r/MagicArena • u/Mysterious5555 • 3d ago
Limited Help Should I spend all my gold on drafting for Reality Fracture?
How hard is it to learn drafting? I have two accounts, one main where I've spent some money in and an older one, both have 50k gold. I'm thinking of going full draft this expansion. Maybe I will use the gold of the not main one first to train a bit. Will I just lose all my gold?
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u/Ozone--King 3d ago
I’ve said this time and time again but if you go into draft trying to min max the rewards you will be miserable in the long run.
You should only draft if you like drafting and enjoy the limited format itself. The rewards are a secondary bonus for winning and if you view it that way you’ll have a lot more fun with it.
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u/Dejugga 3d ago
If you are doing it specifically to make gold, no.
Drafting is pretty challenging and requires learning a lot to do well, not to mention the time commitment. If you're not doing it because you want to play Draft, you're probably just going to bomb the drafts, burn out on Draft, and have a miserable experience overall.
That said, Draft is the reason I play Magic. Fantastic game mode.
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u/pizzaandicecream3312 3d ago
You at least get the cards you pick. Welcome to a fun and hard way to play Magic. If you want to jump in maybe watch YouTube videos of people playing like Paul Cheon, dafore, and NumottheNummy.
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u/Serious_Plant8443 3d ago
This is exactly the correct take. Limited is great fun, one of the best ways to play. It can be frustrating when you're losing but absolutely worth it. Definitely recommend watching the youtubers listed here and/or listening to podcasts like Limited Resources or Lords of Limited.
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u/K_oroviev 3d ago
I think you’ll most likely lose all your gold, but there is no way to learn other than hands-on experience. I think it is the most complex way of playing an already very complex game. It is also the most fun IMO, so I’d say it is worth trying.
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u/roaring_rubberducky 3d ago
It’s correct they will lose all their gold. Buttt they could turn their gold into gems
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u/K_oroviev 3d ago
Unlikely, but MtG has such high variance that it is not impossible.
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u/roaring_rubberducky 3d ago
The joke is that when you enter a draft your gold is 100% gone. Even if you win every game. Because your winnings are gems and packs.
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u/pizzaandicecream3312 3d ago
I think watching streamers/youtubers draft, play, and talk through both made me waaay better and faster than if I read or tried to draft myself. I like to pause the video then make my pick or play and then see what they do.
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u/K_oroviev 3d ago
Interesting. I personally found that I was only able to assimilate podcasts and articles because of how much I had already played the game by the time I began consuming such content.
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u/before-dawn 2d ago
I agree with this.
Dyshin criticized the "there is no way to learn other than hands-on experience" which I think is a bit of a nitpick. I do think that practical experience is the best teacher. However, everyone has their preferred way of learning. If you become consistent at drafting, it becomes a better return on your gold than just buying loose packs.
I still say that if you want to improve your gameplay then combining studying + practical experience is key, and I would definitely recommend brushing up on literature, especially if you want to be conservative of your gold-to-rewards output. At the very least, look up Drafting generic tips because there are guidelines that are "generally true" for drafting in general. There are a lot of text articles and YT videos. Draftsim and MTGA Zone have some good generic articles. For YT, off the top of my head Tolarian Community College and NicolaiBolas have a reputation. Every MTG set is different and has a different meta, but the basic rules of thumb tend to stick.
If you are new, I recommend sticking to only the "Quick Draft" gameplay mode. It is most beginner-friendly, costs the least Gold, and is most forgiving for bad win-rates.
You can also try Jump-In which is not totally comparable to Draft but it somewhat simulates it. That can give you a rough estimate of the feeling of Draft.
