Rough Drafts - A Limited Magic Podcast

Talking about my lean, green, mean friend Gene! There's some promising historical precedence for cards like Gene Pollinator, so I'm talking through those as a backdrop before taking a look at some of the things Gene can do in Edge of Eternities.    Whole pile of Gx 2-1s - still haven't felt like I've gotten one that's particularly great -  https://www.17lands.com/deck/85cb510d9351405d8c8b284a3c35b...

The great beyond beckons - Edge of Eternities is almost here, and it's a challenging set to evaluate! I posit 10 big question marks I have before I get my hands on the cards, covering Spacecraft, fixing, and more. Plus - stay tuned for some secret bonus content. 

I'm saying goodbye to a banger of a limited format - with one part grab bag (miscellaneous card eval) and one part format retrospective.    UG Towns - https://www.17lands.com/deck/3a0db8e045374966bb04ccda2bf8882a/0?view=deck   Ethan's Steal-n-sac - https://imgur.com/a/S40hpcL   BR ft. Summon: Anima - https://www.17lands.com/deck/62c98240248c46e7b0be000fa69b7067/0?view=deck

White is the most aggressive color in FIN for sure. However, aggressive decks carry a different meaning than they did a few years ago. I take a look at some of the ways aggro has changed over the past couple of years, and dive into what my white decks of every color look like.    F.I.R.E. Design article -  https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/card-preview/fire-it-2019-06-21   Sam Black Big Game/Small...

This week I'm tackling a topic near and dear to my heart - splashing and multicolor! While splashing is somewhat of a rarity in FIN, there are plenty of spots where the third, fourth, or fifth color adds something great. What are our fixing options, and what types of cards ask us to stretch our manabase?   Limited Level Ups manabase video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ6tiK_lmm4  GRb - https:...

Armed with a weekend of drafts from Magic Con Vegas, this week I'm looking at Black Mage's Rod. Which decks want Black Mage's Rod, and how does it stack up against the other black 2 drops?    Game against Cuneo (UB) - https://www.17lands.com/history/12daee6c80754ff58649d1f9f56e98f3/7/0   My paper UB deck -  https://bsky.app/profile/sampratt.bsky.social/post/3lsccgzetrk26  BR deck - https://www.17l...

Sorceress's Schemes is a really sweet data darling from the first week of FIN limited. It's pretty obvious where it fits in (BR and UR), but why exactly does it perform well in those decks? Are there any other places we can play it? BR (from me) - https://www.17lands.com/deck/3048cce3f745424c882a6eb8b89cab07/0?view=deck UR (from Chonce on Discord) - https://www.17lands.com/deck/426b6580a17045829d9...

In week one of Final Fantasy, I plumb the depths on what looks to be the set's strongest color - blue! After taking a look at what makes blue exceptional in formats where it was great like MID or MOM, I dive into blue's deep roster of commons in FIN.   Uw - https://www.17lands.com/deck/d0e5adfda2f94965a153981565ae9210/0?view=deck Ub - https://www.17lands.com/deck/21c25e28a1b34f5e9e738ee9bce497a8/2...

New set! Ahead of FIN's release next week, I'm taking a look at 10 hot topics - either questions I want to answer going into set release, or things I'm most looking forward to trying.   initial tier list - https://www.17lands.com/tier_list/8a24183713024103b9a9d53af1dca2ec  

I take a look back at one of my favorite formats of the past few years! A retrospective not just on the format's vibes, but also some specific lessons we learned from TDM about limited formats in 2025.    Maro's Play Booster article - https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/nuts-and-bolts-16-play-boosters Linktree - https://linktr.ee/roughdrafts  

This week I'm tackling a topic close to my heart - Best of Three! And not just how to sideboard. I take a look at the strategic differences between bo1 and bo3, and how to set yourself up for success in either format.    LOL episode with Andrew Cuneo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDXKiF_o_YE&list=PLAGXhegLhLeixTP-sCye9muleOCu_aFfh&index=44 Play booster design skeleton - https://magic.wizards.c...

Another grab bag! This week, I into depth on the allied color pairs, and round it out with some discussion on various rares and mythics. 

Grab bag episode! Come take a look at some hidden gems in late-format Tarkir Dragonstorm.    BeersSC's "The 100% definitive way to draft Boros" - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vpHhVf4UpB_7ip7oXscsM6qPL-5nxME-nVbHeCuWlEs/edit?tab=t.0   WR Breaching Dragonstorm Aggro - https://www.17lands.com/deck/2cf127831a1f48fea9cec2fef1e6d869/0?view=deck   Linktree (includes links to other podcast platform...

This episode, I'm tackling midrange in Tarkir. What does midrange really mean? Why is midrange performing so poorly in TDM? When should you draft a midrange deck in TDM? Is it right to draft Abzan Midrange ever?    My paper Abzan Midrange deck - https://imgur.com/a/KARw92p (or sealeddeck link - https://sealeddeck.tech/UvhXfY3c3G) BGwu Midrange - https://www.17lands.com/deck/0500802b312e41109552284...

It's time to talk red aggro. The white-red decks in this format are pretty easy to build. But what about blue-red? Red-green? Is there any hope for black-red? Take a deep dive on red-based aggro decks, and spend some time really getting in the weeds on how to attack in Tarkir!    Lords of Limited 77 - Drafting Aggro with Ryan Saxe - https://www.lordsoflimited.com/episodes/drafting-aggro-with-ryan-...

It's Temur time! I've been wiping the floor with various Temur decks, but Temur contains multitudes! Learn about the distinction between GR beatdown, UG midrange, and UR control, and why understanding the nuance might be the key to cracking Tarkir wide open.    GRu BEATS - https://www.17lands.com/deck/19b4deecb2e04ac5a559e14bf0dffbeb/0 UGr Midrange (Elephants) - https://www.17lands.com/deck/0acdbb...

Time to talk through the best way to not lose in Tarkir Dragonstorm - hitting your land drops! This episode takes a close look at Monuments, cantripping creatures, and other ways to smooth your draws and help you focus on the powerful stuff in TDM.   Temur Midrange (2 cheap creatures) - https://www.17lands.com/deck/0acdbbeb46734a07a19a9ed1d071ef45/1   Temur Control (zero 2-drop creatures) - https:...

Welcome back to Tarkir! The second episode of Rough Drafts goes DEEP on Champion of Dusan and green-based stompy decks in the new limited format.    Who's the Beatdown? - https://articles.starcitygames.com/articles/whos-the-beatdown/ Gub stompy - https://www.17lands.com/deck/8912cea6c12a4146ab59f939d19d6fe1/0 GBw stompy - https://www.17lands.com/deck/6d3fcd0258794032b423bcdb411a47d0/1   intro/outt...

Welcome to Rough Drafts! For the inagural episode, we cover some draft philosophy, talk through Starting Column and multicolor piles in Aetherdrift, and look ahead to building multicolor decks in Tarkir Dragonstorm.