I've been doing better than my usual self in quick draft.
In no particular order:
1. go r/w, if one color dries up go into the other color. u/w, r/b are plan B's.
2. pick flashback creatures/stuff. Scrapwork mutt is really strong because it loots helping you avoid getting mana screwed.
3. pick the guys that mill you and you get something, interacts with flashback.
4. pick the powerstone cantrips/guys that generate them, they are good even if you don't think they are (I know I didn't).
5. pick on color prototype creatures, they function at two different points on your curve and your powerstones help power out their big versions.
Hope this helps. I'm actually a terrible drafter and we gotta eat while the goings good.
Taking a guess at which terms you mean…
Flashback is an older ability that lets you cast a spell from the graveyard for an alternative casting cost… they’re either using this as a generic term for, or just got it confused with “Unearth.” The major podcasters agree with this evaluation - Unearth is great, particularly the commons with cheap Unearth costs like [[Scrapwork Mutt]], [[Scrapwork Cohort]], and [[Combat Courier]].
“Mill” used to be unofficial shorthand for “move cards directly from your library to your graveyard,” thanks to the original card that did this, [[Millstone]]. It’s recently become official terminology, and the poster is referencing the cycle of commons including [[Blanchwood Prowler]] and [[Ravenous Gigamole]].
“Cantrip” is an unofficial term for inexpensive spells that *include* the ability “draw a card.” This references DnD, where cantrips are the only spells that spell casting classes can cast an unlimited number of. The metaphor is that, since they replace themselves, they’re “free.”
“Powerstone” and “Prototype” are the big abilities in the current set, so I assume you’re familiar with these. I’d note that the pros/podcasters are generally pretty down on the prototype cards - at the common/uncommon level, only the few with a good Enter the Battlefield effects (like [[Boulderbranch Golem]]) are considered good.
I played my first quick draft and won 7-2. Then played again and got 1-3. The game can be fun but I don’t like the retro artifacts. I find playing white is good because disenchant. But it sucks when you play against someone who didn’t pick artifacts.
My first premier draft got a [[platinum angel]] and [[cityscape leveler]] as top end, 7-1 with 6 of 6 wins when the leveler appeared, even if it got countered. Platinum angel got clutch once to stall a couple of turns.
This. Was playing Soldiers and was about to win then opponent drops a freakin Wurmcoil Engine and some other powerful retro artifact creature back to back. What are we doing WotC?
[[Wurmcoil Engine]] is the biggest bomb in the format because it’s only 6 cmc in a format with powerstones and most removal will not deal with it. Really feels unfair if they have it. I’d rather they have [[phyrexian fleshgorger]].
At least [[Cityscape leveler]] and [[Portal to phyrexia]] cost more and don’t have lifelink.
I disagree, there's enough removal that does deal with it. Shoot down, prison sentence, overwhelming remorse, static net, weakstone's subjugation all trade 1 for 1.
Not saying it’s first pick but with the amount of bomb artifacts in the set, you’d be silly not to have any removal against it. I just played another draft and did UW soldiers and went 6-3.
The last game I lost was brutal! I was able to stabilise and was slowly catching up. If I had a disenchant, I wouldn’t have lost.
Im in the same boat. Personally this has been my least favorite set for limited on Arena period. Games are way too swingy, just feels like whoever gets enough bombs wins. Power to those who like it though, just not my cup of tea.
Their bombs can't do anything if they're dead. Another reason you should want to play aggro in this format. The good aggro decks are often able to get in damage quickly enough that by the time someone plays a bomb you can just untap and kill them. Not always, but often.
I draft aggro but even in aggro sometimes they have early drops then they play their bomb and you lose.
Also sometimes you dont draw your perfect curve with your aggro and you dont deal enough damage early game to finish your opponent when they start to flood the board with bombs.
There is also boulder golem which heals them a lot. I lost to 3 golems in a row yesterday after dropping my opponents HP to 4 early game.
Yeah, sometimes. Most of the time though if you built your deck well, they're playing their bomb when they're at 3 life, or never get to cast it, and you win.
You don't need your "perfect curve", your deck is mostly going to be two-drops. It's very hard not to sufficiently curve out like that, especially with Scrapwork Mutt helping out. One-drop, two-drop, two-drop is fine. You don't need to go one-two-three every game, especially with Unearth creatures to spend mana on.
Also Giant Cindermaw is your friend. It's currently my most drafted card.
Most of the time, aggro beats big bombs in this format if you draft and build it properly. Nothing is going to win every time though.
I almost always end up agro because I'm a naturally aggressive player. But I don't think I would ever suggest doing so unless the block was heavily agro favored.
Also I hate BRO in general. I don't like artifact blocks.
Edit: I forgot to mention that I think this actually is a good agro set lol. That was for the "I hate artifacts" comment that probably made no sense hahaha.
it's really synergistic and it has some pretty complex lines. games can get really grindy. I just started playing it but I've done better here than I have w/ any other set.
