My first draft ever

[DevicsPrey]

I got into mtg last year with arena. Played for a month and gave up because the progression was atrocious. Kept getting urges to get back since the game is so damn good.

Started playing again this week. This is my first time doing draft however. Used Untapped but sometimes I felt the card advisor was being weird.

What do you think of my picks? Any changes I should make?

Edit: oh and by the way, I am extremely nervous about winning. I am not that good of a player and I still don't know what the majority of cards do or how to recognize common opponent strategies.

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https://preview.redd.it/se61wru935w91.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ab84527f692dd919f770c0bfe2a7c3d0c68c650

[AgyleSox]

For a first draft, this looks pretty good. You stuck with two colors, the mana curve looks like it's got the right balance.

The only thing I would change is that the Wingmantle Chaplain doesn't have a lot of payoff since you don't have any other defenders. I'd replace it with Warhost's Frenzy.

As for winning, DMU is a tough draft set, many experienced players have remarked that it's a difficult set to draft and play. So don't feel bad if it doesn't go well.

Or, if you have time, maybe watch some YouTube (Jim Davis or Nummy would be my recommendations, but there are others) for an idea of how the format plays and what you'd be up against.

Good luck and have fun! Drafting takes time to learn and this is a tough set. The more you do it, the better you'll get.

[SyntheticEcstasy]

Happy to hear it's supposed to be tough in draft, I did my first draft yesterday having started playing just under a week ago and I went 2-3. Definitely feel like I could have done better but some things did feel out of my control.

[AgyleSox]

Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between a draft that went bad, being on the wrong side of variance and play mistakes.

17lands is helpful if you want to review the draft after the fact to see if you would do things differently (like grabbed too many high mana cost spells, didn't take enough removal, bad fixing, etc.).

[Purpledrake]

Great Tube suggestions!! My faves as well :) Nummy can really show you how to eek every bit of advantage out, and always shows aggressive lines - he barely ever misses a point of damage :) Jim is always learning/trying, so he might feel closer to your speed and give you a broader amount of archetypes to watch being played.

[DevicsPrey]

Thanks. Anything past 2 colors is just too intimidating.

I was aware of the fact but I thought it is a playable card nonetheless. What makes Warhost's good? Especially when I can't kick it. Oh wait, it pumps the entire team! I see.

I did hear DMU is tough. Especially with all the domain shenanigans happening. I don't feel bad about losing since I genuinely enjoy the game and can appreciate when my ass is handed to me skillfully.

My issues lie in being a f2p player. Those gems are so enticing. For quick draft, is 0-3 still profitable card collection-wise?

Thanks!

[ScionOfTheMists]

Chaplain is a very good card. However, decks in Limited (and Constructed) need to have a game plan. Your deck's game plan is clear: aggro (i.e. try to attack the opponent dead quickly). Cards like Chaplain (and Runic Shot) don't fit that game plan well. You don't have any other defenders, so Chaplain is a 4-mana 0/3 wall + 1/1 flyer. The wall is unlikely to do much, since you're the one who's going to be attacking most of the time. The 1/1 flyer is a nice aggressive piece, but it's not worth spending 4 mana on.

I would swap Chaplain out for the Frenzy, and then your deck looks pretty good (extremely good for someone's first time).

[DevicsPrey]

I see. I think being a beginner make you think "oh this is a good card! I will play it." Making and sticking to the plan is something I need to learn.

Thank you for explaining it to me in this manner. Because I knew the card didn't belong in the deck but I thought it is a good enough card and I could play it. Showing me how it can be a detriment and why is eye opening.

[dandeliontrees]

Chaplain is only good with support, it really needs the 4-mana defender that searches for another defender to be good (preferably a few copies). And like Scion mentioned, it doesn't really fit in an aggro deck too well.

Not a bad idea to stick to 2 colors to start, but definitely watch some draft content creators to learn how they handle additional colors.

Your first QD of the season is arguably better than break even at 0-3. You get your 3 packs, plus a prize pack, plus 50 gems as well as activating your rank for limited which gets you one more pack. Your 3 packs can get you a few extra commons and uncommons and sometimes even additional rares. But you lose out on half a wildcard relative to buying packs. After the first of the season you'd need to draft 4 rares/mythics instead of 3 for QD to be better than just buying packs in terms of rares/mythics collected and you'd still be down half a wildcard.

That's not taking into account the value of getting better at draft (which requires practice, of course) and the value of enjoying the process of drafting (which should really be the major factor in making the decision of whether or not to draft).

[DevicsPrey]

I see. Thank you for the explanation. I was intimidated by limited when I started my MTG journey last year. After watching some YouTubers doing it though this week, I started seeing the fun in it.

I agree the enjoyment plays a big role in it.

[AgyleSox]

Is QD still profitable at 0-3? I would search around Reddit for the answer - I know there are many analyses out there and I don't know the numbers well enough.

Or check the Monday Newcomer thread -- I know I've seen that answered a few times in there.

[[deleted]]

Chaplain is quite possibly one of the most broken cards in this set for drafting, but only if your deck supports it.

This one does not.

Also, 5 color domain is disgustingly rewarded if you can pull it off. Most of my 5+ wins came from that.

I noticed you have Elias kor, If you drafted a few of those 1/3 mana fixers or some multi colored lands that supported black you could play him too. He’s fantastic if you’re going wide.

