Draft Schmaft

Congratulations to my friends, Joe Bogli, Kareem O’Brien, Paul Clarke, and Marc Carisse for their tops this past weekend in Chicago.  This past weekend at YCS Chicago, marked the end of the latest format.  I was intrigued throughout the event by a few different ideas that popped up, Jeff Jones and Robbie Boyajian’s Crane Crane Ghostricks, and the large number of Geargia decks that were being piloted throughout the event by good players. The draft portion of the event, however, caused my attention to almost disappear.  It seems pointless to me, to pilot a deck that you have constructed to withstand through 11 rounds of swiss to top 32, only to have to draft for the top 16 in an entirely different format.  Not only that, from what it sounds like not all of the rules were entirely explained to the participants (the mulligan rule) prior to the event or top 16 beginning.  For those who are unaware, participants in the top 16 draft are allowed to mulligan their hand once per best two out of three match. 

Last year, Konami held successful Sealed YCS(s), in Brussels and San Diego, and prior to that in Sheffield.  Having participated in San Diego, I can say from experience that while the format allowed for skill to shine through on occasion, it was overshadowed by many subpar cards being included in the Battle Pack itself.  With San Diego being the first Battle Pack, it also included numerous banned cards that if drafted in multiples, it would become very difficult for that participant to lose more than the required 2 matches to not make day two.  On day two, the slate would be wiped clean and participants would transition from sealed play into constructed play for five rounds with a cut to top 32.  This allowed for some players to choose interesting deck choices, that they may not normally make for a nine round regionals, let alone a YCS, as these decks may be too inconsistent too sustain itself throughout a tournament of that length.  Notably, Allen Pennington piloted Gishki to a top 32 finish in that event.

While I believe that both of these tournament setups are flawed, there can be a way to incorporate both of these styles of play into one tournament if that is Konami’s aim.  I do not believe that having the top 16 participate in a draft format is the way to accomplish this.  It takes a lot of interest out of finding out who won the event or even more specifically “what won” the event.  For instance, yesterday in Chicago there was a Dark World deck that moved into the top 16, something that has not been seen often this past format.  I believe one way to incorporate sealed and constructed play together is to expand on the previous setup from San Diego.  Firstly, continue to hold entirely constructed YCS(s) as they allow for players who enjoy only constructed to have events that matter to them.  Secondly, rather than have records “wipe clean”, so to speak at the beginning of the constructed portion of day two, have a cumulative record.  This way, players are forced to not only do well in the sealed portion of the YCS, but also the constructed portion.  This prevents sneaking in to day two and topping with a worse overall record from someone else.  Finally, create a pack that is not only structured for sealed and draft play, but where all or most of the cards included are “good by themselves” rather than the inclusion of too many overpowered cards that will again allow for lucky or subpar players to do well.

In short, the current system that Konami is operating under is flawed and needs to be replaced.  It does not allow for players to accurately determine what deck is ultimately the most consistent, nor does it allow the audience see the best performing players pilot their decks through the top 16 gauntlet.