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When a card exists that a five-year-old kid could use to win a Limited tournament full of pros with, and that card isn’t even a rare, you know we’ve got problems on our hands… And this single uncommon is better than every single rare in the set. Glissa Sunseeker? Molder Slug? Oblivion Stone? Megatog? It’s no contest… And if you don’t think that this is the best card, then you’re not playing it right.

Don’t feel bad, though. A lot of people aren’t.

In a previous article, I discussed the basics of building Mirrodin Sealed. This time, I would like to go one step further, into the realm of those rules we need to modify to fit the Mirrodin format. I’d like to talk about using synergy to build your Sealed deck, and walk you through two sample Sealed decks to show you how you can narrow down your options quickly when you’re dealing with forty playables.

When people evaluate cards for drafting Mirrodin, they often go astray because they consider the best possible scenario. Broodstar is a prime example of this phenomenon. It is not a 10/10 for two mana; it is not an automatic first pick. It is more likely a 4/4 flier for six mana, even in an artifact heavy deck. Sometimes you’ll scowl at your board of an artifact land and a Yotian Soldier as you play your splashy 2/2 flier; other times you’ll Lightning Greaves up a 14/14 and smash for the win on the sixth turn. Like the Archmage, its usefulness hinges on the number of artifacts at your disposal, so draft accordingly. If you’re Blue, you’ll probably want to snag it.

I asked my friend Tom Kelleher, who has so much confidence that we call it”Tomfidence” whether when he goes to a PTQ, he expects to Top 8. He said,”Of course, since I expect to win, I would necessarily have to Top 8 first.” And, not infrequently, he does. Three times, on the way to Maryland PTQs, Tom has stated that”since he was winning today, the rest of you must be along for the ride. Though I appreciate the company.” Twice, he won. So what effect does this ridiculous confidence have on your game, and how can you develop it?

Hi.
My name is Joe Gagliardi and I probably draft more than you. That’s really all I can say that is not misleading in any way about myself. I mean, sure, I had a money finish at a Team Pro Tour (Boston 2003), but I’ve really done nothing special in my years of gaming. However, I play Magic an awful lot, and I think I have a strong grasp on Mirrodin Drafting.

So what am I here to do? Hopefully after reading this, you’ll understand a bit more about the different archetypes in Mirrodin Draft, what cards are better in which archetypes, and why. Plus, I enjoy feedback and discussion, and I hope to inspire some of each. Today I’ll start with what can be a very tricky, but powerful archetype: R/W.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted to get the behind the scenes of what happens before a Pro Tour and examine the contributing factors to both team and player success. Since I knew I was going to attend New Orleans well ahead of time, I figured I’d start chatting with various pros in the month leading up to the tournament, in order to see how their testing was progressing. I wanted to find out what decks they thought looked good (or bad) ahead of time, examine their predicted metagame, then look at what they ended up playing, and analyze what went right or wrong and contributed most strongly to their success.

Ken has bestowed upon me the honor of being the newest debater in the Dilemma series. I now have the ability to rip apart his draft pick orders in the public eye. Normally, I save this sort of thing for my friends and close companions, but I suppose the world should be granted this wonderful opportunity as well…. And I was shocked when I heard Ken’s original pick order of Leonin Den-Guard, Skyhunter Cub, and Arrest. I immediately proposed Arrest, Cub, Den-Guard if forced to choose only among those three – but I think that the Skyhunter Patrol is also better than the Den-Guard.

Mike is going to try and tell you about how great the Cub is. He is right – the Cub is fantastic, but the Guard edges it out in my mind for several reasons. If you are drafting these cards, you are hoping for the nuts Bonesplitter draw. In the nuts Bonesplitter draw Den-Guard is simply better. It is the same clock, only it gives you a 4/4 blocker while you are attacking for four. Not tapping to attack has been an underrated ability for years now. It is a form of implied card advantage, since in essence you get to use the same card twice.

As many of you no doubt know, as both editor and webmaster I’ve been nearly overwhelmed by workload, working regular sixty-hour weeks in an attempt to keep up with the flow of articles and technical issues. Thankfully, Pete decided to hire an extra person for the job as managing editor in order to handle the day-to-day articles while I took on more wide-scale tasks. And that managing editor is….

My first two Mirrodin drafts took place at the top table after going 7-1 on Day One at Grand Prix: Kansas City. I made a lot of mistakes in those drafts, but I also learned a lot in the process. I just scratched my way up the steep part of the learning curve, so the path is still fresh in my mind. Those of you who are more advanced will be able to get a little out of this article – but it’s really intended for the players who are still trying to figure this draft format out.