most recent 30 from http://draw3cards.com 2010-07-29T15:25:38Z http://draw3cards.com/feeds/tag/strategy http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://draw3cards.com/questions/1386/creative-ideas-on-spellshift Shushoto 2010-05-11T11:13:33Z 2010-07-18T21:34:26Z

<p>Hopefully we know by now that [[[Polymorph]]] can be used to filter through cards to get [[[Iona, Shield of Emeria]]], [[[Progenitus]]], or maybe [[[Emrakul the Aeons Torn]]], but what can we do with this [[[Polymorph]]] spin-off?</p> <p>[[Spellshift]]</p> <p>Note that I did not exclude using it on any given player's spells.</p> <p>Although I would normally start by examining what happens when [[[Spellshift]]] is used on another spell you cast, I noticed that it can run into some problems with this method: When it resolves, [[[Spellshift]]] reduces the number of instants/sorceries on the stack by one, meaning that ordinarily, running into another [[[Spellshift]]] would force you to stop.</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/540/whats-the-best-deck-theme-you-can-think-of-for-using-phage-the-untouchable Mike1229 2009-12-09T20:45:38Z 2010-06-22T09:28:27Z

<p>I know she's kinda old school, but for fun, what is your favorite use, memory or idea for this card?</p> <p><a href="http://quazen.com/games/card-games/phage-the-untouchable-commentary-on-this-mtg-classic/" rel="nofollow">Some background info</a></p> <p>[[Phage the Untouchable]]</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/526/whats-good-for-draw-acceleration-in-a-tribal-elf-deck Mike1229 2009-12-08T07:13:59Z 2010-06-22T09:22:21Z

<p>Besides Glimpse of Nature, is there any way to refill your hand in a mono green tribal elf deck? I built the deck in 2002 with drafted onslaught cards and have been using it ever since (with slight changes of course). I'm trying to avoid the Nissa route and stay purely tribal but I find myself playing off the top of my deck consistently early in the game. Help! </p> <p>[[Glimpse of Nature]]</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1734/level-up-draft-analysis ripper234 2010-06-20T22:07:42Z 2010-06-21T07:13:58Z

<p>I'll combine two questions in one post:</p> <p><strong>First question</strong> - Picks 1-4 were two [[[Time of Heroes]]] and two [[[Hada Spy Patrol]]]. Was my fifth pick of [[[Smite]]] a mistake, given the pack also contained [[[Venerated Teacher]]] ?</p> <p>[[Smite]] [[Venerated Teacher]]</p> <p><strong>Second qusetion</strong> - Third booster, I was given a choice between a third [[[Time of Heroes]]] and a third [[[Knight of Cliffhaven]]]. Which would have been the right choice? (My other level up creatures at this point were two [[[Halimar Wavewatch]]]es and an [[[Echo Mage]]].</p> <p>[[Time of Heroes]] [[Knight of Cliffhaven]]</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/817/how-did-i-get-2nd-pick-sphinx-of-jwar-isle ripper234 2010-02-15T07:38:34Z 2010-06-20T04:57:52Z

<p>I got this pack as a 2nd pick in a ZZW draft. Do you think it was a mistake from the player to my right to pass me the sphinx?</p> <ul> <li>[[[Sphinx of Jwar Isle]]]</li> <li>[[[Quest for Pure Flame]]]</li> <li>[[[Living Tsunami]]]</li> <li>[[[Kabira Crossroads]]]</li> <li>[[[Hagra Crocodile]]]</li> <li>[[[Mold Shambler]]]</li> <li>[[[Soaring Seacliff]]]</li> <li>[[[Kor Sanctifiers]]]</li> <li>[[[Spell Pierce]]]</li> <li>[[[Bog Tatters]]]</li> <li>[[[Demolish]]]</li> <li>[[[Relic Crush]]]</li> <li>[[[Vampire's Bite]]]</li> </ul> <p>[[Sphinx of Jwar Isle]]</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/216/draft-1st-pick-conquerors-pledge-frontier-guide-basilisks-or-torch-slinger ripper234 2009-10-30T08:08:32Z 2010-06-18T21:25:12Z

<p>Given this first pack, what do you choose?</p> <ul> <li>Conqueror's Pledge</li> <li>Frontier Guide</li> <li>Turntimber Basilisk</li> <li>Akoum Refuge</li> <li>Kraken Hatchling</li> <li>Torch Slinger</li> <li>Kor Sanctifiers</li> <li>Mindless Null</li> <li>Territorial Baloth</li> <li>Spell Pierce</li> <li>Ruinous Minotaur</li> <li>Crypt Ripper</li> <li>Tempest Owl</li> <li>Goblin War Paint</li> </ul> <p><img src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=195626&amp;type=card" alt="alt text" /> <img src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=180361&amp;type=card" alt="alt text" /> <img src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=178140&amp;type=card" alt="alt text" /> <img src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=180423&amp;type=card" alt="alt text" /></p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/76/do-you-prefer-deck-composition-or-card-quality ripper234 2009-10-22T22:37:27Z 2010-06-18T16:42:00Z

