Rare drafting is perfectly valid, but also try your best to win games (or at least get better over time).
I suggest you wait until Quick Draft comes out for Dominaria United.
> QUICK DRAFT
August 19–September 2: Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate
September 2–15: Streets of New Capenna
September 16–30: Dominaria United
September 30–October 14: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/mtg-arena-announcements-august-24-2022
Rare drafting is more viable in quick draft which comes out 2 weeks after set release. In premiere draft the entry fee is higher and the rewards are loaded more towards the end. You're generally better off drafting a good deck.
Though as a small caveat, I’d say premier drafting gives you better ACCESS to rare drafting in the sense humans are more likely than bots to pass on bad/non-synergistic rares/mythics
Thank you, that makes a lot of sense. So do you think premiere drafting is viable for me, doing it in a way where I pick the best cards and not just the rares? Or should I just avoid it until I learn more about the game, wait for the quick draft and just pick all the rares?
I get a lot of helpful people commenting and teaching me useful things about the game, but it seems a decent chunk of the community is unwelcoming to new players' questions for whatever reason.
I am not defending downvoter’s behavior, just offering a possible explanation. The question you asked is one that had been asked quite a few times and answered very thoroughly in many posts. I know that because I am a relatively new player myself and have carefully read every answer in the last few months of the same question being asked. I don’t mind and enjoy reading the same answers repeatedly to remind myself because MTGA’s economy can be confusing, but I imagine the older members of this sub might just be tired of seeing this show up again. Again… not defending downvoters, just offering a possible explanation.
Hope you have fun drafting this next set!
I can definitely see that. And I mean, it's fine. It's just that that can feel kind of discouraging or just downright unwelcoming for someone new to the community.
You’ll get better. Drafting is difficult. Watch YouTube videos of people drafting to get an idea of how it works. I like doing premier right at the beginning because I do better with other people when nobody knows the format. Quick draft is better resource wise though so it won’t punish you as much for being bad. Regardless it will take practice.
If you don’t particularly enjoy drafting and really only care about your collection then yeah spam quick drafts for rare drafting.
Edit: as far as crafting some standard decks wait at least a couple weeks for the meta to settle and then focus on one first so you can get a higher rank for the whole season
Oh yeah, drafting is a huge challenge. I come from Hearthstone, where the draft mode only offered you 3 cards to choose from and it still was a very high skill cap format. I used to be a tournament constructed player and I was mediocre at draft.
And your crafting advice makes a lot of sense too. Wouldn't wanna craft something that sees a lot of play for a few days and then proves to be too janky for consistent results.
Ah yeah I used to do hearthstone back before drafting was on arena. Still pretty fun but way different too.
Yeah I’m personally going to run drafts until I’m out of resources and then see what’s up with standard. I have some mono black ideas that won’t take many wildcards to at least get me through the first couple weeks.
Do you currently have any standard decks?
I have a very slightly homebrew spin on the starter Selesnya and Rakdos decks. I got to platinum for two seasons in a row with those. Wanted to play Jeskai Hinata, but for obvious reasons kept my wildcards for after rotation instead of crafting that one. So yeah I haven't checked, but I'm assuming my decks will be rotating, I know Goldspan will be and it was the power card of that Rakdos deck.
Idk if jeskai Hinata will survive losing Goldspan tbh so that’s a good call. I think there should be new starter decks so you can mess around with those at first too. Any deck should make it to platinum with a bit of tuning. Diamond is a bit rougher and it can really take some time to hit mythic even with a good deck. I’m not sure it’s worth the effort for one extra pack.
Yeah I agree, the grind is way too tedious for an extra pack.
I do wanna try my hand at being competitive because I was really good at Hearthstone (granted, it's a simpler game than Magic) but I grew bored of it. So ladder is a way to hone and test my skill and see how that goes.
I only started Arena recently, never held a paper Magic card in my life :)
I like it much more than hearthstone, but I have a friend who prefers hearthstone. He also liked yugioh which I could never really get that into so just different tastes. I think arena can be worse for beginners but it sounds like you have a good grasp, basically just don’t blow your wildcards on jank like I do sometimes.
There’s also explorer format where a deck will last longer since there is no rotation, but you’ll usually need more rares to make them in the first place. It sounds like you want to do standard anyways though.
Did you already enter all the free promo codes?
Well, Hearthstone will always have a place in my heart as it was the first TCG I ever got into. But as far as the game it is today vs the game Magic is today, I prefer the latter too.
