Epic Strategy #2 The 3 Core Drafting Principles

The 3 Core Drafting Principles

                 Hello and welcome to the second installment into the Epic strategy blog.  As of today, we are 6 days out from the digital alpha of Epic!  I can not wait.  My friend and I have stepped up our practice regimen and it has killed me on sleep this week, but man was it worth it.  We have had some great games this week.  I am always trying to learn new things when playing Epic as the strategy is very deep in a game like this.  More and more I am finding that many games of Epic are won in the draft instead of the actual game.  So today I want to share with you my approach to drafting in three core steps.  Let's get on to it!

1)  Zeros and Gold

"When you break life down, beneath every choice is a one or a zero"

-Mr. Robot Season 1 

               In the design of Epic the most core principle is in the balance of 1's and zeros.  In games like MTG, you have to not only draft the cards you want in your color, but you must also draft a solid mana curve.  Epic fixes this problem with its economic system.  It is very binary just like the quote.  Every card is a one or a zero.

MTG Mana Curve 😕😕😕😕

Epic Mana Curve 😃😃😃😃

                 This eliminates a lot of the strain and complexity out of a draft.  In doing this we can create a very general rule towards the economy of the game.  In my opinion, the correct drafting range of zeros is around 6-10.  Of course, there will always be exceptions to the rule based on your deck and the overall draft, but that is a good general number range.  If I am nearing the end of a draft and I only have 4 zeros I am going to be very nervous and pick zeros at a much higher rate as my deck will be terribly clunky and almost unplayable without at least six zeros.  Another side note here is to keep your zeros organized as a group as you draft so you can quickly count the number you are at.  I keep the zeros at the forefront of my hand so I always have quick access to how many zeros I have acquired as that effects every decision in my drafting process.

2) Synergy/Theme Before Color

        It is safe to say that a lot of players that play Epic will have some experience in MTG as the games are very similar.  One big thing I struggled with and many new players with the digital app will struggle with is how the color factions work in Epic.  When you are coming from a MTG background your brain will feel wired to be in a certain color for the draft.  It took me many drafts to finally realize that hard committing to a color every draft was losing me tons of games.  Since there are no lands and every card has the same universal resource cost, we do not have this problem in Epic.  The one outlying factor of course is the few faction effects in the game such as loyalty/ally abilities.  Everything else comes down to synergy and the overall thematic strategy of your deck.  If you do draft some loyalty/ally ability cards then you do need to change your gears and make sure you are actively picking that color.  The general range I am looking for with Loyalty cards/Ally abilities is about 10-13 cards in that faction based upon how many loyalty and ally ability cards I have to use.

       Most synergy usually boils down to several viable archetypes you see in the draft meta.  From what I have seen most strategies have a kind of fusion strategy as you will see in the description.

       -Aggro/Tokens(These two are usually fused together.)
       -Control/Decking Yourself(You need Amnesia/Heinous Feast to fully make this fusion work)
       -Mid Range/Tempo(These decks have great combos like the one we talked about in the first post they have lots of tempo zeros with the big creatures in the game)

      Usually by the time you are at your 10-15th card you should have a good idea of what your deck is going to be.  Once I have set myself on a theme, I will change most of my valuations to serve the theme and not the color.  For example, if I am heavy set on tokens and aggro and a courageous soul comes my way I am going to value it way differently than it being in the second pack.  

            So remember, don't get too color happy in an Epic draft.  I have had plenty of incredible decks that have all 4 colors in them.  Loyalty is going to be the one game changer here.  Obviously a Necro Lord with only 2 other Evil Cards is going to be really sad in your deck.  Mandatory picture proof is mandatory.

3)  Drawing Cards and Death Stars are Fun.

"Good massages and card draw never come this fast."
--Markus, Watch Captain

Card draw and board wipes are without a doubt imperative to a well drafted deck in Epic.  Any card that has the text "draw 2 cards" or "Destroy/Banish All" is viable in the game for that effect alone. However, cards like Urgent Messengers/Cease Fire/T-Rex are on another level on the power scale. Since you can only play 1 gold a turn, it is super important you have the right card for the right situation in your hand.  The only way that is going to happen efficiently is through card draw.  Unlike the zeros in my deck, I do not have a set number range I am looking for with Draw 2/Wipe spells.  This core principle has a lot of variance to it.

 Here is a general guideline list I use when drafting to get the right amount of Draw 2 in my deck.

-How many zeros do I have?(The more zeros, the more you need draw 2's to keep your engine going)

-How many Non-Event draw cards do I have in my deck?(Triceratops/Gudgeon/Recyclers)

-What is my archetype?(Aggro will need less draw two)

For Board wipes, I would say the right number is a few.  I am very concerned if I only have 1 board wipe in my deck.  Usually the 3-4 range is where I end up on board wipes and feel comfortable.

Conclusion:

      This is just the tip of ice berg when it comes to drafting Epic.  In the future I will be adding more about the smaller details of drafts.  I hope these ideas help you in your next draft as a general guideline towards drafting a well thought out deck.