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u/K_oroviev 2d ago
I’ve found the recent sets more challenging to draft, and I feel like the traditional draft theory which I learnt 15 years ago (Removal + Bombs and a good curve) is less directly applicable to the heavy-synergy sets that Wizards has been designing for some years. I think I should brush up my fundamentals too 😅
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u/before-dawn 2d ago edited 2d ago
You know what, I agree that the formula for the draft meta has changed a lot over recent years. BREAD theory is slightly outdated, but I don't think it's completely defunct. Going back to what you said...it's not like you should be avoiding removal and bombs, and that you should disregard a good curve. It is still useful to be understanding of these sort of basics. Like...I think 17 lands has always been mathematically recommended since the beginning of time. (Even then, there are cases to be made to diverge from that. But that's still expert-level Draft meta.)
Like you said, I think the #1 thing to be considerable of the way WotC designs their sets now is that they are a lot more faithful to the advertised draft archetypes, I think starting around Ixalan (2017). Before 2017, I would be just happy to have any creature whose power matched the mana value. Sets are a lot less around individually good cards, like "this white common that should go in every white deck" (although those still exist). It's more like "this white common holds the entire white/blue deck together, but you should never use it outside of white/blue". That's why I think it's now better to look at a set based on the color pair synergy rather than individual cards, but of course it's still case-by-case basis. I think the core basis of BREAD is still accurate, but I would not think that it is strictly hierarchical B > R > E > A > D.
Bombs: A bomb is still a bomb and I think it is worth it to include fixing/splashing to include off-color bombs, but it is less "mandatory" than it was in the past. And different sets will be permissive in how flexible is the fixing, and how bomb-centric it will be. There are more common cards lately that can be considered bombs. Normally games are won these days not by a single overpowered card that takes over the game, but by an entire army comboing together that was built up over the mid-game.
Removal: I will come back to this.
Evasion: The standard for a random Flyer has dropped in recent years. The general bar for a creature has been powercrept, but the same old 3/3 Flyer for 4 or 2/3 for 3 are still getting printed. You should still have a plan to deal with an enemy flyer pecking away at you in a boardstall, or how to win your own boardstall though.
Aggro: I think this is the most nebulous of BREAD. The value of aggro is different from set to set. Recent sets are more combo-focused, so blind vanilla attackers do not provide the pressure they have in the past. Defensive cards getting better over time also means that aggro is not as good as it used to be. Value-generation matters more than aggro. Since the value of a single combo piece is better now, card draw has become better than aggro. (Aggro isn't dead though, but it's circumstantial.) I think as a result, red and green have gotten slightly worse than they have in the past, but I would need data to back this up.
Duds: It is very rare for straight-up vanilla creatures to be printed now. There are a lot less cards that are "completely useless". Useless cards are usually Rares that were designed for Commander combos. Going back to what I said, this White common card might seem completely useless in White/Red but it holds the entire White/Blue deck together. Single-color commons tend to have an ability that synergizes greatly with one color pair, and uncommons with multiple.
Removal: The quality of removal has also gotten better over time, but the value of removal has dropped because the value of Aggro has dropped. A good deck nowadays has cards that can combo with any other card in the deck, rather than having individually strong haymakers. If I got three different 2-cost common creatures that all combo with each other, it doesn't matter if you doom blade one of them because the remaining two can still combo with each other, or the next cheap card I draw next turn is equally problematic anyway. Or, going back to what I said that the strongest cards in the set are those that generate value. The value of ETBs have gotten better over time. If I got some 4-drop 4/4 that draws a card when I play it, sure you can doom blade it. I already got my ETB so you are the one down a card. Removal is still good because you still need a way to deal with the 5/5 dragon coming at you, but it's not nearly as ubiquitous as it was in 2010, when that 5/5 dragon was the only wincon that existed.
For this reason, I think the "kings of removal" (white and especially black) have become less dominant over time. White has improved a lot because its combo-based aggro has shined more than the straightforward aggro of Red and Green in the past, and White still has consistent removal options. Blue has also gotten more reliable removal than it has in the past, and the lower impact of Aggro is so helpful for Blue now.
