Neil Reeves, also known as JTMoney, is a well-recognized professional TCG player. His draft pod included notable players like Gabe Walls, Eugene Harvey, Brian Eugenio, and John Fiorillo, so he'd have his work cut out for him. I hunkered down by him and waited to see what kind of drafting moves one of the most renowned pros in the industry makes. I wasn't disappointed.
I listed all of Reeves's picks in order for each pack, as well as some notes on what he didn't choose and why. Here's how he put together his deck . . .
Pack 1:
Mr. Hyde: This pack was pretty dry, containing nothing else Reeves found fascinating aside from a
U-Go-Girl, Tragic Teleporter. Hyde made obvious sense, since he was already leaning towards Crime Lords.
Missed Drop: A fourth pick and this thing is still here? It was a signal, indicating that Eugene Harvey and Brian Eugenio were likely not running X-Statix. There was nothing else in the pack, so Reeves took it—whether hate or actual strategy, it was a good choice.
The Spike: Pack six contained both
The Spike and
Venus Dee Milo, Dee Milo, and at that point it was like watching a light switch turn on in Reeves's head. Because of the distance this pack and the last had traveled, it gave the strong impression that both Gabe Walls and John Fiorillo were also not drafting X-Statix, and Reeves immediately stopped hedging his bets between Loner and Crime Lords, going straight for a singleton X-Statix build.
Saint Anna:
Saint Anna was narrowly chosen over
Plazm and
Suicide. A rough pick to make, but it would pay off in the long run, as he'd need to prioritize that 4-drop.
X-Statix Cafe: This one certainly sealed the deal. Unless several packs had been full of
Zeitgeists, there was likely no one else running X-Statix in Reeves's pod. Good news for him, and he capitalized on it by grabbing the deck's signature location.
La Nuit: Again helping to fill out the 4-drop slot,
La Nuit was really the only decent card in the pack by Reeves's standards.
Overexposed: Picked over another copy of
Saint Anna, this one didn't take much thinking. Reeves's 4-drops were looking at least passable, and he certainly didn't need another Anna, especially one picked over some decent techy option.
Anarchist, Tike Alicar: No choice here. The deck's choice 5-drop fell right into Reeves's lap, and he took it as his eleventh pick.
Falling Stars: Still nabbing decent cards, things were looking bright for Reeves's choice of affiliation.
Even Reeves's last pick,
Mikado and Mosha, was far from terrible. Though it took him several passes at the beginning to decide on a direction in which to go, Reeves read the signals being sent his way as if they were open books and drafted accordingly. With a decent mix of effects, a turn 4 that was shaping up to be solid, and some decent random picks, his expression didn't betray how good he was likely feeling inside.
Pack 2:
Daredevil, Guardian Devil: Aware of the panicked rush for 7-drops that can often occur in the format, Reeves grabbed this over
Vivisector, Lunatic Lycanthrope and
Sluk. It ended up being an important choice. It was interesting how Reeves made sure to memorize the contents of the pack for when he saw it return.
Missed Drop: Another copy of
Missed Drop took its rightful place in Reeves's pile very quickly. He spent the remaining time memorizing the rest of the pack.
Orphan, Guy Smith: A fast pick over both versions of Vivisector and
Plazm, this was the fastest pick Reeves made the entire round.
Gravesite: With the pack offering him nothing but a single
Dead Girl, Reeves went with the high-utility ongoing plot twist. It's a decent pick that could help him dig as needed for the tricks that Loner thrives on.
Orphan, Guy Smith: A second copy of the deck's choice 3-drop (and heck, sometimes 4-drop), this one was snatched up instantly.
Mind over Matter: This one surprised me a bit, as the pack also included a second copy of X-Statix Cafe. The logic is understandable, though, as if you mulligan for the Cafe, you've got ten cards in which to get at it before you even draw for turn 2. A tricky call, but a good one. As an interesting note, this pack had the second
Deathwatch to pass through Reeves's hands.
