Be Boring: A Guide to Building Better Draft Decks (Crimson Vow Update)

Limited at my LGS Limited against LSV The Curve Curving Out with Commons CABS (Cards that Affect the Board State) Conditional Spells Filling Deck Roles The Martin Juza Rule Splashing – The Rule of Three Draft Mana Base Play 40 Cards Bending or Breaking the Rules Playskill Be Boring 1. Limited at my LGS Friday

An Uncommon Approach: “Boring” Deckbuilding’s Impact on Gameplay (Rareless Drafts 4-6)

An Uncommon Approach was conceptualized as a way to highlight the fundamentals discussed in “Be Boring: A Guide to Building Better Draft Decks” by climbing the Arena ladder without rares or mythics. The first three drafts confirmed what others already knew (Silverquill aggro is really good) and saw this author navigate a draft pretty horrendously

An Uncommon Approach: Rareless Drafting Strixhaven Drafts 2 & 3

We could’ve had fun. We could’ve drafted good cards. This series could’ve been called “Reaping Rewards: Identifying the Open Draft Color” but noooooooo stupid Schaab wanted to do stupid Rareless Drafting. Who even wants to play multiple Dragonsguard Elites when you could have two Hunt for Specimens? Ok so we passed some real bangers in

Historic Mardu Magda: Beating Turn 2 Ugin and Other Info

My cold, calculating drafter’s heart has very few soft spots for 60 card decks. This Historic Magda list posted by Raph Levy, however, looked similar to Mardu Vehicles – the lone Standard deck I piloted during my brief stint as a tournament grinder in Southern Maine a few years back. Hello, heartstrings. Didn’t realize you

Be Boring: A Guide to Building Better Draft Decks

Limited at my LGS Limited against LSV The Curve Curving Out with Commons CABS (Cards that Affect the Board Strategy) Conditional Spells Filling Deck Roles The Martin Juza Rule Splashing – The Rule of Three Draft Mana Base Play 40 Cards Bending or Breaking the Rules Playskill Be Boring 1. Limited at my LGS Friday

The Player I Want To Be: May MIQ Tournament Report (Standard)

The Player I Want To Be doesn’t shy away from complicated decks – he embraces them. The Player I Want To Be sees them as opportunities to leverage his play skill against the rest of the field. He’s comfortable in high pressure situations with complex board states because he’s used to playing in high stakes

Theorycrafting Draft Decks: Xenan Mandrakes

When Empire of Glass falls and fades from memory, as all Empires do, this author will lament the parts of the kingdom that went unexplored: the bogs, swamps, and thickets where Mandrakes reside. Mandrake decks have occupied a space in the back of my brain from the format’s outset. The draft community collectively recognized the

Almost, Paradise Druid: A Drafter’s Historic Mythic Qualifier

Live drafting with seven other people while lounging in pajamas is a joy, and I was an elated individual the month after I downloaded Arena. Ecstatic though I was, there was a fair amount of learning that accompanied my revelry: User Interface, new format (Kaldheim), and shaking off the rust of not playing Magic for

How to Lose Arena Cube: A Retrospective Guide

Step 1: Don’t do any research before drafting. Just dive right in! Step 2: Ignore the aggro decks. Step 3: Draft “Spell Pierce” like you’re playing Legacy cube. By engaging with this article, you’re already violating Step 1 on your way to winning more games of Arena Cube. Personally, learning a new Draft set is

Chasing Whales: Limited Level-Ups from Kaladesh (2016)

No Easy Answers Luis-Scott Vargas (LSV) and Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa (PVDDR) are inarguably two of the most successful Magic players of all time. As Hall of Famers and mainstays in competitive Magic for decades, it’s safe to say that their player experiences have many parallels: they’ve drafted the same sets, played the same