So, I wanted to make a tier list for the “March of the Machine” set, you know, for drafting. It’s a bit of a mess, but I got it done. I split the cards into five groups: S, A, B, C, and D. You know, the usual stuff. S is for the best, D is for the, well, not so good.
Sorting the Cards
First off, I started by looking at all the cards in the set. There are a bunch of them, so it took a while. I opened a spreadsheet and just dumped all the card names in there. I read through each card, trying to figure out how good it would be in a draft. I mean, some cards are just obvious, right?
Elesh Norn is Queen
Like, Elesh Norn, she’s gotta be an S-tier, right? 4-mana cost, crazy abilities… She’s a total bomb. I slapped her right into the S-tier section of my spreadsheet, no questions asked. The Argent Etchings side of her card is just as good. I mean, how could you not first pick this thing?
Went through all the rares and mythics first. Tried to be objective, but, man, it’s hard. I thought about how they’d play in different situations, how they combo with other cards, all that jazz. I also browsed through some internet articles that rank cards for the first-pick, first-pack decision in the draft.
Commons and Uncommons
Then I moved onto the uncommons and commons. These are the bread and butter of your draft deck, so you gotta get them right. I looked at some articles about the top commons and uncommons, just to get a feel for what other people were thinking. I didn’t always agree, but it was a good starting point. Some of them were easy to rate, others, not so much.
The List Takes Shape
After a few hours of this, I had a pretty good list going. I went back and adjusted some of the ratings, moved cards around. I even removed some cards that were a pain to rank, they were bad anyway. It’s not perfect, but I think it’s pretty solid. I ended up with a decent number of cards in each tier. Not too many in S, not too few in D. It felt balanced, you know?
Sharing is Caring
Finally, I tidied up the spreadsheet, made it look all nice and presentable. Then I shared it on my blog. Hopefully, it helps some people out with their drafts. It’s always fun to see what other people think, too. Maybe I’ll get some feedback and make some changes. Who knows?
- Started by listing all cards.
- Read each card, thinking about draft usefulness.
- Put Elesh Norn in S-tier.
- Rated rares and mythics.
- Checked some articles for common/uncommon rankings.
- Adjusted ratings, moved cards around.
- Shared the list on my blog.
It was a lot of work, but it was fun. I love doing this kind of stuff. Now, when people see my list, they will think that I am a pro gamer!