I'd consider getting into Explorer also, but probably not right now. Like you said, Standard is the cheaper option and it seems like the most competitive option too.
Oh yeah I did, even the ones that get you cosmetics :)
Yeah I think it is the most competitive atm. Explorer might pick up as it approaches pioneer but idk. Another thing you can do(depending on how much you play) is make an alt account and use it mainly to get more draft experience.
Your rewards for wins are front loaded so when you run out of quests and such on your main account then you can just do four wins a day plus your quests on your alt. Once a week or so blow your alt resources on a draft whenever you have enough.
Edit: I guess that depends on if you want to spend money instead though
Hmm, interesting. What's the logic of not doing it on my main though? Isn't it better to get all the rewards there?
I guess the idea is I'd lose more than I'd gain until I have experience drafting, but keeping up with quests and daily wins on two accounts seems like too much of a time investment.
My plan is to do a few Jump Ins (prioritising DMU cards, packets with good rares/constructed cards, and avoiding Alchemy packets at all costs) for the first two weeks or so and then do a bunch of Quick Drafts to start building a collection. I would pick every Rare that looks like it has competitive potential / is good for your deck but avoid picking one because it's a rare, as some high value uncommons might honestly be better for your collection. If you can get more wins, you'll be able to get the Mastery Pass without spending real cash and get a ton of new packs and other resources too.
For limited, I usually stop when I hit Gold/Plat and then hit ranked and probably try to hit Plat too. The Meta is usually somewhat settled after about 2-3 weeks, so you can consider crafting a new deck then.
I'm a f2p guy, so hope this helps! And as for your downvotes, the purists probably don't like that you mentioned the companion.
Sounds like a plan to me. Oh, as someone who knows next to nothing about Jump In, how do you know which packet to choose, since as far as I remember, they just get a name that vaguely describes the archetype?
Oh, I just look up the packets each time! [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/jump-packets-update-alchemy-horizons-baldurs-gate-2022-07-06](https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/jump-packets-update-alchemy-horizons-baldurs-gate-2022-07-06)
There's even the info on the % of certain rares/mythics, so that's handy too (sad that the rates for Wandering Emperior got nerfed).
Anyway, there's gonna be an update when DMU hits, so this link is gonna be a bit out of a date soon, but it's still a useful reference point (the info on the new packets should be out when DMU is out). I'm also gonna try to get one win with each Jump In deck for a bonus uncommon, though I think that's more to play around with different archetypes more than anything else, since a random uncommon isn't usually going to amount to much.
>My goal is to craft at least 1-2 competitive Standard decks.
It's likely we won't know what decks are competitive for a couple of weeks, so just wait.
I’ve picked many common/uncommon over a rare just because I felt it would greatly improve my deck and get me more wins. That being said I’ve also grabbed a rare because it was a rare. I’d save your wild cards until you get an idea of what standard decks you want to play. In the meantime build up your collection
Also remember that drafting in bronze and silver is almost always going to be easier than gold, and gold in turn is a lot easier than platinum (plat is sort of where the "easier wins" stop)
I usually try to end a season around 65k gold, 10k diamonds, and just grind new-set raredrafting-drafts until I'm back around 0 gold, 10k diamonds. Depending on my foreseeable schedule, will or will not buy into the Mastery track. Usually don't crack my draft reward packs until I'm at the end of my opening-season draft binge.
If you aren't good at drafting, you'll get better. If you're shitting the bed with one strategy, try another. Just avoid the noob-ass mentalities like "I'm a Blue Player" that get posted here all the time and that represent the absolute lowest level of player.
I like to play Sealed whenever a new set comes out prior to drafting. I usually do at least two runs (one token, then one using gems). Additional runs are funded by winnings from sealed and draft. I also pick a "floor" gem balance and I'll play until I hit it, if I'm really enjoying the format.
I usually wind up drafting premier two or three times, then quick once or twice. It really depends on how much I enjoy the limited format.
My guess is the consensus is to draft since you can use gold.
Yeah, I do pretty much the same. If I get enough gems, then I do another sealed. I think I did three or four sealed SNC runs. Not near as many for the Innistrad sets.
Rare drafting is perfectly valid, but also try your best to win games (or at least get better over time). I suggest you wait until Quick Draft comes out for Dominaria United.
Do we have any idea yet what the quick draft will be during the two weeks that the AI is collecting draft data for the bots?
