drop was P2p1, when we picked Assemble the Legion  , not Skinbrand Goblin  . The time before that was p1p5; we took Wasteland Viper  over a Skinbrand Goblin . I'm more than happy we have a  1/2 deathtouch instead of a   2/1, and a 1-drop over a 2-drop is just fine as far as speed goes. We haven't seen many 1-drops, either. P2p3 was the most recent 1-drop, we grabbed Ghor-Clan Rampager  over a Foundry Street Denizen  . P1p3 was Pit Fight  over another Foundry Street Denizen . I don't see any of these picks as mistakes, but it's a great showcase for the importance of 1- & 2-drops. The only substitute for cheap creatures is cheap removal, and there's only so much of either. Gruul can't get its big creatures unless it lives long enough.
Since there are fewer than would be ideal, we need to grab them, especially since Boros players love taking ALL THE THINGS! 2-DROPS!
I want to thank you for taking the time in your last two points to point out some important drafting information for the rest of us!
As you said, it's not that we've avoided two drops, it's just that we've had good stuff to take over them so far. I agree with you that we should be vigilant and pick some more two drops when the situation is conducive.
Ember Beast you all know this, no surprise here.
Thanks! I wonder if this is the main reason Gruul win rates are so much lower than other guilds. I think Bloodrush is the weakest GTC mechanic, but if Gruul decks aren't curved right, it wouldn't help much to have Extort.
Boros drafters are the most pressed to take cheap creatures, but Simic may be second-most in wanting lots of early creatures. It's obvious Simic drafters want cheap evolvers, ( Cloudfin Raptor  , Experiment One  , Gyre Sage  , and Shambleshark  ) but once they have some, they want cheap creatures to trigger Evolve. Wasteland Viper , Burning-Tree Emissary  , Disciple of the Old Ways  , and Greenside Watcher  do. Gruul gets squeezed from both sides.
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2 months ago ::
Mar 18, 2013 - 9:45AM
#452
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Date Joined:
Oct 25, 2009
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I'll side with you guys and say Watcher, but we need to be on the lookout for gates.
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2 months ago ::
Mar 18, 2013 - 9:45AM
#453
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Date Joined:
Aug 10, 2012
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Agree w watcher
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2 months ago ::
Mar 18, 2013 - 9:47AM
#454
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I'd like the Keystone, but I agree that watcher is the pick here.
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2 months ago ::
Mar 18, 2013 - 10:01AM
#455
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Date Joined:
Nov 27, 2011
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Watcher seems bad in this deck. We have no gates, and nothing to try and ramp into if we did, so at the moment we can completely ignore his ability. And at that point a vanilla 2/1 for two isn't something I would pick over the Keyrune. Keyrune has the same ramp capabilities, doesn't require a Gate (which we may not get or even want), and doesn't trade with a 1/1. The only advantage of the Watcher is that it costs two, and I would rather take the gamble we can at least pick up a late Skinbrand Goblin or two that I would play over the Watcher.
So Keyrune.
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2 months ago ::
Mar 18, 2013 - 10:11AM
#456
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Date Joined:
Jun 18, 2012
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Gruul Keyrune  is nice ramp/fixing, but takes up turn 3. The 3/2 Trample creature is okay, but not a reason in itself to pick it. Greenside Watcher is a Piker, and not great without gates to untap. Bomber Corps  is a token-eater with a nice pinging Battalion ability. If we're unlikely to activate the ability, its value goes down fast. Razortip Whip  is cheap recurring damage, but isn't a creature and can't target creatures. Bioshift  is a Simic card. With one evolver, it's very close to being a dead card. Nav Squad Commandos  is in a color we're considering as splash. It's better than it's given credit. After arguing for more cheap creatures, here two are. Watcher's role would be to trade with cheap attackers, especially against Boros opponents. There are lots of x/1 and x/2 creatures in the set which don't have first strike. Bomber's utility is directly related to the number of cheap creatures we have; I don't think we have enough. With a single 1-drop, we're unlikely to use his ability before turn 5--that's not soon enough. Greenside Watcher is the pick. Bomber Corps is probably the second-best given what we have. Gruul Keyrune is close to the Bomber. A card I like to have for mana-fixing, but we shouldn't pass up a chance to stabilize the board by chasing after ramp to the Wurm and Legion.
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2 months ago ::
Mar 18, 2013 - 10:13AM
#457
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Date Joined:
Sep 30, 2010
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Watcher is a two-power two-drop.
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2 months ago ::
Mar 18, 2013 - 10:38AM
#458
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Date Joined:
Oct 11, 2007
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Watcher seems bad in this deck. We have no gates, and nothing to try and ramp into if we did, so at the moment we can completely ignore his ability. And at that point a vanilla 2/1 for two isn't something I would pick over the Keyrune. Keyrune has the same ramp capabilities, doesn't require a Gate (which we may not get or even want), and doesn't trade with a 1/1. The only advantage of the Watcher is that it costs two, and I would rather take the gamble we can at least pick up a late Skinbrand Goblin or two that I would play over the Watcher.
So Keyrune.
Watcher trades with most 2 drops in the format, so in that regard he's playable. I think it's okay for gruul to make trades and end up with the best creature standing when the dust settles. His ability is just icing.
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2 months ago ::
Mar 18, 2013 - 10:49AM
#459
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Date Joined:
Mar 18, 2013
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I really like how we are making such an emphasis on curving this out beautifully. I'm gonna have to agree with Watcher for that reason. I do want to add that I love bomber corps in general.
Also, TheFranchise's posts are epic to the point of hilarity.
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2 months ago ::
Mar 18, 2013 - 10:49AM
#460
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Date Joined:
Jun 18, 2012
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Watcher seems bad in this deck. We have no gates, and nothing to try and ramp into if we did, so at the moment we can completely ignore his ability. And at that point a vanilla 2/1 for two isn't something I would pick over the Keyrune. Keyrune has the same ramp capabilities, doesn't require a Gate (which we may not get or even want), and doesn't trade with a 1/1. The only advantage of the Watcher is that it costs two, and I would rather take the gamble we can at least pick up a late Skinbrand Goblin or two that I would play over the Watcher.
So Keyrune.
A vs. B, I'd strongly prefer the Keyrune. The Watcher is weak without gates, but we've only got three 1- or 2-drops so far. If we'd targeted them above everything else, we'd still only have three more: a Skinbrand Goblin (which would have meant passing a Ghor-Clan Rampager ) and two Foundry Street Denizen s, which absolutely suck in Gruul. We need early guys to trade with opponents' bears. We won't use the Watcher to attack, so he'll trade with x/2s, not 1/1s.
I think non-Boros GTC draft decks really want a couple 1-drops and about five 2-drops. We're halfway through the draft, even if we assume we get cards from the dregs of this pack. We're not halfway to getting our early creatures, and the draft so far does not indicate we can count on getting early drops when we get around to it. I want to take this guy now, a Goblin or two later, and play them all even if we don't get a single gate.
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