How do I know what is actually good in a limited format.
Limited forum
Posted on Sept. 1, 2014, 2:58 a.m. by Death_The_Kid
I try to do pre releases often now. I mostly go just to crack packs and play with new cards. However I want to try and do better at these things. I never do amazing. Maybe I will win a match or two. This is mostly because I am so used to building a real deck I dont know what passes as good in limited. I know in M15 Welkin Tern
was just...amazing XD I decided the next one I go to I am not gonna build my deck based on color but, what color has the most flyers I pulled.
I recommend listening to Limited Resources. They have a pretty good idea on how things work in limited.
Mostly, you're looking for value. Not monetary (for the most part; see Nissa, Worldwaker as an example of both kinds), but in the game. Cards that can get you a 2-for-1 or cheap removal like Lightning Strike . It's a matter of learning the set itself and gauging what is powerful and what is not in the relative environment.
September 1, 2014 3:46 a.m.
Death_The_Kid says... #4
so would U/W or U/B evasion be a food deck type in some cases?
September 1, 2014 3:59 a.m.
That's a problem. Never force colors that are not being passed to you/opened in your sealed pool and archetypes change from each set release.
September 1, 2014 4:21 a.m.
the biggest mistake people do with limited is exactly that: lump all the limited together. drafting, as similar as is it to sealed, is a whole different beast.
if you want a crash course in drafting, here is a few simple rules to live by:
1: THE RARE IS IMPORTANT BUT IT ISN'T EVERYTHING. Avacyn, Guardian Angel is gross in limited, but 9/10, avacyn is a 5/4 flier with vigilance. Her abilities don't matter. but a 5/4 flier with vigilance is SUPER STRONG. so that works out. But you only get one of her, and she requires 3 white mana. so you have to take the good with the bad.
2: DON'T FORCE YOURSELF TO GO INTO YOUR RARE'S COLOR. if you pull Nissa, Worldwaker , take it, and then get crap green cards pack one, don't force yourself into it if you aren't having luck with pack two. rares are important, but they don't make the deck, they just enhance it.
3: TAKE YOUR TIME DRAFTING. Read cards. Know what they do. Don't just take something because it's in your color, make sure it's worth taking.
4: UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DO NOT!!!!!!!!! HATE DRAFT!!!!!!!!! I cannot stress this one enough. let's look at this from an casual draft perspective. if 8 people are drafting at a table and you know the man to the left of you is mono blue, and you aren't in blue whatsoever, AND pack 3 you open a Jace, the Living Guildpact , unless there is literally NOTHING ELSE in your pack DON'T TAKE HIM. (this rule doesn't necessarily apply if the card is worth more than you would win for the draft. If you are interested in value, and you pull a Nissa, Worldwaker pack three, that's 30 bucks, take it man.) The point though is there is always something else you can grab that will help you, and the reason why passing it doesn't matter is because you aren't likely to play them. There are 7 other people in the room, and you are probably only gonna do 3 rounds, which means you have less than a 50% chance to play him, and see your "mistake".
5: UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DO NOT!!!!!!! HATE DRAFT!!!!!!see reason 4.
6: RECOGNIZE ARCHETYPES, AND NOTICE WHICH ONES ARE AVAILABLE IN THE DRAFT POOL. If you see a Triplicate Spirits pass by you, and then the next immediate pack has a Triplicate Spirits in it as well, you should realize that those cards are good, shouldn't be passed, and that archetype is obviously open.
Sealed advice isn't as complicated, but I would say that every point other than 4 and 5 are still important.
any one who disagrees with my "rules" is more than welcome to, these are just ones I've discovered over the years that work for me.
September 1, 2014 4:46 a.m.
Oh, I forgot one rule: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF COMMONS. I think many people will agree with me when I say that depending on your rare, Lightning Strike is a legit pack one pick one, as is Raise the Alarm . Recognize power in cards and apply that to your draft techniques.
Boza says... #2
Do not do that. Synergy is most important in a limited deck. Focusing on the strength of the cards together is the key. For example, i won the Theros prerelease with playing UB Vaporkin deck, with 4 vaporkin and enchantments for them. In M15, a player at the LGS played Junk tokens with Spirit Bonds as the key card. He had a played it turn two both games and played Triplicate Spirits and Seraph of the Masses by turn 5.
Focus on the key cards and build around them. Use sealed simulators to train before the prerelease. I use the prerelease simulator to generate sevaral hundred pools in several hours before the prerelease to make sure I memorize all the new cards and all the interactions.
September 1, 2014 3:44 a.m.