5 Questions with Dan Troha of Draftsim

Meet Raptive creator Dan Troha! Dan shares everything he knows about the complex card game Magic: The Gathering on his website Draftsim. The site is known for its amazing draft simulator, and Dan is well on his way to achieving his goal of making it the ultimate resource for everything Magic on the internet.

1. How did you first get into Magic: The Gathering and what has kept you hooked for 20+ years?

As a kid, I used to love collecting baseball cards, but I was always disappointed there wasn’t a way to play with them! Along came my friend with a starter deck of Magic cards that reminded me a lot of the Tolkien books I loved so much, and needless to say, I was instantly addicted. As an adult, I love the strategic depth and the competition—it is just the most fun mental sport ever. But really what’s kept me hooked is all the friends I’ve made over the years.

2. What makes Draftsim unique in the space and keeps your audience engaged?

I think it’s the combination of our cool software and some truly great articles. On the software side, we are really focused on making sure we are keeping up with the latest Magic expansions the second they are available. And on the content side, our writers are so passionate and knowledgeable about the game, it really shines through to our readers.

3. How do you leverage AI for Draftsim?

I’m really excited about this area because we’ve only scratched the surface so far. In addition to the basic model on our draft simulator, we had an academic paper published about machine learning and drafting in Magic, we’ve created a Magic deck win predictor, and of course I’ve been toying with a bunch of ways to use large language models on the backend of our business and our software.

4. How can brands and advertisers get the most out of partnerships with creators?

Be open to trying new things! In speaking to a lot of people with products and brands, they often are surprisingly narrowly focused on certain types of marketing. Our little corner of the world needs more good products, affiliate programs, and email sponsorships. It takes some creativity, but I can almost always come up with a win-win arrangement with a brand.

5. If you could design a Magic card, what would it be?

Wow, normally you’d have to win the Magic World Championship to be allowed to do that! I love white aggressive decks and I’m annoyed at how modern day cards do too many things. How about a cute 2/2 bear called ‘Paladin’s Paw Protector’ that counters your opponent’s enters-the-battlefield effects and lets you have them instead?

Keep up with Dan and all things Magic on Draftsim, X, Facebook, and Discord.