I was considering doing another “Walk With a Known Player” article this week, taken from the Pro Tour: Geneva coverage, but I decided to write about something completely different instead. Perhaps I’ll do another of those in the near future.
As you probably know, there is a Two Headed Giant Pro Tour coming up somewhat soon, and the format is Booster Draft. Not only is this a brand new format that’s never been used before, but it’s also one that I feel is packed with ways to gain an advantage over another team if you practice and learn the nuances involved. Given that I’ve only done a few drafts of this format myself, I’m still learning. There has been plenty of theory tossed around my play-group recently, and today I want to share what I know to give you all a foundation to start learning the format. This article should be helpful if you are interested for casual purposes, or if you intend to play on the upcoming Pro Tour. No matter your motives, I believe this is a very fun and interesting way to play Magic, and I encourage everyone to at least give it a try before dismissing it.
The Basics and Principles
I’m sure there are some of you out there wondering exactly how the Draft will work (if you haven’t already looked it up in the rules). First of all, you need four teams of two players each. Then, you need four boosters of Time Spiral and two boosters of Planar Chaos per team (the equivalent of two draft sets in a normal draft). How the draft works is that each team will open a booster, take two cards, and then pass the booster. It works like a normal draft, and you’ll do all four Time Spiral packs first and then the Planar Chaos, rotating the passing in a left / right fashion for each subsequent booster.
I probably made that sound much more complicated than it actually is. Basically you open one pack together as a team, and then pick two cards from it and pass. The rest is very similar to a normal draft except that you’re picking two cards each time.
Storm
I’d go as far as to say that this is the most important mechanic in this environment.
When you have four players involved in a single game and two of them are casting spells on the same turn, you have some seriously explosive potential here. While this is probably not news to anyone who’s played any kind of 2HG in the past, this makes certain cards skyrocket in value.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Volcanic Awakening. This scrap card, which usually goes fifteenth in normal draft, is a complete powerhouse in 2HG. Casting this on turn 6 for four or five copies will effectively eliminate one of the opposing players from the game for a good period of time. Oh, and getting the requisite copies is really not an issue with Suspend and two decks that can be built to create explosive storm turns. Not only is this card now playable, but it is actually a very high pick.
I focused mainly on the Awakening here because it sucks in regular draft, but all of the other Storm stuff is great too. Empty the Warrens will usually function as a Fireball or better, and there are plenty of things to abuse it with such as Pendelhaven Elder and Strength in Numbers. These combinations are known for being good in regular draft as well, but in 2HG you will usually get at least ten Goblin tokens from an Empty, and the combinations are much more potent.
Grapeshot is also a top-notch pick, and should take out multiple guys almost every time.
Finally, Ignite Memories is something I’m still on the fence about. I’ve had a few friends who played it in a prerelease. They said it was somewhat of a gambling card but probably still worthwhile, and a good way to steal an easy win if you’re lucky. The nice thing here is that you can split up the copies to target both of your opponents, and effectively see both of their hands if you don’t think you’ll be getting much damage off in the late game.
Landwalk
Flying is great and all, but this is the real evasion in 2HG.
Take Viscid Lemures, for example. In normal draft he is just a mediocre 23rd card, or a sideboard card with bad artwork. In 2HG he is a very high pick, and a virtual necessity. Other goodies include Mire Boa, Wormwood Dryad, and Yavimaya Dryad. The point is that when you’re in one of these drafts you have to use a completely differently mindset, and not just automatically take the “best overall cards” with your early picks. The values have changed in most cases in this format, and those who are aware of this have a huge advantage.
Another point I want to make is that Fear sucks in this format. Corpulent Corpse is probably unplayable, and all of the new Fear guys suck equally. You are going to be playing against at least four opposing colors and sometimes five, as well as the potential to run into Artifact guys. Your Fear men are rarely (if ever) getting through, so you shouldn’t be wasting picks on them.
Countermagic
While bombs help decide lots of duels in multiplayer games, having countermagic is the next best thing.
