I don’t get a chance to draft much. When life does give me the chance, I’ll take it, even if the draft format is suboptimal. If you’re looking for some hardcore drafting tech, I don’t know that this will be the place to get it. Stick around cause I bet you might find something interesting in this walkthrough anyway.
Me and a bunch of my pals — Dan, Drew, Dami, Marc and Frank — decide we want to draft some Ravnica. We buy a booster box and decide to have a six man draft. To the winners goes only pride. Since we’re all taking six packs home anyway, we decide to draft four packs instead of three. Whatever, I’ll do any draft.
The guys let me take brief notes during the draft went so I could write this article. I can present you with the main choices, but don’t expect to have all the gory details. Let’s start it off by examining the guys at the table. Dan is on my left – he’s never drafted before, ever. Dami is on my right, and he’s drafted Ravnica a bazillion times. Marc is sitting to the right of Dami, and while he’s an experienced drafter he’s only played with Ravnica a couple of times. On Dan’s left is Drew, who’s drafted every set since Invasion. Diametrically opposite my seat is Frank, who is a consummate drafter who somehow manages to suck at drafting in enormous proportions. The draft starts by feeding to everyone’s right, because that’s what we decided.
Pack 1, Pick 1 (“1:1”) — My opening pack is interesting. The rare is Autochtochon Wurm, which I know I will pass. The only good uncommon (and notably the only good blue card in the pack) is Mark of Eviction. There is a Thundersong Trumpeteer, a Shambling Shell and a Brainspoil as the notable commons. I probably should have taken the Mark, as it would have put me solidly in blue (Dami on my right is pretty good at reading signals and would have noted it), but I don’t like blue in Ravnica. I decide to pass the Mark in favor of another card. I don’t want to commit to a guild yet, so I take the Brainspoil and expect Dami to go into Golari and Marc to take the Mark, or go Boros. Turns out, my first pick was really bad, because I forgot that Dan on my left didn’t know what he was doing.
1:2 — Sure enough, I get a pack with Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran from Dan. The pack is missing an uncommon, and I can only assume one of two things: he either took Putrefy or Lightning Helix. I grab Mr. Kos and ship an otherwise dull pack, with only Consult the Necrosages and Dimir Infiltrator as cards of note. At this point, I have to be careful about the signals I send downstream, or I could get shafted. However, passing two reasonably good Dimir cards might persuade Dami to go U/B, or even keep Marc from fighting my goods.
1:3 — This pack is missing the rare and an uncommon, but there’s a Moroii still in the pack! There’s also a Thundersong Trumpeter and a Golgari Brownscale, but everything else is awful. I should move to a solid U/B deck because it looks like I would receive some goods. If it wasn’t for the Agrus Kos, I probably would have taken the Moroii here since I already had a first pick Brainspoil. Nonetheless, I take the Trumpeter and pass the Moroii downstream. I have Dami in Black and Marc in Blue. (Although, you’ll see later that my pick was probably correct. Of course, hindsight is 20/20.)
1:4 — This pack is pretty weak, with only a Stinkweed Imp and a Skyknight Legionnaire as picks. I happily take the Skyknight and pass Stinky over to Dami, who I’m sure now must be in Black. I’m also pretty sure he’ll give me Boros in pack two, since I’m effectively cutting it off.
1:5 — I debate whether to take a Dogpile or a Sell-Sword Brute. Since this is the fifth pick, I know that there probably aren’t any red drafters at the table, since it seems a bit odd that I keep getting such good red. I note Green is very dry at this point. I take the Dogpile.
1:6 — The last pick before I see what came out of my first pick pack, I snatch a sixth-pick Galvanic Arc over a Last Gasp. This seems completely ridiculous at this point. The pack also has a Golgari Rotwurm and a Drooling Groodion, so I can’t imagine anyone upstream from me is drafting Golgari. I make a mental note that Dan must be drafting Selesnya, because there is no way he would pass me such ridiculous cards if he was in any other guild. Only Drew and Frank remain an enigma in my mind. My current speculation is that Drew is drafting G/w/b and Frank is in R/u/w, with Marc in Dimir and Dami in Golgari.
1:7 — It looks as though my original pack made the rounds, but nothing but a Screeching Griffin left. The giant 9/14 Wurm is still there.
1:8 — Nothing left for me, but it appears that the Consult the Necrosages I thought Marc take has tabled. There’s nothing better to take, so I nab it. I begin to wonder if Marc is in Dimir or not.
