Ryan Condon

·8 min read

AC5 Testing Diary #2

Today's soundtrack:

https://open.spotify.com/album/7kGXsZHSwblgzytzITVbLg?si=pjYGXLEkRWyGATiKJYAXSw

MKM Limited

How does one learn a limited format?

Playing, and paying attention to what wins is a good start. So is the aggregated version of this, using 17Lands data:

https://twitter.com/Sierkovitz/status/1755616053873553705?s=20

The talk in the first few days of MKM was all about white aggro, and it's clear to see why.

This is an incredible go-wide aggro core. It has early threats, lots of bodies, evasion, card engines, and good removal. It's also very easy to put together, being mostly common-based and able to accomodate most cheap creatures/supporting colors. In the first few days/weeks of the format, there's usually an archetype like this (often the best aggro core in the format) that dominates while everyone is keen on trying their pet strategies and build-arounds, or simply just learning what the cards do. If you want to be good at a format, knowing how best to draft this “level 1” deck is an essential skill. If you want to maximize your winrate in the first few weeks, it's essential.

However, I don't think jamming this deck up to mythic is likely the best medium-term strategy for preparing yourself to draft at a high-level tournament. Obviously the reasoning behind that has been stated before; high-level drafters will all be tuned into this archetype and ready to draft it. Especially at a PT where most rounds are constructed and a team only has a few weeks to devote to testing, the shortcut to winning at a decent rate will be learning how to navigate into the top deck plus getting competent in 1 or 2 others, and hoping for a good seat.

I don't think there's anything wrong with this strategy, but:

  • I'm a sicko
  • I believe not only that I can do better (especially for the AC5, which will be deep into the format's lifespan) but also can help my friends playing in the PT reach a higher standard of competence

There's a lot of vocabulary around how to categorize limited decks: Color pairs, Archetypes, Synergy packages, but the word I think gives the best framework for thinking about how to navigate into a strong draft deck is a very generalized concept of spaces. A “space” might be specific to a color pair or a particular synergy/set mechanic, but it doesn't have to be, and importantly, each color or mechanic might involve multiple spaces that are important to distinguish from each other.

Robust knowledge of a limited format involves knowing all (or at least most) of the possible spaces that could be open at any given draft seat, and for each of those spaces, having a strong sense of:

  • Where does the power in that space come from (what are the payoffs?)
  • What is required to support / set up those powerful cards? (what are the enablers?)
  • Which other spaces can be blended together with this one, and which cards overlap between them?
  • Which cards in a given space will you likely have to fight over with the general population, and which will be easy to pick up late in a draft?
  • Everything else held equal, as a tiebreaker (rather than a primary factor), how much do I want to end up in this space? If multiple spaces are equally available to me, which should I gravitate to absent other information?

With this knowledge, it becomes much easier to navigate a draft in a way that ensures you'll end up with a functional, powerful deck every time. So with the theory out of the way, let's get into all the spaces I've been able to confidently identify and gain experience with on my Arena grind to mythic (21 drafts, 63% WR):

White-based go-wide aggro

This is the “level 1” space I already talked a bit about above, but let's get a bit more explicit about it.

Best cards / Worth fighting over:

  • These let you curve out while both pushing damage, removing threats, and creating ways to grind

Stuff you'll want to be filling out most of your deck:

  • The common 2-drops are both good but interchangable, phantom is slightly better
  • You'll want at least 3-4 payoffs for going wide, but they're easy to pick up.

Blends you can do with this space & others:

  • UW tempo/detectives
  • RW tricks+burn aggro (Person of Interest + dog walker are another go-wide card you get in red)
  • Black small creatures + grind
  • Green is actually not a great pair despite GW usually being the go-wide combo

Rough tiebreaker priority: High. One of the best spaces to be in.

Sample drafts:

5-color green

This has been my default when go-wide aggro isn't available. The principle here is to maximize your ability to play + splash rares.

A quick aside on rares & splashing:

This “space” is basically just an extension of a format pattern that I've been noticing with the new play boosters. Gone are the days where you were lucky to have one “bomb” in your limited deck. Today, the expectation is that every deck will have at least 1-2 powerful rares, and you'll probably see at least 3-4 in the draft. Here's the important part: Drafting to maximize optionality going into later packs allows you to accommodate more of the bombs you'll see. This space is all about that strategy, but every single draft you should strive to do this as much as possible.

