Kyle Edwards

Added 11-4-09

Stop reading this article right now if you don’t want to win and can’t take criticism. If you say you want to win and can’t take criticism, you are lying to yourself. This series is for those of you who want to win at tournaments and are willing to put in what it takes. Truly listen and you will learn something.

In summation, I am going to give it to you straight; I don’t serve bitch drinks in this house.

Today’s article is about Limited formats such as Sealed Deck and Booster Draft. You probably have drafted before, but today I hope to show you some basics that most people miss. Even if you draft all the time, this could be a good lesson what you should really be focusing on.

What is contained in this article is information for people who don’t win all the time. If you win, read and study a lot about magic then you can veer off a little bit. However I am pretty sure you are not at that level; once you do start winning a lot, come back and we can talk some more advanced things. I won’t tell you them now because it will just mess you up. Start with the basics.

What is limited? Limited is cracking boosters, building your deck on the spot and battling it out with the 40 card deck. That’s right, I said 40:

Lesson #1 – Play with a 40 Card Deck

In draft and sealed, this is the first thing you have to get down. Play 40 cards! It’s like in constructed, you just play 60. It’s called math and it is what has advanced our society. Magic is a game that involved chance; you want to maximize your odds by only playing with a 40 card deck. The fewer cards in your deck, the greater probability you have of drawing your best ones. Make sure you play enough lands in this 40 card deck:

Lesson #2 – Play 17 Lands

If you play 19 lands and still can’t draw lands, you are doing something wrong.; shuffle more and score some karma points or something. Play 17! If you play 15 lands and draw just enough you are only cheating yourself in the long run; you are just getting lucky. Play 17!

Lesson #3 – Remember the Basics

These are the best, always, no matter what limited format you are playing. Remember these basics:

1. Bombs – Big dumb creatures or planes walkers that win the game. These are usually rare.
2. Evasion – Things that make it harder to block. Flying, Intimidate, Trample, Landwalk and unblockable creatures fit in this category.
3. Removal – Cards that kill things. Think cheap, efficient, instant speed and able to hit the most dudes in the format as the best removal.
4. Reusable Effects – Things that happen more than once. Pinging, tapping and other tap abilities that do one of the things on this list. This is why planeswalkers are awesome in draft.
5. Combat Tricks – Instants that surprise an opponent. Pump is a good example of this. Fog effects usually SUCK.
6. Creatures – Creatures are key and is the lifeblood of limited formats. If your deck doesn’t have at least 15 creatures, you are probably not doing so good.
7. Card Advantage – Look for things that will set up 2 for 1s.

If you combine these effects, it is truly powerful. A good classic example is Nekrataal. This guy is awesome. He combines: Evasion, Removal, Creature and Card Advantage into one card. Superb.

Lesson #4 –Auras Suck

Stay away from cards that say Enchantment – Aura on its type line. 95% of the auras in Magic: the Gathering are no good in constructed or limited. Stay away from them. You get 2 for 1d almost every time. You enchant your guy; they kill it in response or on the next turn. If you do happen to find a really good aura, you should NEVER play more that 2 auras in your limited deck EVER! If you think an aura is good, ask me, I will tell you my opinion of it. The card probably sucks.

Lesson #5 – Have a Mana Curve

Pay attention to your mana curve. To do this:

1. Lay out all the playable cards in your pool on the table.
2. Separate the “Creatures” from the “Spells”. Creatures are anything like a creature, planeswalker, card draw or something similar that you want to play as soon as you can. Spells are things such as removal or tricks that you will wait to cast until the more opportune time.
3. Take all the “Creatures” and sort them by converted mana cost. Starting with one going to your biggest dude. It should look like a bell curve, fattest in the middle around the 2-4 drops. Take note that if it doesn’t look like a bell curve; try to fix it so that it does.

Lesson #6 – Stick to Two Colors

In most draft formats, you should stick to two colors. It’s hard to do mono-color, and your deck could be missing something. If you try to stretch into 3-5 colors, you will probably find yourself getting color screwed more often than usual. The only time I feel comfortable running 3 colors is when it is a multicolor block such as Invasion, Ravnica or Alara. You may occasionally splash for something ridiculous and splashable such as a fireball and two lightning bolts. Notice those cards only need 1 red mana each.

These are all of the basics. If you see me around Astral Castle, ask me to look at your draft deck. I can probably get into more details and be more specific.

Kyle Edwards

Email me at: Kyle_Jacob_Edwards@yahoo.com

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