Rochester

How to Play

Deal a single pack face-up in the center of all drafters. After a few seconds to review the pack, each player picks a card in a clockwise fashion. The last drafter is “The Wheel” — to make the second pick, The Wheel picks first and the draft proceeds anticlockwise from them.

Open 24 packs in this fashion, with the first pick rotating around the table by 1 each time.

Variations

Rochester Draft works best with 8 players, but it can accommodate any number without difficulty. Combining the “burned” picks of Burn Draft can also help with small numbers of players.

Team Draft lends an additional tactical dimension to a Rochester draft.

Advantages of Rochester Draft

The perfect information and leisurely pace of Rochester makes it a fantastic tool for teaching newer Magic players how to draft.

The dynamics of cutting colors and reading draft signals are also complex in this format, which can provide a fun challenge to skilled players.

Limitations

Rochester can take 4-8 times as long as Booster Draft, so it can be a real commitment, especially if drafters aren’t familiar with the card pool.

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Kabuto Moth — Tomas Giorello