Why do I play terribly in drafts?
Limited forum
Posted on Nov. 4, 2016, 4:49 a.m. by Exxdee
TL;DR - Why do I keep making all these common mistakes? I tend to think of best solution right after I make the decision. I started playing fairly casually since Born of the Gods, and started playing a little more seriously at Khans.
Ok, I'm extremely frustrated at myself. 1 hour ago before i'm writing this, I drafted an 8-4 Single Elimination Kaladesh because I was bored and wanted to have a change from modern. Anyway to the point, I drafted this pretty good blue-red artifact deck; Saheeli Rai, Skyship Stalker, Padeem, Dyanavolt Tower.I go into round 1 feeling pretty confidant about my deck, kept an OK hand, 2 Islands, Saheeli and some other stuff.
Long story short, I lose the first match.
"Alright, this is fine just some bad beats".
Match 2, I win. Padeem drew me into lots of gas, and I killed my opponent with a 7/3 Skyship Stalker. However I could of won much more cleanly and quicly but I made a lot of misplays.
Match 3, again so many misplays. I lost where I could've won so easily.
I'm 16, but I have no f***king clue why I play so bad during drafts (and ONLY during drafts)
Draft is a completely different beast. I would say a couple of things:
1/ It is impossible to tell you why when your whole match analysis is "again so many misplays. I lost where I could've won so easily". This is empty information.
2/ Viewpoint wise, you describe your deck by the bombs you opened. Draft thrives on consistency. I would take an U/R artifacts deck with 4 Whirler Virtuoso instead of those bombs any day of the week, if my goal is to win it. Besides, of the highlighted cards, I think only stalker is really good enough to be a bomb. Padeem is quite situational and is sometimes just a 4 mana Wall of Omens, saheeli is incredibly unimpressive in draft, dynavolt works decent in spells deck, but not in an artifacts deck.
3/ It sounds you first picked saheeli rai and forced yourself down to a UR artifacts deck, which may or may not have been open. Despite having about 1.5 bombs in the deck, you lacked removal, early creature, consistency or something else and did not do well.
4/ How is your age relevant to draft performance.
To help you further, save your draft log and lets discuss it in detail.
November 4, 2016 6:13 a.m.
JohnnyBaggins says... #4
Well, first of all: Shaeeli sadly isn't very good. It's been disappointing me every time I saw it and I'd only pick her for curve consideration at this point. She's just a no-impact card in limited, unless you have a shitload of cards that really go ham if you -2 her twice and be good with it.
Keeping a 2-lander in limited is a little scetchy (esp. on the play) It's just incredibly risky, you might just not find your red source. Or even just one, but hold two spells.
Other than that, you don't really describe your misplays - therefore, it's hard to tell you why you make them. Misplays have dozen of possible reasons, ranging from not enough concentration to wrong card evaluation and lastly simply not enough format knowledge or even wrong anticipation of your opponents cards and/or ability. Simply put: If you Path to Exile your opponents Noble Hierarch, that was unconcentrated. It's simply unnecessary and worthless. If you counter your opponents Tarmogoyf but then lose to their Kalitas, you might just have evaluated your opponents cards wrong. If you tap out on Turn 3 playing against Splinter Twin - knowing you have removal - and lose, you porbably didn't know the format. Even if you didn't have removal, you still have to fake it, so they don't just go for it, right?
In Limited, not knowing the format is more like "I'll double block with my 4/4 and my 4/4 on your 5/5 because I know there is no spell that can make this bad, considering you have up!" Well, turns our there are at least one card that can make this a 2-for-1 (In Skywhaler's Shot, a card that makes it a 1-for-1 (Select for Inspection and a couple of ideas how you can get a 1-for-2 out of it, if they just want to do that. This also is lack of concentration to me, because you might know these cards, especially if you've seen them in Game 1.
But I think it's mainly unconcentrated play on your side. If you know you could have won, just take more time. There's a bunch of things I keep in mind at all times:
- It's an instant. Play it at the last time it makes sense.
- It's an instant, you still might just want to play it on your turn. This is especially true when playing against base- decks. They usually have a pump spell or two that blanks your removal. Use the time when they're tapped out.
- Limited, often, is about the race. Lear the role of the agressor, but also learn the role of the control deck. It is incredibly important that you're able to act well in both these situations in limited, and that you are able to see the point where the roles switch. Form personal experience, this is where the Professional Players excel.
