In Magic: The Gathering, the player picks cards from packs to build decks and play.The player opens the first pack.The player sitting next to them picks a single card from the pack they opened.The next pack will be opened after every card is picked.Once players assemble card pools from the packs that are being passed around, everyone assembles a deck consisting of at least 40 cards.Drafting is a format that is popular among all kinds of Magic players, from the occasional players who only play casually to the serious player who enjoys the format for its depth and challenge.
Step 1: There is a full set online.
If you know what set of MtG you will be drafting, take a look at the cards on a site like Mythicspoiler.com, which has Magic cards archived by set.This screen shows Shadows over Innistrad, which will be used as an example in this guide.You can view the set in its entirety and read the cards and their effects, as well as look for bombs or threats that can win games.
Step 2: There are supported color combinations.
When you first look at the set, you should identify the color combinations that are supported by the cards.Magic has 5 different colors of mana, white, blue, black, red, and green, which are used to cast different colored cards.In a drafting environment, players will not be able to get enough cards in a single color.It's important to know what colors work well together in the set in a draft deck.There are two ways to identify what colors are in a set: non-basic land cards and gold.There is a gold card with the words Mobilized for War and Foreboding Ruins on it.You can see from the information on the cards that red and black are supported colors in SOI, since there is a land that can produce both of those colors.
Step 3: Archetypes can be identified.
You can expand into the Archetype of the set once you identify your color pair.Archetypes are important because they are designed to have synergy.The deck becomes more powerful when 2 cards with synergy are put together.If you read more into Mobilized for War, you will see that she is a vampire and has a mechanic that allows you to discard cards.There are other vampire, as well as a mechanic called madness, in the black and red cards.When you discard the card, Madness allows you to cast spells for cheaper or with an extra effect.Call the Bloodline is an enchantment that allows madness as well as create more vampire, while lightning axe provides cheap removal on top of allowing you to discard cards.The Red/Black madness vampire has been identified by these cards.There are multiple Archetypes in each of the different colors.Since drafting packs has a high level of randomness, it's a good idea to take a look at a few Archetypes, in case you never see any of the cards you planned on using for your original plan.
Step 4: Balance should be considered.
You have to consider deck composition once you identify your archetype.Every functional deck needs to follow 5 basic principles to succeed on a fundamental level.The Foreboding Ruins, as well as other lands, are referred to as a "mana base".If you pick these up, you will be able to cast the spells you want.The mann curve is when you pick up cards that are costed differently.You can potentially drop spells on every turn with this.It's also known as curving out.Creatures are the most important card types.These cards are the ones that will allow you to win and protect your life total.Building a good draft deck involves picking up efficient creatures at different costs.There are cards that can remove your opponent's creatures.Being unable to deal with your opponents' big creatures can result in a loss if you don't remove them.Creatures are removed in different ways by different colors.In your Lightning Axe card from earlier, red uses damage to kill creatures.There are ways to draw cards.You can keep casting spells if you have access to more cards.It's difficult to keep up with your opponents moves once you run out of cards, so keeping hand count up is important.Now that you know what card you need, look at the set and try to find cards that fulfill your needs as well as fit into your archetype.The Corrupted Grafstone works well with discard cards.Insolent Neonate and Asylum Visitor are vampire creatures that can be dropped early and then curve intoOlivia on turn 3 in an ideal situation.Tomented Voice is an excellent card that fills the dual purpose of refilling your hand and also allowing you to discard for madness.
Step 5: Consider the deck's composition.
Composition is an important factor in deck building.In general draft decks are made from a minimum of 40 cards and are comprised of: 15-17 Creatures 6-9 Non-creature spells: sorceries, instants, enchantments and artifacts Lands
Step 6: There are pass packs.
Picking and passing are the mechanics of drafting.The players will pick one card from each pack.The process for passing packs is to pass to the left for pack 1 and the right for packs 2 and 3.
Step 7: Evaluate the cards you have.
