Luyman's Terms #4: A Beginners Look at MTG Round 2, Drafting

Before I get into my post, I want to say a quick thank you that read my first post on MTG and came back for another. Around 600 people from all over the world visited my blog in the two days that followed that post, and only a little more than a third of that came from /r/MagicTCG, which was the only place I posted a link. So thank you to you guys that spread the word about my blog, and I hope everyone got something out of it and will continue to do so!

A little over a week ago, I attended my first MTG draft (JOU/BNG/THS). Ever since I learned about the format, I have been listening to the Limited Resources podcast, and have become familiar with 70% or so of all of the cards in the block. I decided that it was time to go ahead and dive into something new.

The draft had a pretty even split between new players (it was a first draft for one other player, and only the second or third for two others) and veterans, and the standings reflected that. I ended up going 1-2 and finishing 6th, but the experience I gained and the things I learned about the format were well worth the entry fee.

So, How Did it Play Out?

We started a little late, and as a result I probably had a little more nerves built up than I normally would. I was visibly shaking as I opened my first pack and started looking through my cards, and spent more time trying to stop that than looking to see what my cards were. I tried to remember everything I had learned up to that point about drafting and deckbuilding:

 - try to stay in two colors
 - try to stay open to colors/don't let one pick you make influence another pick    too soon in the draft
 - settle into your two colors fairly early, but not too early

Those three pieces of information alone became too much for me to handle, and my draft went horribly. Each piece of information seemed to contradict the other two, and it was hard for me to decide when was a good time to follow one piece as opposed to the other two. I ended up drafting Underworld Coinsmith first, which set the tone for the rest of my draft.

When the next pack was passed to me, I thought I was all set to go with a white/black enchantment deck, and I could use the Underworld Coinsmith's ability to deal damage to my opponent with the life that I received from my other enchantments. I picked up the pack, and the cards within were incredibly underwhelming in both white and black. I could choose from Bloodcrazed Hoplite, Ajani's Presence, Lagonna-Band Trailblazer, or Reprisal. None of those cards had me excited to stay in either white or black, so I ended up drafting Eidolon of the Great Revel, which opened me up to red. I hoped that from this point forward I could draft in two colors, and build a solid deck. The cards thought differently however, and the trend continued. After draft pack one, I had 6 white cards, and 4 cards each of red and black.

At this point, I actually felt pretty good about how the draft had progressed. I thought I was still following the three points above, and I thought I had a decent card base from which to build any combination of two-color decks depending on what cards I would be passed. I thought I would be able to pin down which two colors I would be about halfway through draft pack two, and I could fill any holes my deck had from that point on.

Boy, was I wrong on all counts. Even though I probably did have a decent base from which to build a good two-color deck, I still could not decide which two to go with. Halfway through the draft pack, I had 10 white cards, and 6 each of red and black. At the end of the draft pack, I had 12 white cards and 8 each of red and black.

Now, I'm starting to really panic. I only know one of my colors and we only have one pack left! My mind is scrambling, and trying to think about all of my options. The two options I settled on are:

1) I can play all three colors, and winning the games in which I get a good draw, and losing the games that I don't.
2) Draft a few cards early in either red or black, decide on running a white/red or white/black deck, then attempt to fill some holes

When I opened the pack, I decided I was not comfortable trying to play three colors. I have never played with more than two in any format, and I didn't want to both be trying a new color combination and a new format. Even with that decision, the third draft pack went a lot like the first two. My final count was 18 white cards, 13 black cards, and 11 red cards (how I managed to end up with nothing out of color, I will never know). I decided to go with my original plan of white/black and tried to build the best deck I could with what I had.

Nothing at all exciting happened in any of my matches. Most of my creatures were cheap 1/1s and 2/2s with heroic triggers, and most of my spells were removal so I couldn't target them to make them stronger. Once my opponent was able to resolve a creature with flying, or something with more than 2 toughness, the game was pretty much over for me. It was more than a little pathetic.

In the time since the draft, I have learned much more about the format, as well as been able to think about what I learned from the draft itself. In my next draft, I will look to use BREAD extensively and try to pare down to two colors a lot sooner.

So what do you guys think? Which mistake do you think was the biggest? Do you think I did anything right? What can I try to do to make my draft go more smoothly?