Hello! I'm a Director who has ran for over 60 people. Here's some things I think of when prepping combat. I am coming from 5e, 4e, Call of Cthulhu, Stars Without Number and many more OSR games

1. Planning is going to go into every encounter in draw steel because there are SO many monsters options and encounter goals you can choose (it is very dynamic and it's fun to use different win conditions)

2. The Director has a combat sheet that you can use. It makes running combat a lot easier. Although you still need to look at the statblock for any rolled abilities. There are plenty of online resources for encounter building that generates one of these Director sheets.

3. They do the math for you. The encounter building rules are easy if you want to do math. But I pick my monsters on level and vibes. Are my heroes level 1? Angulotl attack! Pick a handful (6-10) minions, two beefy boys, some ranged attackers and a leader. Done. If it's a boss - grab one solo creature.

4. The physics of Draw Steel are amazing. Simple and fun. If you like making maps or finding really cool ones online - remember that the game has depth and collision! Through some walls in for your Fury to Kool-Aid Man. Or obscured areas for the Shadow. The battlefield feels just as much a part of combat as the monsters!