While last week's article covered the Constructed metagame of MTG Tactics, I feel like I might've been getting ahead of myself. Constructed play requires that you own cards, and in most forms of MTG, the most efficient way to get good cards is to booster draft.

Thankfully, MTG Tactics has a fully supported Booster Draft system. Entering a Draft costs 3 packs and 20 'Gold', which is the in-game currency. 20 Gold is the equivalent of roughly 4 commons or 1-2 uncommons, so the entry price is rather low.

The game tracks your picks, unlike paper MTG the lack of lands makes deck construction slightly different. Draft decks are only 25 cards (Constructed being 40), and you are provided with 4 copies of a basic 2-drop for each color, so that you are never without playable low-drops.

With that being established, the most basic way to evaluate draft strategy is to analyze the commons. Commons appear more than anything else (in Tactics, packs are 10 cards; 6 commons, 3 uncommons, and 1 rare) they form the bread-and-butter of a color's identity. I'm going to cover all the commons for the five colors, and discuss how they fit into the overall format.

The rankings are not exact; I feel like trying to list them definitively from 1 to 15 is a fool's errand since so much of the minor difference between picks is relative to variable factors like if you have any bombs, what other picks you've taken, and how early/late in the draft it is. Instead, I'm dividing the commons into Tier 1, 2, and 3. Here's the general breakdown:

Tier 1: These cards are the top flight of their color, if you don't have a fair spread of these cards you should question if it's even worth it to play the color, or at least be aware someone else probably has those commons you couldn't seem to get. All of these cards would make the cut to your 25 and usually grabbing two of them is a fist-pump worthy action.

Tier 2: These cards are situational, usually going to make the cut but may fall on the outside depending on your other choices. These are the cards you bank on boarding around to you, and you're usually satisfied getting them in the bottom four of a pack as a value pick.

Tier 3: The dregs, the buns, the bottom of the barrel. Most of these you'll never pick outside of cleaning up the packs at the end, and even if they're in your colors, you probably won't play them. A select few may see play but they are so extremely situational that they likely only combo with one or two other cards in the set.

White

Tier 1

Razorfoot Griffin

Keeper of Valor

Pacifism

Comments: Pacifism should be obvious, as removal will always go highly. Razorfoot Griffin is superb because the most common fliers (Wind Drake, Talon Hawk, Daggerclaw Imp) can't survive a hit from it, and can't attack it because of First Strike, while having 20 Toughness is very relevant when many Ranged attackers like Prodigial Pyromancer, Embermage Goblin, Elvish Lyrist, etc only deal 10 damage, allowing it to survive a hit if need be. Keeper of Valor is consistently underrated as he's pretty awful in Constructed, but a 20/40 body is always valuable in Draft. Nearly all commons and uncommons have less than 40 Attack so being able to take a hit is important when trying to shift tempo back in your favor.

Tier 2

Guided Strike

Healing Salve

Holy Strength

Protective Sphere

Samite Healer

Tactical Advance

Talon Hawk

Comments: A lot of these feel pretty mediocre, and it's because they are all very situational. Samite Healer and Healing Salve aren't great, but if you have big creatures as your bombs (cough, Serra Angel, cough) the ability to keep her constantly at high health will allow her to run the board and carry you to victory, but if you have all small creatures... they might not make the cut.

Tactical Advance and Guided Strike are nice, it's too bad there's no instants because combat tricks would go a long way to carving out White's space in the color pie a bit better. That said, while you need a figure moving (ideally) right after your Planeswalker, a cantriping Attack buff or an extra move can go a long way if utilized well to screw up their plans. Protective Sphere allows you to drop a creature onto a very unfriendly board and guarantee he survives to a first activation. White seems to have the market cornered on tempo-gaining plays, so don't be afraid to try to scoop up a few.

Tier 3

Aegis Stance

Call for Reinforcements

Courageous Oath

Dauntless Soldier

Safe Passage

Comments: Lots of bad enchantments, a worse version of Protective Sphere, and my favorite: Dauntless Soldier. He's pretty awful, and made worse by the fact that he trades with very few things, and that everyone gets 4 copies of Initiate Soldier (a 10/20 for 1W), making using a pick on him rather unappealing. There's a few circumstances he can fit (if you got Captain of the Watch or Inspiring Captain), but overall he feels like a casualty of the free cards in the Tactics draft format.

