| Eternal Masters is upon us! These reprint sets have been wildly successful for Wizards of the Coast and for good reasons. Both Modern Masters sets had the excitement of cracking open some iconic, format defining rares and mythics, and they were an absolute blast as a limited format. The best part for me? There was zero chaff. It was nearly impossible to have a bad deck. The last couple of picks in a booster draft were still cards you would consider for your final 40. The various archetypes were all powerful and really fun to play. Now we have another collection of legendary cards that WotC is releasing from their tower in Seattle and I could not be more excited. With the full release of the spoiler I wanted to put together my Top 10 impressions for Eternal Masters limited. #10 FLY MY PRETTIES!  There is an obvious aerial theme to this new set and I believe the lynchpin to this archetype is Squadron Hawk. A measly 1/1 flyer for two mana is not the most exciting creature, but these hawks bring their friends to the party. Scooping up the birds early will discourage fellow drafters from also trying to capitalize on multiples. Once you have cornered the market on the bird trade you can bolster your business with Sprite Noble, Thunderclap Wyvern, and Warden of Evos Isle. #9 Pay your respects at the shrines  I can remember playing limited with the Honden cycle when it was first printed. The cards were strong enough to be played independently from each other and really got out of control when they teamed up. Now they are back and in a small set to boot. Honden of Infinite Rage is going to be the strongest of this family of enchantments because of its cheap cost and ability to pick off opposing creatures but all of them deserve serious consideration. The Honden of Night's Reach comes in as my least favorite but it should see plenty of play if only to augment the other shrines in a deck. #8 The graveyard is a resource  The more difficult to draft strategies are often under pursued and this lack of competition means a greater opportunity for those courageous enough to take the plunge. Maximizing your graveyard utility definitely falls into this category but there are definitely reasons to do it. Quiet Speculation is a huge sleeper that will float around in many drafts. Pair the blue sorcery with Burning Vengeance and some of the better flashback spells like Roar of the Wurm and you have a solid path to victory. #7 Draft the fun cards!  Eternal Masters is chock full of some of the most fun and interactive cards imaginable. Everyone loves opening a Deathrite Shaman with almost no ways to get lands into a graveyard and a turn two Sinkhole. Follow that up closely with Braids, Cabal Minion and that means smiles for everyone. I have never heard one complaint about Winter Orb. Alright, I am not serious about this one. Honestly, these reprints are really confusing to me. Hymn to Tourach at uncommon? I can't wait to run into a deck with two or three of those. #6 You guys like swarms of things, right?  Token creatures abound in the new set, be it Raise the Alarm, Mogg War Marshal or Sengir Autocrat. There are plenty of cards that coordinate well with tokens but the crown jewel is certainly Intangible Virtue. The white enchantment is a solid second pick (because the person passing to you auto picked their rare) that sends you down a powerful "go wide" strategy. Blood Artist and Orcish Oriflamme are a couple of fine additions to look out for once you have scooped up enough token generators. #5 Once you go black ... you'll wish you could go back  All the colors in Eternal Masters seem to have definitive draft archetypes that are powerful and synergistic. All except black. Swamps appear to be a fine compliment to some of the other land types but by itself it looks to have a plethora of removal and not much else. Killing things over and over in limited can be conducive to winning but I have to say that what the other colors are doing is much more appealing to me. #4 The Royal Sampler  With a full ten dual lands at common it is not unreasonable to pick the best card from every pack, regardless of color. All your removal and powerful rares can be smoothed out by the nonbasic lands and Pilgrim's Eye and Prismatic Lens. Starting down this road means you can play whatever busted rare you open in pack two or three. There isn't anything less fun than having a Jace, the Mind Sculptor sitting in your sideboard. Instead, you can just have it all! #3 Into the woods  WotC has really delivered for those of us that wear our pointy plastic ears while staring longingly at our Legolas posters. That's right, elves are back and in a big way. They have exciting picks at common, uncommon, and rare. They get onto the board quick and they have enough support to punch through even the staunchest of defenses. They key players for this strategy are going to be Timberwatch Elf and Llanowar Elves. The acceleration followed by the ability to make your small creatures massive make the elf tribe one of the most intriguing draft types to me. #2 The Keldon Family ain't nothin' to mess with!  The red cards look so darn aggressive to me. A card like Keldon Marauders would get none of my interest in most formats but Eternal Masters is a completely different situation. A deck centered around three of the human warrior that back up Mogg Fanatic or Kird Ape on turn one is something I can get behind. The Marauders' big brother, Keldon Champion, and tons of burn spells make going all in on a hostile red strategy seem like the best place to be. You don't have to worry about what your opponent's powerful rares are if they are dead before they can play them. #1 CRACK THAT MONEY!  My previous strategies centered around commons and uncommons that you will see in every draft or sealed pool but the number one, foolproof, cannot lose strategy for Eternal Masters is going to be opening a card that is worth more than what you paid to enter the event. The local Johnny Games-too-serious might 3-0 the draft but you are the real winner when you go home with a foil Force of Will in your binder. I recommend practicing opening bombs before and after any event you are playing in. After all, practice makes perfect. | 
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