<p>Some people like to count the number of creatures, removals, etc... in a deck and reach an organized balance. I usually try to focus more on overall card quality.</p> <p>I usually take the better card (of course, given it works with other cards in my deck) and usually don't start the draft planning "OK, I'll need 15 creatures, 4 removals, 3 land fetchers, ..."</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1231/draft-first-pick-rise-of-eldrazi-oust-mammoth-umbra-dawnglare-invoker-narc ripper234 2010-04-27T23:23:59Z 2010-06-17T22:07:24Z

<p>What do you pick in this pack?</p> <ul> <li>[[[Keening Stone]]]</li> <li>[[[Oust]]]</li> <li>[[[Skeletal Wurm]]]</li> <li>[[[Mammoth Umbra]]]</li> <li>[[[Stalwart Shield-Bearers]]]</li> <li>[[[Reinforced Bulwark]]]</li> <li>[[[Lagac Lizard]]]</li> <li>[[[Halimar Wavewatch]]]</li> <li>[[[Dawnglare Invoker]]]</li> <li>[[[Hyena Umbra]]]</li> <li>[[[Wrap in Flames]]]</li> <li>[[[Mnemonic Wall]]]</li> <li>[[[Haze Frog]]]</li> <li>[[[Narcolepsy]]]</li> </ul>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1092/best-commons-and-uncommons-for-an-eldrazi-draft ripper234 2010-04-10T07:45:42Z 2010-06-17T21:42:05Z

<p>What are the best commons for a triple RoE draft?</p> <p>One card per answer please.</p> <p><strong>Edit</strong> - updated to include the uncommons, they're show up in drafts quite a lot.</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1639/is-there-a-way-to-post-the-whole-draft-or-at-least-just-the-first-pack theatog 2010-06-07T18:32:36Z 2010-06-07T21:40:40Z

<p>Is there a way to post the whole draft or at least just the first pack? So people can discuss the strategy for each pick?</p> <p>I downloaded netdraft and I couldn't find out how to do a single player draft (if it's possible at all).</p> <p>I feel like I'm at a bottleneck at drafting strategy. I still make a few mistakes but I feel like my mind set is preventing me from drafting good archtype / combo and mono-colors as I play too safe.</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1614/how-often-does-color-power-distribution-affect-your-draft-choice-share-your-expe theatog 2010-06-04T20:06:14Z 2010-06-05T05:27:10Z

<p>How often does color-power distribution affect your draft choice? Share your experience.</p> <p>In theory, I think all 5 colors are somewhat balanced most of the time by the reason that when certain colors are more heavily picked, left overs will be strengthened in numbers picked by the fewer players. I still remember blue being slightly less favored in M10 and a surprise mono-blue deck just owned in one draft I played(of course he got pretty lucky too with [[[Mind Control]]] and [[[Sleep]]]).</p> <p>Here's an interview with Ben Hayes on wizards.com. He went 10-0 in constructed and 2-4 in limited.</p> <p><a href="http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/twtw/93" rel="nofollow">http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/twtw/93</a></p> <blockquote> <p>In my second Draft I took a Nest Invader over Hada Spy Patrol first pick, because I'd been hearing from literally everyone that green was insane. I got passed a Cryptologist first after that and ended up taking it because it was the best card in the pack by quite a bit. After that I took another green card and then a Rapacious One. After pack 1 I had green cards, Cryptologist and Rapacious One, and just ended up going into red, although looking back on it I might have been better off in blue. I dislike green blue in this draft format, but I think in this case it might have been right.</p> </blockquote> <p>That again reminds me of my last draft. (You can see the partial description here: <a href="http://draw3cards.com/questions/1564/do-you-find-it-difficult-to-distinguish-card-number-color-ratio-screwed-in-a-pack" rel="nofollow">http://draw3cards.com/questions/1564/do-you-find-it-difficult-to-distinguish-card-number-color-ratio-screwed-in-a-pack</a>) </p> <p>At a point, I saw a lot of powerful greens coming my way starting from the 2nd packs. But I was heavier invested in white than red, and my white cards quality is higher, too. So I was too "chicken" to switch to WG from WR fearing I would have no good ways to deal with utility creatures (i.e. [[[Enclave Cryptologist]]]) and not fast enough or evasive enough as WU.</p> <p>Do you tend to draft leaning towards what you see or worrying about how certain colors/color combinations perform in a set?</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1202/when-are-you-happy-playing-thought-gorger-in-a-draft ripper234 2010-04-24T10:48:43Z 2010-05-25T01:04:58Z

