I can't tell you how helpful this video was. I did my first draft yesterday, and am about to do one later this morning. The information in this video was exactly what I needed...no more, no less. Thank you!
One of the best pieces of advice I can give for drafting is something that has been hammered home on several episodes of Limited Resources (seriously, anyone who wants more tips needs to just listen to the episodes - Marshall is an absolute god at Limited) - the advice I have is DON'T BE MARRIED TO YOUR FIRST PICK. It can be very hard for (especially newer players to move away from the colors of a card they first pick, especially if they open a bomb rare. However, over the course of the next few packs it may become obvious that the color of the first pick just is not open (very few cards, if any, in the pack, and those that are there are awful). Trust me when I say that it's much better to have a decent deck in colors that are clearly open rather than trying to say, force white simply because you opened an archangel of tithes pack 1 when there's been no support thereafter. You aren't "making your deck weaker" by dropping your bomb rare, but rather making it stronger through the addition of the power potential of future cards you'll be receiving
First time drafting tip. Ask other players for help. Its really quite simple actually. You'll make plenty of mistakes. You'll overvalue a few cards which turn out to be duds. You'll sideboard some cards which are absolute bombs. The important things for a first draft are to ask the more experienced players to help you build your deck and to have fun. p.s. Don't be afraid to re-evaluate/re-build your deck after your first match. Sometimes the only way you realize that your deck is awful is after losing a game or two :P
I'm doing my first tomorrow, and I have trouble asking for help Last time I was at this game store though I had two people who were very helpful. It was Modern format tournament, I didn't do good, but I had a good time.
I have a tip: drafting is not a super serious tournament environment. So try and be nice to people around your table. In general, don't counterdraft, and if you notice that someone new to magic is about to have a bad day due to a badly played draft, concider giving some of your cards from the draft that you're not going to use afterwards to them (after the event) that way they won't feel like it was a waste of money because they didn't get anything valueable, and they will appreciate you a lot mroe!
Totally agree… i recently decided to play magic and went to a store to play.. I didn’t know well the new rules… my opponent was so rush and rude that I quite the game saying “okay game’s over, you won!”
A tip, don't draft or play bad one drops. There are a lot of one drops that sound really good, like a 1/1 flyer for 1, sure those things can get really annoying, but 90% of the time they are a wasted slot in your deck. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome putting down a 1/1 flyer turn one and attacking with it, but that's the only time you want to see that thing, if you draw it say turn 6 and you desperately need a creature, that one drop is a dead card. It's best to focus on stuff with converted mana cost 2 and above, since those things usually come with an upside, like a good enter the battlefield effect or more power.
I have drafted only once. It was chaos draft origins, khans and battle of zendikar. Jeskai Agro was amazing and 1/1 flyer one my better creatures when opponent couldn't block it. First booster first pick Mantis Rider was how greedy i drafted.
+Jhoku that was one draft. As I said, 1/1 fliers for 1 can be annoying and good, but most of the time they aren't. You'll see when you draft more. A 1/1 flyer for 2 with an effect is always better to a 1/1 flyer for 1. Trust me, I learned the hard way.
I've never drafted, but a general good tip is just knowing what sets you'll be dealing with and reading some card lists/spoilers, if it isn't a block of cards you're familiar with. It's obvious but even more powerful the more narrow the selection of cards gets.
I have a tip: If there are cards in the pack that are in your colors but are super bad, and there are good cards/cards that are good against your colors you better take them over the bad cards because you are not going to play that card anyway.
Thanks for the informative video. It's exactly the kind of common knowledge that I don't know yet because I haven't drafted before. I wish I could find equivalent videos for other things when I want to try them. This will make drafting next Friday so much smoother.
Thanks, amigo. you pulled off a great "Drafting for rookies" video. I've got a group of 8 about to do a draft tourney, 1 may have drafted before. your video was a perfect way to school them all up enough to wash away any anxiety or confusion they may have had. clear explanations, to the point, hit a ton of the vital must-knows. exceptionally well done.
All of this (sans passing cards around details) effectively applies to sealed as well. Also, being a home brewer is actually great practice for quickly evaluating cards in general, especially if you play and work on a deck from week to week.
Even further, be willing to toss your pack 1 pick 1 or 2 if the signals are wrong. There's nothing worse than fighting someone over an archetype, you'll both lose.
1 quick tip is to before you go to the draft, look at the set cards and make a list of cards you should look out for. i doing an aether revolt draft on sat 14 of jan and I've made a list of about 13 cards cards that will do me good in each colour. ALSO don't forget artefacts or colourless spells, these will be your best friends during the draft as they can go with any colour.
this is a fantastic video!!! way to go, easily one of the best draft videos on the entire internet. I have used this all the time for people new to magic! thank you so much!!!
I'm not very experienced but (maybe this is just very obvious tho) it helps me a lot knowing the cards and knowing each mechanic in the drafted set ex. "exploit" or "spell mastery" or anything else you'll see often and it's just good to know what it does coz there's no time to read during draft
Should I bring my own lands for my deck? I assume the store would provide them. Also any other tips that anyone thinks would be helpful I'd love to hear them, I'm gonna go do draft for the first time tomorrow.