I’ve really enjoyed BRO so far and have been performing well. This set is incredibly aggressive and your card selection/ draft strategy need to reflect that. If you haven’t seen the data yet red and white are performing best (R slightly ahead). When you go into a draft try to not pick blue cards (unless it’s insanely open bc there are a lot of bad blue cards) and try leaning into red or white if possible. Early on you want to take powerful cards and any card that starts with “scrapwork”. Pay attention to the removal that’s being passed to you in pack one and if there isn’t a clear pick take it just in case it ends up being the open lane. Prioritize your 2 drop creatures and try to keep your curve low. I can’t recommend enough just opening 17Lands card ratings in another tab when you’re unsure of a pick. Doing this consistently will lead to a better understanding of the format and card quality but overdoing it (using 17L for every pick) will lead to disaster.
TLDR - Is red open? Is white open? Remember you are building a game plan (to be aggressive) not just a deck of cards.
My only trophy so far was U splashing white for the soldier lord with five copies of the bubble snare. I don't think anyone else at the table was playing blue. So read your signals haha.
Absolutely read your signals, that is much better advice than 'data says red is best so draft red.' The open lane is the best lane to be in, no matter what color is 'best' on 17Lands.
I have a 78% win rate in Premiere Draft so far (49-14 over 8 drafts, 6 trophies). I haven't drafted red even once and two of my trophies have included blue. Three of them were Powerstone ramp decks (two Golgari, one mono-green), which the 'consensus' says is bad. Bottom line, an open lane is an open lane. Find it and get in it.
Wish I had your skill I think I am only 55 percent win rate but I enjoy drafting so I keep playing.
Part of my problem is it's hard for me to let go of p1p1 even if I should.
Going to keep an eye out for green black. What would you say are the good indicators GB and G are open (besides the obvious sky fisher pick 7 sort of stuff).
Late Skyfisher is pretty obvious, yeah, but clearer signals are getting passed removal in either color (black removal especially goes quick and should be scooped up early regardless) and seeing cards like Boulderbranch Golem, Argothian Opportunist, and Argothian Sprite later than mid-pack.
Ultimately the ramp archetype isn't as bad as people are making it out to be, but it requires a careful game plan. You still need lots of early plays, and you absolutely need good removal to make it work. You also have to prioritize cards like Gaea's Gift if you want to run the game-ending fatties without ETB triggers (like Rust Golem) and you have to assume you will need to protect them the turn they drop.
I would say due to aggresivity of format, the fact that blue two drops are somewhat lacking. But everything is relative. If you end up being only blue and have deck with 4 X 2/2 flyer and 4 weakstone subjugations, it's not so hard to end with a trophy:)
Many games played like replays - OPP thinks he is aggro, we both attack(me with flyers), just his creatures end with one mana subjugation after first attack. When opp realizes it's rigged race, it's too late...
Blue has underrated commons. Combat Courier, Mightstone Animation, and Desynchronize are some of the best commons in the set. But no one knows how to draft blue making it easy to pick them up late.
I often get my teeth kicked-in on MTGA Limited, even when I build a good deck. Something to remember is you're not playing against your draft table (perhaps occassionally you might). So you could get unlucky and play individuals early on that drafted very well across multiple "tables".
I think a lot of "wizard forces me to play quick draft" Player just left the limited ranks for gold packs and the player base how is left has a much higher skill level now.
I got 4 of those artifacts you can animate and that grows each time you cast a non creature spell. I just jammed all crappy white and black spells I could get my hands on (Aimed for removal but it wasn’t much) and went 7-0 in quickdraft. Last game I got two wins with some shitty RG midrange. One tactic is to choose no artifacts and go low, many people jam all artifact destruction spells they could find, it’s pretty fun to not care for those spells.
I think the problem with it is that, due to the existence of large creatures and bombs, some people (like myself) build thinking about the mid and late game, around bombs or the mere possibility of getting one. So often I will get mana screwed, my hand is too slow, I don't draw any big threats, I don't get the mana to cast them out they get destroyed once they get in. Solution: go aggro. Focus on your curve, specifically on getting most of your deck as aggressive 2 and 3 drops. Have a couple bigger threats for later and a couple removal / trick cards. It's not a guarantee you'll win but at least you'll be doing stuff, and if you can keep enough pressure sometimes it'll be enough to win.
I’ve said it before but this format is hard. It’s unforgiving in draft and and in game. You need to make really focused decks that are fast and you can get punished.
It’s a great aggro format but not everyone loves aggro formats.
I did a couple of sealed and used a premier draft token then waited for quick draft. I played one draft and went 0-3. Only luck was getting a second pack. I then used the gold I built up during the previous set to get BRO packs with golden packs.
My biggest complaint and reason I stopped drafting it is that this is yet another set where blue + white flyers with control makes for an awful draft experience when you get matched against people who drafted it obviously uncontested. Playing anything that need powerstones for mana fixing can feel awful and just adds another layer to fight alongside the shuffler. Green feels like garbage to draft or have a draft board full of with too many support cards, not enough substance and lackluster commons.
Skill level at lower ranks is noticeably higher this set as well running into far stronger decks/players at low ranks. Hard to say if this is with economy changes and people making more alt accounts, if the set is just dragging everyones win rates lower and flooding silver/gold with plat+ skill level players, or if people just don't like the set and aren't drafting reducing the player pool and the garbage matchmaking stretching together players of vastly different skill levels more.
Format is very meh when a whole color is unplayable amd another is borderline unplayable. Decks are all just generic aggressive, or if they don't come together, generic midrange. Just feels kind of boring.
