Table 2 at the Pro Circuit today appears to be dangerous ground, sporting eight of the most talented players in the game today. Have a look:

Tim Rivera

Masami Ibamoto

Jason Hager

Michael Jacob

Niles Rowland

Vidi Wijaya

Doug Tice

Adam Prosak

Now that is a draft table.

Masami Ibamoto is Japanese, one of very few players that made the trip from the Asian islands to be here today. He’s had the best finishes of any of the Japanese players—including 20^th place at PC: Atlanta—and is looking to defend the honor of the Japanese against the onslaught of many of the best players in North America. While there was a lot of joking around at the table, Masami was all business as the players sat down to draft.

1.1 Paibok over Kindred Spirits; The Herald Ordeal

1.2 Admiral Galen Kor over For the Glory of Doom!; Human Torch, Sparky

1.3 Interstellar Offensive over Ethan Edwards; Battleworld; Power Gem

1.4 Paibok over The Herald Ordeal; Pressed into Service; Titannus

1.5 Shatterax over Soul World; Mind Gem

1.6 Commander Dylon Cir over Mind Gem; Soul World; Morg, Slayer

1.7 Improper Burial over Penal Colony; Titannus

1.8 Kree Public Accusers over Mephisto, Lord of Hell

1.9 Kree Soldiers

1.10 Human Torch, Sparky over Sentry #459

1.11 Time Gem over Dinu

1.12 Titannus

1.13 Silver Surfer, Harbinger of Oblivion

1.14 Astral Suppression

Paibok was the best pick out of a weak first pack, but Masami’s first several picks showed a preference for Skrulls anyway, with a littering of Kree characters on the side. He had four 5-drops by pick eight, but any draft deck would be jealous of a Paibok/Paibok/Shatterax line as 5-cost characters. The low-cost Kree cards didn’t seem to be present, a sure sign that at least one or two people up the table from Masami were drafting them heavily.

2.2 Sworn Enemies over Hala

2.3 Battleworld over Ethan Edwards

2.4 Ethan Edwards

2.5 Ethan Edwards

2.6 The Herald Ordeal

2.7 Assault and Battery over Dewoz

2.8 Mind Gem

2.9 Genetic Destiny

2.10 Silver Surfer, Skyrider of the Spaceways over The Fallen One

2.11 The Punishers over Gorgon

2.12 Sentry #459

2.13 Invisible Woman, Baroness Von Doom over Dinu

2.14 Elemental Converters

Pack two was somewhat unusual. Masami showed clear dedication to his theme, picking cards that are great in a Skrull team-up curve deck, including two Ethan Edwards. I’ve only listed the cards Masami strongly considered drafting, but it was abundantly clear from the packs that both Inhumans and Heralds were extremely underdrafted. For instance, between picks three and eight of this pack, four Tonajas came around that Masami could have had his hands on, and two copies of Dewoz came by even later. Even then, Heralds may have been even more underdrafted. Masami last-picked an Elemental Converters, and he had to make the choice between the 2-drop Silver Surfer and The Fallen One, a choice any Heralds drafter would have been happy to make. Kree was notable by its complete absence from the packs after pick two.

3.1 Dr. Minerva over Ronan the Accuser, Starforce; Blue Area of the Moon; Terrax, Harbinger of Ruin

3.2 Act of Defiance over Absorba Shield

3.3 Nenora over Sworn Enemies; Commander Dylon Cir

3.4 Interstellar Offensive over Extended Family

3.5 Penal Colony over Clumsy Foulup; Admiral Galen Kor; Mind Gem

3.6 Interstellar Offensive over Battleworld; Hala

3.7 Mind Gem over Korath the Pursuer

3.8 The Fallen One over Ruul Warrior; Ahura

3.9 Mole Man over Penal Colony; Luna Maximoff

3.10 Silver Surfer, Skyrider of the Spaceways

3.11 Silver Surfer, Righteous Protector

3.12 Dorma

3.13 The Punishers

3.14 I Must Obey

Masami almost took the Terrax but eventually decided Dr. Minerva would be more helpful. That pick made his pack two decision much easier. In pack four, he had a difficult decision between Extended Family and Interstellar Offensive, opting for his second Offensive over the Team-Up. Two packs later he ended up with a third. He got another tenth-pick Surfer followed by an 11^th-pick 5-drop Surfer, emphasizing the anti-Heralds bias of the table.

Masami was kind enough to answer a few questions for me as he built his deck.

What did you think of your first pack?

Extremely weak. I like Paibok, but there were definitely no other good choices.

You ended up with a Skrull teamup deck. Is that a preference of yours?

It’s actually my favorite deck to draft. It’s very strong, and you have the ability to win on turn 6, which is important against Kree. If I don’t end up with the Skrulls, I try to draft mono-Kree.

There were a lot of good Heralds and Inhumans cards in the second pack. Did you consider switching?

Not really. I like Inhumans with Skrulls, but there were no good Inhumans cards in the first pack, so I figured I was being cut off. The Heralds don’t really mesh well with Skrulls.

You pulled Mind Gem to the front of every pack while drafting. How good is it?

I love Mind Gem. It smooths out your draws better than any other card in the format. I’d say it’s a 3^rd-5^th pick.

Masami’s Skrull/X deck has lots of aggro, two Paiboks, two Ethan Edwards, and three Interstellar Offensives. It may just be the Skrulls’ time to take over the universe . . . or at least a draft table.

Masami Ibamoto

Characters

2 The Punishers

1 Nenora

1 Kree Soldiers

2 Silver Surfer, Skyrider of the Spaceways

1 Dr. Minerva

1 Commander Dylon Cir

1 Human Torch, Sparky

1 Captain America, Skrull Impostor 

2 Ethan Edwards

1 Admiral Galen Kor

2 Paibok

1 Shatterax

1 The Fallen One

1 Sentry #459

1 Titannus

Plot Twists

3 Interstellar Offensive

1 Act of Defiance 

1 The Herald Ordeal

1 Sworn Enemies

1 Improper Burial

Locations

1 Battleworld

1 Penal Colony

Equipment

2 Mind Gem