GOD DAMN IT THIS IS TAKING TOO LONG I'LL FINISH IT LATER
Limited analysis 1 for RTR draft: 10/28/2012 - 26 drafts played, limited rating 1815
General format analysis:
RTR limited has a wide array of relevant decks and archtypes to choose from; "forcing" a certain color combination, shard, or archtype is likely possible, but due to mana concerns and the viability of cards like Trostani's Judgment in multiple decks, it's best to choose what comes naturally to you with an archtype in mind as you make every pick.
There are a TON of playables at common and uncommon. I would honestly say that nearly every common in the set is playable. This is not Avacyn Restored where you have to stick to the color of your first three picks or wind up with 18 playables. Getting 14 on-color playables out of a single pack is not impossible.
What does this mean for you?
With the ease of splashing a third color (if not going straight-up three color) in the control decks of the format, the absurd number of playable cards in the format makes taking risks the best decision. If you notice in pack one cards of a certain color are being taken extremely late, take them. Noticing strong signals is what gets you your QPs.
An example from my previous draft:
p1p1, the most powerful card was undoubtedly Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord; this card is playable in straight up Golgari, Junk, and even Jund with a bit of manafixing. It does not require a certain archtype to be good (a wonderful sign a card is first pick worthy,) and is a strong sign I'm going to end up in Golgari colors.
Second pick, however, the most powerful card I see in said colors is Drudge Beetle; while this would admittedly be a powerful card in a deck with access to Jarad often, there's a Vhitu-Ghazi Guildmage in the pack; we're talking about a de facto bomb here, and one I might be able to keep Jarad (who is on a fairly equal level of power) in a deck with.
Third pick, green and black are both bone dry; a very strong sign that the person to my right is in the same colors, and picking very aggressively. There is, however, a Skymark Roc in the only uncommon slot left in the pack, along with a few other fliers of similar levels of power. If I had already passed a few powerful flyers in my first two picks, I may have reconsidered, but I had not. Skymark Roc is a snap first pick almost one hundred percent of the time, and not taking it would have been a massive mistake.
The next few picks I am passed a wild assortment of powerful white and blue fliers, and I ended up with an obscenely powerful deck when all was said and done; one that did not run Jarad, or even the Guildmage (was far too slow for a 16-land flier deck with no other token producers; fliers doesn't want to splash.)
There's a good mixture of aggro and control in this format, and while I personally prefer grinding my opponent out with slower decks, there are many reasons to play aggressively in RTR. You should never be stuck in the trap of playing a three-color aggressive deck, however; the best creatures in the format tend to have CC in their cost, and consistency wins games. Splashing is acceptable, but I still vastly prefer to be in two colors when I'm in aggro.
GOLGARI
I initially avoided Golgari, writing it off as clunky and slow; after quite a bit of practice with it, I realize I was wrong to do so. While a strict GB deck will often have trouble dealing with Azorius and Selesnya due to the guilds' ridiculous uncommon bombs and GB's lack of strong fliers and removal, Golgari is easily the easiest guild to splash another color (or even two if you're feeling cocky) into.
Golgari archtypes are almost strictly control, and include:
DEFENDERS.DEC
This is my personal favorite deck in the format, and although it is not often poised to go 3-0, it's absurdly fun to play around with.
Your game plan should be to land an Axebane Guardian, preferably with other defenders out, and ramp into Golgari's large assortment of fat. It's fast when it performs correctly and generates a number of blockers to stall with when it doesn't, and can produce an overwhelming number of creatures faster than any other deck in the format.
I only will play this archtype when handed an obvious sign in pack one that large Golgari creatures are not going to be picked high; they often aren't, and few decks have a valid way to deal with a turn four 5/4 beating them down.
The following cards should be picked significantly higher than normal to ensure this deck runs smoothly:
Guildgates
You're in three, if not four colors. Pick these in the first half of the pack unless there's an Axebane Guardian in there for you to take, as you are extremely unlikely to ever see them again. Guildgates don't table unless you're drafting with terrible players... in which case I don't exactly approve of following online guides to win
Axebane Guardian
This is the card that makes your deck utterly absurd. This monstrosity hitting the field on turn 3 can make all sorts of wild plays possible. Unfortunately, you are unlikely to be able to reliably ramp without two or more, so plan accordingly. Three is the magic number.