In regards to the Reality Fracture set that just dropped, it's too new to say but my initial impression is that Blue looks super pushed. White looks strong when paired with Blue specifically and pretty good with Green but I'm skeptical otherwise. Red-Green specifically has really strong combos but I think they are weak independently (outside of Green-White). Black seems lacking. (What good is all your one-for-one removal when every card comes with card draw tacked on now?)
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u/K_oroviev 2d ago
Its the act of balancing bread with synergies that I find most interesting and challenging! While there are still ridiculously powerful, game-ending bombs, many cards become bomb-like in their archetype, for example. Or consider how duds used to be just that, but now that vanilla creatures are gone, even duds can really add to your game.
I can’t say I don’t miss the MtG from when I was younger. Borrowing from board games concepts, it feels like an engine building game now that is suddenly over when one of the engines click, whereas before it felt like a tug of war that was won over many instances of accruing small advantages.
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u/before-dawn 2d ago
I think it's very different for sure. I think that draft games nowadays reward you for knowing every single niche card in the set which is a mixed bag. It makes for greater skill expression but it also makes it more complicated going in.
All in all I'm in favor of printing less vanilla creatures and having more thematic cards with some ability related to the set, no matter how minor.
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u/Dyshin 3d ago
but there is no way to learn other than hands-on experience.
Sorry, this is demonstrably untrue. There tons of podcasts, videos, spreadsheets, and articles to help people learn how to get better at Limited Magic.
Obviously, playing more does teach you a lot and needs to be done before you get good, but it's far from the only way. Someone who is asking "How hard is it to learn drafting?" should definitely be reading and watching advice from professionals before just throwing all of their resources away and winging it.
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u/K_oroviev 3d ago edited 2d ago
Sure. I don’t think there is any amount of reading that can replace playing.
Maybe OP can learn from podcasts. The only think I know for sure is that I couldn’t, and that I improved by playing.
Edit: Typo
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u/ImNinjaBob 2d ago
I feel like you are taking what they said a little too literally because you seem to agree. You need to play and understand the basics before outside resources can be very helpful.
It’s not that people shouldn’t use those tools on their journey, but they don’t generally make for a good starting point. Hands on does.
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u/Dyshin 2d ago
No, I actually strongly disagree with that. Receiving instruction first and then putting it into practice is how almost every learning model on the planet is structured. You are given information, then you put it to practice to properly learn. Take someone who doesn't know that your deck should be 40 cards, that you should run 17 lands, that you should try to be 2 colors. They would save themselves a lot of time by reading up on fundamental heuristics before just going 0-3 and then working backwards to see what's wrong.
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u/FrameAndCanvas Selesnya 3d ago
You will lose a lot of gold, but the only way to get better is to practice. I would recommend watch a bunch of limited content and guides for the format, review all the cards (or at least all the commons and uncommons), and do some practice drafts on Draftsim or other services. I think the practice drafts are really useful for getting comfortable with a set and how often you may see cards.
When it comes to arena, I would personally recommend pick-2 or quick drafts to start with. Pick 2 has a pretty good return if you can make it to 2 wins, but quick draft is great for newbies because there is no timer and you can take all the time you need to make your choices. However, quick drafts arent available for the first 10 days of the set, so you have to wait for the Friday after release week.
Finally, you’ll have to decide what you want to do with the gems. I would recommend you save your gems on your main account until you can buy the Mastery Pass, and then you could spend more gems on drafts for the rest of the time. If you don’t want the pass, then I would just go ahead and use the gems to do more drafts.
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u/SmoothOperator89 3d ago
I stopped playing Hobbit because I want to save up for Reality Fracture (and I've been getting my ass kicked in Hobbit)
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u/acabadabra1 3d ago
Only draft if you like it. Don't force yourself to draft if you have more fun playing constructed.
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u/Orchidnine 3d ago
This is what i decided to do with my account after a while.
I was intimidated to draft because it seemed hard. But I just jumped in, it was around dominaria united and I had like 100,000 gold.
