By now you’ve seen most of your friends reach the fabled Mythic Rank on MTG Arena. It’s a huge effort to achieve it in Constructed format, and if you haven’t managed to, we have a great guide on getting there. Truth be told, hitting Mythic Rank on Limited format (Draft or Sealed) is the bigger challenge.
Reaching Mythic rank on Limited formats is tougher because you are dealing with the unpredictability of deck building, in addition to all the other complexities of the game. Luck plays an even factor in Limited format than Constructed simply because you really don’t know what cards are going to show up in your Draft.
What strategies will help you reach Mythic Rank in Limited formats? Learn from the best so that you can play well yourself, that will minimise your mistakes and help you to rank up more easily.
(editor’s note: we consulted Limited Mythic-ranked player Federico Mercurio for his expertise. His views and our own research formed the foundations for this article.)
Learn How to Pick the Best Draft Cards
While it may sound obvious, it’s worth stating the first step to Mythic Rank in Limited is to learn how to draft good cards. It’s not merely a case of picking cards of the same colour as your first Rare, or cards with huge payoffs but exorbitant casting costs.
There are 5 main card types that good drafters always look out for. Beyond that, look out for synergies within the cards. A new set always has mechanics such as Mutate or Escape that can create extra value for your deck, provided you are able to put the pieces together. Having a high-synergy deck exponentially increases your chances of winning.
Some basic tenets of drafting also apply. One is to have 17 Lands in a deck of 40 – this is officially recommended by Wizards of the Coast and should allow you to build your Mana base smoothly. The second tenet is to have a balanced deck, with a mix of Creatures and non-Creatures, cheap costing cards as well as expensive ones.
Draft Games and Decks Against Players, not Bots
Before the implementation of Premier Draft in early 2020 that allowed players to get the full drafting experience in a 8-player pod, MTG Arena was limited to playing against Bots (known as Quick Draft). The A.I of Bots weren’t that advanced, and there was a good chance decent Rares were passed over to you. This was unlike the real-world Draft experience.
While getting more Rares in Quick Draft is nice and would could yield a more powerful deck, there was an high chance that your future opponents would have equally busted ones. Having such variance will affect your win percentage, and in the long run hamper your road to Mythic rank.
Drafting against real players, on the other hand, means every person’s deck is constrained by the draft choices of the players. Some always pick the Rare card, while others devise a strategy to prevent opponents from getting a specific card. The end result is draft decks become more balanced, reducing power variance.
The downside of Premiere Draft against players is that you need to have well-developed knowledge and expertise at picking cards. This is because you have limited time to pick a card. The timer stresses players to pick a card, and when doubt creeps in, one can easily pick the ‘wrong’ card. ‘Wrong’ here means the less optimal card, but not necessarily bad.
Practice Using Friend’s Accounts, Then Rank Your Own
In one of our interviews with a Singaporean competitive player, “time and practice” was crucial to her in order to reach a high level of play. This is particularly relevant in Draft/Sealed as you have to familiarise yourself with the set, to a point where you can recite any card’s name, abilities and casting costs. Yes, even for Common cards.
To get that practice, Federico recommends playing 3-4 full Draft events a day. You could offer friends to play on their account, as your high win percentage will earn them Gem rewards, while you get much needed practice. Having a good win percentage isn’t enough to hit Mythic rank – you still need volume and that can only be done by playing more Drafts.
Watch Mistakes from Other Mythic Rank Pros/Players
If you’d rather not go through the painful process of losing game after game just to get good, the next best alternative is to watch professional players. When every new set is released, many pros and content creators dive in quickly, as the pizza is right out of the oven and many in the player community will be eager to spectate.
Analayse the picks that top players make, how they assemble their deck, and their gameplay decisions. All players make mistakes, and pros are no exception, though at a much lower frequency. But when it does happen, make a little mental note and it could save you when you encounter a similar situation. The more you watch, you will subconsciously get better. It’s how all players get from zero, one, or two wins to a seven-win player.
Here are some good Limited players that we recommend:
Louis Scott Vargas from ChannelFireball. Some of his Draft guides are behind CFB’s paywall, but there should be plenty of free Draft matches available for viewing.
LegenVD on YouTube. His calm demeanour when picking or playing cards is a joy to watch for Draft, especially when he quickly dispatches an opponent or correctly predicts what the opponent is going to play.
Ben Stark on Twitch. He does lots of Drafts, and a very intelligent player.
Keep Your Cool and Space Out Your Games
We are all competitive. We all want to win. All the time. But even Superman loses sometimes and the same will happen in your Limited format matchups. It can get particularly frustrating when the opponent pulls a rabbit out of their hat and turns the tide just as you got him/her to the last few life points.
These “bombs” are one of the cornerstones of drafting, which is why you should have your own too. But if the enemy’s “bomb” defeats you, it’s important to keep your cool and not rush back into the next game.
Anger and frustration can cause one to make irrational mistakes. We’re not thinking straight and make rash decisions too quickly. In Draft and Sealed formats, every play and choice has a significant impact of the game. To make it to Mythic rank, one needs to cut down on such bad decisions.
Take a short 5-minute break after each loss, or play a non-ranked game in the Constructed format to calm your mind. Once ready, head back into the grind for more wins and Gems in the Draft event.
Invest 100% of Draft Rewards Back Into More Drafts
Unlike playing in ranked Constructed formats, Limited formats such as Draft come with an entry fee – either 5000 Gold or 750 Gems (premium currency) for Quick Draft. That’s the bad news, but the good news is aplenty. Firstly, you have to option of using Gold, which means the Gold you accumulate from daily rewards and quests will help you enter Quick Draft events.
The even better news is that we also recently came up with a good guide of growing your card and Gold stash, which will then be very useful for entering Draft events.
In order to play enough Draft events to reach Mythic rank, the free Gold will not be enough, and we do not advocate spending your hard-earned cash on Gems, especially in this economy. Reinvest whatever rewards you earn from the event back into another Draft or Sealed event. This is the hardest thing to do since you’ll need a decent win percentage so that you won’t run out of resources.
To play 1 Quick Draft a day, you’ll need 35000 Gold per week. Assuming you finish daily quest and win requirements, you can earn at least 7350 Gold in 7 days. There’s a shortfall of 27650 Gold (or 3950 per day).
Thus your win-rate would have to be at least 5 and above in a single Quick Draft, where you’ll earn 650 Gems (equivalent to 3250 Gold). At 6 wins, you’d earn 850 Gems which is already more than enough to reenter another Quick Draft with 100 to spare.
To play 1 Premier Draft a day, the cost of entry is higher (10000 Gold or 1500 Gems), but the a lower rate of 4-wins is enough to earn 1400 Gems (equivalent to 7000 Gold). Combined with your daily Gold haul, this will allow you to continue entering Premier Drafts.
End Step
There isn’t an exact science to attaining Mythic rank – if there was then the allure would be gone. MTG is unpredictable, and especially so in Limited formats. But like everything else, practice will make you better, and eventually you will get to Mythic rank. We hope to see you there! Please share with us your experience and any tips that you can impart to others!
