The More, the Merrier?
Limited forum
Posted on Feb. 17, 2020, 11:44 a.m. by ZendikariWol
Whenever I see/hear about people drafting, I always hear about 6-8-person drafts. Is that because it's better that way, or is it just the number of people they tend to have?
If it is better, what makes drafting with more people more fun?
Eight is the ideal number and the number recommended for a pod in tournaments. It allows you to have three rounds where winners/losers can pair up against one another to determine placement at the end of the event. Six is doable, but the rankings get a bit more messy; more than eight starts to get unwieldy.
Odd numbers do not work so well, since that means someone is going to get a bye in each round. Four means you have to play a round robin type of match if you want three rounds, rather than placements based on wins/losses.
February 17, 2020 1:34 p.m.
Technically, draft variants exist for as little as 2 players, so player count is not set in stone, but 8 is optimal for play later on, while still allowing you to see a lot of new packs, as mentioned above.
February 18, 2020 4:03 a.m.
ZendikariWol says... #5
Yup. That all makes perfect sense. Thanks, experienced players!
I'm a college student and I started drafting regularly this summer with a playgroup of 5. Was just wondering if it would be good to add more peas to the pod; seems like it would.
February 18, 2020 11:20 a.m.
I have drafted a lot with 4 players and just treat it like normal. If your new to draft this will still teach you how to draft and you still get to play. Odd numbers though are harder to work with.
Pervavita says... #2
It's better not the number of people you have. The reason it's better is that you have more packs opened so you actually can build a reliable deck (or at least a better chance); you actually could build the deck with the synergy that the color combo is intending rather then just a pile of cards. This is why fewer is not preferred.
You don't want more as you want there to be a chance that cards wheel (make it around the table) back to you that aren't just the bad/sideboard/"synergy your not in" cards. A pack has 14 real cards, with 8 players you will see and thus have a chance at a 2nd pick from the first few packs you open/passed and it has a chance that it will make your deck if it's got some synergy/sideboard or just a weak playable. Too many more players and you lose this fast. Just two more players and you only get to see the last 4 cards of the pack you opened vs. almost half the pack. That's a big deal.
February 17, 2020 1:26 p.m.