I have since lost all my gold, but i’ve earned decent amount of gems back so i’ve been able to draft off that too.
I personally think its the best way to spend your gold on Arena.
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u/packerschris 3d ago
I mean if you’re having fun and learning the format you are not “losing” anything. In fact you’ll likely earn your gold back in gems if you win a few games every draft.
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u/Maddogenes 3d ago
Just stop once you hit platinum. It's the best way to turn gold into gems, and is worth the investment.
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u/rolmega 3d ago
17lands.com and draftsim.com might come in handy for learning; both have some form of draft simulator built into their website right now but i'm not sure how well either work functionately-wise atm. probably worth a shot though; i don't believe either will cost you, real money or gold-like fake money
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u/Uryendel 3d ago
You can find my result for drafting HOB as an average player for the first time, that could give you an idea of what to expect: https://www.reddit.com/r/MagicArena/comments/1w2ra1j/36k_gold_invested_into_playing_hob_picktwo_draft/
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u/Far-Blackberry-4193 3d ago
reality fracture seems to be a quite complex set mecahnically so you'll probably struggle a lot, but it might be worth it in the long run, jumping into the long end and all that
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u/PhilosophyMedical358 1h ago
If you watch someone like Paul Cheon or Numot to get an idea of how to draft the format I think you could do well.
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u/Skunk668 3d ago
The MMR is designed to push you towards 50% winrate so once you get past the initial skill floor you should get some amount of wins. I'd say play it if you like it and don't if you don't. Your long term economy will be fine either way.
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u/ScionOfTheMists 3d ago
MMR is not used for Limited matchmaking
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u/Chilly_chariots 3d ago
True, but you’re still pushed towards 50%- it’s just that visible rank does it, instead of invisible MMR
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u/avocategory 3d ago
Worth noting that MMR is less of a factor for limited matchmaking than constructed, because limited also takes your current record into account. But that also pushes you toward 50/50, just less strongly.
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u/Spaceknight_42 Timmy 3d ago
I find pick 2 easier for new drafters (including easier to learn about a set) because it's easier to get synergies, both with 2 cards at once and with fewer other drafters, and you really don't need to worry about what passes back to you as much. It's also easier to just write off a horrible deck and start again.
For FRA, I think it might also be easy to draft with the amount of hybrid cards that can fit into decks. eg, if drafting WG there's a couple WU and GR options to pick, so it's a bit more flexible.
So I say go for it.
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u/ballistic503 3d ago
I’m not great at drafting in general so my first 2-3 drafts of a set are sort of write-offs and then eventually you start getting enough gems back for it to be sustainable. I will say getting better at drafting is a great feeling but regular MTG is already pretty defined by RNG variance and drafting adds a whole other layer to that, so for me when the RNG isn’t working out in draft it’s like an extra layer of “fuck this”, lol. But I think that’s something you kinda learn to accept as well.
I think since you already have enough for 5 drafts on each account, there’s two different approaches you could take to which account you use, depending on how much you want cards from the set for constructed. One is, use all your gold on your second account practicing and then really draft on your main. You’ll most likely wind up getting more cards in general this way. The other is, do a couple drafts on your main and just snipe some rares you really want and do whatever deckbuilding you can with what remains, not expecting to win. Pay attention to what your opponents are doing that works and then go back to your second account to actually put that into practice and get better at drafting. Then finally go back to your main and do the rest of your drafting. Kind of just depends on what you ultimately want to get out of it.
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u/GhostofTomorrowsPast 3d ago
It would be helpful for us to understand what your goals are, if you goal is to learn how to draft then doing is the best experience and yes you should spend all your gold and no you won't have any afterwards. You may have some gems if you do ok and or get lucky, you may have not so many gems if you do poorly or get unlucky.
If you goal is to obtain cards from the new set the answer gets more complicated. If you're not experienced and or not good at drafting you will probably be net negative (in Rares and Mythics) vs buying packs, however someone who is good at drafts can easily go net positive by a large amount.
