So you're about to sit down at a Ravnica Block draft table (either physically or as your electronic avatar) and though you have a fair idea of how to draft, what to draft, and the myriad of directions a format as diverse as Ravnica Limited can take you, when you open your first pack you're still as lost as a babe in the woods. Or maybe you aren't, but you still devour strategy articles online hoping for a hearty caramel nougat amongst the bland cookie crisp.

The fact is, despite what anyone might tell you; there is no best color in Ravnica draft. In fact, the more startling revelation is, the more things change, the more things stay the same, whereby Ravnica Block draft has more in common with Mirrodin Block draft (particularly post-Fifth Dawn) than it does with it's preceding Kamigawa Block. The winning strategy at any Ravnica table is five-color draft, with some fair discretion when it comes to actual deck construction. In the abstract, this means drafting the best card regardless of color, and then drafting mana fixers to make them play nicely with one another. To delve into a suitable analogy, it means drafting Galvanic Arc in tandem with your first pick Putrefy, and then drafting a Golgari Rot Farm over the hugely difficult to cast Viashino Fangtail. The purpose behind these bizarre steps can be summed up in a general statement:

It is better to be able to actually play game-winning cards regardless of color (in this block) than to play a large number of middling cards in a limited number of colors.

Put differently, being able to play your Putrefy in the above example is more important than playing your Viashino Fangtail. However, the two will usually be mutually exclusive. Thereby, the Golgari Rot Farm becomes a more important card for your deck than a benched Viashino Fangtail.

You might have seen this whole point summed up another way in the form of a question (Which doesn't always have the same answer, by the way!):

What's better: power or consistency?

Clearly, any particular draft might end up a little odd, but in the overwhelming majority of the draft experiences of this author, power (in this block) is more important than consistency. The grand secret in this block, however, is that with some careful draft choices, the sacrifice in consistency is marginal, while the gains in power are astronomical.

If you're looking for the point of this article, here it is. To win Ravnica Block Draft:

1. Draft genuine removal at the highest priority.
2. Draft game winning beaters at the second highest priority.
3. Draft bounce lands / guild lands / Karoos at the third highest priority.
4. Draft efficient creatures with evasion or high power / casting cost ratios
5. Draft circumstantial removal.

1. Draft genuine removal at the highest priority

Removal is king. This is usually true in any draft, for any block, and it remains so in Ravnica. As far as this article goes, however, the terms for what constitutes Genuine Removal™ versus circumstantial removal can be best summed up in the difference between Last Gasp and Gaze of the Gorgon. Last Gasp is genuine removal, in that it takes out a creature with very little variation in circumstance. Gaze of the Gorgon, however, can only do so in combat. Granted, if the creature's toughness is too large for Last Gasp, combat is your likeliest of manners to actually kill it, but there's the brilliance of the difference: Last Gasp will almost always (in this format) kill a creature during (or thanks to) combat, but may also kill it outside of that step. Gaze of the Gorgon can only do so during combat. (Incidentally, for those of you who may not be as versed in Tempo theory, Last Gasp also only takes two mana, versus Gaze of the Gorgon's four.)

Thereby, though I could go down the list detailing what constitutes Genuine Removal versus circumstantial removal, instead use the following determinants:

Does it say “destroy target creature” without any preconditions of damage or combat steps? (Cards that would fail this step would include Gaze of the Gorgon or Orzhov Euthanist.)

Does it do enough damage (Galvanic Arc) or reduce toughness sufficiently (Last Gasp) to kill most creatures in the format, or does it truly remove all chances of the creature participating in combat (Faith's Fetters)? (Cards that would fail this step would include Sparkmage Apprentice, Carom, or Riot Spikes.)

Is it castable? (Cards that will usually fail this step would include Hex.)

The “failing” cards listed above are good examples of circumstantial removal; cards that can shine, but won't be as useful as a mana fixer that can let you cast your bombs, a game winning beater, or even, really, just a hyper-efficient creature.