Blue C

Tier 1

Phantom Scoundrel

Phantom Warrior

Time Ebb

Unsummon

Wind Drake

Comments: Blue has surprisingly solid creatures, and Phantom Warrior is definitely up there. Nearly always able to get a flanking hit, and with solid non-combat stats (5 Initiative, 5 Movement) he's a deceptive powerful piece. Phantom Scoundrel is more hit-or-miss, but has the potential to be even better. Protection from Red and an extra 10 Toughness may not always be the best trade for 2 less movement, but when so many creatures are 20/20s, the ability to survive a hit (and kill it on the counterattack) then kill another random dude before dying means the Scoundrel is nearly always good for some value, and grinding out two-for-ones.

Not much needs to be said about Wind Drake, Fliers are really good and he's a cheap and effective one. Time Ebb and Unsummon are weird, I feel people undervalue them but at the same time, their value is variable. While neither are direct card advantage, bouncing something with an enchantment (such as an Oakenform'd enemy or a Pacified ally) does create a fair trade of cards, and maybe a bit of tempo. When combined with black discard or just a fast deck, the tempo can be back-breaking as players scramble to establish a board presence and you Time Ebb their 4- or 5- drop, denying them both a defender and a card. You're never in a bad situation with 1-2 of either card, but I think 3 or more copies of bounce effects in your deck can clog your hand and put you in situations where you're throwing away cards for no value, so pick them with caution.

Tier 2

Galeforce Mage

Inspiration

Sorcerer of the Unseen

Comments: First and foremost, Inspiration is just dandy. Not a very powerful card, but you'll rarely regret getting 2-3 of them. Honestly, it would be Tier 1, but it's just so low power. 4-mana is when you need to start doing stuff, and Inspiration is really only good turns 7 and later, when you can draw up and still cast spells. I'm not sure yet if card draw is better or worse in a format with no lands. On one hand, draw always hits action, on the other hand, so does every draw step.

The two creatures however, are awkward. Sorcerer of the Unseen is very playable and his ability is genuinely good (allowing him a safe distance from combat right away), his problem is the 10 Attack mixed with a low effective range (5 spaces), means that he wants to stay far away from the action, but in doing so he's often plinking for a measly 5 damage. All in all though, a solid 2-drop.

Galeforce Mage is another issue, she's overcosted and has nothing really going for her besides 6 Initiative... but the ability to summon next to her can be huge. You can summon ranged attackers already far away from melee creatures, or place a big melee creature next to her to surprise a would-be attacker. A weak card with a potentially powerful effect, she's not someone I would pick highly, but if you have a wide selection of creatures (for example, a U/G tempo-stompy deck), I could see her fitting in.

Tier 3

Alertness

Cerulean Wisps

Disorient

Gaseous Form

Sly Trickster

Surgical Precision

Swashbuckler

Comments: The king of stinky 'cute' cards, Blue has more dregs than anyone. Most of Blue's power cards are in the uncommon slot, so the excess of these cards going around might make Blue appear to be open when it really isn't, so don't get too tricked. Alertness is incredibly situational, great on an unmolested ranged attacker (Elite Archer?) but really, if your opponent is letting a ranged attacker go to town with no harassment, then you're probably winning anyways.

Disorient can be a decent tempo play (turning the next-to-act figure threatening your figures into a wet noodle) but it's very linear and certainly an expensive play at 4 mana. The rest? I mean, I'm sure there's a place somewhere, but in all my drafts I've never felt the need for a Surgical Precision. Swashbuckler might make some cuts, but he (like Dauntless Soldier) is a hard pick to make when you're going to get 4 Sentry Rogues.

Black

Tier 1

Daggerclaw Imp

Doom Blade

Last Kiss

Zombie Grunt

Comments: Whew, the best of the best. Black's commons are the nuts, and likely the hardest to get. Doom Blade and Last Kiss may be the two best removal spells in the format (depending on how you rank Pacifism and Lightning Bolt), and Zombie Grunt is the most efficient beef (40/30 for 2BB) in the common slot. Notice how 30 Toughness was a huge boon on the smaller creatures? Zombie Grunt is rarely going to be killed by a lower costed creature, and it's immune to Doom Blade.