Ogre Jailbreaker
I'm honestly inclined to start first picking this card when I don't see any bombs in a pack. While jailbreaker may not be the most powerful common in the format, it's easily one of the most powerful monocolored commons, and very easily the best common creature in an assortment of archtypes. It's even better here, as it makes your Axebane Guardian tap for an additional mana regardless of how many guildgates you control.
Trestle Troll
While you can rely on this card to table, it's still worth a mention due to being incredibly underrated in this format. While it's a shame it can't attack, Giant Tortise is good enough on its own to not need to be able to block fliers and regenerate. The tradeoff is more than worth it, and you should almost always have two or more of these in your deck; you are otherwise hilariously likely to be blown out by azorius.
Golgari Longlegs
One of the most underrated cards in the format. 5 is insanely clogged with unplayables; why aren't people prioritizing a card that is so obviously over the curve in such a slow format?
My 5-drop slot in this deck is empty enough that I'll often double up on 4 drops to keep my curve looking presentable. Axebane Guardian ramping into this, the most powerful common 5-drop available to your deck, is going to put your opponent in a terrible position.
Gatecreeper Vine
Fixes your mana, makes your deck work, lets you run fewer lands. There's nothing else that needs to be said here.
Grisly Salvage
This card is likely a 1-of as the deck doesn't interact much on earlier turns, and it can easily lead to you milling yourself to death against control. Still, it digs for your bombs and helps fix mana if you seriously still need that.
Centaur Healer
There's a number of good reasons this deck should be considered to be base selesnya as opposed to base golgari, and this is certainly one of them. It's ahead of the curve -and- it buys you time against the tricky aggro matchups.
Aerial Predation
You have more trouble against flying than any other archtype.
Terrible fatties: Terrus Wurm, Axebane Stag, Rubbleback Rhino
You don't want these in your deck much, but if you're having trouble finding better playable fat, you should undoubtedly be taking these. Grab them late.
UNCOMMONS:
Zanikev Locust
Without this card, I will strongly consider not running Grisly Savage in my main, as it's the main reason I want to dump cards in my graveyard. 2BB for three +1/+1 counters is just fantastic, and it's very easy to overlook how fantastic this card is.
Rogue's Passage
You are going to have trouble winning against other control decks or Selesnya without a card like this or Kozorda Guildmage. You most certainly do not want more than one of these in your main, but it's very close to being a staple. Luckily enough, it's picked very late, so you shouldn't worry much about being able to grab one.
Limited analysis 1 for RTR draft: 10/28/2012 - 26 drafts played, limited rating 1815
General format analysis:
RTR limited has a wide array of relevant decks and archtypes to choose from; "forcing" a certain color combination, shard, or archtype is likely possible, but due to mana concerns and the viability of cards like Trostani's Judgment in multiple decks, it's best to choose what comes naturally to you with an archtype in mind as you make every pick.
There are a TON of playables at common and uncommon. I would honestly say that nearly every common in the set is playable. This is not Avacyn Restored where you have to stick to the color of your first three picks or wind up with 18 playables. Getting 14 on-color playables out of a single pack is not impossible.
What does this mean for you?
With the ease of splashing a third color (if not going straight-up three color) in the control decks of the format, the absurd number of playable cards in the format makes taking risks the best decision. If you notice in pack one cards of a certain color are being taken extremely late, take them. Noticing strong signals is what gets you your QPs.
An example from my previous draft:
p1p1, the most powerful card was undoubtedly Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord; this card is playable in straight up Golgari, Junk, and even Jund with a bit of manafixing. It does not require a certain archtype to be good (a wonderful sign a card is first pick worthy,) and is a strong sign I'm going to end up in Golgari colors.
Second pick, however, the most powerful card I see in said colors is Drudge Beetle; while this would admittedly be a powerful card in a deck with access to Jarad often, there's a Vhitu-Ghazi Guildmage in the pack; we're talking about a de facto bomb here, and one I might be able to keep Jarad (who is on a fairly equal level of power) in a deck with.
Third pick, green and black are both bone dry; a very strong sign that the person to my right is in the same colors, and picking very aggressively. There is, however, a Skymark Roc in the only uncommon slot left in the pack, along with a few other fliers of similar levels of power. If I had already passed a few powerful flyers in my first two picks, I may have reconsidered, but I had not. Skymark Roc is a snap first pick almost one hundred percent of the time, and not taking it would have been a massive mistake.
The next few picks I am passed a wild assortment of powerful white and blue fliers, and I ended up with an obscenely powerful deck when all was said and done; one that did not run Jarad, or even the Guildmage (was far too slow for a 16-land flier deck with no other token producers; fliers doesn't want to splash.)
