...that's only a Myth
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Ah yes, the best tournament format ever, LIMITED.
Theere are two types:
1.) Sealed
2.) Draft
Sealed deck is when the tournament players are given 1 tournament pack (75 Additional cards) and two booster packs (15 additional cards). You are to make a 40 card deck with only those cards that are in those packs, I think that includes basic land as well, although I've been in sealed tournaments where you were allowed to exchange basic land for what you need.
Draft <insert holy angelic sound here> is an eight player tournament where each player is given three booster packs (if you were to play in a draft right now you would recieve 2 Mirrodin and 1 Darksteel pack). Everyone opens one pack (in this case today, it would be a Mirrodin pack) and selects one card from that pack. When all players have selected their first card then they all pass the 14 card pack to the left. The idea is to build your deck while you are selecting cards. Anyway, you keep doing this untill all 15 cards from every pack are picked. then you open up pack #2 (another Mirrodin pack) and do the same process as the first but you pass to the right. Then the third pack (Darksteel) etc., etc., etc.,....
IMHO, this is absolutly the best way to play Magic. You have to have deck building skills, good playing skills and you are forced to think at a very high level. Each and every card selection is a "Do or Die" decision, each played spell is critical, everything down to what may seem to be of no consiquence matter like; which land to tap for playing a spell, can make the difference between winning or losing.
I "Common Draft" with my kids in my club and they are all better players for it.
There are a ton of articles written on this subject and believe it or not there IS stratagy, deck archetypes and most important of all, "The Mind Game".
I would highly recommend that everyone who plays Magic should try this format. It IS expensive but you can make common packs from all the chaff you've been getting in packs (cards that you don't put in your constructed decks).
It's FUN!!!!!