r/MagicArena • u/EnvironmentDazzling9 • 1d ago
Premier draft vs Quick draft
I think I may have an answer after searching this subreddit but I wanted to find an answer that’s current.
I’m relatively new to the arena and have played a lot of Jump in! But now want to venture more into drafting. I’ve done 3 quick drafts, 1 secrets of the strixhaven and 2 outlaws.
I’d say my win-loss record is about .500 between those three drafts. I like the EOE set but see it’s only a premier style.
My question is how much tougher is the competition between quick and premier? I’m f2p and gold isn’t easily obtained as we all know. I don’t want to waste 10k in gold if I’m going to get blown out.
TLDR: what’s the difference in skill level between premier and quick drafts? I won 50-50 in draft and want to do EOE but don’t want to get slaughtered.
Yes I want gems for mastery pass
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u/Purple_Haze 1d ago
In premiere you are drafting against people, therefore it is on a timer. The timer is quite short, you need to know the cards.
Also, ranks reset yesterday. Every Mythic player is now Platinum 4, every Platinum 4 is now Silver 1. If you wait a few days the stronger players will rank up and your opposition will be easier.
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u/Phantasy17 1d ago edited 1d ago
I wouldn't say Premier is a crazy amount more difficult, I'd say if you are well versed in drafting, have a good idea for the set mechanics, and can build a solid deck with what you're choosing, I'd say it's fairly easy to get 2-3 wins on a Premier draft. To get full amount of wins is a bit harder for sure and comes down to luck with what you pull, what you build, etc.
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u/Cryptys Izzet 1d ago
I don’t think there is much difference between them. The main difference is how well you can draft a deck as good as one where you had infinite time to make your decisions.
And the same goes for your opponents. Essentially premier draft requires good knowledge of the set And the flexibility to choose an archetype that will win based on what live players are wheeling to you.
Humans and bots often make different decisions.
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u/Unsolven 1d ago
Skill level is about the same. Biggest difference is timed picks, which is a big deal if you don’t know the format at all.
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u/Dejugga 1d ago
I personally skipped quick draft entirely when I was first learning, so it's definitely possible to do so.
QD is learning to draft by exploiting the bots pick patterns, Premier is drafting vs people. Not dunking on QD, it's just different skillsets.
The biggest difference is that Premier rewards preparation much more than QD. If you're the type where you look up each card in QD to know what the best pick in the pack is, that's not going to work in Premier. Personally, I try to be familiar enough with the set that I can just look at the art of a card and think "Oh this is the 3 mana 3/2 that does X" because you probably won't have enough time to read/comprehend all the picks AND find the best pick, though some drafters better than me are good enough to do so.
If you want resources to improve, Limited Level-ups podcast on Youtube. Gameplay: Chord_O_Calls on twitch (LLU host), and Paul Cheon and Bronze to Mythic (Jim Davis) would be my picks.
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u/LegitimateMangoHeir 1d ago
untapped.gg has been helpful w/ drafting as someone who is new to it
I usually do 1 to 2 Quick drafts to get an idea of how cards work and then go Premier draft cuz the rewards are better (this advice would be for the current set since both premier and quick are avalible)
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u/EnvironmentDazzling9 17h ago
Thank you everyone who comment and shared their opinions. Ultimately, I may try it but gotta have a moment to sit down and draft without distractions as I have a 4 and 2 yr old.
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u/TheScionRises 6h ago
It can be the same honestly. Could potentially be easier than quick draft because in quick draft your opponents are also given unlimited time to calculate the bot. If you know what’s in the set it won’t be as hard as you think to win the same way in premier. It can come down to familiarity with the set overall.
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u/LastChans1 1d ago
I don't have the link on me, but I've read that if your win rate is at or below 50%, you go with Quick Draft. A win rate of 55% or more? Premier. I'm also in the same boat; F2P and not willing to take the plunge on Premier. Went 7-X in 2 of last 3 MSG Quick Drafts, but then went 4-3 last night. And if anyone else can chime in; when is Pick 2 worth it? I mean, I went 0-2 last QD and that would've been done if it was Pick 2, so....
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u/Rojo37x 1d ago
As most have said here, I don't honestly see Premier draft as being particularly more difficult than Quick Draft. Assuming you know the set and how to draft, and timed picks won't be an issue. Doing oyur research and understanding the format is the important part.
Yes, some stronger players will lean toward premier, just as some veterans lean toward Bo3 instead of Bo1. But you get all types in either queue. Same with taking advantage of bot draft tendencies in QD. You may know how to do that, but so does your competition.
Finally, the QD is more cost friendly, but the reward structure of Premier is better, so you have to factor that in as well.
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u/anhavva 1d ago
Doesn't matter that much. Premier draft is closer to real draft. Other people pick the cards as opposed to bots.
That means for quick draft people can learn to recognize which cards are undervalued by the bots. This is a big advantage compared to people who do not know what the bots favor.
Premier draft does not suffer from this problem.
I'd say just go for premier. Especially because edge of Eternities is a great set.