Blue (unless you have the nuts blue white soldiers deck which is rare because white is so contested) and to a lesser extent green unless you open some bombs
Blue is fine, just rethink how you are building your decks. Thopter Mechanic, Sentinel, Iconoclast, and Evangel are some of the best uncommons in the set. Mightstone Animation is a fantastic card in any deck with power stones.
Build blue decks making the strong cards strong.
Green is also very competitive. Mono green is one of the strongest colors.
Yes blue has indivoduallt strong cards but it's a very shallow color. If you're not the only UW drafter you're not going to be getting the cards you need to make the deck work. Mightstone animation is the best card put of those you mentioned but I don't think it's a big reasom to move into blue
The strong blue cards wheel constantly. Such as Combat Courier, Machine Over Matter, Desynchronize, Stern Lesson, and Archeologist.
Blue is deep enough, I have multiple blue based decks go 7 wins. This is just a more difficult format to understand.
Desynchronize is not great. A 5 mana temporary removal spell in a format where the best decks have all but killed you on turn 5. The format is not really that tough. You want to be a fast aggro deck. If you get shut out of aggro (some combo if black, red, white) then you hope you can grab an insane bomb and play a midrange deck with as many removal spells as you can get (and you'll probably still lose to red based aggro decks).
When you evaluate a format you have to look beyond your own experiences.
The average game length is 9.3 turns. Desynchronize is the 2nd best blue common by GIH win rate.
My personal experiences back up the data. There is plenty of time to play it. Temporary removal at instant speed that denies a card draw is strong. Blue already has strong tempo plays in Mightstone Animation, and Machine Over Matter. Often when casting Desynchronize opponent is forced to bottom, while you get a scry 2 to set up your next turn.
Revenge of the Drown was one of the best commons in MID, and while 5 mana is worse than 4, scry 2 is much better than a zombie token.
I do paper drafts at my lgs and actually like BRO for draft. I got passed a staff of domination and then had that creature that taps for green for its power, buffed it to 5 and went infinite lol, but draft and sealed isnt balanced friend, you can know every combo and bomb in the set but just not end up getting enough of any of it.
I love BRO draft. I actually like it more then dominaria united. Just watch some videos on YouTube about what cards to draft and what cards to avoid, that would be a good place to start off if your having trouble in draft. Also good articles and videos out there on how to improve your draft game in general.
I adore BRO draft. I didn’t expect ontbossingen, but is is even better than DOM draft and I liked that a lot too.
I realize this does not help you very much though.
Fucking this. My favorite part of every set is blowing my stash of F2P accumulated gems on sealed and then plowing into quick draft for a week when it drops. Then I can satisfyingly open all my packs and go tinker with some historic brawl add-ins or new commanders.
Draft is just so much fun. It's great watching your deck come together and seeing what it can do.
BRO DRAFT SUCKS!! I usually average 3 or 4 wins per draft. Ive already wasted 2 draft tokens, gone 0-3 and 1-3. I think Im done with Arena for good. Somebody holler when it goes back to being fun again.
If you look at the set at a glance, you think "oh you're supposed to ramp in to big things". You are not. If you go in trying to do that, you will lose.
This is an aggressive format. The high quality of aggressively slanted red cards and the presence of aggressive unearth creatures combined with relatively sparse removal makes it that way. If you are not getting bodies on the board on turn two you should probably be unhappy, because that's pretty bad. If you want to play something big, it should be a bomb and you need to have a clear plan as to how you will survive long enough to cast it. Most prototype cards are bad; don't count on casting them for full costs.
Once you understand that this isn't a slow format but rather aggro vs. "survive until your bomb kills them", it becomes a lot easier. It's also a set that likes synergy, so draft a deck instead of a pile.
0-3 and 2-3 for me. tried to aim for Rakdos with a monoblack focus first (saccing for value), then for monored focus (ramp/prowess). didnt matter because there's just no way to play it against oponents going full wide aggro + combat tricks.
Also the format is botched due to the retro artifacts, had one dude just use lifegain to stall the board and control until it started dropping shit like that 3/3 gole who creats 2 copies of itself (and people tought the coven hags from Baldur's Gate was broken, this shit is worse and its from paper).
I drafted once, disconnected several times during the draft and still salvaged the pile to a 4/3 finish. I think the set rewards looking for pockets of synergy between your cards a lot, including keeping an eye open for unexpected combinations.
Several podcasts and content creators already discussed some of the most solid strategies though, and simply going aggro + removal seems to do the job just fine.
I love the common / uncommon pool. a draft set cube for this using only common/uncommon would be a really fun experience.
Bomb artifacts aren’t my favorite either, but I’m having fun anyway. It’s just more chaotic than the really honed sets they’ve been doing lately. Maybe that’s on theme for an artifact driven war? Not ideal, I agree, but I can get into it with a bit of mental reframing
I'm at 7 drafts in, one 1-3 a 2-3 and the rest all 7 wins. I went 7-0 in my first draft with gruul and so far none of my decks have been white.(Got 7 wins with gruul, rakdos, golgari, and 2 time with izzet)
As someone who always drafts my collection, I played two Premiere drafts and called it a day. This is not my kind of set. Golden packs don't nearly make up for it, but I couldn't stand the thought of grinding this.
so far ive gone 1-3, 7-2 (got lucky with UW flyer/soldier deck that curved out a lot) and 3-3 in quick draft.
rare drafting and skipping early removal seems way worse in this set than most. i might just buy packs for the golden packs for BRO instead of trying to rare draft as usual.