<p>It's always a huge risk, especially against UW. In what deck are you happy to play this guy?</p> <p>[[Thought Gorger]]</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1435/draft-first-pick-rise-of-eldrazi-hedron-matrix-explosive-revelation-luminous ripper234 2010-05-14T15:29:03Z 2010-05-14T23:15:01Z

<p>What do you pick in this unexciting pack? I chose Hedron Matrix because it's not committing, but ended up not playing it. Even though it's not color-comittment, the deck I ended playing is UW, which doesn't have the mana base or fatties to support it (I chose [[[Warmonger's Chariot]]] instead).</p> <ul> <li>[[[Hedron Matrix]]]</li> <li>[[[Explosive Revelation]]]</li> <li>[[[Luminous Wake]]]</li> <li>[[[Runed Servitor]]]</li> <li>[[[Bloodrite Invoker]]]</li> <li>[[[Harmless Assault]]]</li> <li>[[[Goblin Arsonist]]]</li> <li>[[[Skywatcher Adept]]]</li> <li>[[[Snake Umbra]]]</li> <li>[[[Vent Sentinel]]]</li> <li>[[[Soul's Attendant]]]</li> <li>[[[Ogre Sentry]]]</li> <li>[[[Naturalize]]]</li> <li>[[[Null Champion]]]</li> </ul> <p>[[Hedron Matrix]] [[Explosive Revelation]] [[Luminous Wake]]</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1309/in-any-format-whats-the-earliest-turn-you-can-get-emrakul-the-aeons-torn-onto LeftDraw3Cards 2010-05-05T18:55:50Z 2010-05-13T19:51:55Z

<p>By any format I'm mean, vintage, legacy, extended, or standard. I'd love to see the fastest way to get him down in <em>each</em> of these formats.</p> <p>[[Emrakul, the Aeons Torn]]</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1234/uses-for-realms-uncharted-in-limited Shushoto 2010-04-28T13:00:20Z 2010-05-13T01:24:55Z

<p>The card seems to lack a point in limited. If you're already playing [[[Knight of the Reliquary]]] it's not bad, but the card's not in the edition. Any ideas?</p> <p>I'd guess R&amp;D was trying to make the card look interesting outside limited, while withholding some of its potential power. Within limited, however, are there any good uses for it?</p> <p>[[Realms Uncharted]][[Gifts Ungiven]]</p> <p>See the resemblance? I well know that's the point. Or, wait --> •</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1126/what-web-site-does-good-mtg-articles Ferriric 2010-04-14T08:55:27Z 2010-05-06T22:10:50Z

<blockquote> <p><strong>Possible Duplicate:</strong><br> <a href="http://draw3cards.com/questions/153/what-magic-websites-do-you-follow" rel="nofollow">What Magic websites do you follow?</a> </p> </blockquote> <p>Other than the obvious MTG daily and MTG Salvation, what other websites do people use to read about magic.</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1129/whats-a-good-mana-curve-for-rise-of-eldraziy-limited ripper234 2010-04-15T05:31:29Z 2010-05-05T14:47:21Z

<p>This should be quite different from normal sets</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/967/discard-deck-suggestions CodeSavvyGeek 2010-03-21T01:53:21Z 2010-05-04T20:21:41Z

<p>I'm trying to make a casual discard deck, and I'm finding that it's pretty easy to empty an opponent's hand, but what then? Once they're in topdeck mode, discard spells become mostly useless, and discard isn't useful for dealing with threats that are already on the table. I splashed blue for some bounce effects, but I can't bounce everything; even if I could, using a bounce spell AND a discard spell to deal with a single threat is serious card disadvantage. Any suggestions for making a discard deck more effective?</p> <p>[[Hymn to Tourach]] [[Hypnotic Specter]] [[The Rack]] [[Echoing Truth]]</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1238/how-many-lands-will-you-play-in-a-rrr-draft-deck-with-curve-like-this theatog 2010-04-28T17:07:28Z 2010-05-04T17:35:25Z

