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Do you want to try something different?

Then this is for you!

Too often I have seen people going into a draft and not having any focus as to what they are going to do.

Throughout the draft they have agonising decisions over which card to pick and often use up their full allotment of time. The deck they end up with may be two colours or five, but has both strong tempo cards and strong control cards. They try building their deck and have too much removal or equipment, or very few creatures below three casting cost, or lots of cards that cost five or more, and one or two bombs.

They lose a game to a deck when they lose tempo, after laying a good creature early with nothing to back it up until turn five. Another game they win with their bomb (e.g. Bosh). In the third game, their opponent plays a creature on turn two and three, removes their first creature then casts Blinding Beam/Neurok Spy and wins the game.

They got lucky to curve out like that? Or did they just draft focused, with a strategy.

A friend of mine, (yes!, really it's not me) employs an interesting draft strategy which has always done him well, never worse than 2-1 at a FNM.

From the beginning to end of each block he employs the same strategy no matter what!!!!!

Usually this type of inflexible drafting backfires (i.e. always drafting W/R, neighbours drafting same colours) but his draft theory is flexible.

Have you ever had a situation near the start of a pack (1-5 picks in) where you have the choice between a good removal spell and a good creature? What do you pick? The removal?

He always picks the creature.....always!

The reasons are:

1. Creatures are better than removal. A tier one creature is always better than a one-for-one removal spell.
2. Most people pick the shatter, Electrostatic Bolt/other one-for-one removal very early in the pack, often ignoring the tier one creatures (Fangren Hunter, Skyhunter Patrol, etc). Instead you take the creature every time, to gather yourself, say, four tier one creatures to their two removal and two creatures.
3. Pick removal only when there is no tier one creature for your deck in the pack. This will occur, but do not chicken out and go for removal against your creature wish.
4. Focus on curve, and good tempo, not control. Again, evasion or trample are key (this part is a well known strategy, you say.....nothing new, resist the temptation to pick more than three spells above 5 mana!!!!, Bringer's, Reiver Demon and Bosh are not good in a tempo deck!!!).

So, while everyone is picking up their Electrostatic Bolts and Arrests, Echoing Truth and Echoing Decay, you are picking Skyhunter Patrol, Fangren Hunter, Neurok Prodigy and Grimclaw Bats.

The essence of the strategy is that most removal spells are one-for-one, and furthermore are limited in scope (eg. only creature removal, or only artifact removal). They are inherently defensive, letting you 'deal' as opposed to attack. The aim is to drop too many quality creatures so that this 'dealing' strategy is too slow. Removal spells are reactive, this strategy is 'pro-active'. Each one-for-one removal spell will only end up being a trade, a speed hump, and will not net the opponent any advantage, while netting you tempo advantage. Often the removal will lie in wait for an artifact, or a non-black creature, and this time must be used to maximum effect, with a seemingly endless supply of quality creatures.

An example to summarise: Often he will end up with only 3-4 removal during each draft, but 20 or more playable, and quality, creatures. Last draft saw him getting two Stasis Cocoons and a Relic Barrier as his 'removal'. His three Skyhunter Patrols took him to victory most games.

The theory/tactic has other implications for drafting:

1. People on his left and to a lesser extent on his right get fewer playable, tier one, creatures in their colours if he is drafting that colour.
2. People get confusing signals both to his left and right, making their colour choices harder and consequently passing him better cards in his colour late in the draft while they scramble to pick up creatures.
3. Any equipment he plays will have more targets.
4. He'll win most games when an opponent draws little of either removal or creatures, because of his higher quality of creatures. On average people will draw fewer creatures than him, but more removal. If the removal they draw doesn't deal with the problem creature/s on his side of the board he will win. The effect of playing more/better creatures makes the application of tempo more effective, with higher numbers of creatures, with or without evasion, to force through the final points of damage.
5. He is less likely to run out of threats.
6. He is likely to have more evasion threats.

However, there are weaknesses and alternatives:

1. Single power cards can cause a problem. A Molder Slug can be difficult to race, although is usually no problem, however a tier 1 creature with powerful equipment (such as a Spikeshot Goblin or Skyhunter Cub) can make it a real race, with much less certainty in the result. A Loxodon Warhammer can always be a threat, as is mass removal.

Which leads to:

2. The spells that do not fit into this theory. This tactic is based in the idea that Mirrodin drafting has a strong one-for-one removal bent. Ignore these limiting spells.

The removal to not ignore is of the multiple kind: Solar Tides, Oblivion Stone etc.

Furthermore it is often worth taking a non-creature tempo spell, ie. one with multiple uses/strong advantages: eg Blinding Beam, Loxodon Warhammer, Fireball. These spells are better than removal, and indeed double as pseudo-removal. Furthermore they will kill an opponent when not being used to steady a board position.

Good luck with your drafting,

Hugh Glanville
aka (Teamtom)

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