Where can I learn to draft online?

Question

I'm new to MtG and I really want to go to Friday Night Magic, but I've never done a draft before.

Are there online resources with good advice for what to pick and when?

Answer 1

I would recommend http://www.channelfireball.com/all-strategy/. They have videos of expert player drafting and playing, which are a great (and fun) way to learn. Luis Scott-Vargas set reviews on the same site are also great (e.g. http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/magic-2014-set-review-artifacts-and-lands/).

Answer 2

Not really an answer to your question, but useful information:

There are lots of draft simulators online. You can try out drafting strategies and see what kind of cards you end up with, giving you some insight on whether or not that strategy will actually work.

http://draft.bestiaire.org/ (no sign up, draft against computers)

http://tappedout.net/mtg-draft-simulator/ (requires sign up, but you can draft against other humans)

Answer 3

Arthur,

1st: Go here: Draft Magic Lots of card "Spoilers" here. Set overviews, and strategies. There is a lot of video content on this website.

2nd: Take the time to read the following article. Booster Draft 101 B. R. E. A. D.

The concept was mentioned in a comment by Affe. The article referenced has a great description of each step, which I will summarize here:

B (Bombs) - Creatures, or cards that allow you to take control of the game, or win outright. These are game changing cards, and are usually pretty obvious. They tend to be rare.

R (Removal) - Cards that remove threats effectively, especially the aforementioned bombs.

E (Evasive/Efficient) - Creatures that are difficult to block/kill, or creatures that pass a "Vanilla test". Which is to compare their casting cost and power and toughness to a plain 2/2 for 2 mana, 2/2 for 3 mana, or 3/3 for 4 mana. Does the card have a better (more stats for less mana) ratio than the "Vanilla" examples? If it does, then it's probably more efficient, unless there is some other downside.

A (Aggressive/Card Advantage) - Creatures you can attack with (article suggests 14 to 18 creatures in a consistent draft deck) This will depend on the set. Card advantage cards would be cards that allow you to have more cards than the opponent, so cards that let you draw cards, or discard opponents cards.

D (dregs) - This refers to cards you would use in very specific situations to counter something. A card you would put in a sideboard. Maybe a card that destroys all plains, or a card that removes all blue creatures from play, or destroys all artifacts.

Anyways, I hope this helps. Go read! Then I would recommend going to a draft and having fun! Before the draft starts you should ask other players about cards to look out for in the set you'll be drafting.

I have found that a mixture of talking to friends, and reading articles about sets, and draft strategies really helped my draft skills a lot.