This was Kim Caton's first foray into Top 8 territory on the $10K level, and she was a little nervous. However, she was sticking to her game plan, and hoping to repeat in the Top 8 with the same play as she'd shown in the Day 1 Sealed Pack and the Top 24 Booster Draft. With three members of her team in the Top 8, she was thrilled at the chances of placing a member in the finals—although seeing teammates Michael Dalton and Peter Sundholm facing off in the quarters was a little disappointing. “I'd rather see two of us in the finals. More money for the team. We kick ten percent of our winnings into the team pool. We don't have a team split, although Mike and Peter are probably going to split 'cause they're playing each other . . . but I'm just happy FTN placed three in the Top 8!”

 

KIM CATON'S DRAFT

 

As always, her picks are the italicized cards to the left.

 

Pack 1

 

1) Hard-Traveling Heroes, Alan Scott, Fiero, Coast City

 

2) Kyle Rayner, Last Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, Strong Arm of the Corps, Fiero, Coast City, Rain of Acorns

 

3) Remoni-Notra ◊ Star Sapphire, St'nlli, Kyle Rayner, Green Lantern of the Universe, Lantern's Light, Birthing Chamber

 

4) Myrwhydden, Cosmic Conflict, Lana Lang, Ganthet

 

5) Hard-Traveling Heroes, Superwoman, Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of Earth

 

6) Jade, Black Hand, No Evil Shall Escape Our Sight

 

7)Only a Friend Can Betray You, Xallarap

 

8) Dimming of the Starheart, Force Sphere, Superman

 

9) Sonar, Xallarap, Yellow Power Ring

 

10) Fiero, Qwardians

 

11) Weaponers of Qward

12) Qward, Lana Lang

 

13-14) Shadow Creatures, Starlings

 

Pack 2

 

1)The Ring Has Chosen, Sinestro Defiant, Ch'p

 

2)Guardians Reborn,Cosmic Conflict, Golden Death, Black Hand

 

3) Abin Sur, Pest Control, Helping Hand, Frostbite

 

4) Power Ring,Arisia, Invisible Destroyer, Empire of Tears, Cosmic Conflict

 

5) Azrael Batman, Knightfall, Goldface, Rain of Acorns

 

6) Invisible Destroyer,Sinestro Defiant

 

7) Hector Hammond, Frostbite

 

8) Grayven

9) Dr. Ebenezer Darkk, Shadows of the Past

 

10-14)Cosmic Conflict, Ragman, Space Bears, Rain of Acorns, Armies of Qward

 

Pack 3

 

1) Guy Gardner, Strong Arm of the Corps,Azrael ◊ Batman, Knightfall, Superwoman, Goldface, Coast City, Thunderous Onslaught

 

2) Krona, Millennium, Qwardian Council Hall, Frostbite

 

3) No Man Escapes the Manhunters, Myrwhydden, Hard-Traveling Heroes, Arisia

 

4)Dr. Ub'x, Mosaic World, Hard-Traveling Heroes

 

5) Damsel in Distress, Olapet, Elasti-Man, Guy Gardner, Warrior

 

6) Remoni-Notra ◊ Star Sapphire, Manhunter Engineer, Brik, Major Force

 

7) Supermanhunter, Anti-Green Lantern

 

8) Emerald Dawn,Frostbite

 

9) Coast City,Lantern's Light

 

10) Kiman, Frostbite

 

11) Arisia, Catcher's Mitt, Xallarap

 

12-14)Highmaster, Power Surge, Underground Complex

Last night, after Day 1 was finished, Kim Caton listed what her Top 5 wish cards were, and told me her draft game plan. Kim's top 5 cards to look for in the draft were:

 

1) Oa

2) Willworld

3) The Ring Has Chosen

4) No Man Escapes The Manhunters

5) Any Team-Up

 

She wanted a high curve, with three 6-drops, three 7-drops, and an 8-drop if she could get it. She was aiming for a 30-card deck.

 

What she ended up with:

 

She didn't see an Oa or Willworld, but got a Ring Has Chosen plus another search card, a No Man Escapes the Manhunters, and two Hard-Traveling Heroes for teaming up. In fact, she hit two Hard-Traveling Heroes in her first four picks of the first pack, and a The Ring Has Chosen as her first pick of the second. Not bad, hitting three of her five hopefuls. As well, she built a 30-card deck, with two 7-drops and a boostable Power Ring, and her only real miss was on 6, where she only nabbed two.

 

KIM'S DECKLIST

 

CHARACTERS

2 Remoni-Notra ◊ Star Sapphire

 

PLOT TWISTS

2 Hard-Traveling Heroes

 

LOCATIONS

 

She aimed for Emerald Enemies and Green Lantern, and got a nice split deck. Aside from Azrael, who doesn't need the reinforcement, and rarely teams up, only Power Ring was off of those teams, and he was so god she just couldn't resist. “I got two search cards, so although taking out a 7-drop (Dr. Ebenezer Darkk) is against the norm, I can get Krona with either of them. Plus, Power Ring on 5, boosted, is so good! Especially if Arisia in play, he's just golden. He was the sole off-team pick because of it.” I asked her why, with her love of team-ups, she passed on so many others—one pack even had a Mosaic World and a Hard-Traveling Heroes. “I felt I didn't need a third team-up with only two teams. If I can't pull into I should still be okay. Team-ups are nice, but not necessary. Now if I'd drafted Kilowog on 6, I would have drafted more just to make sure I could hit him. With only two team-stamped cards, I think that two will be just fine.”

 

And so, heading into the draft, Kim left me with this final thought: “I played Adam in the last draft, and had him so locked down that I thought the game was mine. Then he hit all the plot twists he needed and totally turned it around. For this match, it depends on what he drafted . . . but I'm happy with the deck.”