Draft 026 5-3

1st picked Mortar over Shadowlands Bonepicker. 2nd picked Stormcrasher over Cannonbearer. Packs were mediocre overall. Time was open, but nothing seemed exciting.

Overall, the deck is not exciting. Just efficient units with little interaction. I anticipate 2 wins.

G1: Mulliganed into a bad hand: 2 Primal sigils, Cobalt Monument, Stormcrasher, both Jotun Hurlers. My opponent started off with Grenadin Drones into Stoneshaker into Thunderhoof Warrior into Granite Acolyte. I double blocked the warrior and snowballed 2 units. My opponent was stuck on just fire influence and didn’t draw any units bigger than the Jotun Hurlers.
G2: Solid opener. We traded our 1st plays. He attacked with Ridgeline Watcher into my Windshaper. I chose not to block, which was fortunate as he followed up Stormcaller. My Cobalt Monument hit him twice before he found a trick to kill my Windshaper. My Towering Stranger traded for 2 of his units. My Cannonbearer post-combat finished off his last unit and earned the concession.
G3: Mulliganed into a slow hand: 3 sigils, Static Bolt, Windshaper, and both Jotun Hurlers. I Static Bolted his Lethrai Ranger. I took some hits from his deadly Tranquil Scholar until I found power to play Cobalt Monument and both Jotun Hurlers. He traded the Tranquil Scholar for the 1st one. He played Valkyrie Linebreaker. I attacked everything. He blocked the Cobalt Monument but I had Rampage. I had Alchemist Blast for his other deadly unit and Snowball for lethal.
G4: Decent opener. Traded back and forth. He took decent damage until his Sanctuary Priest and Bloodcall Invoker stalled the ground. I had Sapphire Dragon in hand but lacked the 2nd Primal source. When I finally found it, he countered with Slimesplitter Slug. His follow up Striking Snake Formation sealed the game.
G5: Mulliganed into a good hand. He started with East Wind Herald. I started with Skysnapper. He allowed my Skysnapper through, which sparked Clan Hero. He had Beastcaller’s Amulet to counter. We traded on the ground. I Static Bolted his Stormcrasher and Mortared his buffed East Wind Herald. He spent the next two turns Crippling my units but I was playing two per turn so he was swarmed.
G6: Great opener: 3 sigils, stranger, and Clan Hero. My opponent started with Snowcrust Yeti into Cloudsnake Breeder. I took a bunch of damage setting up Clan Hero, which eventually traded for the Snowcrust Yeti and Pummel. I thought I had stabilized with Windshaper and Cobalt Monument, but Morningstar on his Rebel Sharpshooter killed me quickly.
G7: Mulliganed into a good opener: 3 sigils and 3 early units. We both just played units and passed. He didn’t want to trade his Oasis Seeker for my stranger. I couldn’t attack effectively into his East Wind Herald. Eventually I ultimated my Thunderhoof Warrior and traded for 2 of his units. My Towering Stranger hit him twice before it traded for 2 more of his units. He was down to 1 unit so I just emptied my hand and A spaced next turn.
G8: Slow opener. Clan Hero was my 1st play. By then my opponent was already hitting me with a Hunter’s Harpoon on a stranger. When I finally found a blocker 3 turns later, he had Cobalt Acolyte. I died soon after.

The deck (especially Towering Stranger) was far better than expected. Efficient units and decent draws compensated for lack of bombs and removal.

Gold Paid = 1830
Shiftstone Gained = 1320 (dust) + 800 (legend) = 2120
Base = 0.340 shiftstone/gold
Shiftstone Profit = 1497
Pack Profit = 4.40