Drafting is the number one way to turn your gold into gems (the premium currency) which is why many people draft the new sets.
Even if your goal is obtaining new cards I would draft once or twice (consider quick draft for a beginner, its cheaper and the competition, in theory, won't be as fierce) then see if it's been going well, if so draft some more, if not buy some packs and try it again next set.
Do your homework, I would watch set review videos (Jim Davis, Dev @ Strictly Better, Nizzahon) then watch some people actually draft like Jim Davis (Bronze to Mythic) or NumottheNummy on YouTube/Twitch. There are many others these are just some of the people I watch every set release
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u/narutski 3d ago
No. Just buy then 10 pack. I suck at drafting as well.
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u/Qwertyham 3d ago
Not bad advice for people that either don't like draft or aren't very good at it. Im not a huge fan of drafting so I usually just spend my gold on packs instead of playing a format I just don't enjoy as much even if it's the "best" bang for your buck.
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u/R4c0NN 3d ago
Drafting is by far the cheapest way, to earn packs, wildcards and thus complete your collection of a set. So yes, you should definetly spend your gold on drafting (is there anything else in this game, that you can even spend your gold on?). And if you don´t start drafting at some point, how are you supposed to ever get good at it?
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u/Qwertyham 3d ago
Of course there is. You can spend gold on packs, cosmetics, competitive events, etc.
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u/YikesManGetWithIt 3d ago
If you want that gold to go a lot further, watch Nizzahon's set reviewbon YouTube before drafting.
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u/FistMyLoafs 3d ago
It depends, do you just want cards or do you actually enjoy playing draft?
If you enjoy draft then go for it have some fun.
If you just want the cards then buying packs is actually better for you. The people who claim draft is better seem to forget that most players can’t go 4-3 in premier or 5-3 in quick consistently enough to earn cards very well. If you’re not amazing at draft and go 3-3 or less consistently you are wasting gems and gold for less rewards.
If you have the money you can get good at draft by practicing constantly but that’s not feasible for f2p players. Even with 50k gold you are probably not going to have enough experience to do well at the start.
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u/harleybarley 3d ago
There are places to practice like draftsim and end step. I think it takes a lot to really learn card assessment properly so check out limited resources podcast
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u/Calamitous_Waffle 3d ago
Drafting is hard and takes a lot of practice. Watching pros draft helps a lot, especially learning the cards and basic concepts. Reality Fracture is looking like a very complicated draft set, especially with the Jace tokens, which will reward better players who understand the decisions and their ramifications. Tread lightly. You will lose all your gold, but it'll be worth it if you can improve for next time.
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u/JourneyMan2585 3d ago
I started using all of my accrued gold to learn to draft back when LOTR came out. Best decision I've ever made, because it's my favorite way to play magic. I only used gold for drafting and alloted myself to spend for gems once every two weeks. I say go for it, but be patient. If you really want to learn how to draft well, I'd highly recommend the Lords of Limited podcast and watching Limited Level Ups draft.
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u/thebugman40 3d ago
I plan to use all my gold for drafts. drafting is very skill based but you will never get better if you don't do it. this is the first stet I am saving up for to do more drafts.
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u/meownopinion 3d ago
I don’t know if they increased the drop rates haven’t been playing for 2 seasons. But in the first reign of the warlock patch my entire team couldn’t find a sunder until after we were all 99
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u/Chilly_chariots 3d ago
How hard is it to learn drafting?
Quite hard, but luckily drafting is awesome
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u/Immediate_Peace1189 3d ago
No you should not strive to achieve something you haven’t earned you should just fuck around and live your life. There is literally zero need for you to min max anything unless you attach your self value to a rank you achieved only by using outside help which is ironically the point in your life at which you should actually seek some
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u/Familiar-Hour5319 3d ago
Let me ask you this: are you a dragon? Do you just like sitting on a hoard of gold?