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Drafting Rise of Eldrazi Part 5: Red/Black Control May 27, 2010

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, limited, draft , add a comment

One of the most powerful decks you can make while drafting Rise of Eldrazi is a red/black deck jam packed with removal. This is much like the red/blue instant/sorcery themed deck I discussed earlier, but it makes use out of black removal. Two of the most important cards to get other than creature removal are the following: (more…)

Drafting Rise of Eldrazi Part 4: Choosing a Theme May 14, 2010

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 4comments

One of the most important elements of drafting Rise of Eldrazi is to try to use a theme, which is basically just getting a lot of cards that work well together. I have noticed six main themes that you can shoot for in Rise of Eldrazi: (more…)

Drafting Rise of Eldrazi Part 3: Second Picks May 11, 2010

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Second picks are basically first picks that didn’t make my top 10 bombs or first picks list. I think many of these are significantly less good than the cards on my top 10 list, but they are still quite good. (more…)

Drafting Rise of Eldrazi Part 2: First Picks April 27, 2010

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 5comments

When you draft a deck in Rise of Eldrazi, you might want to keep a specific strategy in mind, such as mana ramp, defender, instant/sorcery, or level up. However, before making a commitment, you should take the best cards you can. I have already discussed my 10 favorite cards for draft. In this article I will present my next 10 favorite commons and uncommons that will help me decide which colors to play. (more…)

Drafting Rise of Eldrazi Part 1: Bombs April 25, 2010

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 8comments

The first step in drafting is to choose your first card, which could end up committing you to a color or deck strategy. Here are my top 10 favorite cards for Rise of Eldrazi drafts: (more…)

Worldwake Review Part 2: First Picks (Limited) January 28, 2010

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 2comments

In order to prepare for the pre-release, it might help to consider which commons and uncommons you want. When you see these it can help you decide what colors to play. I call the best commons and uncommons “first picks” because they will tend to be the first cards you take during a draft. Here are my favorite 8 commons and uncommons: (more…)

Drafting Zendikar Part 1: First Picks October 5, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 6comments

When drafting Zendikar, you will want to decide which colors to play mostly depending on what cards are passed to you. If the rare isn’t extremely powerful, such as a Sorin Markov, you will have to depend on the commons and uncommons, which is 99% of the time. Even if your first pick is a Soren, you need good black cards to be passed to you in order to play him. Here are my 12 favorite common and uncommon first picks found in Zendikar: (more…)

Drafting Magic 2010 Part 5: Red August 7, 2009

Posted by James in : all, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 2comments

I already reviewed the first picks and second picks. Here are the other best commons and uncommons to look for when playing red: (more…)

Drafting Magic 2010 Part 3: Blue July 27, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 3comments

I already reviewed the first picks and second picks. Here are the other best commons and uncommons to look for when playing blue: (more…)

Drafting Magic 2010 Part 2: White July 23, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 3comments

This article will continue my discussion of Drafting Magic 2010. I already reviewed the first picks and second picks. Here are the other best commons and uncommons to look for when playing white: (more…)

Drafting Magic 2010 Part 1: Green July 21, 2009

Posted by James in : all, strategy, limited, draft , 1 comment so far

When you draft M10, it’s a good idea to make a two color deck. You can have a main color and a secondary color. I have already discussed what cards to look for when you take first picks or second picks. Now I will discuss other decent and mentionable commons and uncommons to look for in each color. (more…)

Magic 2010 Review Part 2: Second Picks July 8, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 6comments

Second picks are a notch under first picks. They are cards that are sometimes worth taking as a first pick in a draft. It is important to know what cards are considered to be second picks because every card in your deck isn’t going to be a bomb or a first pick when playing in a draft or sealed deck tournament. Taking a close look at the second picks can help you decide what colors to play, and it will help you take the best cards in a draft. I will only discuss the common and uncommon second picks because you can’t count on getting good rares in a limited event. (more…)

Magic 2010 Review: Limited Bombs & First Picks July 7, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 5comments

In order to understand what colors and cards are best in sealed and draft tournaments, it can be a good idea to take a look at the best cards. (more…)

Drafting Alara Reborn Part 6: Esper June 1, 2009

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The best cards for Esper in Alara Reborn when you draft SCA (Shards/Conflux/Reborn). (more…)

Drafting Alara Reborn Part 5: Grixis May 30, 2009

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The best cards for Grixis in Alara Reborn when you draft SCA (Shards/Conflux/Reborn). (more…)

Drafting Alara Reborn Part 3: Bant May 25, 2009

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The cards to look for if you want to make a good Bant deck when drafting SCA (Shards/Conflux/Reborn). The first picks have already been discussed, so I will concentrate on the decent cards and mentionable cards that you will want in your bant deck. (more…)

Drafting Alara Reborn Part 2: Naya May 23, 2009

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The cards you want for your Naya deck when playing in Alara Reborn. You might want to read about Alara Reborn’s bombs, first picks, and second picks. This article discusses Reborn’s mentionable cards for Naya when drafting SCA (Shards/Conflux/Reborn). (more…)

Drafting Shards of Alara (SCA) Walkthrough Part 3 May 17, 2009

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This is the final installment of my draft walkthrough.

I have been drafting a lot of Naya (green/white/red) and I don’t currently have much mana fixing to splash for other colors. (more…)

Drafting Shards of Alara (SCA) Walkthrough Part 1 May 9, 2009

Posted by James in : all, strategy, tips, limited, draft , 7comments

In order to better understand the best way of drafting, it can be a good idea to take a look at the thought process involved when drafting Shards of Alara/Conflux/Alara Reborn. I have simulated a draft using Magic Workstation, and I will show you the thought process that I used when deciding what to pick. (The draft was simulated by assuming the opponents always take the most powerful card.) This is part one of three, and I will start with a Shards of Alara booster pack. (more…)

Drafting Alara Reborn Part 1 May 6, 2009

Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, tips, limited, draft, sealed , 4comments

What colors should you play? Considering Alara Reborn, Naya is still the best shard, and Grixis has got the short end of the stick.

Although you will probably already know what colors you will play before opening the Alara Reborn pack, the colors you choose to play can be influenced based on what you hope to get in Alara Reborn. The most notable influence is probably Loxodon Warhammer. I mean Behemoth Sledge, which is a green-white uncommon. This is relatively easy to splash, so that alone isn’t going to make you want to play a green white deck. (But it can help you decide to play green or white.) (more…)