Get to Know Your Cards

It’s easy to see how all the cards work together in a Constructed deck. Even if you haven’t actually played the deck, you’ve probably seen it played, so you can figure out pretty quickly how to exploit the cards’ synergies. Not so with a Draft deck. That’s why it’s helpful to draw a few practice hands and mock play a few turns before the matches begin. It will help you to get an idea of how your cards work together. And more importantly, if you have time before the match starts, play a practice game with a friend. Even if you’re unable to finish the game, you’ll become more familiar with your cards and how they work.

Along the same line, read your cards carefully and often. Before you make a move and before you let your opponent make a move, you need to do three things each time:

(1) Look at your hand. Are you holding any power-ups or plot twists that could be useful?

(2) Look at your resources. Read each plot twist and location carefully to see if they could apply to your current situation.

(3) Read the text on all cards in play, including your opponent’s.

If you’re like me, by the time you finish reading your opponent’s cards, you might have already forgotten what’s in your hand, so look at all the cards again just to be sure. You should be this meticulous even in Constructed games, but it’s particularly important when you’re playing Draft, simply because many of the cards may be new to you.

Evens or Odds?

It sounds like a minor decision, but choosing whether to take the even or odd initiatives could mean the difference between winning and losing. Some Constructed decks have key cards that make them better for odds or evens, depending on the key card’s cost. The Common Enemy deck, for example, wants to go evens so that the 4-drop Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius can slow down the opponent’s plot twists as soon as possible. But unlike Constructed games, Draft matches are not centered on a few theme cards. Most Draft matches last seven turns, and it’s the 7-drop character that’s going to pack the biggest whammy, especially if you have the initiative on turn 7. So if given the choice, you probably want to go odds. You only want to choose evens if you have an important card that works best when you have the initiative, or if you didn’t manage to draft a 7-drop (in which case you’re probably in trouble anyway).

To Mulligan or Not to Mulligan?

So, you’ve chosen to go odds, and it’s time to draw your initial four cards. To your dismay, you discover that you have no plot twists in your opening hand, and that makes you want to mulligan. But look again. You notice that you’ve drawn two of your three 6-drop characters. Hmmm. You’d better hang on to this hand, because turn 6 is one of the most important turns in the game and not having a 6-drop when you need it is likely to cost you the match.

Constructed decks often rely on a few key cards, so many players will wisely mulligan if they don’t draw a certain card in their opening hand. The TNB Blitz deck, for example, relies on The New Brotherhood plot twist, so most players will mulligan if they don’t draw it in their opening hand. But Draft players needn’t be so selective. Remember that Draft games don’t really get going until about turn 4, so if you don’t have an early drop in your opening hand, it’s not worth putting your cards on the bottom of your deck. This is especially true if you’re holding one of your important high drops, a good plot twist or location, or multiple character cards with the same cost.

Keep Your Eye on the Late Game

If you take an early beatdown (say because you didn’t play a 1- or 2-drop character), don’t be discouraged. The later turns are what count in Draft matches (unlike in Constructed, where turns 4 and 5 are arguably the most important). Players will suffer the most endurance loss during turns 6 and 7 simply because the characters suddenly get a lot bigger and pack an equally bigger punch. After all, the average 6-drop character is almost twice as large as the average 4-drop. Look at Kang from The Avengers. As a 4-drop, Kang, Master of Time has 6 ATK/6 DEF. As a 6-drop, Kang grows up to be Kang, Lord Kang with 12 ATK/12 DEF. Also, the higher drop characters’ special abilities tend to have more of a widespread effect on the game.

Because these late turns often win or lose the game, you want to reserve most of your non-ongoing plot twists until then to help shift the balance in your favor. This is especially true for those plot twists that increase characters’ ATK or DEF, such as Call Down the Lightning from Avengers. As a general rule, you don’t want to play offensive or defensive plot twists before turn 3, and in most games, you should save them until at least turn 5. There are always exceptions, of course, but I’ve found that those Draft players who use their “surprise pump” plot twists early in the game tend to peter out by turn 6, and that’s when they get walloped.

Get to Know Your Opponents’ Cards

Not only is it important to get to know your own cards, but you should also become familiar with your opponents’ cards. If you finish your match early, don’t be shy about watching other players’ games to scope out their cards. And listen to what other players are bragging about. Many players can’t resist telling anyone who’ll listen about how they managed to snag (for instance) Hulk, Gamma Rage.

Let’s say you know the guy you’re playing has Hero’s Demise. It’s the fifth turn. You see that your opponent meets the requirements for playing Hero’s Demise—that is, he has two non-stunned Masters of Evil characters with the same cost. Now would be a prime time for him to stun your 11 ATK/9 DEF Hawkeye so he can KO him and break through your weakened defenses next turn. Because you know that he has that Hero’s Demise, you can feel pretty confident that the time is right to play the Repel Attack you’ve been saving. That way, you can boost Hawkeye’s DEF and save him from being stunned (and KO’d).

Play for the Right Reason

While you’re doing all this serious thinking about your game, try not to lose sight of why you’re playing. And that is, of course, to have fun. Tournament Drafts require eight players, but you can draft casually with as few as two. And if it’s just you and your buddy, try drafting four boosters each instead of three. That way you have a larger card pool from which to build your decks. (And you get to open more packs!) My husband and I have spent many an evening sitting at our kitchen table strewn with Vs. cards, crumpled silver wrappers, and half-empty beer bottles. And though he usually kicks my butt (the more beer I drink, the harder it is to follow my own advice), I always have fun.