1:9 — Clinging Darkness is the only sensible pick left, since there are no White or Red cards left in the pack. The lack of White doesn’t surprise me. Dan and Drew are probably eating it all up as part of Selesnya. The lack of Red does surprise me. I suspect Mark may have charged ahead with a Boros plan even though I’ve cut it hard. If Mark is in Boros and Frank is set on U/R, it’s possible I might need to change directions. Remember — I do have a fourth pack to fill in my mistakes in this draft.
1:10 — A tenth-pick Fiery Conclusion makes me wonder what I was thinking last pack.
The remainder of the first set of packs sees me nab a Leave No Trace and a Smash for my sideboard, plus a thirteenth pick War-Torch Goblin. It seems like green doesn’t even exist in the last five picks, so I’m pretty sure that Dan and Drew are both in the color. The next pack is passing left. I expect Dami to feed me some good Boros, unless Marc is also in that color.
2:1 — You should hope that you never open a pack like this, because you know if you do that you’re going to really screw up your draft. The pack I open is utterly ridiculous — Brightflame, Boros Guildmage, and Fiery Conclusion all stare me in the face, along with a foil Shambling Shell, Siege Wurm, and Last Gasp. I debate long and hard but go with my instinct and take the Brightflame, hoping that the Guildmage will table. I’m pretty sure that Dan will take the Wurm (he’s not experienced enough to feel comfortable making a splash), Drew will take the Gasp, and leaving Frank to take the Guildmage.
2:2 — There’s an uncommon missing, but an Ursapine is staring me in the face. WTF?!? The only plausible explanation I can think of is that Dami took a Putrefy, unless he switched to Dimir. There is a Galvanic Arc and a Rally the Righteous in the pack, so I take the Arc and give Dan a birthday gift.
2:3 — This is an awful pack (the rare and a common are gone) and there’s only one intelligible pick: my third Galvanic Arc. It’s possible that Marc is not in red, unless the rare was a bomb Red card.
2:4 — Finally, I see some white. I take a Veteran Armorer out of an otherwise mediocre pack. I further wonder if Marc is in Boros now, since I assume he would have most likely taken the Armorer over anything else. It probably would have been some of the first white he would have seen unless he was the one who was cutting it. That thought that finally popped into my head. Perhaps he was the other Boros drafter at the table? I felt confident about my assessment of Dan and Drew, but was clueless on Frank and Marc.
2:5 — I begrudgingly pick a Thundersong Trumpeter over a Hammerfist Giant. By now, I was looking to build an aggressive deck and I didn’t think the Giant was worth my time. I’m not sure that was the right pick, but the Trumpeter is better with Agrus, and I really wanted some more for creature control. I pray the Giant tables, but I doubt it will.
2:6 — As I hover over the last pack before I get my original pack back, I notice it still has a Woodwraith Corrupter in it. I take a Terrarion, but wonder what both Drew and Dami (if he was still in Golgari) would have taken over this.
2:7 — I realize that this is the first Sabertooth Alleycat I’ve considered drafting. Why haven’t I seen any of them yet? Yes, I know this is from my first pack, but there was a Brightflame in that pack, for heaven’s sake. I wasn’t looking at the damn cat. I take it and wonder if they’re being eaten up elsewhere.
2:8 — I take a Rally the Righteous over Dogpile, Ordruun Commando, and a Viashino Slasher. Perhaps red is under drafted?
2:9 – Oathsworn Giant? Huh? I take it and don’t complain. I have barely seen any white and this guy comes along? By now, Dan or Drew should have drafted this guy long ago simply because of his synergy with Convoke. I take it so that neither of them can.
2:10 — I take another Alleycat over Viashino Slasher and — WTF? — Greater Forgeling. I would have taken the Forgeling, but my curve was already kind of high. I should have taken it in hindsight. It would have been ridiculous with my three Galvanic Arcs.
The round finishes out with free flowing Red, allowing me to grab a 12th-pick Fiery Conclusion. I guess I’m in the right colors after all. We open the third pack which is going back to the right. Hopefully, Dan and Drew will both feed me well since I cut them out of Red.
3:1 — Dilemma Time: You’re playing with friends, there’s nothing on the line, and the owner of the house insists that you keep what you draft. I’m there to draft well and play a good competitive game. In mass suckitude, I open a pack with Grave-Shell Scarab, Sunhome Enforcer, Skyknight Legionnaire and Fiery Conclusion. I reluctantly take the Enforcer, feeling somehow morally obligated to improve my draft skills. What would you have done? Would you have rare drafted the Scarab? Dami was certainly happy, and it’s not like he had to give it back to me. (He wouldn’t, just for the record.) Let me know your thoughts in the forums.
