Aetherdrift Draft Guide

Learning the fundamentals from each set for limited play will help you get better results over time and convert those extra coins into gems with a success ratio that lets you keep playing for free most of the time.

But what are the fundamentals for limited play? We can divide them into three major categories:

• Set Mechanics: Learning the core mechanics of the set lets us know which cards have the most value while drafting and knowing what to expect from our opponents during games.
• Top Commons and Key Uncommons: Knowing what cards are the best of the best lets you prioritize them at high picks to cement your main deck. This information also allows you to play around cards that your opponents are probably playing, which gives you the upper hand. There's one uncommon card for each archetype, which is the beating heart of the color pair. Having the ability to identify them will let you know which archetypes are open during drafts. If you pick one and build your deck around it, your deck will be synergistic enough to win games.
• Archetypes: This goes hand in hand with the last point about knowing the key uncommons. Besides some exceptions in particular sets, every Magic: The Gathering set would support 10 main archetypes for limited play; the 10 color pairs are the main rule, and knowing how to build and play them would give you the upper hand. Some sets support tri-colored decks or mono colored decks. We will let you know when that is possible.

Without further ado, this is our guide to the fundamentals of Aetherdrift Draft!

Set Mechanics

Start Your Engines!

Let's start with "Start your engines!" This mechanic sets your speed counter on 1 if you don't have speed; then, it increases once on each of our turns when an opponent loses life. Max Speed is 4.

To represent clearly how this works, I put here Gastal Thrillseeker, the key uncommon card for playing Rakdos Max Speed Aggro, the only card that not only "Start your engines!" but also increase your speed immediately.

The best way to understand the value of "Start your engine!" cards is to divide their qualities into categories:

Cards That Get Us To Max Speed

Besides the clear example of Gastal Thrillseeker, here we have three cards that "Start your engines!" and help you increase your speed at the same time.

Leonin Surveyor has first strike during our turn, helping it attack over many blockers on turn 3. Burnout Bashtronaut has Menace, making it extremely hard to block on turn 2. Finally, Embalmed Ascendant creates a 2/2 Zombie token, giving us more creatures to attack and pass over our opponents' defenses.

Playing creatures with evasion or with ping abilities in archetypes where speed matters is good for building up speed; however, if a card lets you "Start your engines!" while helping you to increase your speed at once, it becomes extremely valuable.

Good Cards Without Max Speed

As you can see, these three cards are strong with or without Max speed. You can play them as speed enablers for "Start your engine!" or when you have max speed, and you will always feel they were a good deal.

Perilous Snare and Momentum Breaker are great removals, and you may play them in any White or Black deck; the same is true for Streaking Oilgorger. A 3/3 flying haste for 4B is never a bad inclusion in your decklist.

Now, when we have max speed and play these cards, the upsides can change the tide of many games on their own, which makes them great without max speed and amazingly good with speed 4.

Good Cards With Max Speed

Every card with "Start your engines" is better with max speed, however, it's important to understand how some cards are just playable without max speed, but they become a heavy threat if max speed is enabled.

Hazoret and Risen Necroregent are the best examples of these kinds of cards. They are subpar without max speed; nevertheless, with speed 4, these cards give you the upper hand in any game or turn the tables if you are behind.

With this in mind, you need to consider them if your deck has enough enablers.

Let me summarize this section by showing you one of the best, if not the best, "Start your engines" card.

Howlsquad Heavy excels in the three qualities of a "Start your engines" card. Thanks to the tokens, it helps us get max speed, making our attacks wider; it is amazing even if we struggle to max our speed out having decent stats, giving haste to our goblins and building up our board state, and finally, with max speed it help us play the top end of our curve.

Exhaust

This mechanic works as the primary mana-sink in the format. Having ways to spend your extra mana is always great for outvaluing our opponents.

Exhaust is an activated ability that can only be activated once. Nevertheless, reanimating, bouncing, or blinking your card lets you use its exhaust ability again.

There are many kinds of exhaust abilities. You may create tokens with cards like Stampeding Scurryfoot or ramp with Skyserpent Seeker. Loot, the Pathfinder is the main example of how this ability may have many uses.

Temur cards care a lot about this mechanic.

