Metagame.com - Take Your Game to the Next Level

The Sentry™
Card# MTU-017

While his stats aren’t much bigger than those of the average 7-drop, Sentry’s “Pay ATK” power can drastically hinder an opponent’s attacking options in the late game.
Click here for more

Drafting with Tillman Bragg

Anand Khare

September 10, 2006

I’m here at the first draft of the day. Tillman Bragg, TCG professional and member of TDC, is currently sporting an 8-1 record. He only has to 1-2 the top draft pod to make Top 8, but he’s certainly aiming higher than that. The cards that Tillman picked out of each pack are listed first, with other notable cards that he passed listed afterward.

Pack 1

Lieutenant Kona Lor; Frankie Raye ◊ Nova, Harbinger of Death; Valeria Von Doom, The Kyln

Battleworld, Elemental Converters, Ruul Warrior

Nenora, Clumsy Foulup, Battleworld, Himalayan Enclave, Improper Burial

Doomstadt, Castle Doom; Blue Area of the Moon; Mole Man, Moloid Master; Thing, Rockhead; Magneto, Acts of Vengeance

Commander Dylon Cir, Moloids, Soul Gem

Improper Burial, Ruul Warrior

Hala

Space Gem, Ronan the Accuser, Pressed into Service

Remnant Fleet, Genetic Destiny

Titania, Temper Tantrum; Ruul Warrior

Clumsy Foulup

Mar-Vell ◊ Captain Marvel, Enemy of the Empire; Super Genius

Moloids

Genetic Destiny

Tillman seems to be forcing Kree and Doom, with an emphasis on smaller characters. It’s interesting to note how he valued Kona Lor and Nenora over The Kyln and Improper Burial, respectively.

Pack 2

Dr. Minerva, Ultron ◊ Ultron 11, Ronan the Accuser ◊ Starforce

Admiral Galen Kor, Shakti, Lieutenant Kona Lor

Nenora, Extended Family, Elite Doom Guards, Klaw, Sonic Construct

Captain Att-Lass, Arsenal of Doom

Penal Colony; Captain America, Skrull Impostor; Korath the Pursuer

Nega-Bands; Magneto, Acts of Vengeance; Pressed into Service

Sentry #459, Warskrull, Ethan Edwards

Iron Man, Illuminati; Kree Public Accusers

Ultron ◊ Ultron 11, Penal Colony, Nega-Bomb

Purple Man, Subtle Manipulator

More little guys from this pack for Tillman. He now has four 1-drops, four 2-drops, and three 3-drops. He has no tricks to speak of, except perhaps for Penal Colony—if you can call that a trick. Perhaps they’re coming in the next pack.

Pack 3

Doomed Earth; Hala; Mar-Vell ◊ Captain Marvel, Soldier of the Empire

Commander Dylon Cir, For the Glory of Doom!, Barbaric Brawl, Divinity

Technarx, Cyborg General; Shakti; Frankie Raye ◊ Nova, Optimistic Youth

The Lunatic Legion

Dr. Minerva; Mar-Vell ◊ Captain Marvel, Soldier of the Empire

The Lunatic Legion

Pressed into Service, Armies of Doom, Soul World

Magneto, Acts of Vengeance; Kree Commandos

Hala, Intergalactic Summit

Sentry #459, Kree Soldiers

Well, the third pack certainly paid off for Tillman. Two copies of The Lunatic Legion, a Doomed Earth, and a Hala are about as much as any deck of this archetype could hope for. I asked Tillman about his pick of Nenora over Improper Burial. “I don’t even like Improper Burial that much . . . Nenora is a free guy, just another guy to play on turn 6. And he’s concealed. My plan with this deck is just to press on turn 6 . . . 2, 2, 3, 4, 5. Nenora helps.”

Regarding the most important cards in the archetype: “The 2-drop press characters are more important than anything else. I think that Dr. Minerva is the absolute best card for the deck.” As deck construction began, Tillman laid out most of his forty-two cards. “I have way too many playables.” He went through, making cuts. Doomstadt, Castle Doom was an easy card to eliminate, as were three of his 6-drops and all of his 7-drops. The deck he was building certainly looked to be a fast one, but that didn’t mean that he was including all of his smaller characters. “This card is great in a Doom deck . . . but I don’t have Doom,” he said, indicating Moloids. Nevertheless, one copy still made the deck. Here’s how it turned out:

Characters

2 Nenora

2 Commander Dylon Cir

Ruul Warrior

Iron Man, Illuminati

Technarx, Cyborg General

Admiral Galen Kor