Notorious WUBRG: Chaos Draft (Fall 2022)

I am forcing myself to use the term "Chaos Draft" instead of "Wacky Draft".  I have been saying Wacky Draft for over a decade now and have resisted the change, but it's time to give in.  I don't like "Chaos Draft" as much, but... whatever.

Tuesday night was a very successful chaos draft.  This was my first time running a chaos draft with students at Florida Southern.  We've had a hard time getting drafts to happen, and we very nearly had to cancel yesterday, but we got a fourth at the last minute.

Here's what we opened:

My choices were the Ikoria, New Capenna, and Neon Dynasty.  They first two were good for WUBRG-drafting, but the Kamigawa wasn't great.  Nevertheless, I got a really fun draft pool:

 

These were probably stronger than they look.  I did a good job drafting lands, with five multi-colored lands.  These packs didn't have a lot, so I picked them pretty early.  The Skyclave Cleric turned out to be quite good as both an efficient little creature or a land.  Five multi-colored lands are not really enough, but I had a few land-search cards, and two treasure-creating cards, so it worked out. Here's the deck I built: (Sorry for the glare!)

We got off to a late start, so we only played three single-game rounds.  Nevertheless, I got to do some really fun things!

• I mutated for what I think is the first time ever.  That ability isn't as bad as my biases were led to believe.  I didn't get to use the Nethroi, sadly.
• I got to get a card from my sideboard using The Raven's Warning, so that was cool!  I took Shadow of Mortality, but I realized later that I should have taken Master Skald.
• I ventured into the dungeon with Planar Ally.
• I harnessed some citizen tribal synergy.
• I used Extraction Specialist to bring a little creature back (Skyclave Cleric).  That ability is kind of like "Champion a Mana-Value-2 creature from your graveyard".
  
• Dancing Sword was real good.
  

I went 2-1 and had a great time drafting and playing.  Chaos drafts really hit the spot for me!

Notorious WUBRG: Drafting Dominaria

I finally got to draft Dominaria last night.  I've been trying to draft this set for weeks, but plans kept changing, so I kept having to miss it.

I didn't really have a good grasp on what's in the set ahead of time, except that Domain was a keyword. That's both a good and a bad thing.  It's good because it's easier to go 5-colors, but it can be a bit bad if it's too easy.  

What I drafted, in order.  Pack 1 on the left.

The draft went about as you'd expect.  I got tons of the tapped duals.  A lot of rares came around, so I took them.  (Caves of Koilos went really late!)  I think someone else was drafting Domain (there were 5 drafters) so I missed out on a lot of Domain cards.

 What I ran.  Only seven basics!

I built my deck a bit hastily and I never made modifications, which was probably a mistake.  I think I needed a few more creatures.  I went 1-2, but as usual I still had a blast.  Some notes for the future:

• I don't think I need to grab the lands quite as quickly as I did.  It was great to have 10, but 8 or 9 probably would have been okay.  I'm not sure how many of them would have wheeled.
• It's great to take anything with different-colored kickers and not be afraid of being able to use it.
• I lived the dream and cast Yavimaya Sojourner on turn 3 in one game!
• I don't think I would bother with Salvaged Manaworker in the future.  Unless I didn't get enough lands.
  

 I really hope I get the chance to try this format again before things rotate!

Notorious WUBRG: Drafting Unfinity

Last night I drafted Unfinity.  It was not what I wanted to draft (I've been trying to find a Dominaria United draft for a long time, and I keep failing).  However, I had a great time, mostly because of a HUGE misconception I had about how the set works.

Anyways, here's what I drafted:

 

Yes, I first-picked Pair o' Dice in the second pack, mostly because I actually want that card.  I was really excited about Phone a Friend, but I never got to play it.

Here's the deck that I built from that pool:

 

At this point in the draft, I still didn't know that stickers aren't permanent.  (You take them off after each game.)  I did not know that.  To be fair, I did not read up on all things Unfinity before coming to this draft.

I went 1-2 and all of my rounds were fun!  I would certainly draft this set again!  However, I would definitely do some things differently next time.  What we care about here is what I would to be more 5-color-friendly:

• Nearby Planet: I'm not sure I saw any of these in the draft.  They go fast!
• Attractions: There are lots of attractions that create Treasure tokens.  Pick-a-Beeble is real helpful!  I would draft more of these next time.
• To get those attractions going, you're going to want to draft cards that open attractions.  Coming Attraction pulls double-duty here by helping mana fix as well.

The big thing to remember here is not to take these drafts seriously.  This is an Un-set.  Don't draft this if you aren't in the mindset to just have fun!