[Discussion] When to play, when to draw?

[SiegeX]

As a long-time casual player this question has never really crossed my mind as I would always choose to play if given the opportunity.  However, now that I am going to play more competitively I think this decision is an important one to consider. 

I think certain decks, namely combo/aggro will mostly(always?) choose to play since their main goal is to kill you ASAP before any of your threats come online.  But how about decks that can't really be easily categorized such as Control Slaver which can take on either the control or aggro role depending on the situation and/or opponent's deck?  I'm thinking the answer to this question is going to involve such questions as:

• Which game are we in?
• What deck is my opponent playing?
• If 2nd or 3rd game, what cards did I sideboard in?

And probably a few more that I'm neglecting to think of at this point in time.  To answer my own question, I think the general rule I would use is if I am control I would draw, if I'm aggro/combo I would play, if I could be both I would choose to play and adjust accordingly game 2/3.  However, what I am most interested in are the factors that come into play after game 1 which may persuade you one way or another.  Thanks

[Komatteru]

In Vintage, always play, no exceptions.  In fact, in constructed, you should generally always play these days.  There have been notable exceptions in the past -- Sligh mirrors back in 1998, but I don't think these principals apply now.

Limited is a different story though.

[Jank Golem]

In type one always play.

I can think of one exception of a deck that if I won the dice roll I would draw. It used Tireless Tribe and About Face to attack with a 21/1 Tireless Tribe. It had difficultly getting the 5 cards in hand nesscary so it was forced to draw. This led to big disadvantges which is partly why the deck did not work. Other exceptions I can think of is reanimater without bazaar, but that is about it.

[Evenpence]

In Vintage, as well as most other constructed formats, you're going to want to play because Tempo Advantage is so much more important than Card Advantage.  Stax is a perfect example of this, particularly Ubastax.  The ability to go first and drop 3 Moxes, a Land, Smokestack, and Chalice at 0 is so much more important than getting to start out with 8 cards (1 of which you don't know what it is).  At least 6 of your opponent's cards are going to have cards with 0 mana casting costs, so leading with that Chalice for 0 is very important, as it nullifies (usually) 1 of the cards in his hand, while allowing you to have moxes out there.  It also allows you to put the pressure on him as he doesn't have as many permanents to lay now.

The flipside of this is going first so your opponent cannot distort the gamestate in a single turn with a good draw, as well as getting fast mana out there so you can play an end-of-turn effect first turn, like Thirst for Knowledge.

A guy at Richmond had reanimator without Bazaar of Baghdad, and he chose to draw both games, and led with Library of Alexandria both games.  I 2-0ed him.

[pyr0ma5ta]

I can't imagine ever choosing to go second in any format other than Sealed deck.  In general, as the power level of the cards increases, the more tempo matters, and the more you want to kick off.  Vintage is the format with the highest level of power, so choosing to draw would be a grevious mistake.

[Gabethebabe]

The only time where I could imagine not going first is when I already have seen my opening hand. But unfortunately, when you chose, you don´t have that information. So play.

[Dante]

there have been several times back in the day of Type 1 where drawing was the correct choice to playing - one of those was the sligh mirror.  Since you both have creatures that are x/1 and x/2 and a bunch of burn, playing first just meant your creatures got burned first and drawing and thus getting an extra card was a smart play since once the dust cleared you'd be up a card. 

In his SCG report from PT Honolulu, I believe Craig Jones said the same thing about the Zoo mirror. 

Game 2, and Chiera chose to draw. This actually makes a lot of sense. Zoo decks play a lot like the old Red Deck Wins, and in that matchup what tends to happen is that the efficient burn and creatures trade off. The extra card is worth more than the tempo advantage in going first.

Of course with modern Vintage, you ALWAYS play.

[Jacob Orlove]

The other deck that would sometimes choose to draw was oldschool Parfait, which needed to make sure Land Tax was always active.

[Darkmage]

Also, old Type 2 decks that ran Innocent Blood and their own creatures would draw.

[Harkius]

I think that the recent tournaments in Richmond answered this quite well...

If you don't play, you may not get a chance to. There were a number of first turn wins. Purposefully giving your opponent a chance to take away your ability to ever do anything seems a bad idea.

Harkius

[Kowal]

The only format I'd ever select to draw in is Mental Magic, and even that's arguable.

[pyr0ma5ta]

The only format I'd ever select to draw in is Mental Magic, and even that's arguable.

Sealed much?

[Dralock]

The only format I'd ever select to draw in is Mental Magic, and even that's arguable.

Sealed much?

Yeah, I like having more lands than my opponent to play my 4cc spells first. Play, unquestionably, every time.

[49 Cents]

The only format I'd ever select to draw in is Mental Magic, and even that's arguable.

Sealed much?

Yeah, I like having more lands than my opponent to play my 4cc spells first. Play, unquestionably, every time.

I like to draw an extra card in sealed, because I almost never play with less than 4 colors with Rav+Gp. My manabase is always terrible..

In constructed formats, everybody always plays. I can't believe that's even a question..

[Kevin Folinus]

If you just want a basic answer:

Constructed - Play

Limited
      Sealead - Draw
      Draft - Play (Sometimes it is better to draw ie 5 colors)

I have no idea about the 2HG/Skittles/etc etc