Booster Draft is by far my favorite format of Magic. It draws upon the (theoretically) level playing field of Sealed deck - yet unlike Sealed, Booster Draft fosters an environment in which the ability to evaluate card synergies on the fly and the comprehension of small group sociology can consistently distinguish a strong player from an average one. The Booster Draft environment constantly presents something new to even seasoned players, since the rare and uncommon cards at any given table are unpredictable, and the drafting strategies of the other players are mostly beyond the control of any one individual. Yet the format offers immediate rewards (in the form of the cards drafted) to newer players who are still building their collections, and even long-time players appreciate the thrill and potential of opening a Spiritmonger, Absorb or Urza's Rage. Properly run, the format is social, fun, level, and offers something to all comers.

I am therefore consistently surprised at how many casual players have never tried Booster Draft, or how many local gatherings of players do not run their own drafting sessions. Though local stores sometimes run weekly drafts at Friday Night Magic, etc., I rarely see groups of friends playing in this format amongst themselves.

This article is essentially a how-to guide for running your own Booster Drafts, either at a private home, local pub or college campus (my current venue is the University of Chicago's TCG Club, the Mages' Guild). This is not a guide to sanctioning official drafts, an overview of the rules of drafting, or even a guide to judging side events at a PTQ. This is a guide to getting the legwork done among your friends to make sure that the drafts happen and that everyone is still friendly, competitive, and smiling at the end of the evening.

I am going to assume that you have at least four interested persons to begin with who can meet at a mutually convenient time and who have some disposable income to spend on Magic cards. I'll discuss a few ways to circumvent the student's lament (no cash) in a subsequent article.

The Boosters
First, someone needs to go out and purchase some booster packs. It is critical that one person be in charge of this to ensure that all the packs come from similar sets. Because the cost per pack declines dramatically when they are purchased in bulk (say, from an esteemed online retailer, which we can arbitrarily call S.C., that is kindly providing webspace for pithy and helpful articles), the best method is to buy packs by the box - or even by the case, if you really draft a lot. Though there is a nontrivial initial investment here, whoever does the purchasing should remember that others will repurchase these packs later. The real trick is to find someone who can resist tearing all the boosters open as soon as the UPS man cometh. Treasure these folks.

I'm an organization freak (and have a respectable credit rating), so I tend to purchase the boosters for my playgroup. I haven't yet been stuck with product that no one wants. That said, it is generally best to stick to sets that are currently legal in the Standard environment, so that people can have immediate use for the cards that they draft. At the moment, the most logical and popular draft sets are Invasion Block (One pack each of Invasion, Planeshift, Apocalypse), or all Odyssey.

The Cost
A common complaint about booster draft is that it is too expensive. To circumvent this, whoever purchases the initial cards should be focused on passing the cards onto other players in the group at the minimum cost practical. You want to break even, but the goal is not to make a large profit. People love to be cut deals, and so I run my drafts significantly below retail price.

I price my drafts at $10.00 per person, which covers four packs of product - three for drafting and the fourth for a prize (i.e., $2.50 per pack). This results in a marginal profit for the organizer (covering credit card interest, for example) and is a nice decimal number that eliminates the necessity of carrying lots of change. I am assuming that packs are being purchased at the internet standard rate of $70 to $80 per box, in which case the profit to the organizer is between $20 and $10 per box.

During the Draft
Don't try to run the draft as if it were a high-profile event. People will want to bemoan their packs, gloat over good picks, and bounce in their chairs. This is fine in moderation. Call a gentle halt to anyone who seems to be trying to gain an advantage (announcing all of their draft picks, looking at packs that aren't their own, etc.). Also, ask people to draft slowly enough that the packs don't pile up in front of one person. When the packs collide, their order tends to become shuffled and people end up shorted cards.

Before the first pack, you will also want to announce whether pairings will be random, or whether people seated diametrically across the table will play in round 1. Either is fine, but your players will appreciate knowing which before the draft begins.

Lastly, and this is very important, let everyone keep the cards that they draft. The prize structure, as I describe it later, should be generous enough to encourage a seasoned player to draft intelligently. Newcomers will want to rare draft to build their collections. This is an issue when preparing for a serious tournament, but is harmless (or even desirable) among casual players. No one wants to crack open a foil Undermine only to lose it at the end of the night during a redistribution. Newcomers may even draft commons for their collections, and will be rightly annoyed at paying good money for packs, only to be deprived of their fair share. Let the fourth pack speak for the prize, and just let everyone have fun during the picks. Drafts are many things to many different types of player.

The Format
It is critical to make the format explicit before everyone sits down to draft. People used to large tournaments may automatically voice a preference for Swiss pairing, but I recommend against it in this setting. First, Swiss can be a nightmare to run without computer assistance from DCI Reporter. Try calculating tiebreakers by hand and you'll see what I mean. Second, with eight or fewer players, Swiss is nothing more than disguised single elimination. After three rounds, you'll have a clear winner (or two winners, if they intentionally drew) - namely, those who are undefeated. Single elimination is generally the easiest and most effective way of playing out the draft.

In any of these formats, do not time the rounds unless everyone is familiar with more stringent tournaments. Time limits cause headaches for the organizer and heartache for naturally slower players, especially those learning the game. You'll occasionally have a match that drags out and causes everyone else to wait, but this is preferable calling games on life totals, etc. Remember that there can be no draws in single elimination.

