Riddle: when is a core set not a core set? When an entire color is nearly unplayable! It’s hard to recall if blue in AFR is *as bad* as green was in Battle for Zendikar, but it was very very bad. Fresh on the heels of 1.5 guilds missing in a “guild set”, it sort of sucked having back to back gaps in Limited.

Trophies

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17lands was going a little haywire as I switched around between phone and computer. I did end up with 8 trophy decks, which is pretty good. Of the ones I captured screenshots, once again red is overrepresented. Given how it was such a solid color in the format, I don’t feel too badly about that.

The last deck, the GB splashing Drizzt was one of the most fun decks to pilot. It was a bit of a mess, but had a great ‘stalling’ game plan along with some ramp courtesy of the Clever Conjurers.

Most Drafted

Commons

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A little shocked to see Steadfast Paladin on the list as it’s “too good” to usually be drafted that frequently. But once again, Boros is here to visit and smash faces.

Uncommon

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During coaching sessions, Ethan would always make fun of me for Bag of Holding, calling it “My pet card” Looks like the data supports him on that one! It is a sub 50% win-rate when main-decked card, which… is a shame. However Lurking Roper (55% WR) was super fun in the set and could be a great ‘pocket of synergy’ with any incidental lifegain or untappers. And Battle Cry Goblin was just a great mythic uncommon (58% WR), shocked I got so many.

personal lessons

A return to core set is usually a return to the basics of creature-based magic cards. My favorite lesson was the ‘sticking to one’s bombs‘ as well as doing my homework and rating cards so I know when I have a bomb to stick to. This is good homework I should carry with me.

Yeah, and playing Magic on mobile is pretty sweet. I got a new phone, one edging into “tablet” territory. But it fits Arena pretty nicely and I’ll admit to copping a number of games during little windows here and there.

overall record: 57%

A little hard to tell due to odd bookkeeping and switching between Bo3 and Bo1. But it felt solid.

Summary

I agree with most of the commetariat that this set was a bit of a dud. The Dungeon mechanic was too heavily tilted towards just the ONE dungeon (Phandelver) and blue was almost a nonentity at the draft table. However, this was the set I’ve drafted most in quite some time due to installing Arena on my phone and just making the leap to Best of 1. In turns out you can fit in a lot of Magic in 5-10 minute snacks throughout the day! Even the empty calories of AFR are still delicious! Hoping for more and better from Return to Return to Innistrad.

Ah Strixhaven, the Harry Potter mash-up that we never new we wanted, but we definitely needed. An interesting return to the ‘guild’ sets where there are only five supported color pairs. How was it?

Trophies

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Five trophies is a little above average for me in a given set. Funny how my trophies fell into two camps: either straightforward Silverquill BW aggro or pure Prismari power

Most Drafted

Commons

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Three way tie for most-drafted common. And–unsurprisingly–they are all aggressive cards! Expanded Anatomy won the award for “best card that would be mediocre in the 40, but INCREDIBLE in the lessonboard”. The learn/lesson mechanic really rewarded situationally powerful cards and Expanded Anatomy wasa great “slam the door when ahead on board” card. Heck, you can see it turning the Pledgemage into a 5/3 attacking flier.

The Enthusiastic Study shows a bit more of my biases. The card was not widely loved because the +1 toughness didn’t do great with all the x/1s in the format. I saw it as a “win a combat, drive some damage, and draw more fuel”. Again, I might just be a red mage at heart. Alarming!

Uncommon

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More mountains! ALARMING. Academic Dispute I loved since it enabled attacks & magecraft AND learn. Rootha–not an aggro card!–just made for a bunch of super fun things in the set. Everybody loved Rootha.

personal lessons

Similar to the “always identify two cards in a pack: fit & power”, Strixhaven really helped drive home the “speculate on a different lane” move. Since there are only five lanes (fewer if you count how badly Lorehold missed), it is vital to find the proper lane for your seat. Thus practicing being open-minded, taking that P1p5 Killian after four green/blue cards juuuust to make sure that you aren’t supposed to be Silverquill. Interesting that I’m much better at this than the ‘flat, cube/Kaldheim-esque create-your-lane’ style drafting

overall record

	# Drafted	Win Rate
Lorehold	3	56%
Prismari	9	67%
Quandrix	4	50%
Silverquill	7	76%
Witherbloom	3	50%

Overall, I clocked in at a 60% win rate over 28 drafts and 5 trophies. Not bad!

Summary

I really enjoyed Hogwarts: The Gathering but I tend to really love the guild sets with the clearer channels. The Lesson/Learn mechanic was a clear headliners for the set and a really good one. Balancing when to draft which half was fun and the flexibility for which lesson to pick during gameplay was also enjoyable. Honestly, it is kind of remarkable how enjoyable Strixhaven was given how badly Lorehold missed (the graveyard dynamic whiffed so it was really just budget Silverquill aggro) and Witherbloom was mediocre, needing uncommons to get there. Final Jed-Grade: B+ set.

The Brothers’ Grimm made a magic set! There is so much I loved about Throne of Eldraine. Hilarious cards (Belle of the Brawl was a personal favorite), great flavor, great art, and most important: really solid limited gameplay.

trophies

most drafted card

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It’s a tie between Rimrock knight and Silverflame Squire at 15! Let’s look at the other finalists: Youthful Knight at 12, Redcap Raiders at 12, Henge Walker at 13, Outflank at 11.

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I wonder if I have a type? For frame of reference, I drafted two Merfolk Secretkeepers all format.

personal lessons

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NEVER underestimate 1-drops. Cards that looked mediocre were either narrowly powerful or just outright good. One mana is just so powerful because it can fit well with a double-spell, drop early, &c.

Also I think this was the set where I realized that I have trouble drafting non-aggro decks. This will be something for me to focus on in Theros. Is it a card evaluation problem gap or something else?

land review

In a word, Eldraine basic lands were simply spectacular.

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I love the coiling vines of roses in particular, though they are all pretty great. There was also a neat cycle of basics that had the banners of each of the orders of knights tucked away in the background.

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As such, Eldraine richly earned a spot in the Land Box. The Swamps, as per usual, are most in dire need of upgrading so I think the will-o-the-wisp willow tree will be making an well-deserved spot.

Overall record: 41-29 (59%)

summary

I really loved Throne. I think it combined the best of really interesting drafting (rewarding flexibility, lots of nooks and color-pair-subtypes) and really solid gameplay. Adventure is an all-time limited mechanic in my book. I would put it on the top tier with Khans of Tarkir. Morph versus Adventure, tri-color wedges versus mono-ish, drafting lands versus #DelayTheDecision…Don’t make me choose between them.