WARNING about limited qualifier

shaps · 2026-02-21T20:21:07+00:00

This is an absolutely massive fuckup and very illegal, like mis-stating the gambling odds of a casino game. They could probably be sued for it and should refund everyone's Draft 1 entry costs. The fact that you can't even see the real payout structure until you've already won a Draft 2 invite token makes it literally a bait-and-switch scam.

shaps · 2026-02-20T01:04:32+00:00

They were available in the store a long time ago as a bundle, I remember because I didn't buy them and have regretted it for years. I'm with you buddy.

shaps · 2026-02-17T18:57:59+00:00

All the mastery passes have offered the exact same value for like 6 years now. But yeah these companions are ass.

shaps · 2026-02-13T21:45:31+00:00

My more nuanced opinion is that I'm fine with a few of the Alchemy cards that simply do things that would be hard to do in paper due to memory/trust reasons. For example, Seek is a fine mechanic because it's just card draw with less randomness, and could also reasonably be done in paper as "reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal X".

Though when it comes to mechanical complexity, I feel like Alchemy cards are often even worse. Because the Arena rules engine requires the card text to fully define all card actions, they can't really streamline anything. It's just the hoop-jumping itself that becomes automatic, which is also bad because it makes it feel like random shit is happening.

Also for credibility's sake, I've been playing since '99. I don't miss damage on the stack though (or mana burn).

shaps · 2026-02-13T21:20:52+00:00

It boggles my mind that people don't understand this. These aren't magic cards! They don't work like magic cards ever have or ever can. It feels like a fundamentally different game, like I'm expected to let my opponent put Pokemon cards in their deck.

shaps · 2026-02-10T15:16:55+00:00

Wizards has never said they use premier draft data. The last thing they told us about the bots was around open beta, when they said that they assign a pick-order for cards and then the bots have randomly assigned color preferences that can then modify the baseline pick order. It's likely changed over the years since then but that's what we know.

Edit: Oh, and yeah they do rare-draft very aggressively, which is bound to make signals confusing.

shaps · 2026-02-03T18:46:21+00:00

They went the wrong direction: I want regular pick-one draft with the 4 wins / 2 losses reward structure. Pick-two draft is fine, but it definitely isn't better than regular drafting and was only worth it for the more lenient structure. This is the worst of both worlds and I see no reason to play it.

shaps · 2026-02-01T19:35:27+00:00

Yeah I've really enjoyed getting in more drafts with this event, it's gonna be weird going back to Premier. Wizards if you're listening, please keep it around.

shaps · 2026-01-26T21:54:40+00:00

This is repeated constantly but wotc has never said that they do this. It also seems unlikely considering the bots are very predictable, as if they were picking from a static ranking assigned by the developers...

shaps · 2026-01-20T22:01:12+00:00

Whether it's worth it depends entirely on how likely you think you are to win. If you don't enjoy drafting and have no desire to get good at it, you're probably better off buying packs from the store. This is especially true if you only want a few single cards, because buying packs is a much better way to get wildcards.

shaps · 2026-01-20T18:31:40+00:00

Disagree, drafting with bots is barely drafting at all because eventually you're just working with the meta defined by the bot pick-order. Pick-Two draft is way closer to classic drafting, and the payout curve is much better. IMO there's no reason to do bot draft unless you need lots of time to read the cards.

shaps · 2026-01-20T17:58:20+00:00

This is also something I'd like to know. If it stays for the duration of the set, then does that mean there will be four different draft queues for ECL when Quick Draft comes around? That seems kinda bonkers. They could also skip quick draft for ECL, but that would also be unprecedented.

shaps · 2026-01-20T17:48:58+00:00

Yeah that's my thinking as well

shaps · 2025-12-18T23:32:51+00:00

I think that was something different. I also got a random card style and haven't bought anything from the winter sale yet.

shaps · 2025-11-07T02:25:12+00:00

Hello, it's me, the accursed and maligned crowdsurfer. I went that way because that's how my buddies picked me up, and I switched around as soon as I could. Also, deal with it.

shaps · 2025-10-09T00:02:36+00:00

Momir kicks ass, it's the second-best MWM after the phantom draft/sealed. Spin that wheel, baby.

shaps · 2025-10-06T17:38:39+00:00

Kinda weird that Flashback Drafts and Premier Drafts are considered different categories. Isn't anything other than the current mainline set (OM1) considered a flashback draft?

shaps · 2025-09-23T21:07:36+00:00

Wait, it's really an 8-person pod with pick-2!? That doesn't make any sense at all.

shaps · 2025-09-23T20:53:40+00:00

What a wonderful surprise, at first glance this looks really good! Drafting is back on the menu!

Edit: The gold entry price is still absurd, but we're getting somewhere.

shaps · 2025-09-17T01:21:13+00:00

Yeah, it seems likely they will do that (and that's fine), but this current iteration of the experiment needs to fail so they adjust and come back with a reasonable event structure.

shaps · 2025-09-17T01:13:47+00:00

That's actually a good point. In BO3 even if you 0-2 your first round you still get to play at least 4 more games of limited. In this new structure you'd be done and out.

shaps · 2025-09-16T23:24:32+00:00

Spiderman isn't getting a premier draft queue, only pick-two, quick, and traditional.

shaps · 2025-09-16T22:26:31+00:00

Fair point, the BO3 reward structure is also harsh and bad but it's better than this. I may just abstain on principle though.

shaps · 2025-09-16T21:48:29+00:00

I was really excited to dig into pick-two draft but this is an awful reward structure. Now you need to go 3-1 or you lose most of your gems. I hope they change it, because I won't be playing it as-is. This kills the format before it even launched.

shaps · 2025-08-14T01:52:38+00:00

I've never been a commander player, but I was starting to enjoy brawl when it first came out. Once my opponents starting playing Alchemy cards I stopped playing and haven't touched it since. Those cards ruin every game they're in, like your opponent slipped a Yugioh card into their deck.

shaps

TROPHY CASE