Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 20:17:37 +0200 From: Nestor Rodriguez Subject: Re: Strategy Tips for Rochester Draft needed Ok, here is some of my experience with the draft. But first, I'd like to comment on the exampls Len gives with the hammer. As you may have noticed, changing colours in a rochester draft is quite easy. You cannot make a clear description os who is playing which coluor until the end of the second booster. Besides, I you analize the different expansions you may notice, that their order is also of importance (there aren't as many limited power cards in mirage as in weatherlight) So it basically depends on the power of the common of the next expansions anand their colour. As an example to clearify this position let's say that the next expansion to be drafted after mirage is weatherlight. If somehow all those powerful red cards shoew up, the player who picked up the hammer (it is a real ace card in limited and worst doing) may sacrifice one of his weaker colour to change for red, as there are powerfull red cards comming. This would mean that you eould face a potencial player with red and some powercards (imagine he gets a fierstorm!!!!). So the problem would not have been solved at all. Besides the situation presented here seems like too artificial and unrealistic, and you have to consider that there are 8 players drafting, and that some of the unuseful stuff (at least looking like that) can be drafted aswell. In this particular situation I would have either drafted the balista (depending on the previous cards and the boosters comming) or the hammer, as if you are drafting defensively (in this case the mage is defensive as you cannot do anything with it) draft really good cards. (if you know that the hammer is with you, you will not have to face it...:-)) Now to the general comments on rochester. As I said before swapping colour is really easy here. Analize before hand the expansions you are going to draft, and go with a solid idea of what may show up (commons, powercommons etc...) Go with a combination of colours already in mind (for example you if you are drafting just weatherlight, white and red are the most powerful here, so be prepared to draft them, or to draft the opposite if all the players start picking up the power colours (this happened to me in the german championship, where I started drafting black (not that powerfull in weatherlight) but I got so much nice stuff, that my deck won, even if I did not have torches, cones of flames, balistas, armours, or other cool limited cards..) Finally you will have to be concentrated watching who is drafting what, in order to make the best decitions of what to draft (in form of defensive and offensive drafts). This is really important, and you will have to create an overall view of the cards not being drafted (which colour is being ignored) and pick the best cards of those. I know that it is important to concentrate on 1 or 2 colours to avoid screws, but usually, I find that I have to compensate the colours weaknesses with cards from a third colour. If you are in this situation feel free to do so. I actually do it very ( I'll say too often) often, because I think that it's better to have a compact deck with some screws than a crappy deck that is never screwed but cannot win. The rest of the strategy is quite the same as standart draft. My advice: Train, train, train if you're going to a serious tournament. And be carefull with the judges (don't try to irritate them while they are concentrated saying draft.....next.....draft......next....draft.....next) because you can be easily be disquallified if you draft too soon or don't pay attention, etc (ken and len will have to know some good stories about this) I hope this helps you somehow. Good luck drafting, and let the hammer be with you...:-) Regards Nestor! "It's not a game" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nestor Rodriguez Vilanova "Official Member of Honour of the Spanish Armada" irc nick: Maxxx "Magic is like life, many people play, few get to master it" "Time will tell" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------