Cancel is literally one of best commons you can open in Time Spiral in this format. The only two commons my play-group and I believe are better are Strangling Soot and Lightning Axe, and the Axe is debatable. Having Cancel in hand is so powerful because you can set up a plan and have an answer to anything your opponent tries to do about it. You also need something to stop the completely ridiculous cards in this format, such as Tromp the Domains. Spell Burst is also very good here, and probably better than Cancel in the long game, though I’d never pick it over the basic counterspell. Dismal Failure from Planar Chaos is also great and a high pick. I’d be happy playing as many counters as I could get my hands on, as long as my partner has a deck with creatures to protect us and some removal.
Enchantment and Artifact Kill
These are a necessity in almost all 2HG matches. There are plenty of good targets… Totems, Temporal Isolation, and Utopia Vow are just the tip of the iceberg. Ideally you want Krosan Grip or Molder (or both), since they will almost never be dead cards. Ancient Grudge is possible if you saw a lot of Totems in the draft, but not usually worth a slot (or worth picking) since you don’t get to sideboard in 2HG. Return to Dust is straight up insane in this format, and should be treated as such.
Split Second
I’m pointing out this mechanic because it becomes even better in a format where you have to worry about multiple players tapping out in order to get your spells through. For this reason, “normal” cards like Wipe Away get much better, since none of the four players can do anything about them before they resolve. I’ve never had Word of Seizing in 2HG but I can only imagine how insane that card is.
Mind the Tortoise
In this format, slow and steady really does win the race.
This format is all about generating an overwhelming advantage. You can do this through mass removal or simply through the use of repeated utility effects, but always make sure you are forming plans for future turns with your partner. Just blindly casting spells is a good way to get yourself canned in this format.
I played against multiple teams in prerelease events that built two aggressive decks and tried to run us over before we could get board control. Guess what… it never happened. The problem with building aggressive strategies is that you are climbing a huge hill trying to deal forty damage, and you are doing it against two defending players. I think it was Mike Flores who said that the defender has the advantage in combat, and he couldn’t be more right in this case. Trying to fight two guys and deal twice the amount of damage is not a good strategy. It’s because of this that cards like Lavacore Elemental and Keldon Marauders should be left on the sidelines. I may, however, play the Marauders in a deck with multiple Tolarian Sentinels, where there is time to get the combo online.
I didn’t dedicate a section to Mass Removal, but it should be obvious how good it is here, and how Desolation Giant or anything like it should never ever be passed in a 2HG draft.
Gems of the Format
Now that I’ve gone over the basics (and I’m assuming you know the rules of 2HG or you wouldn’t be reading this), I want to talk about some cards that are possibly sleepers and amazing in the format. These are cards that are worth early picks and game-breakers in the format.
Urborg Syphon-Mage
Exalted Angel much? I’m not sure what to say except cards that say “each player” tend to be very strong in 2HG. Orzhov Guildmage was a bomb in the last format, and this guy is even better.
Dawn Charm
It shouldn’t be a huge mystery that Fog is good in this format. There comes a time in most games where the other team is forced to commit most or all of its army to an attack step. If you Dawn Charm and then strike back it will usually create an insurmountable advantage. Chameleon Blur is also playable in this format, but I prefer the flexibility and lower cost of Dawn Charm.
Frozen Aether
Unplayable in regular draft in most cases, this is a straight up bomb in 2HG. Imagine playing it on turn 4 and having both of your opponents being a step behind for the entire game. Cards like this are the reason that maindeck enchantment / artifact kill is a necessity.
Deathspore Thallid
I’m lumping all of the Thallids in here along with the best one. The games go very long in this format and the Thallid ability is finally very strong. In the last draft I did, we had two of these guys with Sarpadian Empires for the full combo. Anyway, take Thallids and play them and you won’t be disappointed. One word about Shell-Dweller – there are a lot of ways to neutralize it for free. Merfolk Thaumaturgist is awesome, and there are also Crookclaw Transmuters. So, I’d probably play the Wall, but if you need to cut a card and saw some of these Blue guys in the draft, I’d cut the 0/5.
Strength in Numbers
This card is better than Strength of Cedars, considering all of the cheap ways to make tokens in Time Spiral. I’d guess that plenty of games will be ended by an alpha strike and a copy of this card at the right time. The only thing here is that you have to be very patient. Opponents will have tons of removal and possibly counterspells, so you really need to wait for your window of opportunity to make a move here. Don’t just get giddy because you topdecked Strength and run it right into the obvious two for one.
