Things You'll Need:
- At least one opponent
- Pile of Magic cards
- Lots of basic land
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Step 1
Figure out the power level of the draft deck. This is perhaps the most important thing to do in a Winston draft, because all your decisions will be based on this. If your deck was created by opening fresh packs, or consists of all cards from the same set, then you'll have a good idea of the general power level. If your draft deck is a random hodgepodge of cards, you may have to take a few turns before you figure out whether the average card is bound to be playable or weak.
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Step 2
Don't settle. If the general power level of the deck is very high, this means that almost any card you pick up is bound to be playable. With this in mind, there's little risk in passing over decent cards in the hopes of flipping over a bomb. Remember, every turn, you have a potential total of 4 chances to see an unseen card that might be just what you need. In a high-power environment, you can afford to be picky.
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Step 3
Conversely, in a low-power environment, bank some basic creatures. If you've noticed that many of the cards are irrelevant enchantments or ineffective instants, the game may well go to whoever can summon some decent creatures first. A good rule of thumb is that if you haven't seen any creatures bigger than 2/2 after a few rounds through, you should probably grab the first large creature you see. If the deck ends up being light on creatures as a whole, there may not be enough to go around and you want to make sure you don't get the short end of the stick.
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Step 4
Watch the pile size. A pile of options is often worth taking even if no individual card excites you. Even if you have a pile with four decent cards of which you'll only want to use two depending on your colors, having the backup whichever color direction you go can be very nice. This is not to say you should pick up a pile of 10 cards you'll never play, but every deck generally ends up with some filler. And since players generally do not end up with the same number of cards in Winston draft, more options can be a very good thing.
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Step 5
Set yourself up for non-single card piles. Especially in 2-player Winston draft, leaving single cards in the second and third piles while adding one to the first is a clear invitation for your opponent to take a twofer, leaving you with a field of single cards. If you leave more than one card in the second or third pile instead, your opponent will be forced to increase the earlier piles to get to the later one, thus leaving you an opportunity for a larger pile.
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Step 6
Flexibility is essential. Especially if you are drafting from a pile of cards rather than fresh packs, there are no guarantees about color distribution. This makes universally useful cards such as artifacts and morph creatures even more valuable than usual.
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Step 7
Towards the end of the draft, take stock of how many holes your deck has. If you only have 15 playable cards, it's time to start taking big piles of filler. If you already have 23 playable cards in the right colors, you can afford to pass on anything that's not a surefire winner.
