Ok, so I've done drafting at the local card shop for years. And I've never ever gotten owned, scoring 0-3 multiple drafts in a row.
And yet here in arena, that's exactly what happens for me. Repeatedly.
Arena routinely offers me drafts without seeing many playable rares. Mostly, the rares I see are lands.
The opponents I'm coming up against regularly have decks full of top-picks playables, rares and mythics. Tonight I wrote it down mainly because the first deck I came up against was stupidly powerful, dropping bomb after bomb. FWIW, I was running Black/White lifelink with 2 Mortify, an Ethereal Absolution and a Basilica Bell-Haunt
So I thought I'd come here to ask if this is normal for Arena.
I'm just finding that drafting is mostly like this on Arena for me, does anyone else routinely get offered absolute rubbish and get owned by something resembling a constructed deck?
It's not fun, it's totally ruining Arena for me if I can't draft without getting smashed.
Ok, so I've done drafting at the local card shop for years. And I've never ever gotten owned, scoring 0-3 multiple drafts in a row.
And yet here in arena, that's exactly what happens for me. Repeatedly.
Arena routinely offers me drafts without seeing many playable rares. Mostly, the rares I see are lands.
The opponents I'm coming up against regularly have decks full of top-picks playables, rares and mythics. Tonight I wrote it down mainly because the first deck I came up against was stupidly powerful, dropping bomb after bomb. FWIW, I was running Black/White lifelink with 2 Mortify, an Ethereal Absolution and a Basilica Bell-Haunt
So I thought I'd come here to ask if this is normal for Arena.
I'm just finding that drafting is mostly like this on Arena for me, does anyone else routinely get offered absolute rubbish and get owned by something resembling a constructed deck?
It's not fun, it's totally ruining Arena for me if I can't draft without getting smashed.
Maybe blow off steam with your pals? This just seems like your complaining. Perhaps you should take a break? And then start drafting a different format after your break.
Of course it does, cos I am complaining. I was curious if anyone else is having the same experience as me. Variance is expected, winning and losing is part of anything competitive, but coming up against god-like decks that would never happen when drafting with humans is something else.
Every now and again you get stupid lucky, where all the bots seem to leave an entire archetype wide open and you're getting stuff a person would windmill slam 1st pick as late as pick 5 or 6. Day9 has one such draft vid on youtube (Ironically he was trying to teach how he drafts and, in his own words, got handed "one of the most disgustingly good pools [I've] ever seen.")
I wouldn't characterize your experience as normal whatsoever. But I've absolutely seen it happen, and before the tinfoil hats come out from under the floorboards I expect that if there had been accusations of hacking the draftbots such an exploit would have been talked about by now.
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Top 16 - 2012 Indiana State Championships Currently Playing: GBStandard - Golgari Safari MidrangeBG RBWModern - Mardu PyromancerWBR RLegacy - Good Old Fashioned BurnR
I think it really depends on the format and what you are trying to force. Personally in Allegiance, I need to focus more on drafting a 2-colour consistent decks than trying to force Gates. It does suck when someone crushes you because they got presented multiple Colossi, Rams, and Angels, and used 13 draft slots for lands. When I have tried to force it, it has gone spectacularly bad.
I have noticed in my experiences that certain lack-luster rares seem to be more present and continually in my pools. Currently in M19 drafts, of the 9 first pick rares/mythics presented over 3 runs, 4 have been "One with the Machine", with a couple more being presented in later picks.
I think it really depends on the format and what you are trying to force. Personally in Allegiance, I need to focus more on drafting a 2-colour consistent decks than trying to force Gates. It does suck when someone crushes you because they got presented multiple Colossi, Rams, and Angels, and used 13 draft slots for lands. When I have tried to force it, it has gone spectacularly bad.
Yeah I've shot myself down a couple times, lesson learned. I try not to force anything niche.
I wouldn't characterize your experience as normal whatsoever. But I've absolutely seen it happen, and before the tinfoil hats come out from under the floorboards I expect that if there had been accusations of hacking the draftbots such an exploit would have been talked about by now.
Ok, fair enough. I just hope I get a turn drafting a crazy stupid powerful deck, before they patch it up ;P
Interesting. I am mainly drafting to accumulate rare lands to avoid having to spend wildcards on them. I have drafted the hell out of Ravnica Allegiance and I rarely see busted opponent decks and never pools like those.
I hope you get a busted pool soon.
I envy you those rare lands, though.
I think part of the problem is you don't play against the same people in your specific draft. When you draft at a shop you get a sense of what is going around the table, and people usually will be able to break up obvious synergies. But in Arena you just play people who had a completely different draft. I mean I guess they can't do it any other way, but it does lead to some obscene match-ups. I've been on both ends. I've had horrific drafts where there is like not even any good commons passing around and the rares are all those super situational ones like Dragon's Hoard or some crap. And then I'll match against people with near perfect constructed tier one decks. Worst I saw was a mono-white lifegain deck. I have no idea how he even drafted enough whites to make a mono colored deck but there it was - with at least three Pridemates. But then in my last draft I got a Chromium in the first round and was able to build a really good u/b/w deck that went 7-1. So it changes. The biggest problem is drafting is so costly that when you have a terrible draft you can't just jump back in after you lose, you have to sit and brood with it because you now need to scrounge up another week's worth of gold to play again.
The biggest problem is drafting is so costly that when you have a terrible draft you can't just jump back in after you lose....
Yeah this is a fair way to look at it.