Cards That Care About Exhaust

These three cards have an Exhaust ability and, at the same time, do something extra around the mechanic. You may build a deck around this ability and have good results. Green is the best-performing color overall, or you may play good exhaust cards that don't care about other cards with the mechanic.

Good Cards With Exhaust

These three cards are examples of cards with Exhaust that I play happily in any deck that may cast it without having an Exhaust-themed core.

Draconautics Engineer and Sita Varma are bombs during the later stages of the game, reaffirming that exhaust is a great mana-sink mechanic that gives you the upper hand in attrition games, while Marshal's Pathcruiser is one of the main mana-fixing tools of the set for splashing a third color, something very doable in Aetherdrift limited.

Telling you that Loot, the Pathfinder is the best card with this ability will be something obvious, right? 🤔

Cycling

Cycling is a known mechanic for many of us. However, it has many implications for limited formats, and one archetype in Aetherdrift draft benefits a lot from this mechanic.

When cycling is in a limited format, thinking about playing less than 17 lands is not off the table. Ikoria was the best example. With many 1 mana cyclers, playing 13-15 lands was easy. Cycling helps you find what you need and draw your lands, which was helpful back then.

However, here, many one mana cycles are one-colored mana cyclings. Cutting a land for each set of three one-mana cycling cards is harder because of this. Instead, thanks to how many 2-colorless cycling cards we have, keeping two-lander hands is extremely easy.

My best advice is not to skip your two-drop to cycle because this may put you behind on tempo, but knowing that you may keep your hands more aggressively is good to know.

Understanding Cycling

• Chitin Gravestalker benefits from having artifacts and creature cards in your graveyard, which makes cycling creatures and artifacts good in your deck.
• Marauding Mako doesn't care about your graveyard, but any discarded card helps it to grow. Having an additional reward for cycling a card is very good.
• Webstrike Elite has a cycling ability that serves as artifact and enchantment removal. Cards like this are also good in any deck when their stats are good.

Izzet plays as Discard Aggro in Aetherdrift, a twist from the usual spell-matters Izzet deck. Keep an eye open if you are in these colors when drafting for picking the right amount of cycling cards.

There are cards with cycling that care about cycling or discarding other cards, and there are other cycling cards that have the ability as a plus. Just like we explain in "Start your engines!" playing cards with any relevant ability of the set that can also be good in any situation plays a big part in your success.

This dinosaur is the best card with cycling in the set. 8/8 trample for 3GG is more than enough, we may even call this "broken". The fact that it works as a combat trick is the cherry on top.

Learning that cycling is a plus on many Aetherdrift cards helps us pick better during our draft. Don't forget that there are some situations where we want to pick cycling cards higher, like when we are playing Izzet or graveyard-centric strategies as Golgari. Besides Chitin Gravestalker, there are other ways to take advantage of our graveyard, like Back on Track.

Vehicles

Vehicles were introduced in Kaladesh. It's an artifact type, and they became creatures when they got crewed. In a set like Aetherdrift, where a big race across three planes is the main theme, this type of artifact is one of the main pieces of the set.

However, this doesn't mean every vehicle in the set is playable. The truth is that only one archetype that plays around vehicles is good enough while drafting many vehicles, and Selesnya is good because it also plays around mounts. Plus, it's a color pair with Green, the most broken color of the set.

Don't get me wrong, Broadcast Rambler is one of the top White commons, and I surely play Thunderous Velocipede whenever I can. However, you have to be careful. For playing vehicles outside Selesnya, you have to take into consideration only the ones that can do something on their own, like Possession Engine or Debris Beetle.

With all this in mind, it is not hard to think why Lumbering Worldwagon is the best vehicle of this format.

Mounts

The history is a little bit different for mounts. Unlike vehicles that require other permanents to be relevant in combat, mounts are already creatures that can attack or block but have benefits for attack while being saddled.

This gives them much more value overall because you may play this type of creature without having to play an archetype that revolves around them like Selesnya.

Playing Gloryheath Lynx on any White deck is mostly correct, and the same is true for Red decks and Dracosaur Axuliary. There are other examples of this, but just like vehicles, value the cards for what they did before getting crewed or saddled. If that's enough to make the final cut, attack and black for vehicles or attack while being saddled for mounts, it's a fantastic plus.

