I've mentioned before that drafting is my favorite format, no matter the set. Don't get me wrong, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty was a lot more fun than Saviors of Kamigawa, but I'll enjoy it either way. I've drafted every standard legal set since Tempest, most other 'draftable' sets like Modern Horizons 2, and a few that weren't even designed to be drafted (I'm looking at you Fallen Empires).

Many times when I draft a new set, I'm pretty relaxed overall. I review the cards, but I don't always study the archetypes or delve heavily into set strategy. I like to keep myself open to wherever the draft takes me. It is true that this can at times be self-defeating when you're playing against those that are more diligent about strategy. I've been playing long enough to know that there will always be another game...another draft.

My Double Masters 2022 draft

Jarod and I arrived at Mavericks last Friday around four. We wanted to arrive early since they were only running eight drafts in total and we also wanted to not be in the same draft pod. I got into the second pod and Jarod was in the third. I sat down with seven other drafters, ready to rip into our first packs. I looked forward to pulling a Wrenn and Six or some other awesomeness.

Pack One

Well, that didn't go as I hoped. Still, I needed to see what we could do with this pack. Possible directions were white aggro with Wingsteed Rider and Ainok Bond-Kin, a UW control shell with Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, which usually isn't the best in Draft, or go out on a limb with Dreg Mangler. No really good choices, so I grabbed the legendary advisor and Orzhov Pontiff.

I started to draft that UW deck with some initial removal, but red and green started to show up about halfway through the pack, with that Burning-Tree Emissary. Unfortunately, that's about as good as it got and the pack ended up split and without focus.

Pack Two

Pack two followed pack one's lack of money cards, with no obvious stand-outs. If I was to continue drafting UW, Momentary Blink and Form of the Mulldrifter would be great for my deck. I took those as my first picks and set out to make a Blink deck.

By the end of pack two, the deck was definitely coming together. Still not great, but there was a little potential. I could branch into Jeskai or possibly Bant if I picked up a few more Cryptic Spires.

Pack Three

Ok, at least I could salvage a little of this draft with the Mana Drain, and also use it in the deck.

Looking back I probably should have grabbed the second Young Pyromancer instead of Intet, the Dreamer. It would have tightened up my mana base better, but it's hard to pass up a Legendary Dragon.

In the end, I built a Jeskai-blink-spells deck splashing a couple of green cards. Yea, not the greatest, but if the cards played right it could get there. I was hoping to at least put up a fight to be able to get to the second round.

Who Am I Hangin' With Today?

Most of us know that a draft has eight players and three rounds. I got to know the other players a little better through my Double Masters 2022 draft experience. Here they are, showing a couple of cards they enjoyed in the draft and sharing a little about themselves:

Alec

How old are you?
Eighteen.

How long have you played Magic?
I've been playing for a month.

Very cool, just starting out then! How did you start?
A couple of the other guys, Zak and Keith were looking for people to play Commander with, so they kind of pulled us all together.

Have you been enjoying it?
Definitely, it's been fun.

What has been your favorite Magic card so far?
Mind Flayer

Matthew

How old are you?
Nineteen.

How long have you been playing Magic?
I've also been playing for a month. Alec and I are the new players in our circle of friends.

What's your favorite Magic card?
Jace.

Oh, ok! All the Jaces or are there specific ones?
I haven't gotten to know all of them, but I've enjoyed Jace, Wielder of Mysteries.

Zak

How old are you?
Twenty.

How long have you played Magic?
I've been playing for about 11 years now.

I see you're the veteran of the group! Have you enjoyed sharing the game with your friends?
Of course. We're having a great time. Our buddy, Keith really got us all together.

What is your favorite Magic card?
Sliver Hivelord

Keith

How old are you?
Twenty.

How long have you played Magic?
I started up again about three months ago, but I actually started back in 2019.

Have you enjoyed sharing the game with your friends?
I invited Alec and Matt to play recently to expand our Commander group, but Zak is who got me back into the game.

What is your favorite Magic card?
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King. He's my favorite Commander.

Cody

How old are you?
Twenty-eight.

How long have you played Magic?
My brother played when I was younger and kinda turned me away from the game for a while. I started up again just after Guilds of Ravnica, so my first pre-release was Ravnica Allegiance.

How do you enjoy playing Magic?
I play mainly Limited and Commander. I enjoy the play patterns and how variance plays differently in Limited. I also have two little ones, so I get out when I can and these formats allow me to do that with minimal disruption.

What is your favorite Magic card?
I don't have just one, but Grismold, the Dreadsower is one of my favorites.

Patrick

How old are you?
Twenty-five.

How long have you played Magic?
About eight years now. The first Magic cards I bought were right after the Born of the Gods pre-release.

How did you get into Magic?
Through one of my band friends. I was curious and joined in with an intro deck. Right around Khans of Tarkir I started getting more serious and watching coverage.

What is your favorite Magic card?
I've got to give it to my boy, Siege Rhino. He's the reason for a lot of my early successes with competitive Magic. He helped me win my first PPTQ. Another is Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. Of course, my opponents didn't enjoy him, but I thought he was great.

Frank

How old are you?
Twenty-one.

How long have you played Magic?
I've been playing since I was fifteen, so six years now.

How did you get into Magic?
Like many people, through some of my friends. We'd get together, throw different decks together and play. Very new and rough, but still a lot of fun.

What drove you to go further into Magic?
I started with a standard tournament a few years ago. I borrowed some cards from a friend and got absolutely destroyed. That drove me to work harder to improve and get better.

So, How Did My Games Go?

Uh...yeah, about that. I fought the good fight in the first game, but my opponent drew more and better creatures than I. The second game wasn't even a game. I got stuck on two lands and by the time I drew my third, my opponent had four creatures on board and was already looking forward to the next match.

My Opponent...

...was Frank. Frank drafted a very nice, low-to-the-ground, Jund deck. Draft like Frank.

After Frank got done with me, he won his semi-finals match and beat Patrick in the finals. I guess my consolation is that I lost to the eventual winner.

So, What Now?

Jarod ended up winning his draft with a better blink deck than mine. At least I'm teaching him right!
Drafting Double Masters 2022 was overall, an enjoyable experience. Not only for getting a few new cards and enjoying the play but getting to know others and making new friends.

I want to thank the guys for taking the time to share about themselves and hope that you've enjoyed this trip through my first Double Masters 2022 draft. Feel free to share your draft experience in the comments or on Twitter.

Happy Drafting!