Article ChannelFireball: Utility Land Draft

Eric Chan

Eric Chan

Hyalopterous Lemure
Staff member
Right, saving it for the end means people aren't speculating on what they think they'll draft - they should have a half-built deck in front of them, and know what gaps in mana fixing they need to fill, as well as how greedy they can be with colourless lands.
 
Diakonov

Diakonov

Eric Chan said:
Have folks tried running the utility land draft concurrent to deckbuilding? It usually takes a while for people to lay out their builds, and I haven't found calling out names while people are settling on their final forty to be too disruptive.
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This is actually how we do it now. It works pretty well, but I still want it FASTER.
 
Diakonov

Diakonov

Alright, I think I might try something new. Put 20 or so cards into the cube backwards (magic logo) as proxies to serve as opportunities for utility land picks. After you've drafted one, you may turn it face up at any time during the draft to go take 2 picks. Some people will want to do this right away, while others may want to wait to see how their picks are panning out.

I'm thinking of adding all my ULD cards to a binder that can be passed around easily during the draft. Also, this might be a good place to add other interesting cards that might normally be too poisonous, like Hardened Scales.

Thoughts? Also, what other non-lands would work well for this?
 
Eric Chan

Eric Chan

Hyalopterous Lemure
Staff member
That's really interesting, and doesn't seem to be too far-fetched given the draft-altering robot constructs we've had in Conspiracy. My only concern is that fetching two lands can be a bit of a mental puzzle, especially mid-draft, and that it would hold up the current packs from making their way around the table.
 
Diakonov

Diakonov

Eric Chan said:
That's really interesting, and doesn't seem to be too far-fetched given the draft-altering robot constructs we've had in Conspiracy. My only concern is that fetching two lands can be a bit of a mental puzzle, especially mid-draft, and that it would hold up the current packs from making their way around the table.
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Yeah I was thinking the same thing, so my thought was that they're free to take their time with the binder while continuing to take picks from the packs. If someone else plays one in the meantime, they have to wait until the current person is finished.
 
spicewitch

spicewitch

Just to doublecheck - how many fixin' lands (if any) stay in your main cube, and how many get piled into the utility draft with all those weirdo lands that only tap for 1 or 0 colors of mana?
 
Suicufnoc

Suicufnoc

I think most people here run most or all of their fixing in the main cube. When I did a ULD, I had 1 of each Vivid in it, and they were picked very highly. I picked lands in the cube more highly and picked up Kessig Wolf Run instead. I kind of like the tension of having some fixing there, but the Vivids may be too good for enabling 3 color decks with a splash. Maybe the new life-gain taplands? Scrylands could be ok.
 
CML

CML

Contributor
i had one land for each guild. something like

horizon canopy
grove of the burnwillows
graven cairns
river of tears
calciform pools

woodland cemetery
hinterland harbor
sulfur falls
clifftop retreat
isolated chapel

(with temples and filters main)
 
Laz

Laz

Developer
The closest I have to fixing lands is the cycle of Panoramas. I would say that they are middling picks, safe but unexciting. In addition to fixing, they also act as bonus (bad) fetchlands for decks that need that effect, providing extra shuffles, filling the graveyard, etc. There only being Shard options has crossed my mind a little, maybe I should whip up proxies for the wedge combinations?

I had Urborg in the ULD for a couple of drafts, but it proved a super-high pick, and provided better fixing than I wanted from a 'from-the-middle' pick.
 
ahadabans

ahadabans

Diakonov said:
Alright, I think I might try something new. Put 20 or so cards into the cube backwards (magic logo) as proxies to serve as opportunities for utility land picks. After you've drafted one, you may turn it face up at any time during the draft to go take 2 picks. Some people will want to do this right away, while others may want to wait to see how their picks are panning out.

I'm thinking of adding all my ULD cards to a binder that can be passed around easily during the draft. Also, this might be a good place to add other interesting cards that might normally be too poisonous, like Hardened Scales.

Thoughts? Also, what other non-lands would work well for this?
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I like this idea a lot actually. I've only done one utility draft so far and the feelings on it were mixed. I simplified it and made it so it wasn't too overwhelming, but guys want to get to playing. Anything that extends the draft is not popular with my group.

I love lands, but putting questionable ones in the card pool doesn't work in my experience. Putting them in a separate utility land draft works, but it drags things out a little bit. This idea seems like it might be a sweet hybrid. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
CML

CML

Contributor
sure, urborg is great but it's karakas, right? in general i am in favor of raising the power level of the ULD to the point where you have interesting decisions between something like Karakas or Tranquil Thicket (sweet 1-color lands), gavony township (high-upside colorless lands), and horizon canopy (suboptimal fixing). of course this necessitates capping the power well below shelldock isle and probably below gaea's cradle too.
 
Jason Waddell

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
I run weird lands with drawbacks for fixing in the ULD usually. Like Gemstone Mine or other examples. Terramorphic Expanse.
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
I ran Temples and it was fine. I moved them over to the main cube though, since they're good enough that I don't mind people spending a pick to take one. I believe I now use the common lifelands from Khans in the ULD. They get picked as well, because people are pretty keen on fixing.
 
Diakonov

Diakonov

ahadabans said:
I like this idea a lot actually. I've only done one utility draft so far and the feelings on it were mixed. I simplified it and made it so it wasn't too overwhelming, but guys want to get to playing. Anything that extends the draft is not popular with my group.

I love lands, but putting questionable ones in the card pool doesn't work in my experience. Putting them in a separate utility land draft works, but it drags things out a little bit. This idea seems like it might be a sweet hybrid. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Just to give an update, this has been working out well for us. The land binder gets a little backed up at about the middle of the draft, but as choices disappear it speeds up again by the end.
 
Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor

Contributor
Diakonov said:
Is Rishadan Port unfun? It's sittin' there all, "oh I'm worth $100, muhhh" with its hand-waving and smug stupid face. I'm itching to put it up on PucaTrade.
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I always found it kinda shit, but then again I settled on wasteland as the mana denial of choice.

Is x4 port stronger for a cube than x4 tectonic edge? I always hated having to keep investing mana into the thing, where the other options were one and done, but didn't let you "undo" the land destruction.

How often does wastelanding someone come back and bite you anyways?
 
CML

CML

Contributor
Chris Taylor said:
I always found it kinda shit, but then again I settled on wasteland as the mana denial of choice.

Is x4 port stronger for a cube than x4 tectonic edge? I always hated having to keep investing mana into the thing, where the other options were one and done, but didn't let you "undo" the land destruction.

How often does wastelanding someone come back and bite you anyways?
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why not mix em?
 
shamizy

shamizy

Aside from Fetches and Duals, which other lands do you guys run in your actual lists for draft? I relegated most of the fun lands to the utility draft, but I'm thinking of moving some of them to the main pool.
 
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