There's a good mixture of aggro and control in this format, and while I personally prefer grinding my opponent out with slower decks, there are many reasons to play aggressively in RTR. You should never be stuck in the trap of playing a three-color aggressive deck, however; the best creatures in the format tend to have CC in their cost, and consistency wins games. Splashing is acceptable, but I still vastly prefer to be in two colors when I'm in aggro.
GOLGARI
I initially avoided Golgari, writing it off as clunky and slow; after quite a bit of practice with it, I realize I was wrong to do so. While a strict GB deck will often have trouble dealing with Azorius and Selesnya due to the guilds' ridiculous uncommon bombs and GB's lack of strong fliers and removal, Golgari is easily the easiest guild to splash another color (or even two if you're feeling cocky) into.
Golgari archtypes are almost strictly control, and include:
DEFENDERS.DEC
This is my personal favorite deck in the format, and although it is not often poised to go 3-0, it's absurdly fun to play around with.
Your game plan should be to land an Axebane Guardian, preferably with other defenders out, and ramp into Golgari's large assortment of fat. It's fast when it performs correctly and generates a number of blockers to stall with when it doesn't, and can produce an overwhelming number of creatures faster than any other deck in the format.
I only will play this archtype when handed an obvious sign in pack one that large Golgari creatures are not going to be picked high; they often aren't, and few decks have a valid way to deal with a turn four 5/4 beating them down.
The following cards should be picked significantly higher than normal to ensure this deck runs smoothly:
Guildgates
You're in three, if not four colors. Pick these in the first half of the pack unless there's an Axebane Guardian in there for you to take, as you are extremely unlikely to ever see them again. Guildgates don't table unless you're drafting with terrible players... in which case I don't exactly approve of following online guides to win
Axebane Guardian
This is the card that makes your deck utterly absurd. This monstrosity hitting the field on turn 3 can make all sorts of wild plays possible. Unfortunately, you are unlikely to be able to reliably ramp without two or more, so plan accordingly. Three is the magic number.
Ogre Jailbreaker
I'm honestly inclined to start first picking this card when I don't see any bombs in a pack. While jailbreaker may not be the most powerful common in the format, it's easily one of the most powerful monocolored commons, and very easily the best common creature in an assortment of archtypes. It's even better here, as it makes your Axebane Guardian tap for an additional mana regardless of how many guildgates you control.
Trestle Troll
While you can rely on this card to table, it's still worth a mention due to being incredibly underrated in this format. While it's a shame it can't attack, Giant Tortise is good enough on its own to not need to be able to block fliers and regenerate. The tradeoff is more than worth it, and you should almost always have two or more of these in your deck; you are otherwise hilariously likely to be blown out by azorius.
Golgari Longlegs
One of the most underrated cards in the format. 5 is insanely clogged with unplayables; why aren't people prioritizing a card that is so obviously over the curve in such a slow format?
My 5-drop slot in this deck is empty enough that I'll often double up on 4 drops to keep my curve looking presentable. Axebane Guardian ramping into this, the most powerful common 5-drop available to your deck, is going to put your opponent in a terrible position.
Gatecreeper Vine
Fixes your mana, makes your deck work, lets you run fewer lands. There's nothing else that needs to be said here.
Grisly Salvage
This card is likely a 1-of as the deck doesn't interact much on earlier turns, and it can easily lead to you milling yourself to death against control. Still, it digs for your bombs and helps fix mana if you seriously still need that.
Centaur Healer
There's a number of good reasons this deck should be considered to be base selesnya as opposed to base golgari, and this is certainly one of them. It's ahead of the curve -and- it buys you time against the tricky aggro matchups.
Aerial Predation
You have more trouble against flying than any other archtype.
Terrible fatties: Terrus Wurm, Axebane Stag, Rubbleback Rhino
You don't want these in your deck much, but if you're having trouble finding better playable fat, you should undoubtedly be taking these. Grab them late.
UNCOMMONS:
Zanikev Locust
Without this card, I will strongly consider not running Grisly Savage in my main, as it's the main reason I want to dump cards in my graveyard. 2BB for three +1/+1 counters is just fantastic, and it's very easy to overlook how fantastic this card is.
Rogue's Passage
You are going to have trouble winning against other control decks or Selesnya without a card like this or Kozorda Guildmage. You most certainly do not want more than one of these in your main, but it's very close to being a staple. Luckily enough, it's picked very late, so you shouldn't worry much about being able to grab one.