Best cards / Worth fighting over:

  • [Any powerful splashable bombs]
  • Except hustle/bustle

Stuff you'll want to be filling out most of your deck:

  • Cheap removal in your base colors
  • Disguise creatures to fill your curve

Blends you can do with this space & others:

  • GW/GR disguise
  • UG evidence collection/card engines + tempo
  • UBG removal + card engines control
  • GB Graveyard

Rough tiebreaker priority: High if you start out pack 1 with a few powerful cards in different colors

Sample drafts:

Blue tempo

This is, IMO, a currently under-drafted archetype with a lot of potential. Important here is that this is a deck you can build mostly with commons

Best cards / Worth fighting over:

Stuff you'll want to be filling out most of your deck:

Blends you can do with this space & others:

  • UW detectives
  • UG tempo w/ fight spells/tricks
  • UR aggro with burn + tricks (the chase is on is great here)

Rough tiebreaker priority: Medium. Position yourself to be in this space if you aren't seeing bombs or great white go-wide stuff.

Sample drafts:

Black removal

This space can be aggressive or controlling depending on whether you are supporting bombs or cheap threats.

Best cards / Worth fighting over:

Stuff you'll want to be filling out most of your deck:

Blends you can do with this space & others:

  • Grixis-space control
  • BR menace aggro
  • GB Graveyard
  • BG or BW tiny dudes - Have to worry about card selection/lategame power here a lot though

Rough tiebreaker priority: Medium. This can be a really good way to support a bomb like Outrageous robbery, Lazav, or Izoni. Black is also underdrafted so this may just be open - It's good enough that if it's clearly coming to you, you should go into it.

Sample drafts:

Green Morph (Disguise)

Kind of a more creature-based cousin to the 5c green deck, but hitting the morph payoffs more

Best cards/worth fighting over:

Stuff you'll want to be filling out most of your deck:

Blends you can do with this space & others:

  • 5C green
  • GW go-wide
  • UG tempo/evidence collecting (especially if you get Vannifar)

Rough tiebreaker priority: Medium. I don't think this is the most powerful space but it is a quite consistent one (lots of flexibility in the build and forgiveness for missing on colors because you have so many 3-mana creatures by default). With the right payoffs (5+ of the 7 cards above), this can turn into a very powerful deck

Sample drafts:

GB Graveyard combo

This is the deck people are most excited about as a build-around with the two uncommon enchantments. I think it's very legit, but probably overdrafted right now. I haven't gotten a good version off.

Best cards/worth fighting over:

Stuff you'll want to be filling out most of your deck:

Blends you can do with this space & others:

  • Sultai control / evidence collection
  • Abzan go-wide
  • 5C green

Rough tiebreaker priority: High, but only if you have multiple payoffs. This deck needs heavy rewards for doing graveyard stuff or it's not going to be able to compete with the lategame of other decks in the format. With the payoffs though, you're one of the better decks.

Red “tricks & burn” aggro

This is, I believe, a distinct space from go-wide white aggro, though of course you will often end up in a blend of them if you end up in RW. I do think picking a direction if you can is wise though. The strongest synergies with red I believe are actually in black (though this is balanced out by black being overall a weak color), because menace combines particularly well with either tricks or removal. Blue is also a good pair for its tempo cards.

Best cards/worth fighting over:

Stuff you'll want to be filling out most of your deck:

Blends you can do with this space & others:

  • UR tempo OR UR draw 2 / clue synergy
  • BR menace + removal aggro
  • GR morphs
  • RW go-wide aggro

Rough tiebreaker priority: Medium-low. I don't think the payoffs are quite as strong for this space, but it's totally possible to build a really cohesive and dynamic deck here, so if this is clearly the open lane, you shouldn't feel bad at all going into it - especially if you're able to blend it with another powerful space.

Sample drafts:

Of course, there are a few more obvious “plant” decks that I definitely think are viable and some potential spaces I'm thinking about but haven't tested yet. I'll note those here:

  • UW detectives (legit, very powerful)
  • UR clues
  • BW “power 2 or less”
  • Curse of the shattered pact build around(??)

This format feels super deep and I'm really glad I'm going to get to draft it at a high level! Next, I'm going to be diving back into MTGO to get some more Best-of-3 experience and generally just experience against higher-level players. Until next time!

Originally published on Patreon.