Magic: the Gathering

消息

Drafting Dominaria (MTG Arena)

, 更新 , Comment regular icon0 comments

I’m Felipe and I love drafting. Today I’ll try to share my thoughts over the way I make my decisions in a draft. Hope that can help you with some insights and a different perspective. I’m always open to talk over the picks and everything, so please send your comments. This draft was made on MTG Arena, so it is not a real draft, with real players picking on the packs.

Writer image

审核人 Tabata Marques

Edit Article

Link para texto em português: hyperlink


Hello! I’m FelipeSkizzik and I love drafting. Today I’ll try to share my thoughts over the way I make my decisions in a draft. Hope that can help you with some insights and a different perspective. I’m always open to talk over the picks and everything, so please send your comments.


This draft was made on MTG Arena, so it is not a real draft, with real players picking on the packs. Anyway, I will try to pick as if it were a regular draft, and comment accordingly, because I believe it can be more profitable to the reader that way.


Image content of the Website

This is a hard pick, because we have many options with similar power level. Some of them are riskier build-arounds, like Yawgmoth’s Vile Offering or Cold-Water Snapper. Raff Capashen is the best card but is golden. Gideon’s Reproach, Deathbloom Thallid and Krosan Druid are solid playables. The pack is overall weak, and it is possible that any card we pick here won't make the deck anyway, so I’m going to risk more. Raff Capashen


Image content of the Website

Now we have a removal at Deep Freeze, the green spell land Memorial to Unity, Deathbloom Thallid and Soul Salvage. I don’t think staying on color is relevant this early, but it is likely that some of the playables from pack 1 wheel around, so by now I’d prioritize white, blue and black, just by a little, though. Deep Freeze


Image content of the Website

Here I consider picking Shanna, Sorcerer’s Wand, Aven Sentry, Cold-Water Snapper and Windgrace Acolyte. The lack of good red and green cards so far makes me move away from those colors, because I already know we won’t be getting those in picks 9 to 11. That moves Shanna down. The Arcane Flight on pack 1 moves up the Cold-Water Snapper, which is also aligned with Deep Freeze. This is not a good pick, but still looks better than the other options.


Image content of the Website

I like Jousting Lance, Soul Salvage and Baloth Gorger. And I considered picking a Dub to go with the Snapper. But we will play safer and just go with the Jousting Lance because it is a better card overall, and our deck archetype isn’t locked yet.


Image content of the Website

I choose Tolarian Scholar over Sergeant-at-Arms because we have just one white card right now (and still can move off from white), and there was a Sorcerer’s Wand in pack 3.


Image content of the Website

Lots of good picks on this one. Don’t refuse your first Divination though.


Image content of the Website

No blue cards. Solid playables on Dark Bargain, Windgrace Acolyte and Krosan Druid. Now we have to pick a second color (just for a pick, not necessarily commit to it) and it is a good time to think about all of those cards we have not picked from the previous packs, as they’re going to starting wheeling back in just two picks. I believe we’ll get a black card on pick 10, so let’s go black now. Dark Bargain

Image content of the Website

Easy pick on the Arcane Flight for our Snapper. No other playables fighting for our attention here.

Image content of the Website

The wheeled Arcane Flight we expected. There’s still two Snappers out there.

Image content of the Website

A black card as predicted. Soul Salvage


Image content of the Website

No Snapper, but a Sorcerer’s Wand.


Rescue

Skirk Prospector

Tragic Poet


Image content of the Website

It is nice to have picked just one color so far, leaving the second still open, probably to white or black. Let’s check pack 2.


Image content of the Website


A hard pick again. Cast Down is the best here, followed by Raff and Blink of an Eye. And we are going to pick a second white/blue/black card from this pack. Since we haven’t got any historic card to profit from Raff, I’ll just drop him, which takes me off white and more open to black, increasing the value of Cast Down.


Image content of the Website


Adeliz is the best card here, but I don’t think we have the cards to support an UR Wizards right now, so we’ll go with a card that is sure to make the deck. Blink of an Eye


Image content of the Website


Very good cards on green, but not enough for a change. Vicious Offering is on black, which we were already going to.