Draft tip. Never draft that one card that costs six or higher. It is trash (unless it has delve or something). Most of the time if you see it then it's going to clog up your hand where you could have had an "anything else" or "removal" card. Yes that 10/10 colossus looks great but if you're going to be playing to win that little supression bonds, 2/3 flying, or the pump card would have been a better choice. OH! and if you can find haste, menace, flying, unblockable, or even vigilance... you already have that advantage over your opponent
I've never played a draft, but I've played plenty of other games, and my one tip is to have fun. In your first draft (or mine, if I ever play that format), you are more likely to lose than to win due to inexperience. You have a chance, drafting is a very balanced format, and playing to win is generally more fun, but don't stress about the outcome. MTG is a game, enjoy the experience.
one of my trick in draft is simply to stick to my main color.If you are used to play red deck don't go on your first opening take a Garruk companion because you know that this card have a lots of usage while just beside it there is a goblin arsonist.The color you are most familliar with are card you know more about. Maybe a bigger creature would do more damage but as i experianced myself color identities you can rely on is always a thing to look for
bought a booster box of RTR a couple of weeks ago and drafted with my family, first time for all of us but my stepdad. I had planned on forcing izzet, so when p1p1 I pulled NIV mizzet, I was super stoked. ended up winning by drawing into answers and have the game go long for NIV mizzet
I don't know if this was said, but after so long of playing the game and seeing how other players thinks and react, the best thing to do also during a draft is to try to keep your eyes to yourself, off of the people's packs that are near you and watch their faces. the way they react to cards in a pack lets you know that there was something decent in them. Also, there is the first come first served rule. you open the pack you get first picks, usually people will almost pull out the mythic or planeswalker for themselves, so sometimes you wont't even see that card in the draft at all. Colors, this is easy, you try to remember the ratio of colors in a pack when you pass it, cause at some point you will get it back, then you will see most or all of a color missing, which means you can tell what colors you might face at what combination. it takes time to learn this one, but being able to predict what colors your opponent is running as a guess can help you build a draft deck that is good against it or build a different deck in case you think there is a heavy influence of another color. if you overhear another player talking to another player about someone's deck and whats in it, or accidentally see their games and see what cards they have, at that point its hard to tell when it is fair to fix your deck against that person if you end up facing them. most players try to be courteous, but a lot more will use that information to their advantage and try to get an upperhand against all other players at the event.
Don't try and force a draft. You may be a great red player but if you keep getting passed blue cards then switch to blue. If you find a strong mechanic or colour not being picked, even if you are not familiar with it, then pick it. In the end, you'll have more cards to choose from which means a better chance to make a strong deck.
only rare draft if the rare is good for your deck... or if the value of the rare pretty much paid for your entry fee, I've seen enough people who passed things like a dark confidant in an MM1 draft where 1st place was getting 4-6 packs (and bob was at his highest price in years back then)
+Kevin Pitsch I've actually been to cheaper drafts where you don't keep the rares, but they're hand-picked in the order of the player with the highest points to lowest. It disincentivizes "fuck the draft i want this card" mentality, but is also kind of annoying because in the end it's just a glorified sealed tournament anyway.
Tip: Try to keep things to 2 or 3 colors. Avoid 4 or all 5 if you can. If you can make a viable mono color deck go for it. It's worth to splash in a color if you have a powerful card (keep it to 3 colors if possible)
I've played Magic Duels on the Xbox One for about a month now, so I decided to go to a magic shop later today and now I'm here watching this video. It really helped me since I had played Hearthstone since the closed beta and kinda knew what draft was thanks to arena, but it's a whole different story when you go to a physical place. Thanks for the guidelines, now I won't look so dumb doing my first draft lol. I also think it will be Kaladesh, since it's the newest expansion right?
I absolutely looooved the experience! The people there are very friendly and give tips and talk with you and it was soooo awesome! I'm definitely drafting whenever I can now because I want to get all my rare and foiled cards from there (got a Skysovereign, Consul Flagship, and I skipped a foil card for some reason).
It's ok to have 3 colors in this type of format, due to the amount of cards u have in your deck, u have a good chance of drawing land, as well as having a bad chance of drawing a certain type of multicolor card
I am a seasoned drafter, not a pro, but I know my stuff and have played in multiple GPs. The best advice I can give a new player who wants to take draft seriously is: A.) Learn the cards in the set or sets you are drafting. B.) STAY OPEN. You must toss color preference to the side when drafting. For example, my favorite color is Black. That does not mean, however, that I am going to force pick Black cards. DRAFT WHAT IS PASSED TO YOU. I know that may sound like a dumb statement, but it is a simple rule that will help you draft better decks. When I say draft what is passed to you, I mean try to read the packs and figure out what signals the person next to you is sending. Oh, the pack they passed you has mediocre cards in every color except Blue. They passed you a Blue bomb. But, wait, I hate Blue! WHO CARES. Draft that bomb and destroy people with it on the battlefield. C.) To touch on the previous statement, as a drafter you must learn to appreciate all colors of magic to truly experience the draft format for what it is. If you never draft anything except Boros decks (red/white), how will you ever know if you like Simic (Blue/Green)? I stream my drafts on twitch twice weekly if anyone cares or is interested to see how a draft goes down. twitch.tv/mattdrafts
Don't be afraid to "hate draft". I loved the 3 packs of BFZ draft and quite often did green/white or green/black focusing on eldrazi scions and full field buffs (all creatures you control get blah blah). If at anytime in the draft there was a pack handed to, or opened by me and there was a Rolling Thunder I almost always took it. Not because I had any intent to use it, it merely CRUSHED my deck. Also, try to stick to one/two colors.
