Rocky Mountain Yetis

The first Magic cards I saw were from Ice Age. I was intrigued by the pictures of Krovikan Sorcerer and Johtul Wurm. What were these otherworldly monsters and the humans that summoned them? Growing up in Ohio winters, snow-covered fields always felt so magical and seemed to extend forever. Who knew what was out there in the world? When Cory suggested we get together to draft his Ice Age cube, I knew I was in. 

My deck: Red/Green Stormbind 3-0 (6-0 in games)

I had a few decks I wanted to play. I don’t like white, so it was pretty much any allied pair that didn’t include white. My first pack had Llurgoyf, so I smiled inside and knew I was going for the big boys. I was able to pick a few middling red cards, but after pack two my deck was still lackluster. I regretted not picking the 5-drop Deadly Insect since I was light on high impact cards. But the third pack delivered the goods and I picked up Eron the Relentless, Folk of the Pines, and Pyrokineses to add a lot of wallop to this deck. I knew this environment is on the slow side with a lot of clunky four-drops, so I was hoping getting under that with some 2 and 3-drops and a tiny bit of burn would be enough to get there. It turned out to be good enough to run the tables. The deck came together beautifully and I had almost everything I wanted. The curve was great with low to the ground creatures and a smattering of evasion. My four drops punched above their weight as each got stronger as the game went on. Shambling Strider wheeled to me which was icing on this ice-cream cake to solidify the top end of my curve.

Match 1 vs Cory on Blue/White

Cory drafted a sweet deck with good removal and evasion. I considered Blue/White when I looked at the cube beforehand since it’s so good in constructed. But after seeing the goyf, I went another way.

I was able to stall up the board with creatures, and Stormbind did 10 damage. It’s always good when I’m counting how many turns it will take me to tap mana and discard cards for lethal. I didn’t want to play more than 4 lands so I could pitch the rest. Keeping lands in hand for the eventual Stormbind worked out well for me for the rest of the day.

Match 2 vs Luke on 5C bombs

Luke went for all the mana fixing and the biggest baddies he came across. It was a sweet deck and full of power. Go big or go home. Glass cannons are my favorite type of deck to play because they get to have the most fun. We all come for the stories and to cast giant wurms.

I didn’t get a picture but my faster deck was good against his 6 and 8-drops. In one game, I had him low on life and had Stormbind in hand. Playing five colors, I didn’t know what he had in hand, so didn’t want to tap out and discard my hand to walk into a Scars of the Veteran or Blessed Wine followed by some other bomb. So I played rugged Shambling Strider instead. He upstaged the yeti with the giant Scaled Wurm, and I was able to use the Stormbind to finish him off. Too bad the big green monsters didn’t get to fight it out.

Match 3 finals vs Brian on UR

Brian unfortunately didn’t take a pic that day but had a blast playing his deck. Some key cards include Giant Oyster, Spiny Starfish, Wall of Kelp, and the Lava Burst I wanted so badly.

I drafted and played Surge of Strength mostly as a fun choice. I love the flavor and the gold border just looks so good. It worked really well for me for that day when a lot of my guys cost 4,5, and 6 mana. It also adds that last bit of reach that the deck needed since it was short on burn. I got to surprise Brian with it to pump Soldevi Simulcrum and trample over his regenerator for exactsies before he stabilizes with a hoard of 0/1s.

Game 2 I played my trump card Stormbind, only to have Brian Hydroblast it. But what’s that? I also sided in my Pyroblast? Sweet! Team fire forever! Whirling Catapault (damaged from a rainy camping trip back in the day) also did work for me finishing off Storm Crow, Sibilant Spirit, and the Illusionary Forces and adding that last bit of reach. I played it over a Vexing Arcanix and was not disappointed.

When I was waiting to play the winner after my faster games, I got to witness a sweet stalemate between Brian and Jared and their massive flying squads. Jared had Baron Sengir and Abyssal Specter holding off Brian’s Sibilant Spirit and Storm Crow. Neither could advance. Only the lone Mountain Goat found a way forward. Then Jared pulled his lone Dark Banishing and shifted the winds in his favor. I only thought to snap the picture after the spirit was banished.

It was an amazing cube with beautiful cards from the era I started playing magic. I would love to draft it again. My deck came together just as I hoped which always is a good feeling. The matches played out well with interesting interactions against great opponents.

The rest of the yetis:

Matt on GW combat-math tribal

Chad on RG. He had the same plan as me. I thought I was battling for lots of the good cards but a few snuck through like the Strider.

Jared played almost all black like the necromancer he is but this time he added a splash of red for good measure.

Brandon drafted solid burn and the all-star Fire Covenant, I didn’t get to witness any of his games unfortunately.

Bonus: Mirage draft

I’m not writing a post for this because this is the only pic I have from that cube. I went 2-0 before folks had to leave but I loved this deck. I had a few ways to cheat out Crimson Hellkite but ended up getting it into play the hard way, with nine mana. When my first pack had Heart of Bogardan and my second had Hammer of Bogardan, I knew I was going to have a good draft. I was all in on Bogardan. Sweet cube.