Deck Construction Rules
The basic points of deck construction for Draft are:
- 40-card deck (minimum)
- Only cards you pick through drafting
- Sideboard is cards other than those added to main deck
When you sit down to draft, you open one booster pack, pick one card from it to keep, and pass the rest to your neighbor on the left. Each other player does the same, so you end up with the same number of cards as you would have had you just opened the pack. Once all the cards are picked from the first pack, everyone opens a second pack, picks one card, and passes to the right. The third pack is then passed to the left again. Once all cards are chosen, players build forty-card decks and are randomly paired up to play.
Finding Draft on Magic Online Wide Beta
- Choose Game Type
- Choose tournament style or skill level
- Choose your deck (Magic Online will auto-select the correct format)
- Choose any additional options (such as "Multiplayer")
- Click Next Game in Open Play or choose your tournament from the results and join
Details and B&R List
A draft uses three packs, and most draft events determine the packs used by the most-current set (i.e., the set most recently released). For example, current drafts use three packs of Return to Ravnica; when Gatecrash releases, drafts will then use three packs from that set. Occasionally, other drafts occur on Magic Online that use different sets from Magic's past.
There are no cards banned in Draft tournaments.
Recent Top Decks
Here are some sample decks that recently won Magic Online PTQs:
Creature (14)
1 Cobblebrute 2 Crosstown Courier 1 Frostburn Weird 2 Goblin Electromancer 1 Gore-House Chainwalker 1 Hypersonic Dragon 2 Lobber Crew 1 Splatter Thug 1 Stealer of Secrets 1 Tower Drake 1 VoidwielderSorcery (1)
1 Traitorous InstinctEnchantment (3)
3 Pursuit of FlightSideboard (21)
3 Island 1 Aquus Steed 1 Catacomb Slug 1 Chemister's Trick 1 Chronic Flooding 1 Conjured Currency 1 Essence Backlash 1 Grim Roustabout 1 Grisly Salvage 1 Horncaller's Chant 1 Korozda Monitor 1 Mizzium Skin 1 Plains 1 Psychic Spiral 1 Pyroconvergence 1 Rakdos Guildgate 1 Rix Maadi Guildmage 1 Shrieking Affliction 1 Tenement Crasher
Creature (10)
1 Azorius Arrester 1 Azorius Justiciar 1 Centaur Healer 1 Golgari Decoy 3 Keening Apparition 1 Selesnya Sentry 1 Sunspire Griffin 1 Wayfaring TempleInstant (7)
1 Chorus of Might 1 Common Bond 1 Eyes in the Skies 1 Giant Growth 1 Rootborn Defenses 2 Selesnya CharmArtifact (2)
2 Selesnya KeyruneSideboard (22)
1 Forest 1 Security Blockade 1 Batterhorn 1 Cancel 1 Downsize 1 Drainpipe Vermin 1 Dramatic Rescue 1 Druid's Deliverance 2 Ethereal Armor 1 Fencing Ace 1 Gatecreeper Vine 2 Horncaller's Chant 2 Mountain 1 Paralyzing Grasp 1 Risen Sanctuary 1 Rubbleback Rhino 1 Slitherhead 1 Tenement Crasher 1 Terrus Wurm
Creature (10)
1 Bloodfray Giant 1 Goblin Electromancer 1 Isperia's Skywatch 2 Nivix Guildmage 1 Ogre Jailbreaker 1 Runewing 1 Spawn of Rix Maadi 1 Terrus Wurm 1 Viashino RacketeerInstant (8)
1 Annihilating Fire 1 Auger Spree 1 Explosive Impact 1 Inspiration 1 Izzet Charm 1 Street Spasm 1 Syncopate 1 ThoughtflareArtifact (1)
1 Rakdos KeyruneEnchantment (1)
1 Stab WoundSideboard (19)
2 Swamp 1 Aquus Steed 1 Azorius Guildgate 1 Batterhorn 1 Cancel 1 Catacomb Slug 1 Deviant Glee 1 Drainpipe Vermin 1 Dramatic Rescue 1 Horncaller's Chant 1 Mizzium Skin 1 Plains 1 Rogue's Passage 1 Sphere of Safety 1 Street Sweeper 1 Swift Justice 1 Teleportal 1 Urban Burgeoning
Creature (14)
1 Cobblebrute 3 Daggerdrome Imp 1 Dead Reveler 1 Gore-House Chainwalker 1 Grim Roustabout 1 Perilous Shadow 1 Rakdos Cackler 1 Rakdos Shred-Freak 1 Rix Maadi Guildmage 1 Sewer Shambler 2 Splatter ThugSorcery (1)
1 Traitorous InstinctSideboard (22)
1 Mountain 1 Swamp 1 Cobblebrute 1 Armory Guard 1 Arrest 1 Destroy the Evidence 1 Downsize 1 Electrickery 1 Grisly Salvage 1 Izzet Charm 1 Mind Rot 1 Minotaur Aggressor 1 Oak Street Innkeeper 1 Pithing Needle 1 Seek the Horizon 2 Skull Rend 1 Tavern Swindler 1 Tenement Crasher 1 Thoughtflare 1 Trestle Troll 1 Urban Burgeoning