Been in a bunch of drafts. One tip I didn't see in the video or after reading a couple pages of comments. Hexproof. Doesn't really matter set you're drafting. A creature with hexproof is a huge advantage. I remember drafting theros a few years back. I drafted 3 benthic giants and a prognostic sphinx. Was playing U/R. Also had a couple of two headed cerberus and ill-tempered cyclops. Benthic was a little pricey as far as cmc goes but with the colors I drafted i had access to a couple lightning strikes and a magma jet, anger of the gods a dissolve and voyages end to either stall my opponent or take out lower toughness threats. Also drafted an aqueous form for evasion to slam on the giants. Hexproof and unblockable. Added a couple of omenspeakers and a mnemonic wall for utility. I didn't lose a single game. Most of the creatures they played in the early turns died to removal, then when I got my bigger guys out they couldn't really swing. Or they'd scoop because of the giants coming down, especially when the aqueous form came out. Granted all this was in my area at the LGS but I swear half the people there either didn't know how to draft properly, weren't drafting those colors or were just drafting value. They just kept passing me really sweet cards that I knew were going to make up a really sweet deck!
Maybe somewhere next to 'bomb' there could be 'undercosted beater'. Evasion is nice, but if you're getting 4 power for 3 or even 2, this is almost always worth it. Mana to power ratio isn't all situational - if you're paying 3 for your 1/1s while your opponent is putting out all 3/3s for 1, you're going to lose. It's not just true on the macroscopic scale.
I've been playing for almost two years now, but have never done a draft and am seriously considering doing the prerelease for Eldritch Moon. I'm not as concerned with pulling the rares from the packs I get, unless they are something really good or really expensive. Is it bad form to quick look up a price of a rare when you open the pack? Would there even be price info DURING prerelease?
First off! Super helpful! I really needed the LITERAL explanation how to to do it! I've got a quick question though, attention must be played to color right? and are you just looking at what you have after following B.R.E.A.D. and then building a deck from what you have? (implying that there's a surplus to build your deck from in the end)
Enchanments are really strong in draft; there are some very strong ones that perhaps can be a bit expensive or not as useful in a normal deck but since most players won't have removals for enchanments consider these cards to be in the game the entire time and unremovable.
A strange rule I heard awhile ago that turns about to be mostly true is avoid any creature that has a power of less than 2. Attacking for one damage appears to have very minimal impact on the game.
Rules are different every store you go but they SHOULD BE doing it how wizards recommends which is how my store does it . You can take foil anything . What you draft is what you keep and what you get to play. No reserves no redrafts or rare redrafts . Exactly the way it was intended to be.
Thanks for the tips. Can this draft format be used for a 3 player party? I want to play with a couple of friends and there are no more players in our area...
You each just need 3 packs. The packs go around the table faster than a normal draft, so you will have more chances to pull stuff from each pack then during an 8 person draft. I will usually draft every box I buy with my friends. While some of them complain about not being able to keep the cards they draft (the packs are all mine) it's free enjoyment for them, and I think it stops rare drafting to a point because you aren't keeping the cards anyway. I think my point here was that if one of you guys buys a box, use it to draft with your 2 friends. Even going in on a box and keeping your draft packs could be fun. And if you can get a box for $100 it would be just over $33 each for 4 drafts, which should be cheaper than your LGS draft price per draft and good practice. Just remember though, your only as good as your competition typically, so you may eventually want to get out to a store and play.
Where does the 17 lands specifically come from? Because I start encountering significantly more floods once I'm over 15 or 16. Of course, I also encounter what would be flooding for a normal deck with 18 lands in constructed, so it may just be me.
Well, 17*1,5 (cause you play with 40 cards only) means you would have 25,5 cards normally 16- 24 15- 22,5 14- 21 So depending on your curve draft the amount of lands
Look into the set you're drafting for, If you see overpowered cards that aren't your color and nothing especially eye catching in the pack you have. Take it so you don't have to face it later.
"Anything else"...a 2/2 for 2 or 3/3 for 3. Boy, back in my MTG says (also 9 y ago) that was accurate. Today fpr 2 mana you get a 3/3 with hexproof and lifelink.
Mein Kanal! Nope! It's every card that you don't put in your main deck. So, a lot of cards! The same is true in sealed, your sideboard is actually more cards than you have in your main deck :)
He didn't touch on it, but there is a chance by the third pack you have pretty much drafted a blue black deck. Then the third pack opens and you see avacyn! clearly switching and trying to get white this late is not a good idea. Now here is the tricky part. Do you take avacyn? I feel that it is a matter of budget. She is pretty expensive, and if you would just sell her and buy more packs then by all means do so. If budget is not an issue you have to make a choice, do I take her just to keep her out of the pool for other players, or do I draft something else knowing I can just counter/remove her later on? It is a hard choice for sure.
I always try to follow the Bread method. However, as an not so avid drafter (yet) I wanted to ask, how one can determine wheter a card is "bad" or not. Most cards seem "playable" or "ok" according to certain YT channels. Only a handful is considered as downright "dirt" Is there a way to recognize "bad" cards on the Spot?
Movies, Comics and MTG Built blue/white control/fliers. Lost 2 sets and won 1. But all 3 of my sets were 2-1 so I did well against everyone. I would've won my second set if I didn't overswing, I left only ground blockers on the 3rd game of second set and he was like had this card where he sacs a permanent and gives it flying and he also gave it an equipment and I got rekt. But it was super fun and I want to do it again next week
How do you approach mana producing artifacts? I've heard that every two could count as a land slot. My group play a Powered proxy Cube in a Winston Draft format and I find myself consistently playing 43-45 cards and would like to be able to trim down better.
Well if it's a Mox you could cut one land for a Mox, but yeah generally you can cut down on lands in exchange for artifacts. Cutting cards is one of the hardest things to do in draft!
