Last night at KD Games Night we had a Khans of Tarkir Draft and next week we will again be having a 'commons and uncommons cube' for the young players. So I thought as a bit of preparation for that and in fact for anyone that is new to the draft format I would have a look at the method know as BREAD
B – Bombs!
Bombs are super-powerful cards that are hard to deal with. Usually, if you play a bomb, unless your opponent answers it quickly, you will win the game.
If you are unsure of what a bomb is when evaluating a pack, ask yourself these questions:
- Is this card a big creature that is difficult to remove and hard to block? Any big creature with abilities that can swing the game in your favor is a bomb.
- Does this card have some sort of mass effect that provides card advantage? Does it kill creatures, make your opponent discard cards, or make your opponent lose a huge chunk of life?
- Does this card provide a huge, game-breaking effect? Planeswalkers, mass removal,
Bomb cards should be picked immediately if you see them—they are the most efficient ways to win games!
R – Removal!
The next cards you want to be looking for are cards that remove creatures or other problem cards. This can include burn, destroy effects, or creature enchantments. Removal is very important in Draft decks, and usually, the more removal you have, the better your deck will perform.
Not all removal is permanent removal. Some spells, such as bounce effects, only remove the creature for a short period of time. Although not permanent, that turn in which the creature is in your opponent’s hand will allow you to put significant pressure on him. Your opponent then has to spend all of his mana to recast that creature.
Some removal doesn’t actually kill a creature directly, but it does so in combat. These cards are commonly referred to as combat tricks.
Finally, some removal doesn’t look like removal at all—it’s just a creature with flash. Flash creatures are also considered combat tricks.
E – Evasion!
The next cards you want to draft are creatures with evasion—creatures that are hard to block. Usually in Limited games, players have a lot of random ground guys in play, and no player can attack beneficially. The game will then go to time and end up in a draw. This is where you need creatures with evasion. Anything with flying, fear, or that are unblockable are considered creatures with evasion.
A – Aggro!
Next step in drafting your deck is picking up creatures that round out the deck and fill up your mana curve. You want to be able to cast a creature every turn if possible. Therefore, it’s important to have guys that have different mana costs. A good rule of thumb is to have between thirteen and seventeen creatures in your Draft deck. Take a look at this deck that I recently drafted:
D – Duds!
The last types of cards you will be drafting are the bad ones. These are the cards that you will be picking up toward the end of the pack and usually don‘t want in your deck.
These last five or so picks in each pack are the picks where you should keep your sideboard in mind. Yes, you do have a sideboard in Draft. Any card you don’t end up playing becomes your sideboard, and you can sideboard any number of cards in between games. It doesn’t even have to be a one-for-one swap.
The situational cards that aren’t good enough for your main deck but can be great in certain matchups are the types of cards you should by picking up for your sideboard.
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