Draft 029 5-3

1st picked Aerialist Trainer over Bring Down and Prophetic Stranger. Bring Down is the correct pick as it’s more flexible but the trainer seemed fun. 2nd picked Waystone Infuser. 3rd picked Sandstorm over Roosting Owl and Stonepowder Alchemist. 4th picked Shadowlands Bonepicker. 5th picked Plated Goliath over Duelist Blade. 6th picked Sand Viper over Striped Arakton. I was passed a Bart on the 3rd pack! Time was wide open, but I couldn’t decide between Fire and Primal. I ended up with more Fire cards so Primal was the splash.

The deck has great bombs and removal, but lacks 3 drops. Will need to play defensive and trade whenever possible. I anticipate 4-6 wins.

G1: I started off with Blinkwolf and Journeyman Armorer. I was silly and didn’t realize that armorer couldn’t target himself. My opponent’s 1st plays was Yeti Troublemaker. We traded units. I followed up post-combat with Thunderhoof Warrior. I used Hipshot to kill the next Yeti Troublemaker to keep up the pressure. My opponent didn’t have a play for next turn so I got to ultimate the Thunderhoof Warrior. I had Gun Down for his Sapphire Dragon. He Flash Freezed my units twice to buy time knowing I had Torch in hand, but he didn’t have enough power to play additional units as well. I kept adding units to the board. Eventually he played out 2 units, but I had Purify in hand as well.
G2: We traded early units. My Thunderhoof Warrior and Granite Acolyte went unblocked for 2 attacks. I played Permafrost on his Shatterglass Mage, which was a mistake since it didn’t enable any new attacks. Especially when he followed up with Towering Stranger a couple turns later. But I did get in decent damage in the interim. I was playing more units than he was, but mine were smaller. I drew Synchronized Strike, but didn’t quite have lethal yet and passed another turn. He ultimated his Thunderhoof Warrior instead of adding a unit, which enabled lethal next turn.
G3: I was stuck on 3 power for a couple turns. My opponent had Argentport Soldier and Crownwatch Deserter. I had Blinkwolf and Granite Acolyte. He purified my acolyte to get several attacks in. My Sand Viper traded for his Vodakhan Staff and Argentport Soldier. I Purified the Crownwatch Deserter since I had run out of suitable blockers. I eventually found some power and played 2 more units while my opponent kept drawing power. I countered his 11/11 Steelbound Dragon with Eye of Winter. I had Permafrost in case he found a 2nd unit, but he never did.
G4: We traded early units. My Waystone Infuser warped in a decent amount of power. My Thunderhoof Warriors had free reign for a while until his Hatchery Hunter turned everything around. He still had to double block my ultimated Thunderhoof Warriors, but I didn’t really have a way to punish him for it. Probably the first person I’ve seen play around Synchronized Strike. I kept saving my Synchronized Strike and Torch for a lethal strike, but died to fliers pretty quickly. Perhaps I was too greedy and should have used my tricks earlier.
G5: My opponent missed his 1st turn due to time out. He played Peacemaker’s Prod and Copperhall Cudgel on a random unit, but I had Eye of Winter.
G6: My opponent started with Oni Ronin, which I used Purify on asap. We traded units, but he was getting incremental damage. Though I had Waystone Infuser in hand, I used Hipshot on his Yeti Snowchucker to preserve life. I stabilized with the infuser and Plated Goliath. He played a couple of Cannonbearers but I had Eye of Winter and Permafrost. My Torch killed his last unit enabling the Plated Goliath to attack freely.
G7: Long game. We traded extensively. I got a few swings with Dormant Sentinel before I had to trade with Plated Goliath. Then my units were larger but I had no way to punish his potential double blocks. Then he had Noble Firemane so my units were trading for smaller units. Then I had Striking Snake Formation to clear his board. I was one turn from killing them when he topdecked Mortar. Most back and forth long game I’ve had.
G8: I lost 3 units to Lightning Storm. My follow up units were all outclassed. His Ceremonial Mask and Rapid Shot ended the game quickly.

The primal splash was fantastic. The deck didn't really have any weaknesses.

Gold Paid = 145
Shiftstones Gained = 1364 (dust) + 800 (Bart) = 2164
Base = 0.340 shiftstones/gold
Shiftstones Profit = 2114
Pack Profit = 6.22