There is a chance for an extra foil card in every pack of magic cards.The first card you want to consider is rare.There are less of the rare level cards in the draft since there is only 1 per pack.When the rare only works in very specific situations or niche decks, you will want to switch to another pick.Power and Versatility are two factors to consider when evaluating cards.Some cards are so powerful that you need to have other cards or build your deck in a certain way in order to function.Other cards can function in a variety of situations, but they don't have as much power.A good test of strength is seeing how strong you are.The creatures that pass the test have the same strength and power as their cost.synergy with your previous picks is another thing to consider.It's possible to take picks with high raw power early in order to keep your deck balanced.
Step 8: Pack 1, pick 1.
The stage for the entire deck can be set by the first pack in the draft.In this pack, you are lucky to have pulled 2 rares because your pack contained a foil rare.Sorin is an extremely powerful pick from this set.On the left, you have an excellent rare in the draft, and a core function that every deck needs, which is card advantage.Sorin is a winner in terms of power when compared to the other.Taking Sorin here will influence you into taking black and white cards to build around him, where as the journal allows you to go in any direction you want based on the next few picks.
Step 9: You should build your curve.
Sorin is your first pick.You have to find picks that will allow you to survive the early game and play your Sorin later.You don't want to get too many high cost spells, because you will be unable to play any of your expensive cards.If you want to play your bomb, you need some plays in the early turns, and your opponents don't form an insurmountable lead before you can.
Step 10: Look at signals.
Now that you know your game plan, what are the other players doing?Paying attention to what kind of cards are being passed to you can answer this question.Can you tell me if there is a good rare in a certain color?Chances are the players on the side are not building those colors.What is missing from the pack?If you don't see any red or black cards, chances are there is a lot of competition around the table.Identifying what your opponents are doing will allow you to pick up more pieces of the deck and build a deck that has more synergy.
Step 11: You can change your colors or splash them.
You have to change your plans completely when you abandon your first pick.You were lucky with the rares you opened, but this might not be the case.Instead of opening the game-winning bomb in your first pick, maybe you should open it in the second pack.It might be worth it to abandon some of your earlier picks than to pass along a strong card just because it didn't fit into your original plan.Splashing is not as extreme as you might think.Sorin pack 1 is the one you picked to build our R/B madness vampire.The deck you are trying to build is black and red.Due to Sorin's high power, you want to run him in your deck.Splashing means running Sorin in our Red/Black deck with a couple white sources in order to accommodate him.One of the dual lands allows you to cast Sorin in one of your main colors as well as providing a white source to do so.
Step 12: There are holes in your deck.
Look at the cards you have accumulated as you enter the final stages of the draft.Do you remember when you were thinking about balancing a deck and deck composition?How is your curve looking?What are the counts for your spells?Do you know how to make your deck function?What are the cards you've already picked?Take the answers to the question and fill in the holes in your deck.
Step 13: There was a counter draft.
When you get passed by a pack that has no good choices for you, there are times.Information on what your opponents are doing can be used in this situation.You can take cards that your opponents might need so you don't have to deal with them.
Step 14: Go out the curve.
It's time to put your deck together after you drafted your pool.The first thing you want to do is organize, so take all your picks and layout your curve.Laying out your curve is how to sort your cards.There are 1-mana cards together.Determine how many cards you have by laying out your curve.You will have to make some cuts to get your deck down to size.
Step 15: Make some cuts.
A few criteria are used to make cuts.Power is first and foremost.Some cards are more powerful than others, and need a spot in a deck.With cards on either extreme of the power spectrum, you can easily decide what you want to keep and what to cut.Power alone isn't enough to make all the cuts you need.Try to make your deck conform to your ideal curve.A deck's curve should be similar to a bell curve, with low counts of cards that are expensive or cheap, and higher quantities in the mid range.It is finally redundant.This is where you will make your final cuts if you have multiple cards that fulfill the same purpose within the deck.
Step 16: The base of the game needs to be built.
It's time to fill your land slots once you have your cuts.You have to count up your cards of different colors.You should match the basic lands to the colors you are running.If you are playing 16 red cards and 8 black cards, your base should be around 10 mountains and 6 swamps.You should replace the higher count lands with your dual lands if you want to use any lands that produce multiple colors.