Mulligans Part II: Limited. The topic of mulligans is impossibly deep and incredibly complex. Last time we discussed mulligans, the goal was to simplify the question and provide some guidelines to use whenever you’re unsure of what to do. In particular, I introduced the "Two to Five Lands Strategy. " Keep your hand if you have between two and five lands. Mulligan if you have zero, one, six, or seven lands. Today, I’d like to delve into more advanced mulligan concepts.
Whatever deck you’re playing, whether it’s Limited or Constructed, there are two questions that should always factor into your mulligan decisions. How Well Does Your Deck Mulligan? Another way to say this is, simply, how much does it cost you to go down a card? The most important aspect of this question is the importance of card quantity. Wild Slash | Art by Raymond Swanland Another example would be a deck that focuses on critical mass.
Another example would be a modern deck that plays with cards like Dark Confidant or Bitterblossom. Mana Base Fast Decks. » How and When to Pivot in Draft. Each draft environment demands a new approach. I wanted to bring you some more information on MM15 Limited, but because I realize the set is very temporary, I plan to use the set as more of a case study today that you can use in future draft formats to your benefit. By pivoting, I simply mean adjusting your draft strategy based on what you’ve drafted and what you’re being passed in pack 1. There’s a balancing point between staying on the path of the cards you’ve drafted and venturing into new colors and archetypes for potential payoff later in the draft. In this set, pivoting is particularly important because the open deck for your seat will be extra powerful due to the highly linear strategies in each color pair.
Let’s dive into a draft example and then look at pivoting from a wider lens: You start the draft with a Mirran Crusader out of an otherwise unexciting pack. For pick 2 your options are Wrecking Ball , Burst Lightning Shop Now , and Glint Hawk Idol or Wrecking Ball Burst Lightning Ugh. Booster Draft, Part 3 | MAGIC: THE GATHERING. We've covered the basics of Booster Draft and we've covered signals in Booster Draft—one of the overarching concepts of the format. Part 3 of the Booster Draft series will feature some tips and techniques that might not occur naturally to beginning drafters. If you've read the previous two Level One articles on the topic, and are starting to get the hang of it, this ought to give you a head start on your way to becoming proficient at Booster Draft.
Through everything you learn about Booster Draft—all of the fancy terms and concepts and techniques—the basic principles of Magic will remain the most important weapons at your disposal. Signals, archetypes, counterdrafting, and just about everything else should take a back seat to card advantage, removal spells, and mana base. Let's take a moment to focus on mana curve and creature count in a draft deck. Here's a framework for what a well-balanced draft deck might look like in a triple-Khans of Tarkir draft. The Tier System reflects this. Signals in Booster Draft | MAGIC: THE GATHERING. The basics of booster draft are relatively simple. However, the subtleties are many, and can be quite difficult to grasp. Let's delve a little bit deeper into the format.
While I'll be using Khans of Tarkir draft as an example, like everything in Level One, the guidelines below are intended to apply to any format. One of the most important and challenging questions in a booster draft is how and when to choose your colors. The tier system is a way of gauging the relative strengths of the cards that you see in a draft. Here are the tiers that I group cards into when I'm drafting: Bombs Bombs are cards that are powerful enough that they frequently determine the outcome of a game all on their own. Premium Removal After bombs comes premium removal. Strong Filler Filler refers to the cards that will make up the bulk of your deck.
Strong filler are the cards that you're happy to play with and will very rarely cut from a deck. Weak Filler and Sideboard Cards Mostly Useless Recall from last time: Bombs. The Basics of Booster Draft | MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Booster Draft is one of the most played Magic formats at every level of competition and casual play. Together with Sealed Deck, it's the Limited format of choice for most tournaments, including Pro Tours, Pro Tour Qualifiers, and Grand Prix. It's popular among occasional players who want to avoid the pressures of maintaining a collection and a Constructed deck.
On the other hand, it's equally popular among serious players who enjoy the depth and challenge of the format. Learning Booster Draft should be a priority for any aspiring Magic player. Booster Draft (or just "Draft") is like Sealed Deck, with the additional preliminary step of drafting the cards. In Sealed Deck you open six packs and in Booster Draft you only open three. This means that you can expect draft decks to be slightly better, more powerful, faster, and (most importantly) more focused than in Sealed Deck. Synergy Synergy is an important concept for every format in Magic. Archetypes Balance Signals Counterdrafting.
» Frank Analysis – How Many Colored Mana Sources Do You Need to Consistently Cast Your Spells? I'm going to kick off 2014 by analyzing mana bases. The creation of a solid mana base is one of the most important aspects of deckbuilding, and today I'll try to answer questions like, “how many sources of black mana do I need to be able to consistently cast Thoughtseize on turn one?”
And, “how many sources of white mana do I need to be able to consistently cast Supreme Verdict on turn four?” These questions are relevant if, for example, you are building an Esper deck with 27 lands, but you are still wondering how many Temples to play, how many basic lands to play, which ones, and whether or not you can fit in Mutavault.
This article will provide guidelines for those kinds of challenges. Brace Yourselves: Methodological Remarks Incoming Before I can do any analysis, I need to define what it means to be able to “consistently cast” a certain spell on a certain turn. The main problem is that the 90% should be based on keepable opening hands only. 1. 2. 3. The Numbers Basic lands are simple. Doom Blade Days | MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Removal has changed. When I came back to the game, removal was everything. You prioritized it over everything but the most savage of bombs. Premium removal was cheap, instant-speed, and got the job done in one shot, for the most part. It also came in at common, so you would see it, play with it, play around it, game in and game out.
The Doom Blade Days. For years, people preached of the theory of B.R.E.A.D. BombsRemovalEvasion/EfficiencyAggro (I still have no clue what this means)Dregs/Dudes There are a few different version of this acronym, but you get the idea. It was used to show newer drafters how to prioritize their picks. Today we throw out the old bread. Besides being too simplistic, the theory behind B.R.E.A.D doesn't hold up.
The biggest change I've seen in my draft career centers around the removal, and I've compiled a list to help show how much removal has changed just in the six years I have been drafting seriously. In Zendikar/Worldwake we have: In Khans of Tarkir we have: Wow! Yep. Booster Draft Basics. Ooster Draft is one of my most favorite things in this world. I know it sounds a bit strange to put booster drafting up there with a great meal, a stunning landscape, or a perfectly done movie. But for many others, and me, that's exactly where it is. Booster Draft offers a unique combination of mental challenge, on-the-fly experimentation, excitement, and stories, that few other experiences can.
We get to craft a deck as we go, read signals, adapt, make assumptions, act on those assumptions, and see the results, all in one experience. I get emails asking for a beginner's guide to Booster Draft. Let's crack some packs. The Hardware We will need a few things to make a draft happen. First, you need some booster packs. So, we need some booster packs. People? You'll also want some dice; some sleeves if you like playing with sleeves; a way to track life totals; and, very importantly: basic lands. Now the fun part. The Software To start, everyone opens one booster pack. Deck Building Rule 1.