Im new to mtg and was researching how to draft to prep for my future first draft. As a noob I cant help but lean towards always drawing the rare/foil from at least my packs. Definitely not the best strategy but idk I feel like I'd be wasting the packs I bought. But then again I'd be missing the whole point of what a draft is. Maybe I'm just overthinking this. :/
+Manuel Orozco Sometimes drafts can have rewards such as booster packs so its sort of a gamble on how well you think you are going to do. If you feel like your deck/draft pool is strong then you should forgo some rares to get more synergistic cards to make your deck more of a power house and in the long run net you not only more cards but more rares. However if you find a pricey rare or mythic then take it because that can help pay for future drafts or be a nice cump change card if you need a extra bit of buck to seal the deal with someone. Overall I think that if you want the rares from the packs you're better off just buying three packs. Last note is like GG degree said its all about having fun so if drafting those extra rare cards is part of the enjoyment for you then go right ahead.
4 people- it would probably be better to set up a Winston draft. there are lots of videos floating around. Also if you wanted to draft with your three friends without buying packs every week- you might consider building a cube.
this would most likely go with the B in bread but there is always the H and thats hate draft. if you feel comfortable with what you have and there is nothing spectacular in the pack in your colors i would pick that brood monitor over a 2/2 for 2 with no ability even tho i have no intention of playing it.
Inform yourself in advance about the content of the set and the possible strategies and archetypes so you can pick cards that work together well and also what specific cards you have to watch out for
I was always taught B.R.E.A.K bombs, removal, evasion, awful, Krap Never play this. Also supression bonds was Never removal removal means its gone, not just stuck.
*to clarify, it's not that there's no point in watching if you're a longtime player of the game (hell, I'm subbed to him), it's just that it becomes entertainment as opposed to learning. I enjoy the style of his videos, but I'm watching them because he's enjoyable to watch, not to learn. Most enfranchised players already have their favored brands for accessories, I'm still using Timewalker inners as opposed to KMC as I prefer how they're looser.
![Hunxho - Ball Forever [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nki9ZTF9Uls/mqdefault.jpg)
I can't tell you how helpful this video was. I did my first draft yesterday, and am about to do one later this morning. The information in this video was exactly what I needed...no more, no less. Thank you!
Great! Glad it helped you out! Enjoy drafting :)
My main piece of advice is just... don't be afraid to ask to read your opponent's cards.
THIS! I see this way too much. No matter how many tattoos or muscles the guy you're facing has, just ask because he will too.
One of the best pieces of advice I can give for drafting is something that has been hammered home on several episodes of Limited Resources (seriously, anyone who wants more tips needs to just listen to the episodes - Marshall is an absolute god at Limited) - the advice I have is DON'T BE MARRIED TO YOUR FIRST PICK. It can be very hard for (especially newer players to move away from the colors of a card they first pick, especially if they open a bomb rare. However, over the course of the next few packs it may become obvious that the color of the first pick just is not open (very few cards, if any, in the pack, and those that are there are awful). Trust me when I say that it's much better to have a decent deck in colors that are clearly open rather than trying to say, force white simply because you opened an archangel of tithes pack 1 when there's been no support thereafter. You aren't "making your deck weaker" by dropping your bomb rare, but rather making it stronger through the addition of the power potential of future cards you'll be receiving
First time drafting tip. Ask other players for help. Its really quite simple actually. You'll make plenty of mistakes. You'll overvalue a few cards which turn out to be duds. You'll sideboard some cards which are absolute bombs. The important things for a first draft are to ask the more experienced players to help you build your deck and to have fun.
p.s. Don't be afraid to re-evaluate/re-build your deck after your first match. Sometimes the only way you realize that your deck is awful is after losing a game or two :P
I'm doing my first tomorrow, and I have trouble asking for help
Last time I was at this game store though I had two people who were very helpful. It was Modern format tournament, I didn't do good, but I had a good time.
Tip: If you get a money card don't be afraid to pick it because it doesn't fit your deck. You're not putting every card you get into your deck.
I have a tip: drafting is not a super serious tournament environment. So try and be nice to people around your table.
In general, don't counterdraft, and if you notice that someone new to magic is about to have a bad day due to a badly played draft, concider giving some of your cards from the draft that you're not going to use afterwards to them (after the event) that way they won't feel like it was a waste of money because they didn't get anything valueable, and they will appreciate you a lot mroe!
Facts! I usually leave anything under two bucks at the end of the table.
Totally agree… i recently decided to play magic and went to a store to play.. I didn’t know well the new rules… my opponent was so rush and rude that I quite the game saying “okay game’s over, you won!”
A tip, don't draft or play bad one drops.
There are a lot of one drops that sound really good, like a 1/1 flyer for 1, sure those things can get really annoying, but 90% of the time they are a wasted slot in your deck. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome putting down a 1/1 flyer turn one and attacking with it, but that's the only time you want to see that thing, if you draw it say turn 6 and you desperately need a creature, that one drop is a dead card. It's best to focus on stuff with converted mana cost 2 and above, since those things usually come with an upside, like a good enter the battlefield effect or more power.
I have drafted only once. It was chaos draft origins, khans and battle of zendikar. Jeskai Agro was amazing and 1/1 flyer one my better creatures when opponent couldn't block it. First booster first pick Mantis Rider was how greedy i drafted.
+Jhoku that was one draft. As I said, 1/1 fliers for 1 can be annoying and good, but most of the time they aren't. You'll see when you draft more. A 1/1 flyer for 2 with an effect is always better to a 1/1 flyer for 1. Trust me, I learned the hard way.