With four or five players (the minimum to truly draft), the best format is theoretically round robin, since single elimination will be rather abrupt. If people don't mind drafting again quickly, then single elimination for four players is fine. In round robin, everyone plays everyone else two out of three games, with the person with the most wins claiming a prize at the end. You will sometimes end with a tie for first place; in this situation, I recommend splitting the prize evenly, though it is also possible to calculate tie breakers based on win/loss percentages by game, or to call the draft in favor of the tied player who defeated the other during play.

Round robin sometimes runs into the problem of people dropping due to poor performance before they've played all their games. This gums up the system a bit - but if people insist on quitting, treat the remainder of their games as if they had conceded to the remaining players against whom they did not play.

With six to eight players, run single elimination. This will be fast enough that you should be able to draft twice in one evening, and avoids the headaches of Swiss pairing or double elimination. The biggest mistake made with six players is to pair everyone in the first round. Do not do this, as it necessitates a bye in the second round, passing someone directly into the finals. This causes many grumbles! With six players, assign two byes in the first round. With seven, assign a single bye. Eight, being 2³, is the ideal that you are shooting for.

Nine players should be avoided at all costs, even if it means that the organizer sits out. There's no format that easily handles the ninth player. You can assign seven byes in round one of a single elimination event (ugh), attempt to Swiss pair by hand (problematic beginning in round 2), or try to make a double-elimination bracket fit. Double elimination is perhaps the best plan if you understand the logic of it, but even that's not ideal.

With ten or more players, options begin to open up. Single elimination is less than ideal, necessitating six byes in round 1, but Swiss is becoming a real option (especially with a computer) and double-elimination works fine. At ten or more players you can also begin splitting players into multiple drafting pods, which becomes an absolute necessity at twelve players. Sixteen, like eight, is another golden number, but that number of players creates an environment that is really beyond the scope at which I'm aiming in this article.

Judging and Diplomacy
The level of rules enforcement at informal drafts should be very loose. Match losses and warnings have no real place here. Encourage people to play by the rules, and by all means explain the rules to people that are confused... But tolerate no rules lawyering. It is fine to have a copy of the comprehensive rules nearby to answer questions, but above all, obey common sense and try to promote the general enjoyment of the game.

For example, if someone casts Stormscape Battlemage with the black kicker and tries to destroy a black creature (an illegal play) allow them to pick another creature or to even place the card back in their hand and untap their mana. They'll feel sheepish for having made the mistake and are penalized slightly by having revealed their hand to their opponent. Enforcing mana burn on a new player or forcing them to destroy their own creature is likely to sour them on the game entirely.

In the drafts that I run, I typically have the most comprehensive rules knowledge of the players, and I also tend to play in most of the drafts that I run. Occasionally I am faced with the uncomfortable position of a rules dispute breaking out in the game that I am personally involved in. This often results from some of the changes from 5^th to 6^th edition, as many old time players have not entirely internalized them. The damage dealt by tapped blockers, the trample rules, and the use of the stack by combat damage are common sources of confusion.

The best option is to arrange for a third player, not involved in the match to make the decision on the best way to proceed (see the underused 3 judge system in section 19 of the universal tournament rules). If this is not possible, I recommend that you allow your more inexperienced opponent to take back plays obviously based on miscomprehensions of the rules, despite the fact you are in essence hurting your own chances at victory. Correctly done, this will be a learning experience, and your opponent will not repeat the mistake in your next match. If he or she does, it is appropriate to be a bit stricter in your interpretations.

Above all, try to play the diplomat. Nothing will drive people away from your events faster than unhelpful and unfriendly rules lawyering and ultracompetitiveness. By all means, play to win, but don't destroy the fun of others in the process. It's a delicate balancing act.

The Prizes
With at least six players in a draft, I usually award a prize to first and second place:

The total number of packs awarded equals the number of drafters, and is covered by the fourth pack included in the $10.00 cost. 1^st place always gets enough packs to cover another draft, and I recommend a generous 2^nd place prize, especially if your group has one player that is technically superior to the others and usually wins. The 2^nd place prize gives newcomers a goal that they feel is closer to their grasp. When they win it, it is amazing to see how it encourages them to continue playing.

A Word on Cheating
This could expand to fill a whole article, but I'm not going to let it. Suffice it to say, if you are hardnosed on anything, let it be on cheating and stealing. The first time that someone adds cards to his deck, or is caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar, make it known in no uncertain terms that this will not be tolerated. If the person is an experienced player, you are justified in asking him or her not to return. No one wants to play in an environment that allows cheating. Your remaining players will respect you and thank you for your integrity.

End Step
These guidelines have served me well over the last few years that I've been successfully organizing local drafts. Your mileage may vary, and you may see fit to modify these guidelines to fit the playstyle of your own group. For example, you may play with people who enjoy attending qualifiers and other higher-stakes events. If so, it may be entirely appropriate to enforce the rules more strictly, or to redraft the cards after the event to forestall rare drafting. For most groups, maintaining an emphasis on friendly competition, loose rules enforcement, minimal cost and material return for everyone should steer you well.

Good luck organizing your drafters, and let me know if this works for you.

Brian Sidlauskas
bls@midway.uchicago.edu