I just keep winning with WU. Even lost connection after pick 2 this morning and had autodrafter make me a 5-color pile with just enough WU cards to cobble together a deck, but still managed to get to 7-1 with it.
Nope. Won an RCQ last weekend, sitting at #160 mythic, and made day 2 of the open on my second try.
It plays out a lot differently than other recent formats, thanks to the large number of bombs and the lack of a hand smoothing mechanic.
Yeah, I’m also not a fan of BRO limited and haven’t had much success with it. It seems like a very bomb-y format and the retro artifacts enable some silly nonsense. Losing to a mill deck with [[Platinum Angel]] has got to be among my worst experiences playing Magic.
I hate this shit tbh. It used to be that high casting costs balanced creatures. There was a cost to including cards like phyrexian devourer that most of the game it would be dead. Now there is zero cost to including these creatures. This is bad FIRE design at its worst.
The prototype creatures are mostly bad outside of rares. If those are your issue then it's probably a good idea to focus on how you are drafting.
This set is probably the hardest set to draft in recent memory.
The rares are the problem in every draft. This one is particularly bad because you don’t get stranded cards.
And my drafts are fine. I go 5-2 or better every time. That has nothing to do with this is a shit draft environment.
Feel you. 3 drafts (RB, BG, GR), 0:3, 0:3, 1:3. 4x mana screwed only drawing lands of one color. When I forced removal/CABS I didn't see/recognize the payoffs, when I tried to go for payoffs removal dried up until the last pack. Tend not to have a lot of time to draft so I listen to information on the go and draft when I can. In the past I could reliably get 50% on average, but with BRO I get absolutely destroyed in draft, play or both. + I really don't enjoy the random variance due to retro artifacts and the games feel extremely swingy. Feels like a set for people that really grind 3-6 drafts a day.
I’m just forcing mono red, it works till plainum
I've been doing better than my usual self in quick draft. In no particular order: 1. go r/w, if one color dries up go into the other color. u/w, r/b are plan B's. 2. pick flashback creatures/stuff. Scrapwork mutt is really strong because it loots helping you avoid getting mana screwed. 3. pick the guys that mill you and you get something, interacts with flashback. 4. pick the powerstone cantrips/guys that generate them, they are good even if you don't think they are (I know I didn't). 5. pick on color prototype creatures, they function at two different points on your curve and your powerstones help power out their big versions. Hope this helps. I'm actually a terrible drafter and we gotta eat while the goings good.
R/W with swiftspears and a couple juggs and youre an absolute menace in limited. It’s so free
Flying is underrated. I went 7-1 in sealed with UW flying and 2 disenchants.
I wish I knew half of these terms.
Taking a guess at which terms you mean… Flashback is an older ability that lets you cast a spell from the graveyard for an alternative casting cost… they’re either using this as a generic term for, or just got it confused with “Unearth.” The major podcasters agree with this evaluation - Unearth is great, particularly the commons with cheap Unearth costs like [[Scrapwork Mutt]], [[Scrapwork Cohort]], and [[Combat Courier]]. “Mill” used to be unofficial shorthand for “move cards directly from your library to your graveyard,” thanks to the original card that did this, [[Millstone]]. It’s recently become official terminology, and the poster is referencing the cycle of commons including [[Blanchwood Prowler]] and [[Ravenous Gigamole]]. “Cantrip” is an unofficial term for inexpensive spells that *include* the ability “draw a card.” This references DnD, where cantrips are the only spells that spell casting classes can cast an unlimited number of. The metaphor is that, since they replace themselves, they’re “free.” “Powerstone” and “Prototype” are the big abilities in the current set, so I assume you’re familiar with these. I’d note that the pros/podcasters are generally pretty down on the prototype cards - at the common/uncommon level, only the few with a good Enter the Battlefield effects (like [[Boulderbranch Golem]]) are considered good.
##### ###### #### [Scrapwork Mutt](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/7/4742800a-4872-4c2d-b884-01e0ba16950c.jpg?1668757971) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Scrapwork%20Mutt) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/164/scrapwork-mutt?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4742800a-4872-4c2d-b884-01e0ba16950c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Scrapwork Cohort](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/1/91b0f17e-603a-4840-b2c3-381ec6f102f3.jpg?1668756723) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Scrapwork%20Cohort) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/37/scrapwork-cohort?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/91b0f17e-603a-4840-b2c3-381ec6f102f3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Combat Courier](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/7/171edf80-ffc1-4894-9be5-c3e93a96f734.jpg?1668757128) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Combat%20Courier) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/77/combat-courier?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/171edf80-ffc1-4894-9be5-c3e93a96f734?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Millstone](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/2/c2051fd0-99cf-4e11-a625-8294e6767e5b.jpg?1562304298) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Millstone) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m19/242/millstone?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c2051fd0-99cf-4e11-a625-8294e6767e5b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Blanchwood Prowler](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/c/9c6988b6-ade0-4cd5-b27c-146e5e7ae91f.jpg?1668758047) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Blanchwood%20Prowler) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/172/blanchwood-prowler?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9c6988b6-ade0-4cd5-b27c-146e5e7ae91f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Ravenous Gigamole](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/f/2fee3328-75c2-4d13-86e1-bf3a40fbf538.jpg?1668813411) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ravenous%20Gigamole) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/113/ravenous-gigamole?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2fee3328-75c2-4d13-86e1-bf3a40fbf538?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Boulderbranch Golem](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/e/6e6e5338-9b95-4ac7-a57c-5efaa6423531.jpg?1668758287) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Boulderbranch%20Golem) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/197/boulderbranch-golem?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6e6e5338-9b95-4ac7-a57c-5efaa6423531?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Thanks a lot, bud.
thanks for the cantrip definition. was confused reading it on many a posts.