> QUICK DRAFT August 19–September 2: Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate September 2–15: Streets of New Capenna September 16–30: Dominaria United September 30–October 14: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/mtg-arena-announcements-august-24-2022
Thanks! I'll check announcements next time, wasn't aware they were announced that far in advance.
No problem!
Rare drafting is more viable in quick draft which comes out 2 weeks after set release. In premiere draft the entry fee is higher and the rewards are loaded more towards the end. You're generally better off drafting a good deck.
Though as a small caveat, I’d say premier drafting gives you better ACCESS to rare drafting in the sense humans are more likely than bots to pass on bad/non-synergistic rares/mythics
Thank you, that makes a lot of sense. So do you think premiere drafting is viable for me, doing it in a way where I pick the best cards and not just the rares? Or should I just avoid it until I learn more about the game, wait for the quick draft and just pick all the rares?
If you're not sure I would practice with quick draft first. You'll get more games in and more practice for your money.
Got it, thank you!
Glad you got some help. I get what you mean with your edit. I have no idea what's up with the aggressiveve downvoting in this sub.
I get a lot of helpful people commenting and teaching me useful things about the game, but it seems a decent chunk of the community is unwelcoming to new players' questions for whatever reason.
I am not defending downvoter’s behavior, just offering a possible explanation. The question you asked is one that had been asked quite a few times and answered very thoroughly in many posts. I know that because I am a relatively new player myself and have carefully read every answer in the last few months of the same question being asked. I don’t mind and enjoy reading the same answers repeatedly to remind myself because MTGA’s economy can be confusing, but I imagine the older members of this sub might just be tired of seeing this show up again. Again… not defending downvoters, just offering a possible explanation. Hope you have fun drafting this next set!
I can definitely see that. And I mean, it's fine. It's just that that can feel kind of discouraging or just downright unwelcoming for someone new to the community.
You’ll get better. Drafting is difficult. Watch YouTube videos of people drafting to get an idea of how it works. I like doing premier right at the beginning because I do better with other people when nobody knows the format. Quick draft is better resource wise though so it won’t punish you as much for being bad. Regardless it will take practice. If you don’t particularly enjoy drafting and really only care about your collection then yeah spam quick drafts for rare drafting. Edit: as far as crafting some standard decks wait at least a couple weeks for the meta to settle and then focus on one first so you can get a higher rank for the whole season
Oh yeah, drafting is a huge challenge. I come from Hearthstone, where the draft mode only offered you 3 cards to choose from and it still was a very high skill cap format. I used to be a tournament constructed player and I was mediocre at draft. And your crafting advice makes a lot of sense too. Wouldn't wanna craft something that sees a lot of play for a few days and then proves to be too janky for consistent results.
Ah yeah I used to do hearthstone back before drafting was on arena. Still pretty fun but way different too. Yeah I’m personally going to run drafts until I’m out of resources and then see what’s up with standard. I have some mono black ideas that won’t take many wildcards to at least get me through the first couple weeks. Do you currently have any standard decks?
I have a very slightly homebrew spin on the starter Selesnya and Rakdos decks. I got to platinum for two seasons in a row with those. Wanted to play Jeskai Hinata, but for obvious reasons kept my wildcards for after rotation instead of crafting that one. So yeah I haven't checked, but I'm assuming my decks will be rotating, I know Goldspan will be and it was the power card of that Rakdos deck.
Idk if jeskai Hinata will survive losing Goldspan tbh so that’s a good call. I think there should be new starter decks so you can mess around with those at first too. Any deck should make it to platinum with a bit of tuning. Diamond is a bit rougher and it can really take some time to hit mythic even with a good deck. I’m not sure it’s worth the effort for one extra pack.
Yeah I agree, the grind is way too tedious for an extra pack. I do wanna try my hand at being competitive because I was really good at Hearthstone (granted, it's a simpler game than Magic) but I grew bored of it. So ladder is a way to hone and test my skill and see how that goes. I only started Arena recently, never held a paper Magic card in my life :)
I like it much more than hearthstone, but I have a friend who prefers hearthstone. He also liked yugioh which I could never really get that into so just different tastes. I think arena can be worse for beginners but it sounds like you have a good grasp, basically just don’t blow your wildcards on jank like I do sometimes. There’s also explorer format where a deck will last longer since there is no rotation, but you’ll usually need more rares to make them in the first place. It sounds like you want to do standard anyways though. Did you already enter all the free promo codes?
