What sets are used in Sealed Deck in Magic the Gathering? Any tips for Booster Draft?

Question

What sets/series are usually used in Magic the Gathering Sealed Deck? Is it all the same including the tournament pack or are the boosters different? And what are they?

Also, do you have any tips for Booster Draft?

Answer 1

It will usually be some of the most recent sets, exactly what will vary from tourney to tourney.

A couple of draft tips.

1) Draft Removal. Any card that can destroy or negate a creature is golden in draft. If it turns the creature into a liability (see Pillory of the Sleepless) it's even better. The ability to hurt your opponent directly (see most direct damage cards) is also quite handy.

2) Draft Creatures. It's rather unlikely that you'll find another way to kill your opponents reliably in draft. Creatures that have useful effects such as card drawing or removal of some type are great. Typically a good draft deck contains at least 12-14 creatures in a 40 card deck, often more.

3) Draft Evasion creatures. Draft games often end up with two players facing each other with boards full of creatures, if your creatures have a way to get through unblocked....
Flying, Fear, Shadow, unblockable, whatever works.

4) Try for card synergy: Cards that work well together are amazing. I still remember fondly the draft where the fools let me have a deck full of Basking Rootwalla's and Wild Mongrel's.

5) Forget Combo: Don't draft any card that requires another card to make it good. Make sure each card stands on it's own, because you're not likely to have multiple copies to draw into your combo.

6) Try for 2 colors, 3 at the most. Occasionaly the stars will align and you'll draft a solid one color deck, but most often, you won't. But it's even rarer for a 4 or 5 color draft deck to be any good (although I do recall being horribly abused by a 5 color sunburst deck (once)).

7) Try to figure out what colors everyone else around you is drafting and compete with them as little as possible. The more you compete with them, the weaker both your decks will be. And then the one guy who drafted blue will clean both your clocks because he had little competition for the best cards.

8) Know the set. Whatever set or sets you're drafting, try to have some idea what the strong colors are. Know what cards are weaker just because of the rest of the set (for example, don't draft an artifact destroying card if the only artifact in the set sucks in draft)

Answer 2

In a sanctioned event its likely that Time Spiral would be used. I know alot of people who still use Ravnica though. Sealed deck varies depending on how many sets in the block have been released. Right now you would get a Time Spiral tournament pack and 2-3 Time Spiral boosters. When Planar Chaos comes out you might get only 1 Time Spiral Booster and 2 Planar Chaos booster.

Drafting tips:
-Bring your own mana. Alot of stores don't have mana to loan you.
-Remember that you can have as many copies of a card in your deck as you want.
-Try to keep your deck at 40 cards.
-Don't pick cards based on your experiences with constructed play. Cards that do well in normal play may not have the same results in a draft.
-Take as many flyers as you can.
-Resist the urge to take all the rares you get passed. Even if you really need it. Ignore this if you get Akroma, Angel of Wrath in one of your packs. *lol*
-If you draft Time Spiral get cards with Split Second and decent Suspend costs.

Answer 3

It depends on the type of sealed deck tournament, if it's online or IRL, and also how recently a new deck has been released.