Date:         Wed, 30 Jul 1997 14:37:05 -0400
From: Len Blado <lblado@SNET.NET>
Subject:      Re: Strategy Tips for Rochester Draft needed

>      All,
>         As I have never played a Rochester Draft, I need some serious tips
>      on playing this format.
>      Firstly, does one play it like sealed deck, choosing the cards that
>      suit whatever cards you have already picked?
>      How much do the other players in your draft group effect you?
>      Do you play the other players in your draft group?
>      Any useful tips would be great.

        In general, I've found that the key to Rochester Draft is
playing the field well.  In the early rounds, it behooves you to,
with some emphasis in color, simply select the most dangerous
cards available.  After this, it gets a little more complex.

        Presuming you're playing with a good group of players, suppose
we have a setup like so (and are into the second pack or so):

        Player A: Drafted mostly white, with a scattering of good blue.
        Player B: Drafted mostly green, and an occaisional black card.
        Player C: Drafted exclusively red.
        Player D: Drafted White and red.

        Now, suppose you 4 are sitting in order A-B-C-D, and the following
cards are laid out:

        Hammer of Bogarden
        Man o' War
        Granger Guildmage
        Heavy Ballista
        (4 other useless cards that no one wants)

        Now, as player A, you have a choice.  Obviously, the Hammer of
Bogarden is a killer card.  However, you will be very unlikely to
be able to use it in your final deck.  Likewise the Granger.  Picking
either of these two cards would be defensive in nature.

        Picking either the Heavy Ballista or the Man o' War would be
offensive in nature, since you can expect to use these cards.  In
general, your deck suffers when you pick defensively.  So the key
is to get your opponents to pick defensively while you pick
offensively.

        Thus, your pick should be Granger Guildmage.  Why?

        Player B is the only player that can use this card.  By
picking it, you leave him with *only* defensive choices, at the
expense of making a defensive choice of your own.  Almost
every Player B in existence will make the same sort of judgement
and pick the Hammer of Bogarden- in the hands of Player C, it
would be a nightmare to confront.  This means Player C would
likely take the Heavy Ballista to thwart Player D.

        In fact, with the given setup, depending on the various
cards in the 'useless' stuff I didn't want to illustrate, you
might very well end up with the Man o' War.  Even if you don't,
someone will have had to waste a pick to grab it.

        A more clear example might be the game of Risk.  In the
initial placement, everyone tries to keep their opponents from
forming complete continents (with the possible exception of
Australia).  In order to deny a continent, you've got to
basically 'write off' an Army which will be lost on the first
turn for no gain.  Ever notice who ends up losing this Army?
The person to the right of the player trying to gain the
continent.  Why?  Because everyone else delays the decision
until there is only one player that *can* make the decision.

        You did exactly this with the Hammer of Bogarden.  Easily
the most dangerous card in the mix, you had faith that the
following player would grab it, because to do otherwise would
be a horrible mistake.  Instead you used your draw to disrupt
their deck.  Alternatively, you could have grabbed the Ballista,
and they *still* probably would have gone after the Hammer
(although they might have weighted the options differently
given an offensive choice).

        Basically, the entire thing falls down to an exercise in
setting yourself down in each player's seat and evaluating their
options, and seeing what they'd do if they were you.  Obviously,
this fails utterly when you start throwing bad players in the
mix- a Rochester Draft with a mixture of scrubs and experienced
players is the purest form of luck.

        This may seem like it takes quite a bit of thinking, but
with practice, it's actually pretty easy.  In general, if you
always remember to try to draft as offensively as possible,
and to force the players following you into drafting as
defensively as possible, you'll do well.

        Otherwise, it's very similar to Sealed Deck- you need to
cultivate an instinct for what cards are good in limited
environments, and you need to concentrate your colors to
prevent mana screw.

        -Len Blado