How to draft a princess line dress block
Still need turn one tho, mana curve bud.
Big brain
You can also research the set you're drafting so you know what to expect and have a better understanding of what the cards can do.
+Jose Cordero What would be the best way to go about this?
+L2Pnoob look at mythic spoilers, also read set reviews and watch videos
I've never drafted, but a general good tip is just knowing what sets you'll be dealing with and reading some card lists/spoilers, if it isn't a block of cards you're familiar with. It's obvious but even more powerful the more narrow the selection of cards gets.
I have a tip: If there are cards in the pack that are in your colors but are super bad, and there are good cards/cards that are good against your colors you better take them over the bad cards because you are not going to play that card anyway.
"hate drafting"
TheBlondeControl No, because if you will not play it and you took it over a good card that can beat you. You wasted a pick.
TheBlondeControl Would you pick, for example, Ethereal Guidance over, for example, Throttle, even though you are not creature heavy nor playing black?
Don't do that, it's hate drafting, and borderline tilt out. Of course if it's the the end of the pack and there's nothing left it's fine.
Big brain
Thanks for the informative video. It's exactly the kind of common knowledge that I don't know yet because I haven't drafted before. I wish I could find equivalent videos for other things when I want to try them. This will make drafting next Friday so much smoother.
Thanks, amigo. you pulled off a great "Drafting for rookies" video. I've got a group of 8 about to do a draft tourney, 1 may have drafted before. your video was a perfect way to school them all up enough to wash away any anxiety or confusion they may have had. clear explanations, to the point, hit a ton of the vital must-knows. exceptionally well done.
I remember my first draft I drafted 8 mind skulpts. Had no idea what I was doing but I kept up with it.
Now that you know how you need to learn how to do it good.
Step 1 watch every episode of limited resources ever
Step 2 draft
Step 3 ???
Step 4 profit?
All of this (sans passing cards around details) effectively applies to sealed as well. Also, being a home brewer is actually great practice for quickly evaluating cards in general, especially if you play and work on a deck from week to week.
Don't pick an archetype you will draft before the draft
Even further, be willing to toss your pack 1 pick 1 or 2 if the signals are wrong. There's nothing worse than fighting someone over an archetype, you'll both lose.
1 quick tip is to before you go to the draft, look at the set cards and make a list of cards you should look out for. i doing an aether revolt draft on sat 14 of jan and I've made a list of about 13 cards cards that will do me good in each colour. ALSO don't forget artefacts or colourless spells, these will be your best friends during the draft as they can go with any colour.
this is a fantastic video!!! way to go, easily one of the best draft videos on the entire internet. I have used this all the time for people new to magic! thank you so much!!!
I'm not very experienced but (maybe this is just very obvious tho) it helps me a lot knowing the cards and knowing each mechanic in the drafted set ex. "exploit" or "spell mastery" or anything else you'll see often and it's just good to know what it does coz there's no time to read during draft
Should I bring my own lands for my deck? I assume the store would provide them. Also any other tips that anyone thinks would be helpful I'd love to hear them, I'm gonna go do draft for the first time tomorrow.
The store will have lands :) Final tip - have fun :D
Draft tip.
Never draft that one card that costs six or higher. It is trash (unless it has delve or something). Most of the time if you see it then it's going to clog up your hand where you could have had an "anything else" or "removal" card. Yes that 10/10 colossus looks great but if you're going to be playing to win that little supression bonds, 2/3 flying, or the pump card would have been a better choice.
OH! and if you can find haste, menace, flying, unblockable, or even vigilance... you already have that advantage over your opponent
I've never played a draft, but I've played plenty of other games, and my one tip is to have fun. In your first draft (or mine, if I ever play that format), you are more likely to lose than to win due to inexperience. You have a chance, drafting is a very balanced format, and playing to win is generally more fun, but don't stress about the outcome. MTG is a game, enjoy the experience.
one of my trick in draft is simply to stick to my main color.If you are used to play red deck don't go on your first opening take a Garruk companion because you know that this card have a lots of usage while just beside it there is a goblin arsonist.The color you are most familliar with are card you know more about. Maybe a bigger creature would do more damage but as i experianced myself color identities you can rely on is always a thing to look for
Im about to do my first draft tomorrow im really excited thank you for your help
bought a booster box of RTR a couple of weeks ago and drafted with my family, first time for all of us but my stepdad. I had planned on forcing izzet, so when p1p1 I pulled NIV mizzet, I was super stoked. ended up winning by drawing into answers and have the game go long for NIV mizzet
I don't know if this was said, but after so long of playing the game and seeing how other players thinks and react, the best thing to do also during a draft is to try to keep your eyes to yourself, off of the people's packs that are near you and watch their faces. the way they react to cards in a pack lets you know that there was something decent in them.
Also, there is the first come first served rule. you open the pack you get first picks, usually people will almost pull out the mythic or planeswalker for themselves, so sometimes you wont't even see that card in the draft at all.
Colors, this is easy, you try to remember the ratio of colors in a pack when you pass it, cause at some point you will get it back, then you will see most or all of a color missing, which means you can tell what colors you might face at what combination. it takes time to learn this one, but being able to predict what colors your opponent is running as a guess can help you build a draft deck that is good against it or build a different deck in case you think there is a heavy influence of another color.
if you overhear another player talking to another player about someone's deck and whats in it, or accidentally see their games and see what cards they have, at that point its hard to tell when it is fair to fix your deck against that person if you end up facing them. most players try to be courteous, but a lot more will use that information to their advantage and try to get an upperhand against all other players at the event.