Image content of the Website


More green cards. I’m not changing yet because picks 9 and 10 won’t have any green. Thallid Omnivore


Image content of the Website


Isn’t it just awesome to find the golden legendary on your color? Except if you are at red-white, of course. Rona


Image content of the Website


Two great blue picks, we could go either way. We don’t have too many playables so far, so we’ll go with Academy Journeymage


Image content of the Website


Pardic Wanderer is historic. And playable.


Image content of the Website


Just another Tolarian Scholar


Image content of the Website


I’d get Divination, but we already have one, and also a Dark Bargain after deciding to go to black. So, let’s pick Windgrace Acolyte


Cold-Water Snapper

Opt

Unwind

Befuddle

Skirk Prospector


After pack 2:


Image content of the Website

Pack 3 now.

Image content of the Website

In Bolas’ Clutches is the correct pick here. But I’ll just rare draft. Lyra Dawnbringer


Image content of the Website

A second chance to pick correctly. In Bolas’ Clutches


Image content of the Website

Eviscerate is great. When there’s no In Bolas’ Clutches, of course.


Image content of the Website

The first syncopate is a good card. But we have sort of 25 playables to choose from, so the spell land goes up in value. Memorial to Folly


Image content of the Website

A Voltaic Servant in case we need to side in a two-drop.


Image content of the Website

Two good choices, a creature - Deathbloom Thallid -  and a removal. We’ll go with the removal because the deck is getting very slow. Deep Freeze


Image content of the Website

A third Cold-Water Snapper probably won’t make the deck, so let’s go with the legendary, because of Rona and maybe Raff. Yargle


Image content of the Website

The blue or the black wizards. They’re both great, and we’ll go with the black one because we’re looking for a grindier game. Caligo Skin-Witch


Navigator’s Compass

Relic Runner

Opt

Tolarian Scholar

Rescue

Feral Abomination


Done drafting, now to deckbuilding. We have 6 removals, 2 draw spells, 2 cantrips, 2 flying turtle combos, the self-mill cat with Rona, Memorial and Salvage, 5 wizards and a Wand, and a Lyra. We can’t fit everything in a 40-card deck though, so we have to choose and take out some cards. We cut one Arcane Flight because the floor on the Snapper is a 4/5 hexproof, while the Flight is really bad without its turtle. We also cut some creatures, it shouldn’t be a problem with that much removal. Making the game longer should be better, since our plan is to finish with a big bomb like Lyra, Snapper or Clutches. It is important to keep the value cards like Rona and Salvage to get back those game-winning cards.

Lyra is very risky splash here, making the mana base compromised. We’ll take the risk and see how this plays out. We probably gonna win the games we don’t get run over. Decklist:


Image content of the Website

GAME 1

Image content of the Website

Great play here with the Caligo Skin-Witch discarding their last two cards. Discarded an In Bolas’ Clutches. Stall and just use that wand over and over until they’re dead. 1-0



GAME 2

Image content of the Website

One of the few cases where it is good to cast a Caligo Skin-Which without kicker is when we don't have other early plays and need to hold an attacker until we can get back in the game. With removal to hold off the early game and draw spells to gain value it is natural to get a lot of card advantage, as we can see in the number of relevant cards in hand. 2-0


GAME 3

Image content of the Website

That’s why you don’t splash spells that cost two colored mana. 3-0


GAME 4

Image content of the Website

71% chance to get the third land for Divination. Missed it. 3-1


GAME 5

Image content of the Website

Grinding until eventually Lyra takes the game. Here I made a mistake, should have enchanted the Snapper to win the game. Don’t give your opponents an extra turn. 4-1


GAME 6

Image content of the Website

Go Flying Turtle Go! 5-1


GAME 7

Image content of the Website

Another tricky keep.I got the land, but the clock was too fast. 5-2


GAME 8

Image content of the Website

Stealing a Helm of the Host precombat is just mean… 6-2


GAME 9

Image content of the Website

Just a little flood. Final result 6-3

Wrapping up, I think taking out the second Opt was a mistake, specially when trying to force three colors. Lyra wasn’t any better than a flying turtle anyway. Not worth it. Maybe taking out the Dark Bargain for a third Tolarian Scholar could be better against aggro, but I’m not really sure.

Keeping track of those games made me come to think that maybe I should mulligan more.



What do you think? Would change any picks? Let’s hear your thoughts!

Ad