Not being removal or a creature, you don't want to draft more than at most 2 of these, but look
into
Escape Routes, enchantment 2U(or 3U I forget)
U2: return target white or black creature you control to owners hand
This was being passed very late in planeshift drafts, and probably will be for the first month or so, but in the right deck it is a powerhouse. Better than the gaters for abusing ravenous rats, it also made my battlemagrs hideously broken (in one game I was bouncing 2 opposing creatures , killing a key land and serving for 2 every turn).
Aside from the battle mages, it is terrific for combat tricks (put damage on the stack, bounce the creature, etc), great with tidal visionary (abuse you blue CIP stuff too, such as hunting drake to time walk the opponent to death),
and it saved my ass against mirrorwood treefolk ( the creature which can reflect damage dealt to it to YOU or YOUR creatures) by letting me block it without assigning it damage.
If you draft blue, this is a 1st-3rd pick. I just wanted to be the first to mention it, because after the planeshift/invasion PTQ's start, more and more people will catch on. Abuse it while you can get it low, kids.
Escape Routes is quite good. In Limited it is a a very early pick and it might see constructed play. Works well with Rats and Mages for sure.
You didn't tell us what youy drafted and hopw you did overall though. Is a report coming?
I mentioned that in a mini report on serra's last post actually.
To summarize, I opened very little removal , although my creature base was excellent (except I would have sold my soul for a vodalian serpent to stall the ground). The deck was good but slow and had trouble removing blockers, and had to swarm with flyers to win. I won one match, lost one, and drew 2. After the loss, I dropped. I was 50% in games. Most of my opponents were decent players and had more broken cards in their pool so I was reasonably happy.
All I had time for afterwards was one draft (after watching Gary Wise trashtalk for 30 mins or so. I thought I was a decent trashtalker, but that man is the master).
In the draft, I went B/R with a blue splash, opening terminate as my best card first pack, and getting passed decent cards of those colours. Since it was all planeshift , I didnt need to go heavily into blue.
I drafted a deck with 4 terminates , magma burst, and 2 crosis' charms (these last were in my sb, I had enough removal already, believe it or not, and didnt like the mana requirement).
For my creature base, I had a marsh crocodile (if you empty your hand, you can play nasty stack tricks with this guy), 2 nightscape battlemages, 4 phyrexian bloodstock (only played 3), and various familiars and grey ogres and gating creatures. Oh, and escape routes, which was the MVP. People crowded around our table in each of the first 2 rounds to listen to some respectable and friendly trash talk, and to stare at my graveyard with 4 terminates in it (this was against my first opponent, who was disgusted).
My second opponent took me to 3 games, and almost took me thanks to 2 mirrowood treefolk (I wasnt finding my terminates) and multiple hobbles, but escape routes saved me from the treefolk (and to a lesser extent the hobbles) , and the battlemages screwed his mana and bounced his treefolk, and I won.
In the final, I played someone with a killer U/W draft deck (with some B I think).
Here I had problems, as he had multiple huinting drakes and I didnt see my terminates game 1, so he was time walking by sticking my slingshot goblin on my library , and serving while he did it. Of course without removal or access to new cards, I had to start bouncing them, which sent more of my red creatures packing. By this time I was exhausted and playing poorly, but I would have lost this game even if I played correctly.
The second game was much closer, but I got overrun by flyers in the end.
In planeshift draft, I was amazed to see that hobble is often better than terminate in the white vs black matchup (their removal nets them a card), and confound got me once or twice game 2.
I forget the name of the guy I lost to in the finals, but he is always near the top tables in PTQ's and was probably the best player at that table. Overall, I was pretty happy with how I did, but I would love a rematch of that final. (What kind of idiot keeps recasting a red creature that cant block his flyers and is going to cost him a draw? as I said, I would have lost anyway, but it would have been much tighter.)
Escape Routes are still very much underdrafted, so I can expect them to come around...they provide a very interesting situation in t8 Rochester drafts, since if your opponent (or the table) is generally BR, then you can always draft an Escape Routes/Honorable Scout deck (which I've done 3 times and absolutely CRUSHED BR =) )
As fer BU, I've done Escape Routes/Crypt Angel, but other than that, Routes/Rats don't quite match up as well...=P
However, I strongly disagree with 1-3 pick Escape Routes (of course, unless everyone else catches on...)
corection then. a single escape routes would be worth taking 1-3 in terms of play value to you (as long as your deck is quick enough to be alive when it hits), however, since efficient creatures are few and far between in planeshift and removal is always at a premium, as well as the card being underappreciated, you can get it much lower. I will only take it if it is by far the best card in the pack or 6th pick or later. I rarely play more than one.
i would also note that the first time i used this was at an all planeshift draft at the prerelease, and all planeshift is slower than invasion planeshift and has more combos available, which make routes much better (although even EASIER to get).
I happen to like escape routes if I draft heavy on amazing gating creatures I will very often take an escape routes. Although by me it's not much of a sleeper.
potatofloss
Hmm, Corpse Dance in electronic format.
Did you remember to pay buyback?