Drafting with Kai: Adventures with Asian Ringer

This is going to be a theory piece rather than a recap of a particular draft. I will highlight a few drafts I've done where perhaps no one else would've made the same picks. Rather than spoiling the results of those drafts I will simply go through my reasoning and let you judge for yourselves. Enjoy!




So as most of you know, I usually draft pretty wild decks. This is more a product of environment, though certainly a bit of play preference enters into the process as well. The majority of my drafting is done at team drafts or online, where it mostly serves as entertainment rather than as a way to seriously grind tix/packs. I do well enough on a regular basis that there's no pressure to win more. So, generally drafting in a low pressure environment where I don't feel significantly outskilled by my draftmates naturally lends itself to some experimentation.

Pick Orders.
I don't actually believe in them. While there are obviously powerful non-rare cards like Vampire Nighthawk or Fireball from recent memory, following pick orders won't get you very far. Drafting is a very dynamic activity, as you never draft in a vacuum. For example, at GYGO blue is usually very underdrafted and as such even in formats like ZZZ where blue was a weaker color you would almost be guaranteed a sick deck if you stuck to the colors. Similarly, online there was a tendency to avoid green in ZZZ and Matt can tell you how capitalizing on that could pay off.

As a followup, yes, I have taken Umara Raptor over Vampire Nighthawk P1P1 on occasion. And yes, I intended to win those drafts. While it is probable that no player you respect would tell you that was the correct pick, I actually think it's fine. The majority of the time I encounter Nighthawk vs good common I will take Nighthawk. As a result, I will be able to play with Nighthawk enough times that I can gauge its power level accurately and easily since I draft often. When I take the Raptor in this scenario, it's not because I think it is the better card (spoiler, I don't), but rather I want to see the effect of forcing a strategy, be it allies, or just forcing blue, and seeing how it influences the draft. Additionally, I usually draft competently enough and based on the power level of the 1BB powerhouse it is likely I will end up playing against it. This allows me to further weigh the risks and rewards of such a pick and store that information for later use.

Sticking to the Colors.
Early on in the draft (anytime before P1P8) I am liable to be all over the place in terms of the colors of cards I've picked. As once mentioned by Kurtis, you only ever play with half the cards you draft. This leaves a lot of room to pick up cards for their potential and end up never playing them and still having a reasonable deck. I will generally take the most powerful card regardless of color in the first 4-5 picks. Between pick 6-8 if presented with 2 or more cards of similar power level I will take the one that's in the more open color. For example p6 Daggerback Basilisk + Kozilek's Predator vs Emerakul's Hatcher + Goblin Arsonist would go to the Predator by far. I rarely "stick to the colors" before the wheel though am more than willing to if I open a color intensive bomb like Gideon or Drana that will singlehandedly win the game. But as those occasions are few and far in between, I tend to have a pretty interesting pile if you've ever stopped me at p1p4.

Once the wheel has come and I've determined what colors are more open, I usually have a plan in mind and will stick to the colors unless something ridiculous shows up later. Whenever I'm base green I tend to take manafixing over random guys, like taking Growth Spasm over Daggerback Basilisk nearly all the time. Not only does this enable splashing removal like Vendetta or Flame Slash, it also makes it more reasonable to run bombs like Drana as long as you have multiple fixers.


Shipping the Nuts.
Once you're committed to a plan, stick to it. Don't hatedraft unless there is literally nothing for your deck or sideboard available. Hatedrafting math is simple. Only 1/7 players would end up with that card, and they will only draw it 1/2 the time in a given match assuming they see 20 cards before the game ends. This heavily favors never having to face the card or the opponent at all. Taking abstractly stronger cards over archetypal ones is usually wrong, and certainly in formats like RRR that rely on heavy synergy it can be damning. Last night I was in an 8-4 with Jacob and Kurtis, where I passed on p3p4 Beastbreaker of Bala Ged for my 2nd Ondu Giant. I had started the first two packs with All is Dust and Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre respectively, so was focused on the ramp plan. While Beastbreaker is a premier threat, it simply wasn't what my deck was interested in doing. The ramp and fixing was much more valuable as I was guaranteed to have the strongest lategame available and all I needed to do was get to that lategame. Beastbreaker doesn't accomplish this too well as he is a man that is built for offensive speed and paying 3GG for a 4/4 isn't that good of a deal on defense. While he is capable of winning the game as a turn 3 4/4 attacker, I didn't need him to win the game for me. The 2/4 was the perfect fit for my deck so I took it with no hesitation.

Team Wild.
This is mostly a strategy you should only try at GYGO or prerelease level events. If you're confident that you will be more skillful than most of your opponents, then it can be fine to be a little wild with your drafts. Drafting 3-4 color decks with minimal fixing can be fine if you can outplay/outbuild your opponents to the extent you can buy the time for your mana to come online. As a caveat, this strategy is most likely to succeed if you start out with strong bombs like Sphinx of Jwar Isle or Murasa Pyromancer. Running Jund at FNM drafts with a bunch of random 2/x's instead of Marsh Casualties and Raging Ravine is not recommended. The key to this deck is while you may lack the proper mana to cast your spells at times, it is not necessary that you play all your spells to win. The strategy exists because you have powerful spells that you want to play, or you wouldn't be on team wild. So usually it is good enough to cast 4 of the 7 spells you draw to stabilize or win the game. The Sphinx of Jwar Isle, Murasa Pyromancer, Wolfbriar Elemental, Swamp deck went x-0 that FNM as a result of having support cards like Vapor Snare and Burst Lightning and Inferno Trap that were easy to cast and could buy time to stabilize.

Of course, sometimes you're at a team draft and just have no respect. :) Team Wild is still 7-1 against Team Mild.

Big Crocs, No Blocks.
This is an archetype on to itself. Pure aggression. Regardless of abstract card quality. This is something I turn to if I feel there are no strong signals in particular and no bombs to draw me to any color. Aggression is a powerful tool when used properly as less savvy players will be unable to play around your myriad of tricks correctly. Being the aggro also has the benefit of being able to sneak in damage with bluffs and sometimes blowing out your opponent if they don't know all the tricks in the format. Simply putting the opponent into a defensive mindset can greatly change the pace of the game and buy you more turns to topdeck that last burn spell as they are spending their time playing around the threaten effect you don't have.


Desecrated Earth.
This was my most overdrafted Zendikar common according to WOTC player profile info. I bring this up because I've probably played with the card more often than you readers have ever drafted it. While a lot of the time it makes it into the deck because my draft was a disaster, I often do intentionally take the card as a valid sideboard option. It is strong against control decks as a 2 for 1 that can stall endgame threats or against multicolored decks to screw up their mana. Sometimes you will get into a B/x grind mirror and the ability to take out a land and a spell can be damning. Somewhat often you may simply be outclassed in card quality, and your only hope is to screw your opponent out of mana with multiple Brink of Disaster and Desecrated Earth. This works a lot more than you might assume. Also, serving as outs to Valakut or Emeria are always appreciated for a 14th pick.

The main takeaway from this should be to always have a plan. Know whether you want to force before the draft. Know what you want your deck to be about halfway into pack 1. And know your game plan for each and every game you play. Don't be swayed by conventional card evaluations or think anyone will think you suck for playing Desecrated Earth. You have a plan, and it's up to you to execute it. After all, it's your game to win or lose, so who cares what they think?