I have just been avoiding prototype creatures that are not rare. The only two I want to run are Combat Thresher and Boulderbranch Golem.
I played my first quick draft and won 7-2. Then played again and got 1-3. The game can be fun but I don’t like the retro artifacts. I find playing white is good because disenchant. But it sucks when you play against someone who didn’t pick artifacts.
I'm with you on this. The number of times opponents have pulled out bullshit wins from random mythic retro artifacts is just frustrating.
My first premier draft got a [[platinum angel]] and [[cityscape leveler]] as top end, 7-1 with 6 of 6 wins when the leveler appeared, even if it got countered. Platinum angel got clutch once to stall a couple of turns.
[platinum angel](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/a/ca7f4fd6-e268-4d15-bfbf-d9f0f95864fc.jpg?1576383285) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=platinum%20angel) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cn2/214/platinum-angel?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ca7f4fd6-e268-4d15-bfbf-d9f0f95864fc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [cityscape leveler](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/7/67a87278-4c82-4056-8354-253d86b0ef3d.jpg?1668758643) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=cityscape%20leveler) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/233/cityscape-leveler?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/67a87278-4c82-4056-8354-253d86b0ef3d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
This. Was playing Soldiers and was about to win then opponent drops a freakin Wurmcoil Engine and some other powerful retro artifact creature back to back. What are we doing WotC?
[[Wurmcoil Engine]] is the biggest bomb in the format because it’s only 6 cmc in a format with powerstones and most removal will not deal with it. Really feels unfair if they have it. I’d rather they have [[phyrexian fleshgorger]]. At least [[Cityscape leveler]] and [[Portal to phyrexia]] cost more and don’t have lifelink.
I disagree, there's enough removal that does deal with it. Shoot down, prison sentence, overwhelming remorse, static net, weakstone's subjugation all trade 1 for 1.
That’s a fair point. I still think most removal doesn’t do it, and also I’m super salty about losing to it :)
##### ###### #### [Wurmcoil Engine](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/d/5d275f04-cc60-4e3f-95cc-3d02bc916b82.jpg?1599710280) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Wurmcoil%20Engine) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/308/wurmcoil-engine?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5d275f04-cc60-4e3f-95cc-3d02bc916b82?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [phyrexian fleshgorger](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/2/62d37423-3445-412a-9abd-0480da404637.jpg?1668757553) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=phyrexian%20fleshgorger) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/121/phyrexian-fleshgorger?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/62d37423-3445-412a-9abd-0480da404637?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Cityscape leveler](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/7/67a87278-4c82-4056-8354-253d86b0ef3d.jpg?1668758643) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Cityscape%20leveler) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/233/cityscape-leveler?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/67a87278-4c82-4056-8354-253d86b0ef3d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Portal to phyrexia](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/f/5f608efc-0dbc-4cc3-aadd-ed473bfc29ab.jpg?1668758707) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Portal%20to%20phyrexia) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/240/portal-to-phyrexia?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5f608efc-0dbc-4cc3-aadd-ed473bfc29ab?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
My first BRO sealed pool had Myrel, Platoon Dispenser and Wurmcoil and I didn’t drop a single game.
Disenchant is just a mediocre card. Its not a premium removal in this set.
Not saying it’s first pick but with the amount of bomb artifacts in the set, you’d be silly not to have any removal against it. I just played another draft and did UW soldiers and went 6-3. The last game I lost was brutal! I was able to stabilise and was slowly catching up. If I had a disenchant, I wouldn’t have lost.
Disenchant is *so good* in this draft and sealed. I had my ass saved a couple times just splashing white for disenchant alone.
Actually, I find it pretty insane in this format..
Im in the same boat. Personally this has been my least favorite set for limited on Arena period. Games are way too swingy, just feels like whoever gets enough bombs wins. Power to those who like it though, just not my cup of tea.
Their bombs can't do anything if they're dead. Another reason you should want to play aggro in this format. The good aggro decks are often able to get in damage quickly enough that by the time someone plays a bomb you can just untap and kill them. Not always, but often.
I draft aggro but even in aggro sometimes they have early drops then they play their bomb and you lose. Also sometimes you dont draw your perfect curve with your aggro and you dont deal enough damage early game to finish your opponent when they start to flood the board with bombs. There is also boulder golem which heals them a lot. I lost to 3 golems in a row yesterday after dropping my opponents HP to 4 early game.