I just don't think I'll be drafting much until the new set is out. Allegiance isn't a bad set or anything, I just already have most of what cards I wanna play with. Drafting should be a lot of fun, but I'm finding on Arena it's mostly getting smashed by decks with a dozen (playable) rares.
Well it really depends what your ranking is, when i reached diamond status i've noticed that i was playing against busted decks like you've described in oppening post way more often than before. That can be explained by the fact that people grinding to the mythic status won't even bother to play an average draft, will resign and draft another deck. The fact that bot drafting dramatically changes how you should consider your picks and pass that off color bomb from pack 3 because you will never play against, play MD cards that you won't play in BO3 like Sprouting Renewal.
The current ravnica format shows it well : avoid golgari at all costs, boros gives free wins as long as you win the toss, always have a gameplan against all-in boros, don't try izzet control too much because you will be hard cut by the 4 boros bots that will first pick direct current over boros legionnaire, recognize that disinformation campaign and though erasure beeing on the same uncommon sheet is a trap which is why the format has become a 2 decks format boros vs dimir.
But i agree that bot drafting and playing against random opponent is nowhere near close to tabletop draft and if their goal is to emulate real life magic then bot drafting is not the way to go
I just went in a Guilds draft, and what a load of **** that was. I went Boros. So did 3 other players I vsd. o.0 Saw 10 Boros Challengers all up (seriously?), 8 of that 1/1 lifelink bird and as many Fresh-Faced Recruits. Every game was like this:
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And yet here in arena, that's exactly what happens for me. Repeatedly.
Arena routinely offers me drafts without seeing many playable rares. Mostly, the rares I see are lands.
The opponents I'm coming up against regularly have decks full of top-picks playables, rares and mythics. Tonight I wrote it down mainly because the first deck I came up against was stupidly powerful, dropping bomb after bomb. FWIW, I was running Black/White lifelink with 2 Mortify, an Ethereal Absolution and a Basilica Bell-Haunt
My first game I played against a Simic deck running Biogenic Ooze, Prime Speaker Vannifar & 2 Growth-Chamber Guardian's. Then he played a Hydroid Krasis. Second deck was an Orzhov-theme where they played a total of 3 Kaya's Wrath and kept beating me with Gutterbones. The last deck I faced showed me 2 Rythym of the Wild, a Gruul Spellbreaker, a Skarrgan Hellkite and finally a Ravager Wurm before he killed me off.
Seriously? Are people hacking this game? I've never had it this bad before, there's usually at least one deck I have good chance against.
So I thought I'd come here to ask if this is normal for Arena.
I'm just finding that drafting is mostly like this on Arena for me, does anyone else routinely get offered absolute rubbish and get owned by something resembling a constructed deck?
It's not fun, it's totally ruining Arena for me if I can't draft without getting smashed.
Maybe blow off steam with your pals? This just seems like your complaining. Perhaps you should take a break? And then start drafting a different format after your break.
Every now and again you get stupid lucky, where all the bots seem to leave an entire archetype wide open and you're getting stuff a person would windmill slam 1st pick as late as pick 5 or 6. Day9 has one such draft vid on youtube (Ironically he was trying to teach how he drafts and, in his own words, got handed "one of the most disgustingly good pools [I've] ever seen.")
I wouldn't characterize your experience as normal whatsoever. But I've absolutely seen it happen, and before the tinfoil hats come out from under the floorboards I expect that if there had been accusations of hacking the draftbots such an exploit would have been talked about by now.
Currently Playing:
GBStandard - Golgari Safari MidrangeBG
RBWModern - Mardu PyromancerWBR
RLegacy - Good Old Fashioned BurnR
Clan Contest 3 Mafia - Mafia Co-MVP
I have noticed in my experiences that certain lack-luster rares seem to be more present and continually in my pools. Currently in M19 drafts, of the 9 first pick rares/mythics presented over 3 runs, 4 have been "One with the Machine", with a couple more being presented in later picks.
Yeah I've shot myself down a couple times, lesson learned. I try not to force anything niche.
Ok, fair enough. I just hope I get a turn drafting a crazy stupid powerful deck, before they patch it up ;P
I hope you get a busted pool soon.
I envy you those rare lands, though.
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
Ha! Yeah you're not wrong, I tend to snap them up too.
I definitely tend to try and grab cards I want for my pet constructed decks too.
Yeah this is a fair way to look at it.
I just don't think I'll be drafting much until the new set is out. Allegiance isn't a bad set or anything, I just already have most of what cards I wanna play with. Drafting should be a lot of fun, but I'm finding on Arena it's mostly getting smashed by decks with a dozen (playable) rares.
Last draft I went in, I got 3, yes THREE Simic Ascendency, and no real Simic common/uncommons..
The current ravnica format shows it well : avoid golgari at all costs, boros gives free wins as long as you win the toss, always have a gameplan against all-in boros, don't try izzet control too much because you will be hard cut by the 4 boros bots that will first pick direct current over boros legionnaire, recognize that disinformation campaign and though erasure beeing on the same uncommon sheet is a trap which is why the format has become a 2 decks format boros vs dimir.
But i agree that bot drafting and playing against random opponent is nowhere near close to tabletop draft and if their goal is to emulate real life magic then bot drafting is not the way to go
I just went in a Guilds draft, and what a load of **** that was. I went Boros. So did 3 other players I vsd. o.0 Saw 10 Boros Challengers all up (seriously?), 8 of that 1/1 lifelink bird and as many Fresh-Faced Recruits. Every game was like this: