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In recent weeks I've been increasingly happy when drafting Red/White in Magic 2011. It's even threatening to break into my top three favorite archetypes to draft in M11:
- Blue/Black
- Blue/White
- Red/Black
- Red/White
- Red/Blue
- Red/Green
These are the non-mono-color archetypes I'm willing to draft in M11. Full disclosure though, while I think Red/Green can be made into a strong draft deck, I rarely draft it because between the other five deck types and mono-color drafting, I rarely need to. Red/White has been moving up my depth chart as I've learned to appreciate Red and White more individually, as well as the synergy they can have together.
My favorite commons when drafting Red/White are:
- Lightning Bolt
- Blinding Mage
- Chandra's Outrage
- Pacifism
- Prodigal Pyromancer
- Stormfront Pegasus
- Wild Griffin
- Cloud Crusader
- Assault Griffin
- Excommunicate
One of the concerns I had about drafting Red when M11 came out was that people would first pick Fireball and Lightning Bolt, even if they weren't drafting Red. Fortunately, I haven't found this to be the case, especially with Lightning Bolt. The combination of Red and White is the ideal aggressive archetype. White has the best aggressive creatures and Red has burn. As a group, White has the best one and two drops in the set: Elite Vanguard, Infantry Veteran, Blinding Mage, White Knight, Ajani's Pridemate, and Stormfront Pegasus. White also has five different common flyers, making it harder to stop the assault. White/Red also has excellent pump: Mighty Leap, Inspired Charge, Thunder Strike, Armored Ascension and Shiv's Embrace. Red has enough direct damage to make no life total safe: Lava Axe, Lightning Bolt, Chandra's Outrage, Ember Hauler, Fireball and Fling. Cards like Fire Servant, Chandra's Spitfire, Act of Treason, Fiery Hellhound and Arc Runner can also be a great fit in an aggressive deck.
Rada and I recently drafted a terrific Red/White deck. We expanded our power drafting scope; we were willing to draft anything with Blue except Green or anything with Red.
Pack 1 - Pick 1
This is an easy first pick. Chandra is the best card in the pack and it's Red (we're hoping for Red or Blue.) I've used all three of Chandra's abilities and I consider it to be a total game breaker. I could easily see getting another playable Red card when this pack comes back. The guy to our left will probably take Doom Blade.
Pack 1 - Pick 2
Conveniently, the best card in the pack is Red. Not only does he shut down tons of creatures, he's great with cards like Chandra's Spitfire.
Pack 1 - Pick 3
Berserkers are not the best card in the pack; they're actually a pretty weak five drop for a Red/White deck. However, there isn't a super exciting card in another color, so we might as well keep cutting off Red.
Pack 1 - Pick 4
I like Pegasus for R/W, the Skeleton for R/B and the Wolf for R/G. I like all of them much better than Arc Runner or Vandal. I like R/W and R/B significantly better than R/G and I like Pegasus better than Skeleton. Besides, we've been passing good black cards in all the previous packs. So Pegasus it is.
Pack 1 - Pick 5
We're not locked into White yet, so when in doubt, we're still taking the best Red card.
Pack 1 - Pick 6
Choosing White as a second color is looking like a good choice with a sixth pick Crusader. It's hard to see us not drafting R/W at this point.
Pack 1 - Pick 7
I love the Guard for U/W, but R/W pretty much has to be aggressive, so Vandal is the pick.
Pack 1 - Pick 8
I have to be pretty sure a card is going to be strong addition to my main deck to take it over an Expanse. When power drafting, you usually have very few wasted picks. As a result, you typically have way more than enough playables. By taking the Expanse, I get to main deck more of my picks, in addition to making my mana more reliable.
Pack 1 - Pick 9
As I expected, I get a solid playable in Red when my pack returns.
Pack 1 - Pick 10
R/W needs lots of two drops and I'm happy to get a Piker with a tenth pick. At this rate, we're gonna have around thirty playables.
Pack 1 - Pick 11
A good sideboard card and an okay main deck one.
Pack 1 - Pick 12
Unlikely to see play, but I like to hook up the guy to my left in a color I'm not playing. If he's having trouble deciding whether he's in Green, the late Bear should help. Hopefully, this will help us in the second pack.
Pack 1 - Pick 13
We get a fantastic 13th pick that will definitely make the main deck. Now we're totally locked into White (perhaps this is a gift from the right like my Bear was.) In addition, we get to give the gift of a 14th pick Unsummon.
Pack 2 - Pick 1
This is an exciting first pick. Some burn is just what our deck needed.
