Tips for the prerelease
Limited forum
Posted on Feb. 7, 2025, 4:26 p.m. by Argy
I went to the first Aetherdrift prerelease last night, and I have some thoughts.
Everyone was using the mechanic Start Your Engines! but it took so much effort to achieve, when you could have been hitting with a lot more for game.
It’s a fun mechanic, so do it if you want to.
However, it’s not a mechanic that is going to necessarily win you the game.
Be aware that Mill is a thing in this set.
That caught me by surprise.
There are some very good Draw cards in and , and also some cards that can tap down Creatures, so Control is a real option.
The only player who wasn’t using any was a Dimir Control Opponent.
cards seem to be the strongest.
Every prerelease kit comes with a Speed Track. There’s one behind your promo card.
I had one idiot sit opposite me who just wanted to use an oversized die for his Speed counter.
The Speed Track is the easiest way to see what is going on.
You must Crew your Vehicles prior to Combat, if you are going to attack with them.
You cannot move to Combat, then Crew your Vehicles, then declare them as attackers.
A Creature with Summoning Sickness can be used to Crew a Vehicle.
You can tap more Creatures than you need, to Crew a Vehicle. This can be useful if you have something that deals damage every time you tap a Creature.
(I’m not 100% sure if this set has any of those type of cards.)
The Green cards looked very good to me, but that was the only colour none of my Opponents were playing.
My husband did play Green, but he was basically forced to, because that was the only colour he had good cards in.
He didn’t do very well.
I went with Boros.
To refine what I said, the latest you can Crew a Vehicle is right after Combat starts.
When it moves to declare attackers, if your Vehicle isn’t Crewed, you can’t declare it as an attacker.
Since many players move from their first Main Phase, to declaring attackers, I simplified things a bit.
Yes,the Speed Demon is a unique Speed card in that it isn’t reliant on Max Speed. You were lucky to crack it, so good on you!
February 8, 2025 11:31 a.m.
I’m heading to a draft in a couple of days. Azorius, dimir, and Rakdos all seem like good options. Does anybody have experience with these archetypes?
February 8, 2025 12:25 p.m.
Colours are not Archetypes.
Archetypes are things like Control, Aggro, Midrange, and Combo.
I have only played Boros () in testing, and Limited.
February 9, 2025 7:04 a.m.
I did play against a Dimir Control deck at prerelease.
It had loads of Draw, which meant that it got the cards to hand that it needed.
The Draw was also useful for a Mill mechanic which Milled two cards each time it Drew.
From looking at the set a lot, and have the best Draw.
February 9, 2025 7:41 a.m. Edited.
I found an article that seems to have a lot of useful information for Draft.
https://ultimateguard.com/en/blog/aetherdrift-limited-top-cards-and-archetypes-magic-the-gathering-frank-karsten?srsltid=AfmBOopzehna85EifE6_oc8EOrYt3FW-97AdwExTPmwV-6sonIxvFaCO
February 9, 2025 1:46 p.m.
I found an article that seems to have a lot of useful information for Draft.
Gidgetimer says... #2
Overall, great tips. I do disagree about the Start Your Engines mechanic though. If you get the right cards it can absolutely win you the game. It isn't enough to turn a bad card good, but it can turn a good card great. (Disclaimer: I did pull The Speed Demon and it might warp my perception.)
Also, the statements "You must Crew your Vehicles prior to Combat, if you are going to attack with them." and "You cannot move to Combat, then Crew your Vehicles, then declare them as attackers." are wrong. Crewing is instant speed and can be done on the beginning of combat step. There is only one beginning of combat trigger in the set and it already auto Crews a vehicle, so it is of little use in this set. But in a format where you can play Citadel Siege alongside vehicles, the Siege trigger might change what you can Crew and how.
February 8, 2025 7:50 a.m.