Thread by @Deathsie

Some random thoughts (a thread that I'll be updating on a whim) as I continue exploring Zendikar Rising DRAFTS. From my perspective, there are many misconceptions on how we approach drafting decks. Zendikar is a good case study to discuss many high level concepts (1/?)

One of the most important Magic concepts to keep in mind while drafting is to find as much intersectionality as possible among your cards. If a card in your deck serves only a single purpose, it's usually not good enough. Cards often need to be able to play multiple roles

For example, Pack Beast is a very mediocre playable. In this example deck 👇 however, it plays the role of a 2 drop which can be equipped with a Mace, it gets buffed by 2 Kargan Warleaders, it provides Party and creature types for payoffs, and also gets snuck in by Sneaking Guide

This is how you make arguments for cards that go beyond simply *describing* a card. You look at how cards work in tandem past the face value of the card. Sometimes a bad card can be good in a deck which can capitalize on it, and sometimes a good card shouldn't make the final cut

Sometimes you'll see a color that's open however it doesn't synergize very well with the cards you already have. Synergy is key in every draft format - even ones which aren't focused on "tribal archetypes". There's more to building a successful deck than simply colors being open

Draft picks are made one at a time. We make arguments based on chronological order and based on our analysis of the draft seat and perception of the table. Hindsight is a valuable tool but don't let it cloud your judgment. Make the best pick at every moment and live with it

Quite often we try to create heuristics for how to do certain things because we want to be consistent. We want to see more clearly. Magic is a game where there's an exception for everything - even the exceptions. Math is important, but remember that math is not the be all end all

Land counts with Dual-faced-cards (DFC) in Zendikar is a great example of math often failing to provide the desired result. Look at your deck as a whole and see how well your deck can use mana. Sometimes you'll be playing 16 lands and sometimes you'll be playing 20. Figure it out

At times like these, I really wish that I had opportunities to commentate big limited tournaments because talking about limited is my absolute favorite thing in Magic - way more so than actually playing the game itself. Seeing my favorite format get neglected is so heart-breaking

Removal might be one of the most overrated concepts in all of Magic. Zendikar is a good example where you often are looking for ways to 2 for 1. Kicker cards, returning lands (Hellion, Stomper), killing creatures while developing a body (Sparkmage, Silencer), Visionary, Diviner

Removal is good when it's cheap, not necessarily when it's unconditional. If your removal isn't letting you progress your board while killing something, it's usually not as good as you thought. Deadly Alliance is overrated while Roiling Eruption is the nuts, even without kicker

TLDR of how to draft Zendikar:

1. Draft archetypes over color combinations
2. Party is a good backup plan for any color combo
3. Basically every spell land is fantastic
4. Balanced cards are much better than cards that are polarized (avoid Skyclave Geopede, Brushfire Elemental)

5. BR Party and UR Wizards are the best decks when considering only common rarity
6. The best Gruul archetype isn't aggro - it's a value land bounce deck
7. BW Clerics is probably the most overrated deck unless you can get the sweet uncommons

8. Joraga Visionary is the most underdrafted common on MTGA
9. Drana's Silencer is a criminally underplayed card in the format. The best home for it is in BR Party
10. Cinderclasm is one of the best/underrated red uncommons and should make the vast majority of your red mainboards