Veiling Oddity
It’s possible that this is the best common from Planar Chaos for this format. I also wouldn’t Suspend it on turn 2, unless both of us could curve out or I had a way to return and reuse the Oddity later. Multiple copies are more than welcome. Pick this high and don’t think twice about it. Another thing you can do is set up a two-card Falter combination here, with this guy and either Fury Charm or Timebender, to unsuspend this guy a couple of turns early. The opponents will be planning for his arrival and may tap out a couple turns early, and then you can just go for the kill.
I was talking to a friend about the playability of Ground Rift, and I don’t think it’s worth it since you’d have to Storm too many copies in the late game and it just isn’t happening. Oddity is where it’s at.
Merfolk Thaumaturgist
With so many creatures in play, this guy is likely to be a house in many ways. Saltfield Recluse falls into the same category, though I think it is better than the Thaumaturgist on its own. Again, the theme of having repeated utility effects is much better than just having normal creatures, and in some cases it’s even better than evasion creatures.
Detainment Spell
I’ve never played this card in normal Magic, but it shouldn’t be hard to understand why it is good here. I love that it’s flexible and hard to get rid of, and also that it shuts down Syphon-Mage, Lemures, as well as any of the other huge utility guys available. It looks like junk when you’re looking at the pack, but I assure you that the “junk” is what you’re looking for in this format.
Plague Sliver
I’m not writing about many rares in this article simply because there are too many good ones to mention. What may not be immediately apparent though is that there are a lot of Slivers in this format, and if you don’t have them, it’s likely that the opposing team does. This guy will Lightning Bolt them every turn.
Momentary Blink
You can still build one of your decks around this card, but overall I believe it goes down in value quite a bit. The reason for this is that you can’t Blink your teammate’s guys, and several other cards share the same problem of only working on creatures you control. Just keep this in mind when making picks in a 2HG draft.
Looter il-Kor
This is an example of a normally amazing card that got much worse in 2HG. The opposing team will surely have plenty of ways to deal with X/1s, as well as the possibility of having Shadow creatures of their own, or simply an Aetherflame Wall. I should mention that I really like Aetherflame Wall in 2HG and it’s also resilient to Thaumaturgist with the pump ability. Getting back to Looter… even if it does get through a few times, it just doesn’t do enough. I’d rather have something like Whispers of the Muse in my deck for card advantage.
Screeching Sliver
We’ve theorized that an all-Sliver strategy based around this guy is probably pretty damned good if you can craft it correctly. The thing with 2HG is that if one player decks, the whole team dies. Assembling a team of Slivers could make that happen in a very quick fashion and is certainly worth testing before the PT.
Urza’s Factory
The Factory doesn’t even cost a slot in your deck and offers a repeatable effect that could eventually swing a game. Make sure you think long and hard about which deck to put it in, however, as that could matter quite a bit.
Durkwood Baloth
This guy is awesome in 2HG, and so are other big Suspend guys. The strategy of Suspending a bunch and then casting a bunch and having an avalanche of guys is amazing, especially if the opponents don’t have some way to wipe the board clean. This type of strategy can overwhelm the opposing team before they have a chance to get a footing on board.
A Sample Pack
Durkwood Baloth
Coral Trickster
Ivory Giant
Urborg Syphon-Mage
Errant Ephemeron
Flowstone Channeler
Plunder
Skulking Knight
Cancel
Dream Stalker
Assembly-Worker
Pendelhaven Elder
Duskrider Peregrine
Kher Keep
Merieke Ri Berit
In a normal draft, you’d take either the Peregrine or Ephemeron from this pack for your first pick overall. In a 2HG draft, the picks you should make are Cancel and Urborg Syphon-Mage. This is just to give you a little idea of how things change in value when transitioning to this format.
Overall, I think 2HG is very skill intensive, and it is hard to get mana screwed with the Free Mulligan rule. I believe we are going to start doing more of these drafts this week at CMU, so if anyone is interested please say so in the forums and I’d be willing to do a 2HG draft walkthrough for next week.
Nick Eisel
Soooooo on MTGO
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