Omniscience Draft Guide – Core Set 2020

Omniscience Draft returns to MTG Arena as a weekend event – draft cards from Core Set 2020, and cast them without paying their mana costs! In this updated guide, we will show you how to draft this set and explore the best cards and combos! Remember, Core Set 2020 is rotating out in September and this event caters for players who want to have fun in a highly random event.

Event Information

• Duration: June 6, 2020 to June 9, 2020
• Format: Core Set 2020 Omniscience Draft
• Entry Fee: 750 Gems or 5000 Gold
• Ends After: 7 wins or 3 losses (whichever comes first)
• Match Structure: Single matches (BO1)

Event Rewards

What is Omniscience Draft?

In Omniscience Draft, draft three packs and keep the cards you draft, but with a twist: You don’t have to pay the mana costs for spells you cast! No need to put lands in your deck. You’ll also get one mana of each color each turn to use for your abilities, and every player starts with three cards in their hand instead of seven.

For this event, each player starts the game with the Omniscience Emblem, that reads, “You may cast spells from your hand without paying their mana costs. 0: Add WUBRG. Activate this ability only once each turn.”

The standard rules apply for the drafting process where you get to choose one card at a time from rotating packs, and build a 40-card deck with the chosen cards.

However, there are a few key points to keep in mind:

• All cards in your hand cost 0. Cards with X in their mana cost is also 0 by default, and you cannot pay for it with the emblem either. The mana cost for cards that are played outside the hand (i.e. top of library, graveyard, from exile) must be paid.
• The Omniscience emblem allows players to add one mana of each color to their mana pool once each turn – including your turn, and your opponents turn. You will be using this mana primarily to activate abilities, but sometimes pay additional costs that are required to cast the spell.
• Your starting hand consists of 3 cards, not 7. The same London Mulligan rule applies.
• Each pick counts – you will be playing with 40 out of the 42 cards you have drafted, since you don’t need Basic Lands.

With all that, the priorities when picking your cards will be completely different compared to your ordinary draft. Read on as we show you how to prioritize drafting your cards and explore Core Set 2020 cards on a case by case basis, as well as some combos you can assemble to kill your opponent in a single turn!

Drafting Your Cards

With Omniscience Draft you will still be drafting with the bots as you would normally do in MTG Arena. It has not been confirmed whether their behavior for drafting is changing for this event, but our priorities for drafting will be different from them. In essence, the you want to prioritize card draw, card advantage, card selection and tutoring effects since everything does not cost mana. The more spells you play, the more chance you have in beating your opponent.

Having said that, you might need to find a balance between rare drafting and drafting the best cards for this format – which are usually commons and uncommons. It is also wise to prioritize trying to kill your opponent with some card interactions and combos rather than individual card power, which we have some examples further below. Here we assess some individual card choices, in order of importance as well.

1. The Omniscience Draft Bombs

These three cards will be the absolute bombs of Omniscience Draft – Risen Reef still needs other Elementals for it to be broken, but since there are no lands in your deck – you will essentially draw a card for every Elemental you play! At the very least Risen Reef replaces itself, but imagine if you had cards like Chandra, Acolyte of Flame, or Scampering Scorcher – you can be drawing your whole deck.

Villis, Broker of Blood can draw you at least two cards a turn on its own (the emblem only adds one black mana) so it is also one of the best cards in Omniscience Draft, paired with a big flying body. If you happen to have other lose life effects such as Audacious Thief or even cards like Shock to damage yourself, then that’s even more sweeter.

Drakuseth, Maw of Flames is just a sweet card in general that will win games on its own if your opponent finds no way to remove it. Imagine playing it on the first turn of the game!

2. Card Draw (and selection)

Since spells are free, cards that net you more than a card for card trade are the best cards in Omniscience Draft. Card advantage is important, but card selection is also good unless your deck is filled with nothing but bombs. They will help you filter out the fillers in your deck.

3. Card Advantage

Cards that give you an extra card is just as good as card draw spells. If they allow you to filter or tutor your deck, even better! Shared Summons for example, can grab two of your win conditions at the end of your opponent’s turn, whether they be combo pieces or just your biggest creatures. Cavalier of Gales leaves a huge flying body behind as well. These kind of cards will be highly desired.

4. Planeswalkers

If you are lucky enough to pull them, Planeswalkers in Core Set 2020 are good enough in Omniscience Draft, and even better when they can be supported by other cards in your deck.

5. Removal Spells

Removal spells usually trade one card for one card, and does not offer any tempo advantage in Omniscience Draft, but can target your opponent’s most powerful creatures at a pinch. You don’t want to go too overboard with them though, as you will find yourself being overrun if you cannot keep up.

6. Big Creatures

Your deck will need to have several big sized creatures to finish off the game. Other than the above mentioned Vilis, Broker of Blood and Drakuseth, Maw of Flames, these are the biggest creatures in Core Set 2020 and will not be contested by any other creatures on the board.

7. Cantrips

Cantrips are usually attached to mediocre cards, but are decent enough to draft especially if they can trade for an additional resource from your opponent. They help go through your deck to find the better cards. Bone to Ash and Bladebrand are the best of the lot, as they can take down the opponent’s creature as well. Anticipate also offers card selection, which can also be useful but does not have any other secondary effects.

Combos and Interactions

We challenge you to try and assemble these combos in this event. Core Set 2020 is filled with a lot of “enter the battlefield” effects that you can manipulate to your benefit.

1. Scholar of Ages

You can loop Scholar of the Ages with Unsummon (or Blood for Bones also works here), and get back a direct damage spell such as Shock or Agonizing Siphon each time.

Credit: MGrenouille

2. Yarok’s Wavecrasher

If you are lucky enough to draft two Yarok’s Wavecrasher, you can bounce them off each other infinitely, and if you happen to have Corpse Knight in play as well, you deal 1 damage each time you do this. Sage’s Row Denizen allows you to mill your opponent instead as well.

3. Scampering Scorcher and Elementals

Scampering Scorcher gives all your elementals haste. Combined with lots of card draw and beefy elementals (say Lavakin Brawler, Thicket Crasher), you can finish off your opponent on the first turn.

4. Moldervine Reclamation and 2 Salvager of Ruin

User “weener” left a comment in last year’s event and let us know that you can draw as much cards as you like with two copies of Salvager of Ruin and Moldervine Reclamation!

If you know anymore, let us know in the comments below!