Every few months when a new Magic set is released, there is a lot of debate over what draft archetypes will give you a good shot at winning. After doing a few dozen drafts, I believe I have some tools that will help you increase your winning percentages and minimize your financial losses.
The first thing to do is to realize that M12 is a core set. That means that solid draft fundamentals will pay big dividends as there aren’t many “gimmicky” or trick decks that you will have to face. You will want to play any bombs that you open, value removal and evasion very highly and pay close attention to your mana curve.
There are a few definite archetypes that you want to be aware of when drafting M12.
Bloodthirst
One of the driving forces of M12 draft, Bloodthirst relies on cheap, efficient creatures doing damage consistently to power out larger threats enabled with Bloodthirst. Dedicated Bloodthirst decks will be black and red as those colors house both great threats and deep removal suites. You will know Bloodthirst is open as an option if you see the enablers going around the middle of the pack.
Two of the best enablers for this strategy are Tormented Soul and Goblin Fireslinger. Both are one drops that can consistently turn on your Bloodthirst creatures. You will want to pack your curve with as many Bloodthirst guys as you can as well as other good creatures and as much removal as you can get your hands on. Incinerate is the perfect type of spell for this strategy as it can burn blockers or go to the dome as a finisher or to turn on Bloodthirst when you can’t get through otherwise.
Blue/White Flyers
Always a valid core set strategy, blue/white can dominate the skies in M12. There is a small chance that you can go for the specific Griffin Rider deck if you happen to pick up 4-6 Griffins in your fist pack and a half. It can be very, very explosive.
Usually, I like to take blue/white in a more defensive direction. Creatures like Griffin Sentinel, Roc Egg and Amphin Cutthroat go around late and do a great job of gumming up the ground while you keep turning your flyers sideways.
Be sure to prioritize Pacifism effects to keep your opponents best creatures locked up if you want to draft this strategy. Gideon’s Lawkeeper is a first pick card for this reason, it has the versatility to lock your opponents best creature out of the game almost indefinitely.
Green Overrun
Green has a history of being under valued because of it’s lack of tricks and removal, but in M12 the big, dumb green approach can just get there. Take a look at this draft that I did recently:
Mono Green Deck 6-0
In this and many drafts that I have been in, players just shy away from green. With Arachnus Web for removal, Overrun as a finisher and a great suite of creatures like Jade Mage, Greater Basilisk and Stingerfling Spider, you could do worse that take the leftovers if you see this archetype open.
Green with Blue or White Flyers
If the premier green creatures aren’t there, you could still use the big bodies green offers to hold the ground while your flyers get in for damage. This works especially well with blue if you can get your hands on Chasm Drakes. They pick up your green fatties and take to the air to end a game very quickly.
Blue Mill
I don’t recommend moving in on this unless you open a Jace early, but if you do, it can be a really fun deck to draft. You supplement Jace’s milling ability with Jace’s Erasures and as many draw effects as you can grab (Merfolk Looter and Azure Mage are both great in this deck). If you are lucky enough to get a Belltower Sphinx then, congratulations! You opened the nuts!
Make sure you take Merfolk Mesmerists for this strategy as they hold the ground against early drops while milling when you have the time. Stonehorn Dignitary or similar defensive creatures will also help you survive to exhaust your opponents deck.
So with those archetypes in mind, enjoy your next M12 draft! Remember not to marry your first picks and keep your options open, often it will be profitable to jump into an open color as you navigate through the packs or you open a rare bomb.