Don't try and force a draft. You may be a great red player but if you keep getting passed blue cards then switch to blue. If you find a strong mechanic or colour not being picked, even if you are not familiar with it, then pick it. In the end, you'll have more cards to choose from which means a better chance to make a strong deck.
5 color all 7 drops is VERY potent
Make sure they have cumulitive upkeep, or you'll be out of whack.
man now I want to draft.
only rare draft if the rare is good for your deck... or if the value of the rare pretty much paid for your entry fee, I've seen enough people who passed things like a dark confidant in an MM1 draft where 1st place was getting 4-6 packs (and bob was at his highest price in years back then)
+Kevin Pitsch I've actually been to cheaper drafts where you don't keep the rares, but they're hand-picked in the order of the player with the highest points to lowest. It disincentivizes "fuck the draft i want this card" mentality, but is also kind of annoying because in the end it's just a glorified sealed tournament anyway.
Tip: Try to keep things to 2 or 3 colors. Avoid 4 or all 5 if you can. If you can make a viable mono color deck go for it. It's worth to splash in a color if you have a powerful card (keep it to 3 colors if possible)
I've played Magic Duels on the Xbox One for about a month now, so I decided to go to a magic shop later today and now I'm here watching this video. It really helped me since I had played Hearthstone since the closed beta and kinda knew what draft was thanks to arena, but it's a whole different story when you go to a physical place. Thanks for the guidelines, now I won't look so dumb doing my first draft lol. I also think it will be Kaladesh, since it's the newest expansion right?
It will be Kaladesh! Go and have fun, don't worry about winning too much and meet some cool people :D
So do we keep the cards after we are finished drafting? Can you keep the lands from the opened packs?
Dual Shift
Yes and yes :)
I absolutely looooved the experience! The people there are very friendly and give tips and talk with you and it was soooo awesome! I'm definitely drafting whenever I can now because I want to get all my rare and foiled cards from there (got a Skysovereign, Consul Flagship, and I skipped a foil card for some reason).
Dual Shift
Awesome! Nice Consul Flagship, card is ridiculous! :)
Exactly what I way looking for, thank you so much.
It's ok to have 3 colors in this type of format, due to the amount of cards u have in your deck, u have a good chance of drawing land, as well as having a bad chance of drawing a certain type of multicolor card
I am a seasoned drafter, not a pro, but I know my stuff and have played in multiple GPs. The best advice I can give a new player who wants to take draft seriously is:
A.) Learn the cards in the set or sets you are drafting.
B.) STAY OPEN. You must toss color preference to the side when drafting. For example, my favorite color is Black. That does not mean, however, that I am going to force pick Black cards. DRAFT WHAT IS PASSED TO YOU. I know that may sound like a dumb statement, but it is a simple rule that will help you draft better decks. When I say draft what is passed to you, I mean try to read the packs and figure out what signals the person next to you is sending. Oh, the pack they passed you has mediocre cards in every color except Blue. They passed you a Blue bomb. But, wait, I hate Blue! WHO CARES. Draft that bomb and destroy people with it on the battlefield.
C.) To touch on the previous statement, as a drafter you must learn to appreciate all colors of magic to truly experience the draft format for what it is. If you never draft anything except Boros decks (red/white), how will you ever know if you like Simic (Blue/Green)?
I stream my drafts on twitch twice weekly if anyone cares or is interested to see how a draft goes down. twitch.tv/mattdrafts
Don't be afraid to "hate draft". I loved the 3 packs of BFZ draft and quite often did green/white or green/black focusing on eldrazi scions and full field buffs (all creatures you control get blah blah). If at anytime in the draft there was a pack handed to, or opened by me and there was a Rolling Thunder I almost always took it. Not because I had any intent to use it, it merely CRUSHED my deck. Also, try to stick to one/two colors.
Tip: Try to read up on the cards in that set to help you pick what cards you want faster.
Been in a bunch of drafts. One tip I didn't see in the video or after reading a couple pages of comments. Hexproof. Doesn't really matter set you're drafting. A creature with hexproof is a huge advantage. I remember drafting theros a few years back. I drafted 3 benthic giants and a prognostic sphinx. Was playing U/R. Also had a couple of two headed cerberus and ill-tempered cyclops. Benthic was a little pricey as far as cmc goes but with the colors I drafted i had access to a couple lightning strikes and a magma jet, anger of the gods a dissolve and voyages end to either stall my opponent or take out lower toughness threats. Also drafted an aqueous form for evasion to slam on the giants. Hexproof and unblockable. Added a couple of omenspeakers and a mnemonic wall for utility. I didn't lose a single game. Most of the creatures they played in the early turns died to removal, then when I got my bigger guys out they couldn't really swing. Or they'd scoop because of the giants coming down, especially when the aqueous form came out. Granted all this was in my area at the LGS but I swear half the people there either didn't know how to draft properly, weren't drafting those colors or were just drafting value. They just kept passing me really sweet cards that I knew were going to make up a really sweet deck!
Maybe somewhere next to 'bomb' there could be 'undercosted beater'. Evasion is nice, but if you're getting 4 power for 3 or even 2, this is almost always worth it. Mana to power ratio isn't all situational - if you're paying 3 for your 1/1s while your opponent is putting out all 3/3s for 1, you're going to lose. It's not just true on the macroscopic scale.
I've been playing for almost two years now, but have never done a draft and am seriously considering doing the prerelease for Eldritch Moon. I'm not as concerned with pulling the rares from the packs I get, unless they are something really good or really expensive. Is it bad form to quick look up a price of a rare when you open the pack? Would there even be price info DURING prerelease?