Lastly, for now, are you sure you're playing so much better in Constructed? Maybe you're just playing significantly better decks than your respective playgroup? The only deck in your profile I can see is good, but not competetive good. Have you ever really played Constructed at higher levels to really judge your game? (Aka: PPTQ/GP/PT) Because in Limited, you'll play against really good players, online just as in your local store. The people that play Limited weekly usually are really good at what they're doing. They might just be a couple of levels above your usual playgroup and they're just unearthing your lack of skills. Please don't take this "lack of skills" wrong here, it's not meant as an insult, but in life you'll find there simply are people who are better than you are. Getting in touch with these and learing from/with these people is the key to becoming good at Magic. The only way to get really good at the game is suffering, so to say.
November 4, 2016 6:48 a.m.
I did quite poorly my first few weeks of drafting even when I got solid bombs (first Shadows draft I went 1-3 even when I had Avacyn and Nahiri). I think in addition to the advice you've been given from other commenters, it's important to study. Magic is a game that requires some work be put in. Look at draft videos from Channel Fireball, WOTC, etc. Learn to see how they think and value cards. I've often seen that when they pull a bomb rare, sometimes they pass it in favor of a more synergistic card. Draft mentality is quite a tricky thing but you just keep practicing and studying up and you'll find your game improves.
November 4, 2016 8:02 a.m.
JohnnyBaggins says... #6
I can agree to what Wizno said. My first draft (Actually Fate Reforged) I went 3-1 with Mardu Aggro. Only lost in the finals, but the deck was good. But I didn't understand why. I had no concept of limited. Looking back, the deck was simply well-drafted. Then, I ran out of luck. I went bad. I didn't play well, draftet mediocre decks at best and lost a lot of games. I blew a prerlease for DTK with an impressive 0-4. That was the pint where I realized I was losing all the time. Partly because I wasn't as good, partly because I had a bad deck. I started to get very competetive with Dragons of Tarkir // MM2 and did better and better in my stores - and even 4-0'd for the first time - but then I failed miserably at my first GP (4-5 or so) and what did I do? I kept working, working a lot on my game, in paper and online. And when I played my GP Barcelona, I did it. I won a trial, I went 6-3 and 3-0'd my first draft on Day 2. I fumbled my chance for Top 8 in the second draft with a 1-2, but hey. I had my first Pro Points, right? The way is hard, and long, and costs time. But it's fun. There's nothing more fun in Magic than beating players you wouldn't back in the day. There's nothing more fun than slowly becoming one of the four players in your local area that people are like "Oh no, not against that dude, why me?"
Again, road's long and all, but in this game, work pays off for sure. Like everywhere else in life, I guess.
A surefire way to see you're getting better, in my experience is when you start tapping lands for a spell and untap them. This is where you are like "Right, I could cast that, but do I want to do that now? Do I want to do that at all?" This is the constructive criticism you need out of yourself to prevail at Magic.
November 4, 2016 8:18 a.m. Edited.
mmaybe its becuse your not use to the deck your playing
November 4, 2016 2:03 p.m.
JohnnyBaggins says... #8
shadow63 - while that is a possible case, it's also true for everyone else in the draft. In addition to that, being used to the deck is less of an issue. Other than in constructed, decks don't have the depth that you need to really "understand" a deck. Single plays, for sure, classic examples are "Which creature do I put the counter on?" or "Which creature of my opponent do I remove with this spell?", but none of those are actualy about the deck, but rather about you, your situation on the board and your opponent.
November 4, 2016 5:20 p.m.
AwesomeOctopus says... #9
Magic is a game of chance where victory is often determined by luck of the draw. This is true in constructed but much more so in limited, mana fixing is less reliable, pieces generally don't combo off each other to lock the game down in your favor like they might in a modern combo deck, and sideboard options are likely broad answers and not specific hosers you board against specific matchups. What this means is that while whether you win or lose is not as much determined by your matchup, eg RDW vs soul sisters but by your opening hand and first few draws, since things often come down to the bomb in your deck and whether an opponent has an answer.
November 5, 2016 12:27 a.m.
The Mana Leek provides excellent draft videos, as well as videos where he cracks a pack, describes all the cards and why they are good/bad for draft. It seems you know a fair bit about the draft set (and what cards are there), but just seeing other people play (and getting virtual experience) can be a big help.
MollyMab says... #2
Because you are human.
Record yourself, ask for feedback, watch back games.
November 4, 2016 5:18 a.m.