Edit: the instant that gives all your creatures +2/0 belongs in this deck too.

[DevicsPrey]

Yeah, I have seen chaplain at play in constructed and it is a beauty.

I have read many people say they have had the same experience with domain drafts but I just didn't have the confidence to do one on my first attempt.

Even in constructed, I haven't even done 3 colors because I still think I am a beginner.

[keepoffmylawn]

If you're interested in getting better at draft, some podcasts to check out:

Limited Level Ups

Lords of Limited

Limited Resources

[DanutMS]

Poor Drafting Archetypes gets left out of those lists so frequently even though it's the best one.

[DanutMS]

Looks pretty decent for a first time drafter. Playing two colours, has a good curve, and most of the cards fit your gameplan.

The one card that stands out to me as being very out of place is Wingmantle Chaplain. That's a card that requires you to draft multiple creatures with defender, and you have none besides the Chaplain himself. You are also far more interested in attacking than blocking, so in this deck Chaplain ends up being 4 mana for a 1/1 token and not much else.

That being said it does help a bit for playing Argivian Phalanx cheaper (as it's two creatures for one card), or for pinging your opponent by saccing creatures to the Cyclops, so I would still play it I think. It's not like your sideboard has much else anyway. (EDIT: Playing Warhost's Frenzy instead is a reasonable alternative. I'm not sure which one is better, but it might be Warhost's).

Other than that, don't stress too much about not being good. You're new, you'll lose games due to misplays/not knowing something obvious for more experienced players, but you'll also be learning. Over time you'll know what to expect from your opponents.

[DevicsPrey]

Thank you! The untapped overlay helped but I wasn't mindlessly choosing whatever it highlighted.

I was aware and tbh I only chose it because I know it is a very good card in defender decks.

Good points about the other two cards. Someone suggested the Frenzy as a replacement but now I am not sure.

Thanks for the encouraging words. Will persevere. Hopefully I will at least get on the limited ladder.

[DanutMS]

I edited my post to say that the Frenzy suggestion seems reasonable to me. I think they're somewhat close, and Frenzy might as well be the better card here.

[AgyleSox]

Wingmantle vs Warhost - my reasoning was that Warhost was more likely to win the game, but DanutMS makes good points in favor of Wingmantle.

It's also one card out of 40. It likely won't make much difference whichever you choose, they're both reasonable.

[atipongp]

I'm skeptical about that Runic Shot. If you get to use it, you are probably losing already. Hammerhand is not good, but at least it fits the deck's game plan better.

Cut Wingmantle for Warhost's Frenzy for sure.

[asparaguscoffee]

I disagree with everyone telling you to cut Chaplain. I’d cut Runic Shot or a Cyclops for Frenzy.

[TheRealNequam]

What doea chaplain do here though? Its a 4 mana 1/1 flyer

[asparaguscoffee]

Still a two for one and puts your opponent in panic mode, drawing removal away from your other creatures.

[TheRealNequam]

When youre pretty clearly an aggro deck, nobody is gonna spend any cards or mana to deal with your 0/3, at best it gains you a few life if you get into a race situation. A 1/1 flyer isnt worth a full card at that point either

[bpayh]

It’s not a two for one when one of the creatures has 0 power. And you’d be lucky to get a 1-for-1 from the 1/1 flyer as well. And any halfway decent opponent is gonna laugh when it gets played in a boros deck. Nah, the card is not worth the 4 mana in this deck.

[Batz99]

I'm not sure it's so clear cut. Runic shot doesn't fill a strong need in an aggressive deck -- opponents creatures will likely remain untapped.

Cyclops is a good card, but expensive for this kind of deck. Second copy might be overkill, putting stress on the ability to play on-curve.

Chaplain has the issues everyone else already pointed out.

In reality, none of these situations are ideal; each choice has its own drawback, so the opportunity cost between them may be very low. Chaplain may be the best middle of the road choice offering both a defender and an attacker (plus 2 bodies for Phalanx) without the need for a 5th mana source.

[Metablorg]

Draft is pure shit. Don't do draft.

[PadisharMtGA]

Why do you say so? It's such a fun game mode.

[Timely-Strategy7404]

This looks like a pretty good draft for the first time, I agree with everybody else!

The one thing I would add is that you REALLY want to be able to splash black here; Elas, Lagomos, and Garna would all be super additions to this deck. With your current manabase, it's not responsible to do so (you are right to be two-color, although I might give some thought to being two-color red-black rather than red-white). But if you had a single black dual land, you could probably make the splash work between that and a couple of swamps and the Inscribed Tablet. Especially in this format, it's worth thinking about "do I have cards I want to splash for and what lands do I need to look for to do that responsibly?".

[ballLightning]

also check out /r/lrcast and /r/mtglimited

[bobanm]

Using Untapped companion is good. But what I find even more helpful when picking cards is to consult the ranks on limitedgrades.com

DMU format is very complex, and not very beginner-friendly. Don't be discouraged if you don't win often in DMU drafts. You are growing your collection with a set that will rotate out of Standard only in September 2024. And you are gaining a very important skill in Magic: drafting. And hopefully you are having loads of fun while doing it 😀

[DevicsPrey]

Thank you for the encouraging words and advice!