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Power Drafting is a specific type of Booster Drafting. Ideally, you would be awesome at drafting every possible archetype and color combination. This is especially true if you are an expert at reading and sending signals for all of them. Unfortunately, this isn't realistically the best option for most players, including pros. Power Drafting is designed to make you an expert at a small number of high-powered draft possibilities that are the most likely to work on a consistent basis.
Last week, we examined booster drafting using the two most powerful colors in Scars Limited: Red and White. As a devoted power drafter, I think it's pretty reasonable to force Red/White artifact every time. While the vast majority of the time you will end up with a terrific deck by doing this, on occasion it's best to have a backup plan.
White has powerful metalcraft cards like Auriok Sunchaser, Auriok Edgewright, Dispense Justice and Gharma's Warden which are much weaker if you aren't playing with mostly artifacts. As a result, if you are drafting metalcraft, you can pretty much always get a few good white cards. Most good Red commons or uncommons, such as Shatter, Galvanic Blast, Arc Trail, Oxidda Scrapmelter and Turn to Slag, are terrific whether you're playing with lots of artifacts or not. For this reason, you can't always depend on getting Red playables passed to you.
I have a backup plan for this: Blue/White artifact. While Blue doesn't have the power level or depth of White or Red, you can pretty much always get a couple Lumingrid Drakes or Vedalken Certarchs if you draft Blue. My favorite commons when drafting Blue/White are:
- Glint Hawk Idol
- Arrest
- Auriok Sunchaser
- Revoke Existance
- Glint Hawk
- Ghalma's Warden
- Vedalken Certarch
- Lumengrid Drake
- Trinket Mage
- Snapsail Glider
- Tumble Magnet
- Chrome Steed
- Origin Spellbomb
- Neurok Replica
- Sylvok Lifestaff
While I'm more likely to force Red/White than Blue/White because Red has a higher power level than Blue, it's easier to successfully force Blue/White. The big advantage of drafting Red is that it kills things. It's cool to bounce, tap and enchant things, but there's nothing quite like killing and destroying stuff! Since lots of people feel this way, I often force White and try to read whether to add Blue or Red. Red/White is generally better, but Blue/White is always there for you, even when Red isn't. To demonstrate this, Rada recently forced Blue/White with me online:
Pack 1 pick 1:
Grasp of Darkness
--> Wurmcoil Engine
It's always nice to start off a draft with a bomb. The other exciting cards are Grasp of Darkness and Oxidda Scrapmelter, but since we're going Blue/White, they're not tempting. The player behind us is probably going to go into Red or Black, which is all good.
Pack 1 pick 2:
--> Dispense Justice
Galvanic Blast is the best card in the pack. The best card for us is Dispense Justice, although I like both Glimmerpoint Stag and Flight Spellbomb. Having passed Scrapmelter and Blast means the player to our left is almost certainly drafting Red, unless they like to force Infect. Either way means good things for us in pack two.
Pack 1 pick 3:
--> Gold Myr
Bloodshot Trainee is more evidence that the player to our right isn't drafting Red and the player to our left will be. We're happy with a Gold Myr here.
Pack 1 pick 4:
--> Lumengrid Drake
Whitesun's Passage
Origin Spellbomb is mildly tempting here, but Lumengrid Drake is the pick. Blue/White needs lots of flying and pseudo-removal.
Pack 1 pick 5:
--> Glint Hawk Idol
Liquidmetal Coating
I rarely want more than a couple Lumengrid Drakes in a draft deck, but I would be happy playing double digit Glint Hawk Idols.
Pack 1 pick 6:
--> Perilous Myr
Oxidda Daredevil (FOIL)
Whitesun's Passage
Wall of Tanglewood is decent in Blue/White, but Perilous Myr is more aggressive and can be removal.
Pack 1 pick 7:
Melt Terrain
--> Darksteel Myr
I typically would only take Shikari if I already had some equipment. Darksteel Myr could end up in the deck and will at least be an exciting sideboard card.
Pack 1 pick 8:
--> Neurok Replica
I really like one mana artifacts in a metalcraft deck in general. I especially like them when drafting Blue, because I might get a Trinket Mage, but the Replica is an even better fit. It's a great ground blocker to compliment Blue/White's flying and it's more pseudo-removal.
Pack 1 pick 9:
--> Disperse
Rada advocates for Halt Order, but I prefer the less situational Disperse for our aggressive deck. It might not make the cut anyway and our remaining picks from pack one have no shot at being used. Despite our last six picks being a waste, having 6-8 really solid playables is fine at this point. Hopefully, our passing and cutting has set us up to get 8-10 playables in pack two.
Pack 2 pick 1:
Melt Terrain
Trigon of Rage is tempting, especially since we expect to have lots of flying. In the end the power level to mana cost ratio of the Certarch is too good to pass on.
Pack 2 pick 2:
Alpha Tyrranax
Strider Harness
--> Auriok Sunchaser
Heavy Arbalest
Auriok Sunchaser is a staple of a good metalcraft deck. Rust Tick is a distant second choice.
