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Weak! They’re All So Weak!

Sometimes you have one of those drafts where the packs all seem weak. How do you stop it from turning into a trainwreck? Ryan Saxe has three picks showing you how to make the best of it in Core Set 2020 Draft.

Pack 1, Pick 1

The Pack:

The Pick:

Rugged Highlands isn’t really in the discussion, but I want to mention it given where these lands have previously been in pick orders. In Khans of Tarkir, there was even a strategy where you take the lands very highly and move into a multicolor morph strategy. There was a lot more nuance to this, but my point is that many players can reminisce about that fantastic format and feel as though picking a land this early is a good idea, especially because this pack looks mediocre. I don’t believe that is a viable strategy in this core set.

I love myself one-mana creatures, but Loyal Pegasus isn’t as great as it looks. The fact that it needs a friend to both block and attack gives your opponent too much agency. It’s fine and I’ll play it, but I don’t want to first-pick it. I would much rather start off a draft with Angel of Vitality as a solid Wind Drake variant with synergy to play to.

Ferocious Pup is much better than I initially thought. The synergy in the Sultai wedge can recycle the body to continue to produce value. And even in Selesnya, the two bodies matter quite a bit given the Inspired Charge strategy. However, I actually think Pulse of Murasa is the better green card. This card is always so underrated. Six life is a lot. And there are even loops with the card in this format thanks to Scholar of the Ages (and that card is going later than it should currently because the format is slower than expected).

The only solid options are Angel of Vitality and Pulse of Murasa. I’m not excited about either of them but would rather start my draft with Pulse of Murasa, as I have not found the lifegain synergies to come together all that often.

Pack 1, Pick 3

The Picks So Far:

The Pack:

The Pick:

Orzhov is not an archetype I have seen much success with, and Pulse of Murasa isn’t fantastic in Selesnya. This means that both Corpse Knight and Raise the Alarm aren’t fantastic to follow up my previous picks. This doesn’t remove them from contention, as it’s important to stay open, but it’s an important note.

Sedge Scorpion and Bone Splinters are not cards that I want to take so early. They’re both fine playables, but not cards I’m looking to pick up in multiples. For the same reason you don’t want to draft expensive creatures early, these aren’t cards I like to prioritize.

So with nothing exciting to draft, what do you do? I think the correct approach is to take the card with the highest upside. Given that I believe the successful white strategies revolve around tokens, I am going to take Raise the Alarm. It’s not an exciting pick, but it has the highest upside.

Pack 1, Pick 5

The Picks So Far:

The Pack:

The Pick:

This draft could go a variety of ways, but black is looking to be the most likely color. And this pack presents multiple good options for this path. Even Undead Servant is an option. It’s not a card I usually would go to this early, however note that the two packs above in this article also had Undead Servant, and those could wheel.

I believe this pick is between Audacious Thief and Temple of Malady. Servant and Vengeful Warchief are both a bit too clunky for my taste. They’re fine Magic cards, but ideally I’m wheeling cards that I deem “just fine.” Audacious Thief is the rare case of a common creature that can completely run away with the game, but it does require a good removal package to back it up. I could see my inclination as a mistake here, but my gut says to take Temple of Malady. I’m likely to want to splash Pulse of Murasa or Disfigure regardless of the way I take this draft. The scry is valuable and fixing is important in a slower format where splashing is encouraged.

It’s possible Audacious Thief is much better than I’m giving it credit for, but for now I believe the land is the correct pick.