<p>There are 24 cards now. I'm playing 16 lands currently because of my low curve. I have 6 level up creatures and i'm not sure how much mana do they consumed. I remember the last draft i had in Wwk-Wwk-Wwk i overdrafted Zendikon not realizing how many intensive they were slowing my deck almost to a halt. Should I play 17 lands for my level up creatures and my equipments?</p> <p>Cost: # of cards</p> <p>1: 2 [[[Guul draz assassin]]], [[[??]]]</p> <p>2: 13 [[[Lighthouse chronologist]]], 3x [[[Hada spy patrol]]], 2x[[[champion's drake]]], [[[eel umbra]]], [[[Null champion]]], 2x [[[Narcolepsy]]], [[[ogre's cleaver]]], [[[warmonger's chariot]]], [[[runed servitor]]]</p> <p>3: 6 [[[Induce despair]]], [[[last kiss]]], [[[phantasmal abomination]]], [[[Pawn of ulamog]]], [[[Bloodrite Invoker]]], [[[venerated teacher]]]</p> <p>4: 1 [[[Zof shade]]]</p> <p>5: 1 [[[Frostwind invoker]]]</p> <p>6: 1 [[[Enatu Golem]]]</p> <p>[[[??]]] Still debating if i should risk playing [[[Demonic Appetite]]]. It's certainly not a playable card, but it might give the speed i need in extreme case since i have limited late games.</p> <p>The 2 other borderline playable cards in my sideboards are [[[Distortion strike]]], [[[recurring insight]]]</p> <p>Would i have a reliable chance to outpaced my opponent before they bring out eldrazis? </p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1256/whats-the-worst-play-youve-seen-recently Shushoto 2010-05-02T21:09:36Z 2010-05-04T01:41:03Z

<p>It can be humorous, unlucky, or just plain stupid.</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1204/draft-first-pick-rise-of-eldrazi-khalni-hydra-corpsehatch-vendetta ripper234 2010-04-24T13:38:47Z 2010-04-27T23:22:23Z

<p>Given the following first pack in RRR draft, what do you pick and why?</p> <ul> <li>[[[Khalni Hydra]]]</li> <li>[[[Drake Umbra]]]</li> <li>[[[Corpsehatch]]]</li> <li>[[[Pathrazer of Ulamog]]]</li> <li>[[[Evolving Wilds]]]</li> <li>[[[Living Destiny]]]</li> <li>[[[Contaminated Ground]]]</li> <li>[[[Glory Seeker]]]</li> <li>[[[Leaf Arrow]]]</li> <li>[[[Vendetta]]]</li> <li>[[[Dawnglare Invoker]]]</li> <li>[[[Kor Line-Slinger]]]</li> <li>[[[Brood Birthing]]]</li> <li>[[[Shared Discovery]]]</li> </ul>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1161/draft-strategy-for-rise-of-eldrazi ripper234 2010-04-20T11:17:29Z 2010-04-25T21:56:39Z

<p>Any tips on triple RoE draft? Favorite colors?</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/716/worldwake-drafting-strategy ripper234 2010-01-29T13:31:21Z 2010-04-16T13:13:46Z

<p>(See this related question for <a href="http://draw3cards.com/questions/361/zendikar-drafting-tips" rel="nofollow">Zendikar drafting tips</a>).</p> <p>Any tips for drafting Zendikar-Zendikar-Worldwake?</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/361/zendikar-drafting-tips ripper234 2009-11-12T12:16:08Z 2010-04-14T03:55:29Z

<p>Ok, we have been drafting Zendikar for some time now. Can we come up with some tips?</p> <p>Let's keep the tips specific to Zendikar drafts (any general tips can go to a different question, if anyone wishes to open one). Also, it might be useful to keep one tip per answer, for voting.</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/1074/optimal-mana-curve-and-creature-spell-ratio-fpr-zzw-drafts tobsen 2010-04-09T06:13:38Z 2010-04-09T12:27:13Z

<p>I know that there are Zendikar/Worldwake draft <a href="http://draw3cards.com/questions/716/worldwake-drafting-tips" rel="nofollow">related posts</a> but those are concerned about drafting specific cards. </p> <p>I wonder if the the following distribution of cards in a 40 cards booster draft is still okay for ZZW:</p> <ul> <li>17-18 Lands </li> <li>16+ Creatures</li> <li>1-2 Spoiler/Combattricks </li> <li>4-5 Removals</li> </ul> <p>How many 1, 2, 3, 4, 5++ Creatures should be in those 16 creatures? I heard black is the strongest color in ZZW so I guess it will be picked by the opponents. What color would you play in general in ZZW (lets presume all colors are distributed evenly in the boosters) when you oppent drafts black?</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/384/second-pick-in-a-draft-from-daily-mtg ripper234 2009-11-17T06:10:25Z 2010-04-08T19:22:08Z