So, draft genuine removal at your highest priority.

2. Draft game-winning beaters at the second highest priority

Loxodon Hierarch, Sunhome Enforcer, and Moldervine Cloak. These three are good examples of creatures that, quite frankly, win games based on their sheer power alone. (I include Moldervine Cloak here because it makes all of your creatures game-winning beaters.)

It can be difficult to tell when a creature is just a good creature (Siege Wurm) and when it's a game winner (Assault Zeppelid), but here are some good rules to use:

Is its power-to-casting-cost ratio above one, or does an evasion ability supersede this downside? (Cards that fail this test would include Torch Drake, and Sporeback Troll)

Is its evasion ability relevant in the draft environment? (Cards that fail this test would include Enemy of the Guildpact, and depending on the cards you see floating around the table, Dryad Sophisticate)

The key here, regardless of whether you agree with my guidelines or not, is that whatever you perceive to be a game winning beater, that you draft it at this, the second highest priority. Over time you'll be able to hone in on what creatures truly qualify as such, and which are just gimmicks or barely qualified - regardless, use your own judgment, but the point is, draft them.

3. Draft bounce lands / guild lands / Karoos at the third highest priority

If you've made it this far, you have reached the true meat of the article - and probably the one to draw the most controversy. (Though listing Assault Zeppelid as a “game-winning beater” on par with Loxodon Hierarch might draw some interesting attention!)

The fact is, you can't draft too many Karoos. Now, don't take that statement to unnecessary extremes, just take it literally. It is not possible to draft too many Karoos, because you simply won't see too many. I've experimented a lot, and the most I've ever actually seen in an entire draft was nine. I drafted them all, and it worked. I've drafted seven and eight quite frequently, and recently far fewer as they seem to be taken at higher and higher picks in my area in the past several weeks. The truth is, don't let anyone tell you otherwise; draft as many as you see (up to about ten), and play them all, assuming they share even one color with the cards you're playing.

The rationale is as follows:

Fact 1: Karoos count as two lands. If you have an opening mitt of one basic land and a Karoo, you have (effectively) three lands. This has several important ramifications:

Ramification i: You can keep more hands. This can produce long-run (over the course of a tournament) card advantage by allowing for fewer low-mana count mulligans.

Ramification ii: You can play fewer lands in the deck. This allows for you to stuff even more game-winning cards in the deck and still keep it beneath the forty-card mark.

Fact 2: Karoos color-fix, which is hugely important in this draft strategy. Not only do they color-fix to cast mono-color cards with one colored mana requirement, they also color fix for gold cards. A Boros Garrison is not just useful because it lets you cast your Galvanic Arc more consistently; it's also amazing because it lets you cast your Lightning Helix more consistently. That cannot be understated in a block with such a gold-centric theme.

You draft as many Karoos as you see, you play as many Karoos as you draft (assuming they share a color with your drafted cards), and you draw first.

… Say what?

Yes, you draw first. I'll touch on this later, but keep in mind that it will also lead to the occasional discard on turn 2.

But you said this strategy would lead to card advantage over the course of the tournament!

All will become clear in time*.

One last factor to consider here is the aggressiveness of your deck. If your deck is keyed into a hyper-aggressive card selection, quite so many Karoos might be detrimental. Honestly, there are going to be very few such circumstances, unless no one at your table drafts Gruul, but bear it in mind as that possibility has and will come up intermittently.

4. Draft efficient creatures with evasion or high power / casting cost ratios, and 5. Draft circumstantial removal

These two steps, assuming a proper adoption of the above techniques, will be the two most at odds with each other. You absolutely need a critical mass of creatures. Likewise, you will also likely be in a position of having only two or three solid removal spells (which is still great!) and wanting a few more tricks. Honestly, these two steps will need to fall within the nebulous area of “reader discretion.” This author has found that excepting particularly odd scenarios with “umpteen” amazing removal spells, fourteen creatures is a good target minimum. Remember, it is nearly useless to be clearing the board if you have no creatures to forge into the breach; and don't forget that your opponents will likely have at least one or two removal spells of their own. “Creature-lite” is not usually going to be a viable strategy in Ravnica Block Draft.