Prereleases are not the draft format, they are Sealed. You'll find sealed much less complicated!
mtgsalvation.gamepedia.com/Sealed_deck
+GG Degree I got a dated tamiyo in my prerelease pack
BREAD also stands for bomb removal evasions aggro and duds
First off! Super helpful! I really needed the LITERAL explanation how to to do it! I've got a quick question though, attention must be played to color right? and are you just looking at what you have after following B.R.E.A.D. and then building a deck from what you have? (implying that there's a surplus to build your deck from in the end)
Thanks for this video! I'm trying to get into mtg and the idea of going to a draft is intimidating
I was thinking of Drafting with friends. 6 Guys buying a 36 booster box, but then we get to the terrain part... It must be made in a Shop.
Enchanments are really strong in draft; there are some very strong ones that perhaps can be a bit expensive or not as useful in a normal deck but since most players won't have removals for enchanments consider these cards to be in the game the entire time and unremovable.
A strange rule I heard awhile ago that turns about to be mostly true is avoid any creature that has a power of less than 2. Attacking for one damage appears to have very minimal impact on the game.
Thanks going to my first draft tommorow! So hyped, btw thanks for the help
Rules are different every store you go but they SHOULD BE doing it how wizards recommends which is how my store does it . You can take foil anything . What you draft is what you keep and what you get to play. No reserves no redrafts or rare redrafts . Exactly the way it was intended to be.
You always leave the land in, no matter what, the only card you take out is the token or the card with no magic backing.
Thanks for the tips. Can this draft format be used for a 3 player party? I want to play with a couple of friends and there are no more players in our area...
You each just need 3 packs. The packs go around the table faster than a normal draft, so you will have more chances to pull stuff from each pack then during an 8 person draft. I will usually draft every box I buy with my friends. While some of them complain about not being able to keep the cards they draft (the packs are all mine) it's free enjoyment for them, and I think it stops rare drafting to a point because you aren't keeping the cards anyway.
I think my point here was that if one of you guys buys a box, use it to draft with your 2 friends. Even going in on a box and keeping your draft packs could be fun. And if you can get a box for $100 it would be just over $33 each for 4 drafts, which should be cheaper than your LGS draft price per draft and good practice.
Just remember though, your only as good as your competition typically, so you may eventually want to get out to a store and play.
yes look up winston drafting
thanks so much I didn't have a clue on how to draft
Where does the 17 lands specifically come from? Because I start encountering significantly more floods once I'm over 15 or 16. Of course, I also encounter what would be flooding for a normal deck with 18 lands in constructed, so it may just be me.
Well, 17*1,5 (cause you play with 40 cards only) means you would have 25,5 cards normally
16- 24
15- 22,5
14- 21
So depending on your curve draft the amount of lands
Look into the set you're drafting for, If you see overpowered cards that aren't your color and nothing especially eye catching in the pack you have. Take it so you don't have to face it later.
I wish I would have know about this my first draft; I felt like such a noob :( The next time I draft I'll definitely use this method >:D
"Anything else"...a 2/2 for 2 or 3/3 for 3. Boy, back in my MTG says (also 9 y ago) that was accurate. Today fpr 2 mana you get a 3/3 with hexproof and lifelink.
Show up, know what sets your playing from, and make sure you budget your self each month.
but 3*13 is 39 so where do the excess spells go?
+Mein Kanal! They become your sideboard :)
MTG Degree Oh, okay, thanks. Is the sideboard 15 cards?
Mein Kanal!
Nope! It's every card that you don't put in your main deck. So, a lot of cards! The same is true in sealed, your sideboard is actually more cards than you have in your main deck :)
MTG Degree Oh, okay. One more question: can two palyers draft?
Mein Kanal!
There are methods to do so, but it's generally pretty terrible. I wouldn't personally suggest it.
Power move placing those two extra packs in your shirt pocket
Great Video, Thank you. Helped a lot.
*me waiting for the part where he draws the isometric view*
He didn't touch on it, but there is a chance by the third pack you have pretty much drafted a blue black deck. Then the third pack opens and you see avacyn! clearly switching and trying to get white this late is not a good idea. Now here is the tricky part. Do you take avacyn? I feel that it is a matter of budget. She is pretty expensive, and if you would just sell her and buy more packs then by all means do so. If budget is not an issue you have to make a choice, do I take her just to keep her out of the pool for other players, or do I draft something else knowing I can just counter/remove her later on? It is a hard choice for sure.
I always try to follow the Bread method. However, as an not so avid drafter (yet) I wanted to ask, how one can determine wheter a card is "bad" or not.
Most cards seem "playable" or "ok" according to certain YT channels. Only a handful is considered as downright "dirt"
Is there a way to recognize "bad" cards on the Spot?
+Josephus Mutzenbacher if the power and toughness are less then the mana cost without other upsides or if they are the same
Doing an eldritch moon draft in 3 hours wish me luck!
(my first draft)
how did you do?
Movies, Comics and MTG Built blue/white control/fliers. Lost 2 sets and won 1.
But all 3 of my sets were 2-1 so I did well against everyone. I would've won my second set if I didn't overswing, I left only ground blockers on the 3rd game of second set and he was like had this card where he sacs a permanent and gives it flying and he also gave it an equipment and I got rekt. But it was super fun and I want to do it again next week
+PigInATuxedo lunarch mantle is the one where you sac a permanent and it gets flying
Is this also applicable to pre release? The B.R.E.A.D? And the tips? Also what if there are less than 8 players? Maybe around 5-7?
my word i subconsciously have already been doing this the b.r.e.a.d. has been with me 0.o
How do you approach mana producing artifacts? I've heard that every two could count as a land slot. My group play a Powered proxy Cube in a Winston Draft format and I find myself consistently playing 43-45 cards and would like to be able to trim down better.
