Welcome back to another Training Day article. This is a series of articles I’m writing to help new players grasp some of the more advanced concepts of the game. You can find my previous Training Day about Card Advantage here. A new draft format is soon to be upon us with the release of Dragon’s Maze, so today we are going to do a beginner’s course in drafting.

The Basics

Drafting is one of the most interesting ways to play Magic. For those of you have been to a Prerelease, it is similar in nature to Sealed Deck. You do not bring your own deck, but you will build one during the event. In Sealed, you just get a set number of packs and have to hope for the best. However, with drafting, you get a little control of the cards you get. You will sit at a table with several other players and pass around booster packs, selecting one card at a time to add to your pool. Then you will build your deck out of the pool of cards that you selected.

Like Sealed, your deck will need to be a minimum of 40 cards. In most draft formats your pool will be 42-45 cards plus basic lands, depending on the sets used. As you can see, it is important to make sure you are selecting the best cards possible, because you won’t have much room for error. Your deck will usually consist of about 23 spells and 17 lands. These are not set in stone though and your deck may deviate depending on its needs. If you have a super aggressive deck that runs on 2-3 mana, then you can probably get away with 15-16 lands instead. Same is true if you have a deck with a lot of expensive spells, you may want to go up to 18 lands. However, you will want to stick to the 40 card minimum. This will maximize your chances of drawing your best cards thus improving your odds of winning.

Colors

In most cases, when you are drafting, you will want to stick to two colors with maybe a couple of cards in a third color if they are really good, or you have the appropriate mana fixing. (Keep in mind this is for drafting in general: In Dragon’s Maze drafts, this will not hold as much because of the number of multicolored cards and the amount of mana fixing easily available.) The less colors you play, the more likely you will be able to your spells when you need to and not be looking for the right color mana.

You also want to avoid too many cards in multiple colors with heavy color requirements in their cost. For example, it can be hard to cast Ajani’s Sunstriker and Murder reliably in the same draft deck because of the mana requirements. I’m not saying you shouldn’t draft these cards together ever, I’m just saying to be mindful of the mana requirements of your deck.



Mana fixing is very important when drafting multiple colors. Mana fixing is anything that allows you to easily access multiple colors of mana so you can cast different color spells easily. Dragon’s Maze is excellent in this regard because it provides both the Guildgates and Cluestones. That’s why it is easier to play more colors in this particular draft format. This is not always the case though. For example, in Magic 2013 draft, the only mana fixers that were common/uncommon were Farseek, Evolving Wilds, and Gem of Becoming, so it was very difficult to go beyond two colors.

The BREAD System

One of the hardest parts of the draft format is picking the cards. You want to make sure that the cards you are picking will be good when you actually have to use them. This is a tricky subject because there is no guaranteed way of knowing which card to pick, but the BREAD system is a good place to start when you are new to drafting. BREAD stands for Bombs, Removal, Evasion, Abilities, and Dudes and it’s an excellent way to evaluate the cards in a pack and help you select one. The next sections will break down each one of these in detail.

Bombs

The first thing you want to look for in a pack is a bomb. Bomb is a term used for cards that are very powerful, especially in a limited format. These cards have the potential to simply win the game on their own. You will usually be able to recognize these because they may be seeing significant play in Standard as well. Examples of bombs from Dragon’s Maze are Ral Zarek, Tajic, and Aetherling. Most of the time, Bombs are going to be rares, but not always. For example, in Return to Ravnica, Selesnya Guildmage was considered a Bomb because if left unchecked, it would just dominate a game.



Opening a bomb in your first pack will almost always dictate the rest of your picks. If you pull Ral Zarek for example, you are almost certainly going to go blue and red to ensure you have the ability to play him. However, if there are no good blue or red cards in your packs, then this may not be a possibility. It is important to realize that the bomb won’t do you any good if you the rest of your deck is bad. You may want to see if you can work him as a splashed third color, but don't be afraid to put him aside if it doesn't work out.

Removal

If there are no bombs in the pack, then the next thing you want to look for is removal. Creatures are the most common card type in Magic and the most common route to victory, so that will be what most of the cards you get are. The same will be true for your opponents. This will lead to game states where both of you have several creatures in play and neither player may have an advantage leading to a stall situation. Removal is important for removing a key creature and breaking the stalemate. It is also an excellent way to deal with your opponent’s bombs as well.

Remember that removal can come in different styles. The most common removal spells are spells that destroy creatures or deal direct damage. However, there are other ways to deal with creatures. Runner’s Bane and Krasis Incubation can both serve as removal spells keeping your opponent’s creatures from doing anything. However, when using spells removal like this, remember that the creatures can still use activated abilities.



Another form of removal is “combat tricks”. These are spells that can be used to make combat go more favorably for you. These are cards that might pump your creature, or give them an ability to help them win in combat, like first strike or deathtouch. These are not always reliably though and should not be drafted as highly as other forms of removal or efficient creatures, but they do work in a pinch.

Evasion

After removal, the next cards you want to look for are creatures with evasion abilities. This will also help break a stalemate situation. If you and your opponent each have several creatures in play, but you have one that flies, then your flier is still going to be able to advance the game for you. Creatures with flying, landwalk, or protection help make sure you can attack unhindered.

Other creature abilities can work like evasion as well. First strike and trample are two examples of this. First strike makes it very difficult for your opponent to block sometimes, because he may lose his creature without you losing yours. This means he may not be willing to block at all. The same is true for trample. Your opponent may not be willing to block with a small creature since he is going to take damage anyway. Don’t get over zealous with these creatures though, or you may find yourself walking to a trap if your opponent has a combat trick.

Abilities

After evasion, you start to look for creatures with relevant abilities. They may not be useful all the time, but you will find yourself in a situation where that ability will come in handy. Regeneration is an excellent example of this. You may not always have the ability to pay for regeneration, but when you do, it matters a lot. Also, look for creatures that can disrupt your opponent’s game plan in some manner. Boros Mastiff shows off this point nicely. It may not always get the battalion trigger, but when it does the lifelink can be relevant in a race situation.

Dudes

The last one is pretty simple. Draft games typically come down to creatures. So if you have the choice between a bad spell or an equally bad creature, you will almost always want to take the creature. You probably won't end up playing the bad creautre, but it might be more relevant.

Other Tips

It’s important when picking cards to remember what you’ve picked before and look for synergy with your future choices. Synergy basically means how well your cards work together. If you see a card that will work well with a previous pick, then you should value that card higher when making picks. I’m not saying you should take it automatically, but it should at least be considered a little higher.

Another error I see new players make is neglecting their sideboard. All of the cards you draft that aren’t in your main deck are considered your sideboard, and you can use it just like you would any other sideboard. If there aren’t any cards in the pack that will improve your main deck, you may want to look for cards that will be useful in your sideboard. A card like Naturalize may not be useful all of the time, but there will be matches where you will want to have the card because your opponent has a bomb artifact or enchantment. It is good to have the options available to you to deal with situations that may come up.




Keep in mind that these are just general tips and that each set has its own draft strategies. Every draft will be different and you will have to make the decisions on what to do at the time. Hopefully, I have armed you with some skills necessary to improve your decision making process. Remember, if you have questions I will be glad to answer them.

Eddie Walker