Daggerclaw Imp is my favorite aggressive creature and a potential first pick, depending on your style. Fliers and Archers are in high-demand, so it's rare for a player to have many of them. Daggerclaw comes out on turn 3, and kills every other flier besides Razorfoot Griffin. With 30 Attack (and with Planeswalkers unable to directly attack it because of Flying), it puts a huge clock on the enemy, often drawing a removal spell they'd rather sandbag for a bomb. He's immune to Doom Blade, although the 10 Toughness makes him open to 'lower tier' removal like Weakness and Soul Crush.

Tier 2

Child of Night

Drudge Skeleton

Shadowstep

Shambling Zombie

Sign in Blood

Soul Crush

Weakness

Comments: You know Black is in a good place when 2 situational removal spells and efficient low-drops aren't their best cards. Shambling Zombie on turn 1 is a house, but in later turns is bad on a spread-out board. Low initiative, and 2 Movement really hurts him, as he's rarely in an ideal spot and it's easy to make attacks just out of his movement range. Child of Night is really good but 10 Toughness means everything kills him, and Lifelink isn't as good in Draft, since the Evil Ritual talent isn't in effect during draft games.

Sign in Blood and Shadowstep are good cards that you don't want too many of. Shadowstep doubles as an escape mechanism and closing in when you smell blood, but more than 1 will rarely be needed per game. I suppose you could run as many as 3 Sign in Bloods, but when Fireball, Lightning Bolt, and Lava Axe all exist and are high picks in addtion to the countless Archers running around, you run the risk of needlessly putting yourself in burn range. Never let the opponent dictate your moves by harassing you with bows when you burnt yourself for 40-60 damage to gain a couple cards.

Tier 3

Call of the Reaper

Fear

Grasping Shadow

Ratcasting

Comments: Notice a pattern? Most low-impact enchantments are in the Tier 3 bin of draft picks. Ratcasting could be useful, but a 10/10 melee creature is at best going to put 20 damage on a Planeswalker and call it a day. Not bad, but nothing to be picking high either.

Red

Tier 1

Fiery Hellhound

Goalith Brute

Halberdier

Lightning Bolt

Comments: If I need to explain Lightning Bolt to you, then you likely haven't played Magic: The Gathering. It's top-tier first pick material, often over many rares in the set. Halberdier is removal-bait as he dies to literally everything that counts as removal, but if they can't answer him, he runs wild. 30 Attack means he kills everything he wants to, and First Strike means he's untouchable even by otherwise terrifying creatures like Zombie Grunt and Cudgel Troll.

Goliath Brute is just fat. Weird that Red gets the biggest creature at the common slot, but it's hard to argue with a fatty that one-hits nearly everything. Fiery Hellhound is great because he optimizes your mana late game when you can't spend it all, and especially is great at killing just-summoned defending creatures by pumping his attack to unreal levels. A great tempo play, and usually worth it to not summon a spell because unlike paper MTG, the lack of instants means there's no chance your mana will go to waste due to an untimely Lightning Bolt.

Tier 2

Coal Stoker

Forceful Rending

Goblin Piker

Lava Axe

Raging Goblin

Threatening Lunge

Comments: Threatening Lunge is more or less the same card as Tactical Advance, a surprise movement that allows a player to seize tempo or make a trade-up that the other player thought impossible based on the board state. At best it's effectively removal, at worst it's a decent 'burn' spell allowing a figure to get that extra few spaces for a critical hit on the backside of an enemy planeswalker.

Forceful Rending is excellent on your Planeswalker as it turns an otherwise do-nothing figure into a fearsome fighter. It's hard to fight close quarters when the other player randomly has a 55-power Planeswalker. Never want more than 1 I don't think, but that 1 is so good. Goblin Piker might be the only mediocre 2-drop not affected by the free 2-drops the game provides. The reasoning is that 'bear's (2-power 2-drops) are never bad to have, and I could see running the 4 Goblin Fodders and some number of Goblin Pikers as totally reasonable.