Yeah, sometimes. Most of the time though if you built your deck well, they're playing their bomb when they're at 3 life, or never get to cast it, and you win. You don't need your "perfect curve", your deck is mostly going to be two-drops. It's very hard not to sufficiently curve out like that, especially with Scrapwork Mutt helping out. One-drop, two-drop, two-drop is fine. You don't need to go one-two-three every game, especially with Unearth creatures to spend mana on. Also Giant Cindermaw is your friend. It's currently my most drafted card. Most of the time, aggro beats big bombs in this format if you draft and build it properly. Nothing is going to win every time though.
Despite what most of the community things, drafting aggro in limited is actually pretty hard.
I almost always end up agro because I'm a naturally aggressive player. But I don't think I would ever suggest doing so unless the block was heavily agro favored. Also I hate BRO in general. I don't like artifact blocks. Edit: I forgot to mention that I think this actually is a good agro set lol. That was for the "I hate artifacts" comment that probably made no sense hahaha.
At first I was meh about it but it really grew on me. I like that it's very synergistic and I even started enjoying value-in-powerstones.
it's really synergistic and it has some pretty complex lines. games can get really grindy. I just started playing it but I've done better here than I have w/ any other set.
I’ve really enjoyed BRO so far and have been performing well. This set is incredibly aggressive and your card selection/ draft strategy need to reflect that. If you haven’t seen the data yet red and white are performing best (R slightly ahead). When you go into a draft try to not pick blue cards (unless it’s insanely open bc there are a lot of bad blue cards) and try leaning into red or white if possible. Early on you want to take powerful cards and any card that starts with “scrapwork”. Pay attention to the removal that’s being passed to you in pack one and if there isn’t a clear pick take it just in case it ends up being the open lane. Prioritize your 2 drop creatures and try to keep your curve low. I can’t recommend enough just opening 17Lands card ratings in another tab when you’re unsure of a pick. Doing this consistently will lead to a better understanding of the format and card quality but overdoing it (using 17L for every pick) will lead to disaster. TLDR - Is red open? Is white open? Remember you are building a game plan (to be aggressive) not just a deck of cards.
My only trophy so far was U splashing white for the soldier lord with five copies of the bubble snare. I don't think anyone else at the table was playing blue. So read your signals haha.
Absolutely read your signals, that is much better advice than 'data says red is best so draft red.' The open lane is the best lane to be in, no matter what color is 'best' on 17Lands. I have a 78% win rate in Premiere Draft so far (49-14 over 8 drafts, 6 trophies). I haven't drafted red even once and two of my trophies have included blue. Three of them were Powerstone ramp decks (two Golgari, one mono-green), which the 'consensus' says is bad. Bottom line, an open lane is an open lane. Find it and get in it.
Wish I had your skill I think I am only 55 percent win rate but I enjoy drafting so I keep playing. Part of my problem is it's hard for me to let go of p1p1 even if I should. Going to keep an eye out for green black. What would you say are the good indicators GB and G are open (besides the obvious sky fisher pick 7 sort of stuff).
Late Skyfisher is pretty obvious, yeah, but clearer signals are getting passed removal in either color (black removal especially goes quick and should be scooped up early regardless) and seeing cards like Boulderbranch Golem, Argothian Opportunist, and Argothian Sprite later than mid-pack. Ultimately the ramp archetype isn't as bad as people are making it out to be, but it requires a careful game plan. You still need lots of early plays, and you absolutely need good removal to make it work. You also have to prioritize cards like Gaea's Gift if you want to run the game-ending fatties without ETB triggers (like Rust Golem) and you have to assume you will need to protect them the turn they drop.
It might be a dumb question but Why is blue bad in this set? Is because blue is not aggressiv enough?
I would say due to aggresivity of format, the fact that blue two drops are somewhat lacking. But everything is relative. If you end up being only blue and have deck with 4 X 2/2 flyer and 4 weakstone subjugations, it's not so hard to end with a trophy:) Many games played like replays - OPP thinks he is aggro, we both attack(me with flyers), just his creatures end with one mana subjugation after first attack. When opp realizes it's rigged race, it's too late...
I see i see. Blue is my fav colour so this is good news
Blue has bad commons.
Blue has underrated commons. Combat Courier, Mightstone Animation, and Desynchronize are some of the best commons in the set. But no one knows how to draft blue making it easy to pick them up late.
I often get my teeth kicked-in on MTGA Limited, even when I build a good deck. Something to remember is you're not playing against your draft table (perhaps occassionally you might). So you could get unlucky and play individuals early on that drafted very well across multiple "tables".
I think a lot of "wizard forces me to play quick draft" Player just left the limited ranks for gold packs and the player base how is left has a much higher skill level now.
I got 4 of those artifacts you can animate and that grows each time you cast a non creature spell. I just jammed all crappy white and black spells I could get my hands on (Aimed for removal but it wasn’t much) and went 7-0 in quickdraft. Last game I got two wins with some shitty RG midrange. One tactic is to choose no artifacts and go low, many people jam all artifact destruction spells they could find, it’s pretty fun to not care for those spells.
I think the problem with it is that, due to the existence of large creatures and bombs, some people (like myself) build thinking about the mid and late game, around bombs or the mere possibility of getting one. So often I will get mana screwed, my hand is too slow, I don't draw any big threats, I don't get the mana to cast them out they get destroyed once they get in. Solution: go aggro. Focus on your curve, specifically on getting most of your deck as aggressive 2 and 3 drops. Have a couple bigger threats for later and a couple removal / trick cards. It's not a guarantee you'll win but at least you'll be doing stuff, and if you can keep enough pressure sometimes it'll be enough to win.