Do you see what I say about Selesnya? These are the two best mounts in the set, and both can take away many games by themselves. Both are good examples of good creatures, even if you never have the chance to attack saddling them.

Archtypes

Let's analyze and separate the ten draft archetypes of the set in tier order. With Aetherdrift's release on February 11th, much info is now part of the equation, and we can confidently say that the format is more or less resolved.

This doesn't mean you can't make 7-x with Boros Vehicles and Mounts Aggro; however, if there's a chance to be on Golgari Graveyard without forcing too many of my picks, I happily choose the last.

Tier 1

Golgari Graveyard

Golgari revolves around filling up our graveyard and returning our threats to the field, thanks to our reanimate effects.

You can be hyper-focused on this mechanic, but this doesn't mean it's all you want to do. Many would say Black is the second best color of the format, and amazing removal like Grim Bauble, Spin Out, and Syphon Fuel can confirm this idea.

Because of this, playing good Green creatures supported by Black removal makes this color pair the epitome of midrange in the format.

Migrating Ketradon is one of the best commons in the set, and thanks to Broodheart Engine and Back on Track, reanimating this creature after cycling it is easy.

Thundering Broodwagon contends to be the best uncommon of the set. This is the reason behind a few copies of Jibbirik Omnivore in some Golgari decklists.

Simic Exhaust Ramp

The two key uncommons clearly show how much Simic cares about exhaust and ramp. Exhaust is a great way of spending mana during the late game, and having extra lands, thanks to the ramp, this archetype can provide the resources for paying those exhaust costs.

Simic is so strong in the format that some weeks have better WR than Golgari in high ELO.

We already talked about Migrating Ketradon, but Stampeding Scurryfoot and Hazard of the Dunes have to be mentioned as the next best Green commons, and this deck can play both at its fullest potential.

Run Over is a great removal spell, and pair it with Flood the Engine let you take out of your way any problem on the other side of the field.

Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied is almost invincible.

Tier 2

Selesnya Vehicles and Mounts Midrange

The two uncommon signpost cards of this archetype are strong. Finding good White and Green creatures with the Mount subtype is easy. This makes Lagorin, Soul of Alacria amazing for pumping our board with each attack.

Veteran Beastrider is fantastic for enabling this archetype. We not only have the chance to attack and then have our creatures for blocking; it also lets us crew or saddle and then have our creatures without losing the opportunity to block or use any of our abilities tapping our creatures.

You may play both or none. In the end, Green is the best color in this format. Playing solid Green cards and supporting them with a few cards of a second color would give you good results.

It is supposed that you play pliots, mounts, and vehicles, but as you may see in the example below, you only need good commons, one or two good uncommons, and one rare to make the 7-X.

Gruul Exhaust Midrange

From the Exhaust decks, Gruul is the more aggressive one. You may play Rocketeer Boostbuggy on turn 2 and attack with it as a 4/3 on turn 3. That may seem more midrange than aggro; however, the truth is that Gruul has an advantage over other aggressive decks.

Playing around many Exhaust abilities gives you the potential to be over the other aggressive strategies in stats.

Adrenaline Jockey and Greenbelt Guardian grows just like Rocketeer Boostbuggy and Boom Scholar. The same is true for Prowcatcher Specialist, a creature that can start the aggression fast and grow later for matching turn 3 and 4 blockers.

In the example decklist, you see how splashing in this format is not out of bounds if you have the tools. Lumbering Worldwagon is the best vehicle of the set for a reason.

Rakdos Max Speed Aggro

Even if Rakdos WR is very close compared to Gruul and Orzhov, its play rate is much higher.

This is because there's no better aggressive deck in the format than Rakdos, and Gastal Thrillseeker plays a big role in that affirmation.

Thanks to its aggressive nature, the twist is how this deck can build Speed faster than many other archetypes, which transform Risen Necroregent into a powerhouse in the late game.

You may play fully aggressive with your mana-curve low to the ground or play a few mid-game threats that help you finish the deal. If Gastal Thrillseeker signals Rakdos is open, don't hesitate to pick it and have the option open.

Finally, playing Engine Rat, Grim Bauble, Pactdoll Terror, Thunderhead Gunner, Lightning Strike, and Crash and Burn in the same deck is never wrong. We have many good common cards in this color pair, which makes building a Rakdos deck easier than other color pairs and performs well without many rares.

