How to Play Star Wars: Unlimited – Part 9: Draft Format Explained

Welcome to Part 9 of our Star Wars: Unlimited tutorial series! If you’re looking for a format that blends deckbuilding skill with social interaction, the Draft format is a fantastic choice. It’s perfect for tournaments, casual game nights, and community events at Woody’s Geekery. In Draft, players build their decks one card at a time—choosing, passing, and adapting as they go.

🎲 What Is Draft Format?

Draft is a limited format where each player opens three booster packs from a single Star Wars: Unlimited set and builds a deck by drafting cards from those packs. Unlike Sealed, where you build from what you open, Draft adds a layer of strategy by letting you choose cards from rotating packs passed around the table.

🧪 How Drafting Works

Step 1: Drafting Leaders

• Each player opens three booster packs and removes the leader card from each pack (without looking at the other cards).

• Choose one leader to keep, then pass the remaining two to the player on your right.

• Repeat this process until each player has three drafted leaders.

Leader cards are public knowledge during the draft—you can ask to see what others have picked.

Step 2: Drafting the Packs

• Starting with your first pack, view all the cards (except the token—set that aside).

• Choose one card to add to your draft pool, then pass the rest facedown to the player on your left.

• Continue drafting one card at a time from each group passed to you until the pack is empty.

• Repeat this process with your second pack (passing to the right), and third pack (passing to the left again).

Cards in your draft pool are kept secret from other players (except leaders).

🧰 Building Your Draft Deck

Once all cards are drafted, build your deck using only the cards in your draft pool.

Your deck must include:

• 1 Leader (chosen from the three you drafted)

• 1 Base (either drafted or a Common-rarity base from the same set)

• 30+ Cards (units, events, upgrades)

There’s no limit to how many copies of a card you can include—if you drafted four copies of a unit, you can play all four.

🧠 Strategy Tips for Draft

• Signal Reading: Pay attention to what cards are missing from passed packs—it can hint at what others are drafting.

• Aspect Icons Matter: Try to draft cards that match your leaders’ aspect icons to avoid penalties.

• Flexibility Wins: Keep your options open early—don’t commit too hard until you see what’s coming.

• Draft Removal & Evasion: Cards that remove threats or bypass blockers are especially valuable in limited formats.

• Know Your Curve: Include a mix of low-cost and high-cost cards to stay active every round.

🎯 Why Draft?

• Interactive: You’re constantly reacting to what others pick and pass.

• Balanced: Everyone builds from the same pool of packs.

• Replayable: Every draft is different—no two decks are alike.

• Great for Events: Perfect for tournaments, league nights, and casual play.

🚀 Final Thoughts

Draft format brings a fresh, strategic twist to Star Wars: Unlimited. It rewards smart choices, adaptability, and reading the table. Check us out online for your Drafting needs.