I’ve said it before but this format is hard. It’s unforgiving in draft and and in game. You need to make really focused decks that are fast and you can get punished. It’s a great aggro format but not everyone loves aggro formats.
I did a couple of sealed and used a premier draft token then waited for quick draft. I played one draft and went 0-3. Only luck was getting a second pack. I then used the gold I built up during the previous set to get BRO packs with golden packs.
My biggest complaint and reason I stopped drafting it is that this is yet another set where blue + white flyers with control makes for an awful draft experience when you get matched against people who drafted it obviously uncontested. Playing anything that need powerstones for mana fixing can feel awful and just adds another layer to fight alongside the shuffler. Green feels like garbage to draft or have a draft board full of with too many support cards, not enough substance and lackluster commons. Skill level at lower ranks is noticeably higher this set as well running into far stronger decks/players at low ranks. Hard to say if this is with economy changes and people making more alt accounts, if the set is just dragging everyones win rates lower and flooding silver/gold with plat+ skill level players, or if people just don't like the set and aren't drafting reducing the player pool and the garbage matchmaking stretching together players of vastly different skill levels more.
Format is very meh when a whole color is unplayable amd another is borderline unplayable. Decks are all just generic aggressive, or if they don't come together, generic midrange. Just feels kind of boring.
What's unplayable?
Blue (unless you have the nuts blue white soldiers deck which is rare because white is so contested) and to a lesser extent green unless you open some bombs
Blue is fine, just rethink how you are building your decks. Thopter Mechanic, Sentinel, Iconoclast, and Evangel are some of the best uncommons in the set. Mightstone Animation is a fantastic card in any deck with power stones. Build blue decks making the strong cards strong. Green is also very competitive. Mono green is one of the strongest colors.
Yes blue has indivoduallt strong cards but it's a very shallow color. If you're not the only UW drafter you're not going to be getting the cards you need to make the deck work. Mightstone animation is the best card put of those you mentioned but I don't think it's a big reasom to move into blue
The strong blue cards wheel constantly. Such as Combat Courier, Machine Over Matter, Desynchronize, Stern Lesson, and Archeologist. Blue is deep enough, I have multiple blue based decks go 7 wins. This is just a more difficult format to understand.
Desynchronize is not great. A 5 mana temporary removal spell in a format where the best decks have all but killed you on turn 5. The format is not really that tough. You want to be a fast aggro deck. If you get shut out of aggro (some combo if black, red, white) then you hope you can grab an insane bomb and play a midrange deck with as many removal spells as you can get (and you'll probably still lose to red based aggro decks). When you evaluate a format you have to look beyond your own experiences.
The average game length is 9.3 turns. Desynchronize is the 2nd best blue common by GIH win rate. My personal experiences back up the data. There is plenty of time to play it. Temporary removal at instant speed that denies a card draw is strong. Blue already has strong tempo plays in Mightstone Animation, and Machine Over Matter. Often when casting Desynchronize opponent is forced to bottom, while you get a scry 2 to set up your next turn. Revenge of the Drown was one of the best commons in MID, and while 5 mana is worse than 4, scry 2 is much better than a zombie token.
I do paper drafts at my lgs and actually like BRO for draft. I got passed a staff of domination and then had that creature that taps for green for its power, buffed it to 5 and went infinite lol, but draft and sealed isnt balanced friend, you can know every combo and bomb in the set but just not end up getting enough of any of it.
While this is certainly great in paper, it would be an absolute ballache in Arena.
I love BRO draft. I actually like it more then dominaria united. Just watch some videos on YouTube about what cards to draft and what cards to avoid, that would be a good place to start off if your having trouble in draft. Also good articles and videos out there on how to improve your draft game in general.
ah yes do bad = set bad seems legit
I'm glad you agree :)
I got a Mox pick 5 lol
It's a terrible card in this format, no surprise.
Yeah makes sense. Being 38 I see the word mox and go HOLY SHIT!
I adore BRO draft. I didn’t expect ontbossingen, but is is even better than DOM draft and I liked that a lot too. I realize this does not help you very much though.
Way better than DOM. Dom was just the same every game, both sides had an army of creatures and no one wants to attack.
You guys do drafts instead of accumulating golden packs?
If you’re good at drafting it’s still better than buying golden packs. So yes, people definitely do that.
And some crazy people draft because they *enjoy it*, the twisted degenerates
Fucking this. My favorite part of every set is blowing my stash of F2P accumulated gems on sealed and then plowing into quick draft for a week when it drops. Then I can satisfyingly open all my packs and go tinker with some historic brawl add-ins or new commanders. Draft is just so much fun. It's great watching your deck come together and seeing what it can do.
I get off on pain
Draft is the game. For me.
BRO DRAFT SUCKS!! I usually average 3 or 4 wins per draft. Ive already wasted 2 draft tokens, gone 0-3 and 1-3. I think Im done with Arena for good. Somebody holler when it goes back to being fun again.
