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1st Place: "The Tangled Ascent" by K. Obendorf

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Artifacts (3) Puppet Strings Tangle Wire Vedalken Shackles Enchantments (1) Luminarch Ascension Creatures (5) Exalted Angel Flickerwisp Lone Missionary Sower of Temptation Wall of Omens Spells (10) Balance Cryptic Command Day of Judgment Enlightened Tutor Fact or Fiction Impulse Mana Leak Path to Exile Time Spiral Wrath of God Planeswalkers (3) Elspeth, Knight-Errant Gideon Jura Jace Beleren Land (18) Flooded Strand Hallowed Fountain 6 Island 7 Plains Tropical Island Tundra Windswept Heath

This was the first draft we did after dropping the Moxes, Black Lotus and the signets. I was worried about control having a difficult time but when I first picked Elspeth and got an early Fact or Fiction and Sower of Temptation I decided it was time to go for a control plan (and get hunting for some cards with a lower CMC!). This turned out to be wise, as the other white and blue drafter was on my left, and pack 3 slammed me with p2 Day of Judgement and p3 Wrath of God.

The lack of reliable acceleration really made me rethink control. Though I had many powerful cards in the 5+ CMC slot, I realized that I may never be able to cast them in time. Gideon Jura and Time Spiral were the only expensive cards that made the cut. I felt I could rely on the finisher package of Luminarch Ascension (a wonderful dark horse of a card), Gideon, Exalted Angel and Elspeth.

So with a bunch of sweepers and planeswalkers it looks mostly like a normal control deck, however the Tangle Wire and cheap creature package was the true backbone. Tangle Wire + Flickerwisp took entire games by themselves, with aggro choosing between swinging and developing their board, and rival control and mid-range decks unable to do anything. I can’t say those were fun games, but they showcased the power of Tangle Wire, even in a deck without a lot of manafacts or cheap permanents. I have always valued it highly but it’s close to first pick material for me now. The built-in asymmetry and the colorless mana cost make it incredibly attractive.

Another notable, but obvious, combo that made the deck hum was Gideon + Lumiarch Ascension

A final note about land drafting. I picked up a Tropical Island at some point, thinking I was going Bant, but it didn’t pan out. However, that pick turned a late Windswept Heath into a virtual U/W fetch.  Never underestimate the boost in power that a dual land can give to any fetches that come along later.

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