A Newbie's Conundrum

[a-slice-of-cake]

Hey everyone. My friends are avid MTG players, and they twisted my arm to go with them to a local tournament on Friday. Now, I'm an experienced Yu-Gi-Oh player who can function at MTG, but I have little knowledge about advanced play and certainly no tournament experience. I thought I was going to be able to borrow a friend's Lorwyn blue deck for a Constructed tourney, though, so I thought I didn't have much to worry about.

Surprise! It's a Booster Draft! In YGO, we don't have anything remotely similar to this. I've done a little research into the Shards block (as much as a college student with exams can), and I read the Pojo Newbie's Guide all the way through, but I feel totally unprepared.

Should I have an idea of what shard I want to run before I get there? Should I decide on pack 1? Is there value in hatedrafting? What types of removal spells (besides Agony Warp, should I go Grixis or Esper) should I be aware of/strive for? How effective is splashing a 4th color?

Sorry, I know it's a lot to ask, but I don't anything to compare it to. My friends tried to give me advice, but most of it was vague and unhelpful. Please help with whatever you can.

Mods, if this is in the wrong forum, please move it to the correct one. I apologize if this is the case.

Thanks!

~ASOC

[Mage Master]

Is it Shards/Shards/Conflux draft? If so draft Esper if it's open, it's really good in Limited. If Esper isn't open you can't really go wrong with drafting the beefy creatures and a bunch of removal.

Sorry this isn't that detailed but I can try to help out if you have any questions related to my post.

[a-slice-of-cake]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's Alara block. My friends told me so, anyway.

See, I was thinking Esper, but I'm guessing a lot of people will be drafting Esper and grab all the best artifacts.

But you do think I should have an idea of what shard to run before I even open the first booster?

[Mage Master]

There's no problem going into a draft with some idea of what you'd like to draft but be prepared to change your mind if the cards aren't coming.

[a-slice-of-cake]

At what point should I start considering a different color(s)?

[Mage Master]

It really depends on the cards that you are being passed, you just have to be aware of what colours and Shards are getting picked up (you're either seeing very little of them or the card quality is low) then make your decision from there.

[a-slice-of-cake]

Well, it went fairly well. I went 1-2 (not bad for newb), and my two losses were both extremely close. I drafted Grixis because a lot of Esper got passed my way without much white, and when I saw an Agony Warp and (holo!) Countersquall I knew what to do. It didn't help that I got mana pwned both games in match 2 -- and still got him down under 5 each game.

I'm actually excited to go again. Thanks for the advice!