Well if it's a Mox you could cut one land for a Mox, but yeah generally you can cut down on lands in exchange for artifacts. Cutting cards is one of the hardest things to do in draft!
i have never been to a draft where you switch what side you pass the pack to
Do you also build a sideboard when you build your deck or is the sideboard just the cards left over.
The leftover cards are your sideboard :) You can even sideboard into another color or whatever you want with the extra cards you draft!
Is it common practice to pass your picks to the player next to you after drafting for any reason?
I'm bouta introduce my newly indoctrinated players to draft next week, this video was very helpful
So thats what breast pockets are for.
My friends will buy me a booster box for my birthday and I will hold one or two five-people drafts at home.
Btw your shirt looks super triply when I reduce the video size in mobile.
Do you keep your deck/cards (apart from borrowed lands) after draft is done ?
yes
Im new to mtg and was researching how to draft to prep for my future first draft. As a noob I cant help but lean towards always drawing the rare/foil from at least my packs. Definitely not the best strategy but idk I feel like I'd be wasting the packs I bought. But then again I'd be missing the whole point of what a draft is. Maybe I'm just overthinking this. :/
+Manuel Orozco Raredrafting like a noob is fine for your first few drafts. Focus on having fun :D
+Manuel Orozco Sometimes drafts can have rewards such as booster packs so its sort of a gamble on how well you think you are going to do. If you feel like your deck/draft pool is strong then you should forgo some rares to get more synergistic cards to make your deck more of a power house and in the long run net you not only more cards but more rares. However if you find a pricey rare or mythic then take it because that can help pay for future drafts or be a nice cump change card if you need a extra bit of buck to seal the deal with someone. Overall I think that if you want the rares from the packs you're better off just buying three packs. Last note is like GG degree said its all about having fun so if drafting those extra rare cards is part of the enjoyment for you then go right ahead.
Pick cards with a good cmc or converted mana cost
How long does a draft usually take?
Sooo.... If you have 3 packs it's left right left?
At my shop, we leave in the land even if it isnt foil... strange.
Mine too.
Appendix Stranded I've never actually heard-of taking-out the land... I did it during my first draft & it screwed things up.
I did too! Haha.
How many games do you usually play to determine the winner?
Feodor Romanenkov anywhere from 3 to 6 depending on the amount of people
SailinSales 6 people
I have a casual group I play with during free time, how would i correctly set up a draft between 4 people.
4 people- it would probably be better to set up a Winston draft. there are lots of videos floating around. Also if you wanted to draft with your three friends without buying packs every week- you might consider building a cube.
Austin L '
Great video still :D Thanks!
Thank you for this video
have synergy and removal is amazing
nooby qustion here do you keep the deck that you draft or
Yes unless you use the lands from the store then u have to give those back. It all the cards u drafted u get to keep
ah thanks man
I though it was SBREAD? S - Stall 😂
but how to get 17 lands with 3 packs? shall i bring it from home ?
Leverquin game stores usually have land you can use for the draft and then return but if it's just with friends you may need to bring land👍🏼
oh ty
this would most likely go with the B in bread but there is always the H and thats hate draft. if you feel comfortable with what you have and there is nothing spectacular in the pack in your colors i would pick that brood monitor over a 2/2 for 2 with no ability even tho i have no intention of playing it.
for me the d stands for denyal
If you're not supposed to draft foil lands what do you do with them?
You don't take them out of the packs (like with normal lands), you just draft them like they were a common or something in the pack :)
Thanks man!
So the first 4 letters are all the same no matter where you go but "D" has now been labeled as "Dude", "Dunce", "Dud", "Dirt" and " Do not play" ....
advice; don't pick a hefty creature for its pow/tuff and rarity. I love my Hooded Hydra, but was not worth
I know I'm late, but could you draft with less than eight people? let's say three?
you can look up "winston draft". For three persons i prefer it to normal booster drafts.
So you buy £12 worth of packs how does this work if you have like an £50 card in a pack?
Thanx, helps a lot
bro. You said nothing about colours. Should I stick to 1 colour, 2? 5?
What year did they start drafting ? ...
Degree what if it's a two headed draft if that's a thing
What is done with the cards at the end of a draft?
You keep them. What you pull is what you play with and take home.
Inform yourself in advance about the content of the set and the possible strategies and archetypes so you can pick cards that work together well and also what specific cards you have to watch out for
I was always taught B.R.E.A.K bombs, removal, evasion, awful, Krap Never play this. Also supression bonds was Never removal removal means its gone, not just stuck.
The D in Bread I was told was dirt no don'ts talk to the Tolarian Community College.
They're the same thing, please.
Please yourself tolarian community college will teach you a lot
+Logan Sharp Please, they are both great, but you also learn just as much from MTGDegree as you do with TolarianCommunityCollege
Didn't see the old reply. TCC is pretty shite for anyone who actually knows what they're doing.
*to clarify, it's not that there's no point in watching if you're a longtime player of the game (hell, I'm subbed to him), it's just that it becomes entertainment as opposed to learning. I enjoy the style of his videos, but I'm watching them because he's enjoyable to watch, not to learn. Most enfranchised players already have their favored brands for accessories, I'm still using Timewalker inners as opposed to KMC as I prefer how they're looser.