Coal Stoker is just a solid Hill Giant. Sometimes he allows great starts (Turn 2 Goblin Fodder, Turn 3 Daggerclaw Imp, Turn 4 Coal Stoker + Fiery Hellhound), but none of the fast starts are so mind-blowing that he's a Tier 1 pick, but Hill Giants are never so bad that he'd ever be below Tier 2.

Tier 3

Menacing Growl

Panic Attack

Quickness

Seething Song

Comments: The only time any of these cards have been useful to me, was a draft when I had 2 Magma Phoenixes. Seething Song allowed a turn 3 30/30 Flier. That was cool. I don't think it was necessary though.

Green

Tier 1

Elvish Archer

Elvish Warrior

Giant Spider

Stoutbark Protector

Comments: As expected, Green's commons are defined by efficient creatures. Elvish Archer is probably the best 2-drop in the game, as getting a figure who can always attack, regardless of placement, out early is amazing. If the Archer eats a Bolt or Doom Blade, what else can you ask of a 2-drop than to eat a removal spell meant for a bigger target? Elvish Warrior is hard to cast, but in a format where few 3-drops have a 20/30 body, I'll take Elvish Warrior, even if it means he's more likely cast on Turn 3.

Stoutbark Protector and Giant Spider are just great meat-and-potato creatures. A 20/40 with Reach and a Hill Giant with pro-Ranged attacks will NEVER not make the cut. Stoutbark is great because of it's high Initiative (An impressive 6, given that he's, you know, a tree.) he can swing once (eat a counterattack) and swing again (for the kill) against slower tough figures. Did I mention pro-Elite Archer, Elvish Archer, Ashbow Skeleton, Vampire Soul-Channeler, Prodigial Pyromancer, and Embermage Goblin?

Tier 2

Entangling Vines

Giant Growth

Llanowar Elf

Naturalize

Oakenform

Plummet

Comments: Lots of role-players here. Entangling Vines is pretty awful as far as removal goes, but it's what you got and sometimes it's good enough. On the plus side it's usually a pretty late pick. Oakenform might actually be Tier 1.5 because you'll always want them, often in multiples, there's no instants to make it fizzle, and the only cards that trade poorly with it is Doom Blade, bounce spells, and Pacifism. Still, those are common enough to hold it back, but oftentimes it's worth it to pay 3 mana for a Giant Growth effect. Which I guess says enough about how Giant Growth is pretty darn good. Naturalize and Plummet are both cards you're happy to have one-ofs and will rarely burn you for the singleton copies, but when you're getting overrun on the board and holding two Plummets and a Naturalize against a swarm of Goblins, you'll want to blow your brains out.

Tier 3

Bear Grip

Elvish Agility

Grasping Vines

Primal Rampage

Way of the Druids

Comments: Wow, all underwhelming enchantments... I'm trying to think of times I'd ever want Grasping Vines... maybe if I had no Fliers, Windstorms, or Archers, and even then it's pretty brutal to play. Elvish Agility would be excellent if it stopped ranged attacks like Lucky Dodge, but alas, all these cards are in the junk bin.

Artifact

Tier 1

Head of the Gorgon

Tier 2

Banner of Hope

Obsidian Golem

Comments: Not much in the artifact side, Obsidian Golem is slow and situational but against most boards is rather strong. His ability is also often forgotten, and the number of misplays centered around Obsidian Golem is disproportionately high. Banner of Hope is solid as a reuseable buff, and it's better in Draft as your Planeswalker is more often than not unnecessary in killing anything, so providing a buff is excellent. Head of the Gorgon is colorless, restrictionless removal. Unlike paper MTG, it doesn't sit on the table in clear view, so it's very likely opponents will forget about one cast on turns 1 or 2, and when their Shivan Dragon never gets to activate, you'll be glad that you had a common to counter a Mythic Rare bomb.

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Whew! Thanks for sticking with me this whole time. For those of you just now getting into the Drafting aspect of MTG Tactics, it's easily the best way to acquire cards and all players end up with at least a pack regardless of finish, and as the cards in the pack are easily worth more than 20 Gold (the entry cost of drafts in addition to packs), it's not hard to turn a profit while opening your packs and enjoying all that MTG Tactics has to offer!