Drafting Sideways    • Boards   • Print Author Image  The letter
E!arlier this week, Mark Rosewater talked about the creation of
Gates and how they fit into the hierarchy of dual lands. Gates
in Return to Ravnica are much more than just dual lands, though;
they are another example in the long line of sideways draft
strategies that we add to sets to increase their depth for
Limited game play. These draft strategies come in many shapes
and sizes. It can be a large theme like Allies in Zendikar or a
single card like Lightning Rift or Astral Slide in Onslaught
block. The important part of sideways draft strategies is to add
more things for players to do in the Limited environment and to
create different kinds of synergies. Creating deep card
synergies is important because it means that the power of your
draft deck and the cards in the pack is dynamic. The cards you
have taken before influence the cards you will take in the pack
you are currently looking at, in the next pack, and so on and so
forth. If card A is a