Rochester Draft is rather intricate, so you’ll need to pay careful attention to what you’re doing. I’ve also found that it takes a bit more time than most other Draft formats, so make sure your schedule is clear. To run a Rochester Draft, you’ll need at least three players, and three booster packs for each player. Use packs from the same set whenever possible, because it makes deckbuilding easier. You can certainly have more people join your Rochester Draft if they’d like. Just add three packs per player and keep the pods in multiples of three.

You’ll also need a nice cleared-off table area, because this time you won’t be shuffling the cards out into one big stack. You’re going to spread each pack out so everyone can see all the cards at once. That’s a change, isn’t it? Once you’ve got your space ready, your players chosen, and your packs together, you’ll need to agree on the number of matches you’ll play and then decide who will go first, second, and third. The easiest way to choose is to just roll a die, or use whatever your preferred method of selection might be, and then go around the table clockwise.

To begin, open the first pack, then spread the cards out on the table face up so that everyone can see them. Just look at all those beautiful cards, and enjoy that new card smell! Once they’re all arranged, the player who is drafting first will select the card that he or she wants most. This is done in full view of the other players. Then player two gets to choose, and finally, player three. Players repeat this until all the cards in the first pack have been picked. Sorry, player three—you’ll probably get stuck with the card equivalent of the kid no one wants on their team. Once all the cards have been drafted, open the second pack, spread out the cards, and player two will get first pick, then player three, then player one. When those are all drafted, open up the third pack, and player three will go first, followed by player one, and finally by player two. Repeat this process until all the cards have been drafted. At that point, everyone should have twenty-seven cards and be ready to build their decks.

Sounds a lot like regular old Booster Draft, doesn’t it? The big difference in Rochester Draft is that everybody knows what everybody else is taking. Good Booster Drafters learn to figure out what their podmates are going after, and do what they can to mess that up. It’s all out in the open in Rochester, so as you’re picking your cards, your fellow players are busy trying to figure out your strategy, and you will have the chance to do the same for them. With that in mind, everyone has a few different options to consider. They can just draft the cards they want and further their own ends, they can try to ruin it for everyone else, or they can strike a balance somewhere in-between. The process will give you some interesting insight into the personalities of the other players . . . and into yours as well.

Some players are more laid-back, or centrally focused. They like to go after the cards they want for their deck, and they let their opponents go their own way. Other players like to think ahead of their opponents, then screw them over by taking the cards that would help them win (often resulting in a retaliatory three-way war of attrition that becomes a source of either hilarity or resentment). Others go the diplomacy route. Personally, I tend to be a negotiator, making deals as I go along—but only when I’m drafting with players whose word is solid. You can mix and match all of these approaches as the draft progresses. See what works best for you with the cards and the players with whom you’re drafting.

Choosing the right approach requires a solid understanding of both the cards in the set and the personalities and play styles of the rest of your pod. If you know that you’re playing against people who will pass up a card they need just to mess you up by taking the card that you need, you’d better be an excellent bluffer. If you decide to play it safe and stick to general high-utility cards, you may be giving one or both of your podmates the cards that they need to pull together a potentially deadly strategy. Remember, there are only twenty cards in these decks, and a player can have any number of any given card. Players can get to their combo cards very quickly.

If you decide to be a great big Draft jerk and keep taking the cards that you know the other guys want, they’re probably going to turn around and do the same to you, so be prepared! Regardless of your approach, you’re going to have to build a deck with the cards you pick and you’re going to have to play with it, so don’t lose sight of that. This is the ultimate in “do unto others before/because they do unto you” drafting.

Once you’ve got your twenty-seven cards, follow the recognized rules of Sealed Pack play: 20-card minimum decks, 8000 life points, and play out your matches! If you all went the “vengeful jerk” route, it could be a very interesting and amusing battle to the death between three decks of equally bad design! If you were paying attention during the Draft and your memory is good, you should know what cards are most likely to be in the other players’ decks, and you can adjust your play style accordingly.

This is a good psychological exercise for teams, or for players who regularly test together. Someone with whom you spend a lot of time playing will likely give you a bit of insight on your mindset, when he or she points out the approaches you took to drafting. If you got burned by consistently passing up solid choices that would have made your own deck stronger just to keep someone else from getting something that would help him or her, look for parallels in your play style. Maybe you’re too eager to ignore your own advantages by getting overly caught up in an aggressive attitude.

On the other hand, if you paid no attention to the choices other players were making and focused entirely on building your own deck, only to end up getting outmaneuvered in the match itself, take a closer look at your latest tournament performances. Did you get outplayed or show up with the wrong deck for the environment? Maybe you need to pay more attention to what other players are doing. There’s more to being a successful player than knowing the latest cookie-cutter decks, summing up a card up in terms of advantage, and attending a lot of tournaments. Recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses will help you analyze your game and make the deck and strategy choices that are right for you. This kind of drafting is a good way to examine yourself as a player.

This week or next, get a group together and give Rochester Draft a try. You’ll have a great time, and you’ll get some good duel exercise. You’ve only got a few more months to get qualified for Nationals, so make use of the edge that Sealed Pack play can give you.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration of alternative Draft formats, and next time you come up to say hi to me at an event, make sure to tell me how your Draft went, and which format you liked the best. See you around!