Sluk: As Reeves was a bit short on 3-drops,
Sluk was the pick over yet another Vivisector.
Sluk is a character that can fill turn 6 in case you can't find a
Zeitgeist, and given the fact that he hadn't seen one yet, Reeves was making a very smart choice.
Doop, Forward Observer: This pack was pretty empty. In a worst-case scenario, an X-Statix 1-drop can be used later in the game for
Missed Drop, so 1-drops are never dead in this deck. A fair pick despite being a forced one.
Corkscrew: Yet another late-pick
Corkscrew, this filled Reeves's need to get something twelfth that didn't totally stink.
Vivisector, Myles Alfred: Yet another useful late draft! Reeves was having good luck with the late-in-the-pack picks, and though his final pick was utter trash, this one was decent.
With his early and mid-game curve really filling out well, and a decent repertoire of plot twists and locations building, Reeves's main concern heading into pack 3 was his late game. He had no
Zeitgeist yet, and thus far, his only 7-drop was Daredevil. The situation was far from dire, and the final pack often has the lowest amount of hate-drafting going on in the early picks anyways, but still, Reeves would need to round out that late game and hopefully grab a few combat tricks before starting to build his deck.
Pack 3:
Zeitgeist: Finally—Reeves finally hit a
Zeitgeist! Taking it over a third copy of 3-drop Orphan and nothing else, Reeves was quite happy. The irony? Eugene Harvey, sitting next to him, had hate-drafted a second
Zeitgeist on the same pass. Reeves had come within inches of having two of the deck's key late-game card.
Gin Genie: This pack didn't have much to offer Reeves, so he grabbed
Gin Genie to flesh out his early-game options and passed the pack relatively quickly.
X-Statix HQ: Though he briefly seemed tempted to take a second
Nerve Strike, he instead went for the obvious choice of the HQ.
Dead Weight: Awesome. Managing to pick up a second copy of one of the most impressive defensive tricks in the format is brilliant, and having two changes how the deck plays. I'm pretty sure that if this had been accompanied by the second
Zeitgeist Harvey had hated, Reeves would've broken his poker-face exterior and cracked a smile. Maybe.
The Spike: Polishing off his 4-drop slot, Reeves continued drafting good additions to his deck, while Eugene Harvey kept doing the same. This time, he nabbed a
Missed Drop.
La Nuit: Picked over
El Guapo, this was more of a “What might be useful in this pile?” kind of pick.
Gin Genie: A second
Gin Genie rounded out turn 2, solidifying a strong early-game plan replete with choice control-oriented drops.
Advanced Recon: A decent pick late in the third pack is difficult to come by, and though this wasn't amazing, it certainly wasn't bad.
JTM's next four picks were
Reaper, two-drop Vivisector, Micro-Chip, and
Supporting Role. All in all, he'd drafted a very impressive deck pool, although his late game would be tricky. “The fact that Daredevil is my only 7-drop hurts. I need Anarchist here, I mean, Daredevil is doable, but he's just . . . not ideal.” Combined with the dependence on a single
Zeitgeist, turns 6 and 7 were definitely the pool's weakest. Still, it seemed as if it could be the basis of a deck capable of coming out of the gates quickly with aggressive, control-oriented characters and a huge amount of defense. Reeves was definitely positive about his deck's outlook.
Here's what he constructed for the last three rounds of Day 2:
1 X-Statix Cafe
It's a little bit light on turn 3 and turn 5, but it's got so much defense that it doesn't really care. Those extra slots go towards power in the early game, and it seems as if it's a great way to deal with a slightly sketchy late game.
The most amazing thing to me was watching the presence of mind with which Reeves reacted to signals being sent from his right—Eugene Harvey, Brian Eugenio, and Gabe Walls make for a notable lineup, and it seemed like Reeves was able to read their intents with complete clarity and react appropriately. A deck like the above, despite sitting next to someone hate-drafting against you with elite efficiency, is the product of an incredibly skilled drafter. It was a pleasure to see Neil Reeves at work.