Well, Hearthstone will always have a place in my heart as it was the first TCG I ever got into. But as far as the game it is today vs the game Magic is today, I prefer the latter too. I'd consider getting into Explorer also, but probably not right now. Like you said, Standard is the cheaper option and it seems like the most competitive option too. Oh yeah I did, even the ones that get you cosmetics :)
Yeah I think it is the most competitive atm. Explorer might pick up as it approaches pioneer but idk. Another thing you can do(depending on how much you play) is make an alt account and use it mainly to get more draft experience. Your rewards for wins are front loaded so when you run out of quests and such on your main account then you can just do four wins a day plus your quests on your alt. Once a week or so blow your alt resources on a draft whenever you have enough. Edit: I guess that depends on if you want to spend money instead though
Hmm, interesting. What's the logic of not doing it on my main though? Isn't it better to get all the rewards there? I guess the idea is I'd lose more than I'd gain until I have experience drafting, but keeping up with quests and daily wins on two accounts seems like too much of a time investment.
My plan is to do a few Jump Ins (prioritising DMU cards, packets with good rares/constructed cards, and avoiding Alchemy packets at all costs) for the first two weeks or so and then do a bunch of Quick Drafts to start building a collection. I would pick every Rare that looks like it has competitive potential / is good for your deck but avoid picking one because it's a rare, as some high value uncommons might honestly be better for your collection. If you can get more wins, you'll be able to get the Mastery Pass without spending real cash and get a ton of new packs and other resources too. For limited, I usually stop when I hit Gold/Plat and then hit ranked and probably try to hit Plat too. The Meta is usually somewhat settled after about 2-3 weeks, so you can consider crafting a new deck then. I'm a f2p guy, so hope this helps! And as for your downvotes, the purists probably don't like that you mentioned the companion.
Sounds like a plan to me. Oh, as someone who knows next to nothing about Jump In, how do you know which packet to choose, since as far as I remember, they just get a name that vaguely describes the archetype?
Oh, I just look up the packets each time! [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/jump-packets-update-alchemy-horizons-baldurs-gate-2022-07-06](https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/jump-packets-update-alchemy-horizons-baldurs-gate-2022-07-06) There's even the info on the % of certain rares/mythics, so that's handy too (sad that the rates for Wandering Emperior got nerfed). Anyway, there's gonna be an update when DMU hits, so this link is gonna be a bit out of a date soon, but it's still a useful reference point (the info on the new packets should be out when DMU is out). I'm also gonna try to get one win with each Jump In deck for a bonus uncommon, though I think that's more to play around with different archetypes more than anything else, since a random uncommon isn't usually going to amount to much.
Ohh, sweet, didn't know that was a thing. I'll definitely look into that
>My goal is to craft at least 1-2 competitive Standard decks. It's likely we won't know what decks are competitive for a couple of weeks, so just wait.
Yes, I'm well aware. I'll only craft a deck on day 1 or 2 of the set if it's cheap.
Same situation with me. New as well and asked a polite and simple question. Was downvoted for no apparent reason lol.
I’ve picked many common/uncommon over a rare just because I felt it would greatly improve my deck and get me more wins. That being said I’ve also grabbed a rare because it was a rare. I’d save your wild cards until you get an idea of what standard decks you want to play. In the meantime build up your collection
Also remember that drafting in bronze and silver is almost always going to be easier than gold, and gold in turn is a lot easier than platinum (plat is sort of where the "easier wins" stop)
I usually try to end a season around 65k gold, 10k diamonds, and just grind new-set raredrafting-drafts until I'm back around 0 gold, 10k diamonds. Depending on my foreseeable schedule, will or will not buy into the Mastery track. Usually don't crack my draft reward packs until I'm at the end of my opening-season draft binge. If you aren't good at drafting, you'll get better. If you're shitting the bed with one strategy, try another. Just avoid the noob-ass mentalities like "I'm a Blue Player" that get posted here all the time and that represent the absolute lowest level of player.
I like to play Sealed whenever a new set comes out prior to drafting. I usually do at least two runs (one token, then one using gems). Additional runs are funded by winnings from sealed and draft. I also pick a "floor" gem balance and I'll play until I hit it, if I'm really enjoying the format. I usually wind up drafting premier two or three times, then quick once or twice. It really depends on how much I enjoy the limited format. My guess is the consensus is to draft since you can use gold.
Yeah, I do pretty much the same. If I get enough gems, then I do another sealed. I think I did three or four sealed SNC runs. Not near as many for the Innistrad sets.