Designing for the Draft

The boys turn their attention to what at least Andy thinks is an under-appreciated context in which to evaluate cards — the draft. Instead of discussing how cards are played in game or what an ideal deck looks like, they’re talking about how the presence or absence of cards in packs will affect how your players draft. Is it possible to have a deck or color-pair that is perfectly viable in your cube, but no one ever drafts? Can swapping cards in or out fix this issue, or is it entirely attributable to player preferences? What kinds of cards expand the scope of draft decisions and what kinds of cards narrow it? Does drafting the hard way apply to most cubes? How does a flattened power level affect signals?

Our pack 1, pick 1 this week comes from a different kind of cube: listener Josh maintains a core cube that is drafted with a random selection of cards from his expansion, creating additional variance from draft to draft. Thanks, Josh!

If you have a question for the show, or want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube, email us at [email protected]. Please include how you’d like to be credited on air, your pronouns, and if you’re submitting a cube for the pack 1, pick 1, a link to said cube.

Musical production by DJ James Nasty.