To follow number 4, just use the same guidelines as number 2, but be more generous. Here it's great to draft Aquastrand Spider a little higher. In addition, when you're at this stage (which might even come about pick two in Ravnica, incidentally, if you see no Genuine Removal, no game-winners, and no Karoos), it's also good to draft some of the incidentally good creatures, like Ogre Savant, Izzet Chronarch, or Lurking Informant.

It is difficult to generate a good guideline for such an eclectic decision-making process, and reader judgment is called upon to the greatest degree here. In other words, the author truly can not tell you when to draft an Orzhov Euthanist over a Blind Hunter, other than to look at your card choices thus far and give a situational answer, but generally try to use the Oscar Tan method for determining card advantage (Available via search here on StarCityGames.com), with a careful eye on Tempo as illustrated best by distinguished authors on this and other sites.

In addition, try to eschew clunky circumstantial removal cards, such as Carom, in favor of even mild color fixing like Signets. Carom can be a fine card, but it is so incredibly hyper-conditional as a “removal spell.” Odds are you'll be stuck just casting it to see something else.

*Drawing First, Karoos, and Tournament Card Advantage

When playing a massively multi-color deck, one of the most important aspects is being able to successfully cast your spells. That ability hinges on getting access to the right colors, which means seeing as many cards as possible as soon as possible. It also means occasionally keeping hands with one or two uncastable cards based on the mana sources in hand and hoping to draw into the right color mana. This strategy is most viable with drawing first.

This facet also dovetails nicely with the usual result of drafting according to the aforementioned strategy; you'll usually wind up playing a moderate control route. This is inevitable with drafting removal so highly and larger more relevant beaters. Playing a creature control strategy also requires seeing more cards than your opponent, since very few removal spells in this block are more than single-target. This strategy favors drawing first as well.

The net result is, the occasional discard on turn 2 is mitigated - if not out-right counteracted - by the overwhelming benefits associated with drawing first, not just in the individual matches, but also greatly across the tournament itself.

Additional Commentary

There is one final section that warrants mention before I launch into a general overview. A great deal has been made about color-pathing in Ravnica. That is to say, supposedly going Green/White pack one can lead to a “dead end” by pack three due to available on-color picks. I have endeavored to avoid giving that impression with two caveats. The first is, keep in mind that drafting removal at such a high priority means drafting a lot of Black and Red cards. Another fact to bear in mind is that a five-color drafting method does not necessarily entail a five-color deck - it entails drafting the best castable cards you see, which will mean occasionally having to pass cards that would be castable using a different (Say 2 or 3 color) draft strategy (such as the Viashino Fangtail pass mentioned earlier). Just as choosing the Queen's Gambit in chess, or positioning your players for a Hail Mary in NFL Blitz commits you to a particular strategy, so does adopting this five-color approach. The particularly beneficial aspect to the tactic espoused in this article, however, is that with a minimum of rapid adjustment this particular strategy can be abandoned should an amazing card pool present itself in just two colors. In other words, you might have drafted a Vinelasher Kudzu and Galvanic Arc in pack one, but should you see Ghost Council, Teysa, and Angel of Vindicate in Guildpact, it is likely safe to go White/Black splash X with this pool and draft accordingly.

Overview

Generally, this strategy is stated simply as “draft the best cards and then fix your mana.” What constitutes the best cards for the Ravnica Block draft environment, and how to fix your mana, is what this article has attempted to address. Obviously permutations based on the specifics of your draft circumstances will be incredibly useful, but as a general guideline this article should suffice.

We are enjoying a draft environment with a rich panoply of viable draft strategies… my most important advice is to enjoy it.

Comments are encouraged in the forums!

JV
sieGermans on the StarCityGames.com forums