3:2 — I take Boros Signet over garbage, with the rare gone from the pack. End of story. Dami is gloating how perfect his draft is going. Well, at least I know he’s drafting Golgari. This makes me wonder if Marc is actually U/R — I’m still not sure, since Frank is an esoteric mystery.
3:3 — Nothing. At. All. I hate an Elves of Deep Shadow, just because Dami’s gloating is pissing me off.
3:4 — Frank’s pack makes it to me with a Boros Swiftblade still inside. I know that Dan and Drew certainly wouldn’t have taken it, so for the first time I know that Frank isn’t in Boros. It makes sense — Dan and Drew were cutting white in the last round, so Frank is probably in U/r or U/b, or U/r/b. If that was the case, than it had to be Marc that was also in Boros, since there was no way Frank and Marc would fight over blue. Interesting.
3:5 — Sure enough, Marc’s original pack has no good red in it. That means he and Frank are probably the other red drafters, although Frank could possibly not be in red at all, considering how free-flowing it was last round. I do, however, manage to lucksack a Conclave Equenaut through Dan.
3:6 — Dami’s original pack provides me with an Excruciator for my binder. Hey, it was better than hating Thoughtpicker Witch or Caregiver.
3:7 — Woot! A second Equenaut! Yee-haw back and into my stack.
3:8 — I get a late War-Torch Goblin. I also now realize that I haven’t seen a single Boros Recruit anywhere. It can’t be Frank taking them, because he would have drafted the Swiftblade, so I finally nail down Marc in R/W. This leaves Frank has to be the only Dimir drafter at the table. This makes sense to me, so I go with that assumption.
3:9 — Viashino Slasher.
3:10 — Wojek Embermage. After this pick I knew there was no way Frank, Drew, or Dan to my left were in red at all.
The pack finishes out with nothing of note but a single Rain of Embers, which will be useful in the board.
Although at this point my deck would be pretty good, I knew we had another pack to draft. Nothing is a real priority, so I plan to pluck only what I need and hate the rest.
4:1 — My first pick is a Viashino Fangtail, something I really could use. The rest is trivial – I think the rare was Grozoth.
4:2 — I hate Moroii. I could use it for my binder anyway.
4:3 — Wojek Siren seems like a nice pick for my stack, since I’m low on combat tricks.
4:4 — I “hate” draft a Selesnya Guildmage from going into Dan’s pocket, but I fully intend on playing it myself as an efficient White weenie.
4:5 — I grab a third Trumpeter for my sdeck, which is a relief since I’m sure that Marc had oodles of them by now.
4:6 — I get Leave No Trace over Dizzy Spell and foil Dizzy Spell. Whoopty-Doo. It’s actually probably a good idea that I have two Leave No Trace, since I saw no Faith’s Fetters and assumed that they were all being devoured by the other white drafters.
4:7 — I raredraft Empty the Catacombs. Hey, I paid for four rares, I might as well get them. It’s not like there was anything else in this pack of value.
4:8 — Finally, another Veteran Armorer. I needed them to defend my Trumpeteers’ meager toughness.
4:9 — I hate out Consult the Necrosages. I could have taken another Dogpile, but I have one of them already, to go along with two Fiery Conclusions, and three Galvanic Arcs. Perhaps I should have taken the Dogpile to keep it away from Marc, but I’m fairly sure he wouldn’t play it even if he had picks it.
4:10 — Grifter Blade! Wow, what a nice late pick. Into my pile it went, and I happily pass the rest of the pack onwards.
In the last five picks I grab Selesnya Signet, another Alleycat, and Stoneshaker Shaman.
This article is a good exercise in learning to read your fellow drafters. I was spot on about the two drafters on directly next to me – Dami had G/B and Dan ended up with G/W. Drew was G/b/w/u, so I was pretty close when assessing him. Frank did end up playing straight U/B, even though he had grabbed a bit of early red. Marc was also in Boros, just like myself.
Marc took a first pack one first pick Sunforger; and peeled a Sacred Foundry as a first pick in pack two. He had something like four Boros Recruits, three Trumpeters and three Armorers, two Fangtails, two Faith’s Fetters, a Lightning Helix, and the Boros Guildmage and Hammerfist Giant that never came back around the table to me. He had also managed to get two Skyknights.
Tomorrow, I’ll go through the deck building process and the games played in this draft. They turned out to be very interesting, so check in tomorrow.
Cheers!
-Nathan J