<p>Out of this <a href="http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/li/65" rel="nofollow">Daily Mtg</a>: Say you've picked Trusty Machete out of the following first pack:</p> <pre><code> [[[Adventuring Gear]]] [[[Blood Seeker]]] [[[Goblin War Paint]]] [[[Brave the Elements]]] [[[Grazing Gladehart]]] [[[Disfigure]]] [[[Spire Barrage]]] [[[Lethargy Trap]]] [[[Murasa Pyromancer]]] [[[Piranha Marsh]]] [[[Tanglesap]]] [[[Tuktuk Grunts]]] [[[Trusty Machete]]] [[[Armament Master]]] </code></pre> <p>and are passed a pack with the following cards. Which do you pick, and why?</p> <pre><code> [[[Adventuring Gear]]] [[[Burst Lightning]]] [[[Hideous End]]] [[[Bold Defense]]] [[[Blood Seeker]]] [[[Paralyzing Grasp]]] [[[Shoal Serpent]]] [[[Beast Hunt]]] [[[Joraga Bard]]] [[[Relic Crush]]] [[[Kor Aeronaut]]] [[[Quest for the Holy Relic]]] [[[Cosi's Trickster]]] </code></pre>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/667/abyssal-persecutor-combos ripper234 2010-01-19T20:58:35Z 2010-03-29T07:24:22Z

<p>What cards would use to get rid of your Abyssal Persecutor?</p> <p>[[Abyssal Persecutor]]</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/639/elf-deck-suggestions dieter 2010-01-13T11:32:15Z 2010-03-14T15:15:49Z

<p>Hello, this is my current elf deck selection, I just can't figure out what to throw out... any suggestions ideas?</p> <p>[[Nissa Revane]]</p> <p><strong>Main</strong></p> <ul> <li>4X [[[Lys alana huntmaster]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Ambush commander]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Elvish Archdruid]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Imperious perfect]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Elvish Soultiller]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Drove of Elves]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Jagged-Scar Archers]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Heedless One]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Priest of Titania]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Llanowar Elves]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Wirewood Channeler]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Wellwisher]]]</li> <li><p>4X [[[Nissa's Chosen]]]</p></li> <li><p>2X [[[Nissa Revane]]]</p></li> <li>4X [[[Hurricane]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Elvish Promenade]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Dawnglow Infusion]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Harmonize]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Luminescent Rain]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Elvish Guidance]]]</li> <li><p>4X [[[Umbral Mantle]]]</p></li> <li><p>4X [[[Wiredwood Lodge]]]</p></li> <li>xx [[[Forest]]]</li> </ul> <p><strong>Sideboard</strong></p> <ul> <li>4X [[[Elvish Lyrist]]]</li> <li>4X [[[Elvish Champion]]] (against green)</li> <li>4X [[[Wilt-leaf liege]]] (against discard)</li> </ul>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/858/how-to-play-around-spellshock-when-at-1-life CodeSavvyGeek 2010-02-19T03:10:54Z 2010-03-05T21:57:38Z

<p>If I am at 1 life and an opponent casts Spellshock, is there any way for me to recover, assuming I don't already have something in play that can deal with it? Note that <em>casting</em> a spell will trigger Spellshock, which will resolve before the spell.</p> <p>[[Spellshock]]</p>

http://draw3cards.com/questions/772/where-would-you-use-treasure-hunt-in-limited ripper234 2010-02-05T15:32:12Z 2010-03-02T03:50:04Z

<p>I don't understand why some people think this card is so good.</p> <p>Lands are about 45% of most decks. So (without any library manipulation techniques) you have:</p> <ul> <li>55% chance of drawing one card for 2 mana</li> <li>25% chance of drawing one nonland card &amp; one land</li> <li>11% chance of drawing two nonlands and one land</li> <li>5% chance of drawing three nonlands and one land</li> <li>...</li> </ul> <p>The expected (= average) number of nonland cards you'll get is about 0.8 cards, if I'm not mistaken: </p> <blockquote> <p>1-1/(0.55) = 0.8</p> </blockquote> <p>So, looking at it like this, 2 mana for an average of 1.8 cards is not bad. However, the average return is not the whole story. After all, if a spell would give you 0 cards 90% of the times and 20 cards 10% of the times, it wouldn't be very good, even though the average number of cards it draws is 2. Most (55%) of the time, this card simply wastes two mana to get another card which will not be a land. In these cases, it won't fix your mana base, which is something I usually rely on card-drawing spells for.</p> <p>So my question, after this analysis, is what kind of deck would you use Treasure Hunt in Limited, and when would it rest in the sideboard?</p> <p>[[Treasure Hunt]]</p>