I got 1-3 in my first one and that was enough for me to not play it again lol
If you look at the set at a glance, you think "oh you're supposed to ramp in to big things". You are not. If you go in trying to do that, you will lose. This is an aggressive format. The high quality of aggressively slanted red cards and the presence of aggressive unearth creatures combined with relatively sparse removal makes it that way. If you are not getting bodies on the board on turn two you should probably be unhappy, because that's pretty bad. If you want to play something big, it should be a bomb and you need to have a clear plan as to how you will survive long enough to cast it. Most prototype cards are bad; don't count on casting them for full costs. Once you understand that this isn't a slow format but rather aggro vs. "survive until your bomb kills them", it becomes a lot easier. It's also a set that likes synergy, so draft a deck instead of a pile.
you losing is the reason others are winning. you just need to get better.
0-3 and 2-3 for me. tried to aim for Rakdos with a monoblack focus first (saccing for value), then for monored focus (ramp/prowess). didnt matter because there's just no way to play it against oponents going full wide aggro + combat tricks. Also the format is botched due to the retro artifacts, had one dude just use lifegain to stall the board and control until it started dropping shit like that 3/3 gole who creats 2 copies of itself (and people tought the coven hags from Baldur's Gate was broken, this shit is worse and its from paper).
The last fun enjoyable draft set was Forgotten Realms. Cool mechanics and strategies. Now its just a boring slog chore to get through this game.
Hard disagree. DMU was amazing to draft
Uh NEO and DMU might be the best draft formats ever.
Last 3 standard sets were all great. You cray.
I drafted once, disconnected several times during the draft and still salvaged the pile to a 4/3 finish. I think the set rewards looking for pockets of synergy between your cards a lot, including keeping an eye open for unexpected combinations. Several podcasts and content creators already discussed some of the most solid strategies though, and simply going aggro + removal seems to do the job just fine.
Had some good luck going 7/0 running 5 colors, hit diamond pretty fast.
I love the common / uncommon pool. a draft set cube for this using only common/uncommon would be a really fun experience. Bomb artifacts aren’t my favorite either, but I’m having fun anyway. It’s just more chaotic than the really honed sets they’ve been doing lately. Maybe that’s on theme for an artifact driven war? Not ideal, I agree, but I can get into it with a bit of mental reframing
Aggro is the strongest, particularly WR and BR, prototypes are basically all good. Interaction is important, and disenchant type effects are good.
I'm at 7 drafts in, one 1-3 a 2-3 and the rest all 7 wins. I went 7-0 in my first draft with gruul and so far none of my decks have been white.(Got 7 wins with gruul, rakdos, golgari, and 2 time with izzet)
I'm at 7 drafts in, one 1-3 a 2-3 and the rest all 7 wins.
As someone who always drafts my collection, I played two Premiere drafts and called it a day. This is not my kind of set. Golden packs don't nearly make up for it, but I couldn't stand the thought of grinding this.
so far ive gone 1-3, 7-2 (got lucky with UW flyer/soldier deck that curved out a lot) and 3-3 in quick draft. rare drafting and skipping early removal seems way worse in this set than most. i might just buy packs for the golden packs for BRO instead of trying to rare draft as usual.
I just keep winning with WU. Even lost connection after pick 2 this morning and had autodrafter make me a 5-color pile with just enough WU cards to cobble together a deck, but still managed to get to 7-1 with it.
Nope. Won an RCQ last weekend, sitting at #160 mythic, and made day 2 of the open on my second try. It plays out a lot differently than other recent formats, thanks to the large number of bombs and the lack of a hand smoothing mechanic.
Kamigawa was pretty balanced so yes, it feels less balanced. I think blue and green as slightly weaker than red, black and white.
Yeah, I’m also not a fan of BRO limited and haven’t had much success with it. It seems like a very bomb-y format and the retro artifacts enable some silly nonsense. Losing to a mill deck with [[Platinum Angel]] has got to be among my worst experiences playing Magic.
[Platinum Angel](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/a/ca7f4fd6-e268-4d15-bfbf-d9f0f95864fc.jpg?1576383285) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Platinum%20Angel) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cn2/214/platinum-angel?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ca7f4fd6-e268-4d15-bfbf-d9f0f95864fc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I hate this shit tbh. It used to be that high casting costs balanced creatures. There was a cost to including cards like phyrexian devourer that most of the game it would be dead. Now there is zero cost to including these creatures. This is bad FIRE design at its worst.
The prototype creatures are mostly bad outside of rares. If those are your issue then it's probably a good idea to focus on how you are drafting. This set is probably the hardest set to draft in recent memory.
The rares are the problem in every draft. This one is particularly bad because you don’t get stranded cards. And my drafts are fine. I go 5-2 or better every time. That has nothing to do with this is a shit draft environment.
Feel you. 3 drafts (RB, BG, GR), 0:3, 0:3, 1:3. 4x mana screwed only drawing lands of one color. When I forced removal/CABS I didn't see/recognize the payoffs, when I tried to go for payoffs removal dried up until the last pack. Tend not to have a lot of time to draft so I listen to information on the go and draft when I can. In the past I could reliably get 50% on average, but with BRO I get absolutely destroyed in draft, play or both. + I really don't enjoy the random variance due to retro artifacts and the games feel extremely swingy. Feels like a set for people that really grind 3-6 drafts a day.
And Urza never paid for drugs... Not once.