PLANESWALKER OF MIDGARD PRESENTS
ZACH'S DRAFT DECK #1 NECROSIS ENGINE
Kyle and I did some drafting/testing about a week ago and we've already changed some parts of the set significantly; decreasing the amount of mana getters, hexproof, and unblockable, etc. and other useful changes to make the set have a more varied feel. The first test was a hand-written test where we cut up little pieces of paper and the like to make cards (I was out of ink). Yesterday's and today's testing having involved a significant amount of testing with printed cards (a lot more fun and visceral to have real cards) and we already discovered some interesting imbalances. Despite the fact that I normal do not play black cards, black is clearly the most powerful color or most attractive color in the set right now. Nothing has proved this more than the fact that all of the play-test decks have been primarily black with a splash of another color, except for Zach's deck; which has a splash of two colors and abused the most broken card we've found so far....
And without further ado, let's look at Zach's draft test deck which has a record, in games of one round, of 3 wins & 1 loss...
Contains 40 Cards
CREATURES
(6 Creatures: 1 Black Creatures, 4 Green Creatures, 1 Red Creatures)
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Here is a nasty guy that lets you put creature tokens down and sets you up for spark hits by sacrificing creatures. A handy creature to set you up with an army of beefy suicide bombers. Prolly will be nerfed a little, expect tapping.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Bog Wurm is simple, beefy, and hard to kill. A big, dumb green monster that has a place in limited and perhaps in other capacities.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? It has a reach and a splash of control normally reserved for blue. Is it possible that spiders could be the answer to flyers again?
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? A nifty and beautiful Alu-"Card", this vampire is hard to stop and is good anti-wither with his first strike killing most creatures before they get the chance to touch him. Lacrozian Baron carried Zach to victory with wings of vampire bad-ass.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Originally a more pitiful version of Borderland Ranger and now a more pitiful version of Silhana Ledgewalker, he still managed to be a devastating card in limited when coupled with a powerful enchantment. We didn't get a chance to see his reach come into play but, for green, it a handy thing to have lying around on a tribal creature.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? And here we got a weak cultivate that puts a create to chump block for you on the battlefield. I think this card has a lot of potential in a format that likes its mana-get and likes its easy to kill creatures; plus, the flavor is so delicious.
NON-CREATURE SPELLS
(15 Non-Creature Spells: 2 Black Enchantments, 2 Black Instants, 4 Black Sorcereys, 1 Green Enchantment, 2 Green Instant, 1 Green Sorcery, 1 Red Enchantment, 1 Red Instant, 1 Red Sorcery)
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? A powerful enhancement, paired with Nymble Scout or any other creature for that matter, black bat cape is a really monstrous enchantment that has the power to send you creatures over the top for victory.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Zach didn't quite know what the purpose of this card was; specifically, to destroy "Communities" and to put -1/-1 counters on the field. Instead, he used it as a removal card when, honestly, it was a little to slow to stop him from getting crushed by a Whale-Lord Leviathan.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Cobra Hood didn't get to see any action, but it would've served to make Zach's more threatening cards even more threatening.
Deck contains. 2.
Reasons? Zach didn't really have enough creatures to justify Cower (two of his six creatures were already protected partially from blockers) and he never got a chance to use Cower.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Death's Shadow is a solid removal upgrade from Bone Splinters and does the job where Doomblade can't. 
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Here we got a groovy card that will see more mileage in the future expansions of the set.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Firewalk is a nice way to get a creature to the end zone faster and harder.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? A big bunny booster that gets damage over the defensive lines and into the end zone? What's not to love about it?
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? So Hijack the Monster is a blast; take someone's greatest monster, hit them over the head with it, and kill it. Even funnier, Zach used this on a Whale-Lord Leviathan and would've resurrected it with Skeletal Resurrection but Kyle did it first and took control of it once more to beat Zach over the head with it for the win.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Monster Mulch is a fine fine card, but Zach didn't get used to use it once.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Overpowered as all get out, this card not only clears your opponent's battlefield for you to strike for awesome damage, it does ridiculous damage on its own! This card was intended to be a big black finisher, but it needs a little neutering to keep from ruining the game by humping the collective legs of every opponent after killing their creatures.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? This card is a dandy bit of resurrection and there is plenty of resurrection in the set. It gets the job done though, a little more expensively than some cards might, but the ability to get a skeleton Whale-Lord Leviathan with wither on the field is not slouch for five mana.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Here we got some great removal...that would've been better in a deck with more creatures.
LANDS
(20 Lands: 7 Forests, 3 Mountains, 1 Special Lands, 9 Swamps)
A special thanks to Zach for helping me write this article.
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