Okay, so I’ve been messing around with Magic: The Gathering again lately, specifically Commander. And, like, red is not known for its ability to draw cards. Red’s all about smashing face and burning things, right? But sometimes, you just run out of gas. Your hand is empty, and you’re top-decking, hoping for a land…it’s the worst. So I went on a mission to find some decent red card draw options.
I started by hitting up my local game store, digging through their boxes of commons and uncommons. The guy at the counter, Mark, he’s a real MTG guru, gave me a few pitying looks, but also pointed me in the general direction of “impulsive draw.”
What is impulsive draw?
It is a kind of card to “exile cards from the top of library, get to play them this turn”,Sounds cool, right? But i have to use all of the card I draw this turn or they’re GONE.
So, armed with this new term, I went back to digging. I found a few things, nothing amazing, but playable. Cards like Thrill of Possibility, where you discard a card and then draw two. Not terrible, helps you filter your hand. Then there’s stuff like Light Up the Stage, which is awesome if you can deal damage to an opponent that turn – cheap cards!
But I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted more. I wanted to be the red player who didn’t run out of cards. So I went online, did some searching on forums and, you know, those MTG deck-building sites. I found a bunch of threads talking about the same problem, and people were throwing out all kinds of suggestions.
That’s where I started finding some of the really interesting stuff. Things like Wheel of Fortune (expensive, but POWERFUL – everyone discards their hand and draws seven!). And then there are these “Rummage” effects, like Faithless Looting (which is sadly banned in some formats, but still great if you can play it). You discard and then draw, letting you dig for what you need.
I also discovered these things called “impulsive draw” cards. These are cards that let you exile the top card (or cards) of your library, and you can play them this turn. If you don’t, they’re gone forever. It’s risky, but it can give you a huge burst of cards. Things like Commune with Lava or Ignite the Future.
So, after all this digging and experimenting, here’s what I’ve learned about red card draw:
- It’s not great, but it’s better than you think.
- You have to be willing to take some risks. Impulsive draw is your friend.
- Discarding cards isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes it helps you find what you really need.
- WHEEL EFFECTS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND.
I’m still tweaking my deck, trying to find the perfect balance. But I’m definitely drawing more cards than I used to, and that’s a win in my book. Now I just need to work on, you know, actually winning the game…