Pack 2 - Pick 2
R/W has plenty at four and needs to prioritize flying, so Griffin is the pick over Juggernaut.
Pack 2 - Pick 3
Third pick Angel suggests we did a good job cutting off White in pack one. Now we're starting to get pretty excited about how our deck is shaping up. Rada and I even did a little Serra Angel dance.
Pack 2 - Pick 4
Mastodon is okay, but for R/W, when in doubt, take the cheaper option.
Pack 2 - Pick 5
Easy choice and solid fifth pick.
Pack 2 - Pick 6
Armored Cancrix
A great card for our deck in a pack with nothing else even worth considering.
Pack 2 - Pick 7
I like Hellhound... I love Crystal Ball. Only non-rare I would take over it in R/W is Fireball. How is this card a seventh pick? Are the other players unable to fit colorless mana into their decks!?
Pack 2 - Pick 8
This is mainly about me not liking Strongbox or counter-drafting. It does give us a potential sideboard card.
Pack 2 - Pick 9
The ease of casting the Lion is tempting, but with the power level of the Knight, not tempting enough.
Pack 2 - Pick 10
Sometimes makes the main deck, but the way this draft is going, it's probably a sideboard card.
Pack 2 - Pick 11
Pack two runs out of gas faster than pack one. A potential sideboard card against mono-red.
Pack 3 - Pick 1
If we had gotten a Hawk in the first two packs, this first pick would be more exciting. This pack isn't great for any color. Cloud Elemental and Acidic Slime will make a couple people happy. At least we've acquired our first pump, which is really a really good component in a R/W deck.
Pack 3 - Pick 2
I'm not excited about seven drops in any color combo and especially not in a fast deck like R/W. Rada is excited about the Arbiter, however, and if it does hit the board, you will often just win the game.
Pack 3 - Pick 3
About time we got some more burn. Our deck's starting to look pretty sick.
Pack 3 - Pick 4
Wow, fourth pick Angel, guess we did a good job of reading this as a White seat. Given we don't have much burn, Outrage is tempting, but the Angel is too big a bomb to pass up. Serra dance number two!
Pack 3 - Pick 5
Armored Cancrix
Not a huge fan of Fling, but we need some more burn. Safe Passage is pretty tempting, but it's R/W, so when in doubt, pick the card that does damage.
Pack 3 - Pick 6
Plently of playables at this point, decent chance Berserker or Mastodon wouldn't make the cut. We're excited to add the Expanse to our cards that are definitely making the cut.
Pack 3 - Pick 7
Late in the draft, mana curve is a critical part of pick selection. We can use the four drop and we already have four cards better than the Axe or the Servant that cost five or more.
Pack 3 - Pick 8
Fog
I'm cool counter-drafting in the third pack if there isn't a card I could see using.
Pack 3 - Pick 9
Wow, this pack dries up even faster. Perhaps we'll sideboard the Leyline in against someone. This is the main deck we settled on:
[cardlist]
[Lands]
8 Plains
7 Mountain
2 Terramorphic Expanse
[/Lands]
[Spells]
1 Chandra Nalaar
1 Excommunicate
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Crystal Ball
1 Mighty Leap
1 Chandra's Outrage
1 Fling
[/Spells]
[Creatures]
1 Prodigal Pyromancer
2 Stormfront Pegasus
1 Chandra's Spitfire
1 Cloud Crusader
1 Manic Vandal
2 Goblin Piker
1 Wild Griffin
2 Serra Angel
2 Canyon Minotaur
2 White Knight
1 Angelic Arbiter
[/Creatures]
[/cardlist]
In R/W I usually like a little more burn, more White creature control (like Pacifism or Blinding Mage) and more pump. The quality of our creatures, the strength of our mana curve, the high quantity of flying and the bombs like Chandra and Crystal Ball end up making this into a fantastic deck anyway. Rada proceeds to win her first two rounds easily and draws the last round so she can go back to her Physics homework. Another example of successful power drafting.
This is one of the keys to good power drafting: cut one color right away and read your second color. If I get a good first or second pick, I will usually force that color hard. Even if the player to my right is taking that color, I will get it in the second pack and I will waste fewer picks. In addition, I will prepare for pack three by reading what's being passed to me for my second color. The hard part sometimes comes when you try to do this and make sure you get a good color pairing.
Fortunately, in this draft we were in the right seat for a great color pairing: Red/White. We were able to get a fast curve of good aggressive creatures with lots of flying and some burn. Be sure to do the same if you're drafting R/W. Oh, and don't forget to open Chandra, pick up a seventh pick Crystal Ball and get passed two Serra Angels. Even at the highest level of drafting, a little luck helps!