Orzhov Max Speed Attrition

Leonin Surveyor is the best creature in the Surveyor cycle. If we want to build our speed early, this cat is the best common creature we can play with.

The main difference between Orzhov and other Max Speed archetypes is how Orzhov builds the board. Instead of trying to ping your enemies or hit fast, Orzhov makes wider attacks thanks to Embalmed Ascendant.

1/2 and 2/2 zombies are not that big compared to vehicles and mounts, but thanks to this and some flyers like Lotusguard Disciple, Wreckage Wickerfolk, and Canyon Vaulter's ability, building your speed for Risen Necrogen is not hard.

Back on Track may look like a Golgari card; however, paired with Dune Drifter, the amount of value your ETB creatures and vehicles like Broadcast Rambler becomes huge.

Momentum Breaker and Ride's End are some of the best removal in the format. Play a few copies of them, plus Grim Bauble makes a difference.

Don't forget Nesting Bot also helps you go wide.

Tier 3

Dimir Artifact Bleeder

The two signpost Dimir uncommon cards are good for what this deck tries to accomplish, however, the main card that makes me want to play this color pair is Pactdoll Terror.

With this on the field, playing Haunt the Network makes more sense, and having the chance of ping with Pactdoll Terror or attacking with thopters may push our speed to 4, making Risen Necrogent shine as it does in many other archetypes.

Engine Rat helps us finish the attrition matches while Momentum Breaker and Flood the Engine keep our opponents at bay during the early game.

Gearseeker Serpent It may be more suited for Azorius; nevertheless, it goes well in this archetype, and I'm always happy to play 1 copy in Dimir.

Azorius Artifact Value

Azorius is an Artifact matters deck, and Affinity cards are our best payoffs for having a lot of artifacts in play.

Voyage Home and Gearseeker Serpent are the best examples of this. Drawing 3 cards and gaining 3 life for 3 or 4 mana is easy, and playing Gearseeker Serpent for 4 often happens.

However, the problem with this is that even if there are many good enablers like Nesting Bot or the fantastic Broadcast Rambler, if you are not the only one drafting Azorius or the one that have the priority picking this color pair, it feels incomplete sometimes.

Don't get me wrong; Azorius isn't bad. Transite Mage and Guidelight Pathmaker are great for finding what you need, while Ride's End, Bounce Off, and Flood the Engine are great for controlling the board.

Just have an eye wide open while drafting this archetype. It requires commitment.

Izzet Discard Aggro

Izzet has a similar problem to Azorius. Marauding Mako is amazing and one of my favorite cards of the set, and Thunderhead Gunner is one of the best commons in Red. Nevertheless, if you spend your turns cycling for discarding cards for Marauding Mako and Scrounging Skyray while your opponent is developing its board, you will fall behind on tempo.

However, Broadside Barrage competes for being the best removal in the format, and the rares for the archetype like Fearless Swashbuckler are amazing; and if you find a copy of Chandra, Spark Hunter be on Izzet is fantastic.

Boros Tier

Boros Vehicles and Mounts Aggro

Boros is the worst deck by far. Sadly, the aggressive vehicles and mounts deck is not good compared to Selesnya.

Playing vehicles and mounts while being on Green is one thing, but doing the same without playing the best color of the format is another story.

I'm not saying Boros is unplayable; don't get me wrong. White has Ride's End, and red Lightning Strike + Crash and Burn. But Boros should be aggro, right?

Knowing when Green is taken and Boros open is easy when you see Cloudspire Cordinator or Cloudspire-Skycicle wheel on pack 1. If that happens, pivot to Boros instead of fighting for Green cards against half the table is not a bad idea.

You may go aggro with Gilded Ghode, but as far as I can realize, playing around Push the Limit and removals have a lot of success.

End Step

Aetherdrift will be around for a long time. During that time, we will have the chance to play a draft of this set, and I hope this guide helps you get those seven wins in Arena or win your limited events on MTGO.

Besides how good Green is in this format, every archetype has its strengths, and learning to recognize them is key for knowing when and where you are in a position to play them.

Please let me know your questions and thoughts about this format. I will gladly share anything I know about it in the comment section below.

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