Skill Test?

Trotsky1 · Joined: 12 Apr 2005 Posts: 658

It is game 3 you are on the play and your opponent lead with a knucklebone witch turn1, his deck is red black so far you have seen a flamekin spitfire which is a problem to your deck with many 1/1 creatures I will give list latter, , ceaseless searblades, ghostly changling, soulbright flamekin, final revels, hurly burly, cairn wanderer and two tarfire. In his is turn two he plays a mountain and attacks you with the knucklebone witch, your hand is whirlpool whelm, nameless inversion, moonglove winnower, streambed aquitects, island and swamp, with and island and swamp in play. Your opponents rating is slightly higher than 1600 and he has so far made one minor play mistake that you are aware off what do you do if anything?

The Deck you playing for reference by my own omission not the best draft deck ever but okay

1 Ponder
1 Tideshaper
1 Wanderers Twig
2 Deeptraed Merrow
1 Oonas prowler
1 Avian Changling
1 Eyesblights ending
1 paperfin rascal
1 Harpoon Sniper
2 Marsh Fliter
1 Sentinels of Glen Eladra
1 Moonglove Winnower
1 Whirlpool Whelm
1 Nameless Inversion
2 Streambed Aquitects
2 Pesermite
1 Turtleshell Changling
1 Inkfathom Divers
1 Benthicore
8 Islands
6 Swamps
1 Plains
1 Shimmering Grotto
1 Vivid Creek

This may seem like a strange question but I want to get people’s opinion’s all will be revealed in 24 hours or so, when I explain why I asked the question, even if your opinion has already been stated please do not hesitate to reiterate old opinions and even if your opinion seems obvious please still give it many thanks.

Wurly · Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 37

you take 1 and play aquitects next turn

lennin · Guest

you waste a removal on a 1/1 cuz u suck

Grimnos · Joined: 29 Mar 2006 Posts: 10

dv8r · Joined: 15 Oct 2005 Posts: 121

this is not really a hard question, take 1, play aquitechs next turn

incidentally, you're playing one land too many in your deck

Haro · Joined: 01 Sep 2004 Posts: 236

Stucco · Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 535

I'd take the damage since using one of your anwers would be a waste at this point in the game.

lennin · Guest

gingko · Joined: 20 Oct 2007 Posts: 3

Trotsky1 · Joined: 12 Apr 2005 Posts: 658

First of all thanks for all the replies. I did as most of you had said passed the turn and played the streambed aquictect’s but that one damage ended up costing me the game. How?

Well the bored had stalled thanks mostly to a hornet harasser on his side plus a lot of little not particularly impressive goblins (sorry if this is a bit vague but replays are down on modo for weatherlight release so I am doing this from memory) When for my turn I drew a pesermite, give me a window to tap his hornet harasser, nameless inversion his knucklebone witch now a 3/3 and attack with my team trying to force through as much damage as possible. He took 4 and chump blocked an attacker dropping him to 8 and putting on a 4 turn clock from the pestermite who could attack unimpeded in the air.

Unfortunately he drew a tarfire when at 4 life and the bored stalled once again. Until He Drew a Caterwauling Boggart and started getting his beat on with a ghostly changling. Then with a board of streambed aquitects, strembed aquitects, moonglove winnower, I Draw an Inkfathom Diver which sets me up for the win next turn if all my merfolk and I can survive the next turn. The inkfathom divers offers nothing relevant.

So sure enough he attacks with everything next turn, which can either drop me 2 life if I block the ghostly changling with two and the warren pilferer with another two or 3 life if I block one of the numerous 2/2s, 2/1s. Clearly this play screams tarfire so I block the pilferers with inkfathom divers and aquitects and the changling with the remaining blockers. He pumps the changling once killing my winnower with 3 damge on the stack to inkfathom divers I use aquitects to save it. With his remaining mana he plays ceaseless searblades and sure enough has the tarfire emptying his hand to kill off my inkfathom divers, meaning I can only take him to two next turn and he can win on the counter attack. Had that 1 damage from the knucklebone witch been prevented by nameless inversion turn 2 I could of made different blocks which would have resulted in him only being able to kill one of my creatures and I win the game.

Upon reflection my first thought was that although I had made the right play it cost me the game.

Then I started thinking would a really good player have thought he must have lots of goblins to play that knucklebone witch I should kill it now while its still small and save myself some life cause its inevitably going to get bigger, much like elvish hand servant in rg giants which is not a misplay to kill early if you know the deck has multiple woodland changlings, firebelly changlings blind spot giants etc.

I now feel that given what I knew then about the deck, all the goblins I had seen upto this point had been changlings it was still not the right play. Had I known his deck was chock full of goblins perhaps a truly greater player would have forseen the witch getting bigger and killed it there and then saving him the one life and in the long run winning him the game. I doubt I could have made the play even if I knew the deck was all goblins and im still not entirely convinced that this is the right play even with the extra information. What do you think just unfortunate and the right play or infact yes that was a mistake but it would have taken a great player to make the correct play or even it would have taken a terrible player to make the play and he just got lucky that has bad decision won him the game.

eotizzle · Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 9

i think your too hard on yourself for losing one game
go play another draft..lol

coolcreep · Joined: 18 Feb 2006 Posts: 264

Trotsky1 · Joined: 12 Apr 2005 Posts: 658

Dont worry not even a nuclear holocaust would stop me from drafting again. But what I was interested in was would anyone come up with the play that would have won me the game when i asked the question which no one did. Then secondly do you think it was a play mistake or bad luck cause i cant really decide.

lennin · Guest

mayb you made a play mistake later, just bc u lost by 1 life doesnt mean it was a mistake, like if u shock someones turn 1 birds, thent he turn b4 u die theyre at 1 and u die, doesnt mean killing the birds wasnt the right play

SageJTN · Joined: 07 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

Hindsight is 20/20. Making the best decision you can given the information you have at that time is what matters.