Pack 2 pick 3:
--> Argent Sphinx
Sure it's not an artifact, but I'm always happy to take a 4/3 flyer for four. Although after having the Sphinx killed by a Spikeshot Elder in round two, I kind of wish we took Trigon of Infestation instead.
Pack 2 pick 4:
--> Disperse
A disappointingly weak fourth pick. Pack two really needs to improve for us.
Pack 2 pick 5:
--> Bladed Pinions
By this point it seems confirmed, the player to our left is in Red and not Infect. I'm always happy to have one copy of Bladed Pinions in my deck, especially if I end up with cards like Rusted Relic, Chrome Steed and/or Ghalma's Warden.
Pack 2 pick 6:
--> Flight Spellbomb
An easy pick in an otherwise weak pack for us. Perhaps the player to our left is Red/White.
Pack 2 pick 7:
Not bad at first pick, exciting at seventh pick.
Pack 2 pick 8:
Eighth pick is even better, but three is probably enough.
Pack 2 pick 9:
Melt Terrain
--> Stoic Rebuttal
I don't expect to run the Rebuttal, but it's the best card for us.
Pack 2 pick 10:
Alpha Tyrranax
Strider Harness
--> Auriok Replica
Tough pick for a tenth pick. Soliton, Harness and Replica all get some consideration. Rada especially likes Harness, but I prefer to spend the three mana on a creature. This was the last playable we got from pack two.
Pack 3 pick 1:
--> Mimic Vat
Trinket Mage and Trigon of Corruption get some consideration, but Mimic Vat is too good of a bomb.
Pack 3 pick 2:
--> Ghalma's Warden
I usually like exactly one Dispense Justice in an aggressive deck, but I'm happy to have two or three Wardens. Given how late I get him and how often, I suspect he's one of the more underrated cards in the set. In my decks he's a 4/6 for four and that's hot in my book.
Pack 3 pick 3:
Vulshok Heartstoker
--> Origin Spellbomb
I would be happy only picking from this pack for the rest of our picks, but sadly we will have to pass it. The Spellbomb is one of those pack three picks made more for the deck's needs than for the power level. We really need more good one mana artifacts. It's sad to pass the Champion, the Warden, the Certarch etc.
Pack 3 pick 4:
--> Rusted Relic
The toughest pick of the draft. Perhaps we should take Revoke Existence, but we need more artifacts and we could use some more offensive punch. Oh look, a 5/5 artifact creature for four mana. Card power level evaluation is at its most critical in pack one. In pack three, it's most critical to understand your deck's needs.
Pack 3 pick 5:
--> Iron Myr
So we already knew the player to our right wasn't drafting Red, but what about the three players to his right!? Well we need a Myr in our main deck more than we need a Phoenix spending the entire event in our sideboard, so Myr it is.
Pack 3 pick 6:
--> Sylvok Lifestaff
An easy pick, no other card would make the cut in our deck.
Pack 3 pick 7:
--> Auriok Sunchaser
A hot seventh pick, our deck is starting to look really good.
Pack 3 pick 8:
--> Culling Dais
Our deck is good enough it probably won't make the main deck, but it's the only card with a shot.
Pack 3 pick 9:
--> Sky-Eel School
Not too many sets where you get a 3/3 flyer ninth pick, but we'll be happy to main deck it.
Pack 3 pick 10:
A potential sideboard card in a dead pack.
Pack 3 pick 11:
--> Leaden Myr
Vulshok Heartstoker
A third Myr rounds out our deck and our draft. The Spellbomb reminds us that this was one of those times when we were in a good seat for Red. Still, I'm really happy with the deck we ended up with:
[cardlist]
1 Leaden Myr
1 Sky-Eel School
2 Auriok Sunchaser
1 Sylvok Lifestaff
1 Iron Myr
1 Rusted Relic
1 Origin Spellbomb
1 Ghalma's Warden
1 Mimic Vat
1 Auriok Replica
3 Vedalken Certarch
1 Flight Spellbomb
1 Bladed Pinions
1 Argent Sphinx
1 Neurok Replica
1 Perilous Myr
1 Glint Hawk Idol
1 Lumengrid Drake
1 Gold Myr
1 Dispense Justice
1 Wurmcoil Engine
7 Plains
9 Islands
[/cardlist]
Lands: 16. With two Spellbombs, three Myr and only two cards more than four mana, this seems ideal.
Artifacts: 14. A little light, especially since one of them costs six mana, but it should be enough. The colored cards are too good to cut for a Darksteel Myr.
Rada crushed her first opponent, both games she quickly got to five mana with a Mimic Vat making Neurok Replicas. In round two, she lost two games to Spikeshot Elder. Sadly, she never saw her bomb, the Wurmcoil Engine, her main way to win with the Elder in play. While it did remind us how much we missed Red, I would be happy to have this deck in pretty much any draft. Next week, we'll explore drafting Scars without White (shudder!)
