So how do you Draft, anyway?

Now that we’re entering the Top 16 of YCS Atlanta, all Dueling from here on will be done with Draft Decks from Battle Pack: War of the Giants – Round 2. What does that mean exactly? Many Duelists are unaware of the process, so here’s exactly how it works.

Step 1: Open three Battle Pack 2 boosters!

You’ll combine those three booster packs into one pile. Each pack has five cards, so you should have fifteen in the pile.

Step 2: Pick a card!

Choose any one card you want from the pile. That card is yours now, and you can put it into your Deck. Once everyone has selected a card, pass the pile to the player on your left side.

Step 3: Repeat!

With your new pile, you’ll choose a card you want, and put it with the first card you took. Pass the pile to the left again, and keep doing this until there are no cards remaining.

Step 4: Open the Round 2 booster, and do the same thing

Now you open up the Round 2 pack, which has fifteen cards in it. You’ll take one card, and this time pass to the Duelist on your right. Continue passing until all of the cards are gone.

Step 5: Repeat steps 1-3

You’ll have three remaining packs of Battle Pack 2, and once again combine them into one pile. Choose a card, and pass to the left. Once this is done, all of the packs should be open, and all the cards should be selected. You will have 45 cards when you’re done.

Step 6: Build your Deck!

With your pool of handpicked cards, you’ll build a Deck to Duel with. 40 cards is the recommended Deck size to use in tournaments, and that is what we’ll be doing here in YCS Atlanta. Any cards you don’t want to use in your Main Deck will be treated as your Side Deck.

The tactics for Draft are varied. You can go in with a specific strategy in mind, and try to Draft for that, or you can feel out the packs you’re getting and form a strategy as you go.  You’ll often find that simply choosing the “best” card isn’t going to work, you must also form a cohesive strategy with everything else you’ve drafted. In addition, you’ll want to pay close attention to what is being passed to you – if you’re receiving a lot of similar or notable cards, you can infer what the Duelist next to you is taking instead.