PRE-DRAFT PRIMER

Draft the Invasion block. 2 packs of cards featuring Invasion and Planeshift cards, followed by 1 pack of Apocalypse Cards.

Color Strategy and Pack Setup
The Invasion block was a block focused on multi-color support, with Shards and Wedges being heavily encouraged. The big catch is how the color pairs get introduced. The first two packs will have only Shard and allied color support, and the final pack will only have support for Wedge and enemy color support. This leads you to either going allied color or Shard in the first pack, then taking up a wedge or finding the enemy support for your shard in the last pack. Flexibility is key to getting value from this structure.

This is still older magic so most color pairs lack any major identity and the set has global mechanics that every color interacts with. This is instead of unique play styles for each important color pair. I'll go over the global mechanics later, but the most important thing to understand is that multi-color here just means something very basic compared to more modern sets.

Essentially each color does what you normally associate with it, but with the added edge that multicolor cards will combine these effects to make a strong combo at a more reasonable price tag. There are a few caveats to this normal understanding of color. Blue and Red hold the tools for basic land manipulation. This means there are three colors in the set capable of mana fixing. Additionally, Blue holds the most powerful tools to change creature colors, with White and Green having minor access.

Each Shard and Wedge will have a 'sign-post' wizard at common that grants you access to effects that it's ally colors or enemy colors could do. These cards will clearly showcase the block's mentality on color combinations. Keep an eye on the commons in general as they are of similar quality to the uncommons. Five color is also viable thanks to all the fixing present in the set.

Each pack consists of 1 rare, 3 uncommons, 10 commons, and 1 multi-color support land. These lands will likely be key to making your three color deck work.

What is Vanilla?
As this is an older format card quality is much weaker than what we are used to. A 2/2 for 3 is considered normal, with 2/1's and 1/2's usually costing 2 mana. This format is also very weak in terms of general power and toughness, with the majority (~65%) having 1 or 2 power, and the majority (~65%) having 1 or 2 toughness.

Set Mechanics
Color Checking: This block features many cards that check the color of their targets or watch for spells of a certain color to be played. This takes the form of things like protection, only allowing the targeting of certain colors, or gaining bonuses when blocking certain colored creatures.

Gating: Many Allied multi-color cards are above curve but will require you to return a card of their color to your hand when it ETBs. These cards are usually incredibly strong for their cost, but play them with care.

Domain: This set features cards that check the number of basic land types you control. Most of these cards are strong when in 3 color decks, but a suite of cards exist to change the basic land type of lands. Use these cards to get a big value play out of Domain.

Kicker: A good mechanic that is used here across all colors to often support multi-color play. Pay extra mana and get a boosted effect or in most cases get a bonus effect. Many of the best cards in the set will have kicker costs in other colors.

Activated Abilities: This block features a ton of activated abilities especially when it comes to the Shard/Wedge wizards. All land type changers and color changers will be on board. Knowing what your opponent's board is and what it can do is incredibly important.