Pack 1

Tim Rivera: When I looked at this pack, I saw very few options for a first pick. None of the Horde allies are exciting enough to take first pick so I eliminated them completely. The top two allies left were [Thadrus, Shield of Teldrassil] and [Drak'narr]. I like [Thadrus, Shield of Teldrassil] because of his unique power and big butt. There is no other ally in this block that can outright kill any other ally like [Thadrus, Shield of Teldrassil] can. [Drak'narr] is the safer ally pick as you do not commit to a faction, and hey, who doesn’t love huge allies. Out of the other cards left in the pack, the only other one I considered was [Frost Blast]. [Frost Blast] is an awesome card because of its cheap cost to impact the board and game state, but I found that [Thadrus, Shield of Teldrassil] messed up the board just as much, but also killed two allies on his way out. [Thadrus, Shield of Teldrassil] annoying my opponent (taking them off their normal game-plan) was enough for me to take him.

Tim Rivera’s Pick: [Thadrus, Shield of Teldrassil]

Stuart Wright: As the first pick of the draft I like to take a neutral card if at all possible. This leaves your options wide open. This pack has a number of quests but they are pretty weak. [If You're Not Against Us...] requires a very aggressive deck and that in itself is a commitment. The Monsters are a lot better with both [Drak'narr] and [Jadefire Rogue] being good on curve allies. I would favor [Drak'narr] because this format is a bit light on six drops. The most powerful card in the pack is [Thadrus, Shield of Teldrassil] but I think Alliance is almost unplayable so I'd much rather pass him on and hope the player next to me moves into it. [Baru Gravehorn] is the best Horde ally but I don't think forcing red this hard is really worth it.

Stuart Wright’s Pick: [Drak'narr]

Jan Palys: In the current draft format a card you will usually first pick is an ally, preferably a neutral one to prevent any early commitments. Therefore abilities are only worth a first pick if they are bombs. Quests are very common and especially bad in Crown of the Heavens, so you can just ignore them right now.

That being said these allies are worth considering.

Neutral: [Jadefire Rogue], [Drak'narr]

Alliance: [Thadrus, Shield of Teldrassil]

Horde: [Baru Gravehorn]

[Jadefire Rogue]'s power is mostly irrelevant unless you want to draft a really aggressive deck and want to get through protectors somehow. Being 3/5 for four is good enough on its own to have it in your deck.

If you want to draft a Harmonize based deck [Drak'narr] would be the pick here. Looking at the strongest Alliance and Horde allies, they both have a higher power level than the two neutral allies so they are worth committing to a faction. [Thadrus, Shield of Teldrassil] is better than [Baru Gravehorn]. Both are two-for-ones and while Thadrus might not be able to provide any offense like Baru, he helps at protecting and expanding your board since the enemy will not be willing to attack you once you play him. There is almost no removal that can kill him instantly and only Ogres are able to one-shot him. And who wouldn’t love to trade a three drop with an Ogre?

Jan Palys’ Pick: [Thadrus, Shield of Teldrassil]

Pack 2

Tim Rivera: Sigh... the only redeeming factor about this pack is that no one at the table is going to get a great pick from it. For me the top choices are [Jadefire Felsworn], [Overload], and [Trag'ush]. I eliminated [Trag'ush] straight away as [Jadefire Felsworn] is my preferred ally of the two. [Trag'ush] has a huge ATK, but unless I know that I am going to be Horde, I typically tend to not worry about four drops because of the abundance of good allies at that cost for Alliance decks. [Jadefire Felsworn] is a card that I’ve had success with in the past either taking an entire turn off how long my opponent can survive or by eating on of the last allies they have in play. [Overload] I decided to pass on as I find it difficult to keep two resources open over multiple turns. If I got [Overload] later in the pack, I would be more inclined to take it, but for now it was an easy pass.

Tim Rivera’s Pick: [Jadefire Felsworn]

Isaac Collins: [Wild Cascade] FTW! First pick always. Not really, So they're a couple of things going on this pack. First thing to note is the prime picks in my opinion which are [Jadefire Felsworn], [Overload], and probably [Trag'ush] In this case, there is only one really great ally and that is the [Jadefire Felsworn]. I normally don't want to force a class but I would probably do the really risky pick of taking [Overload]. Reasoning for this is because: one, I do not want it used against me what-so-ever. Two, Mage is really really good right now in draft. Three, even If I don't go Mage I know I'm having one less of these played against me which could really make the difference in a game. A helpful factor with [Overload] first is a majority of people don't like taking class abilities so they can see what makes it around. This is more true in the first pack, which basically means you have a really decent chance at getting a few extra good abilities early. One last thing to note in this pack is that there is only one Alliance ally and one Horde ally, so for the most part when you pass this you're more or less forcing Monsters on them.

Isaac Collins’s Pick: [Overload]

Michael Barnes: If I opened this pack, I'd be swearing more than Isaac Collins on a bad hair day. This pack is AWFUL! [Wild Cascade] is not the rare that I want to see in my first pick. [Lucy Elizabeth] is a decent faction ally, but not something that I want to take first pick. The two weapons in the pack both cost 6 to swing (though the [Gurubashi Punisher] can be conditionally reduced). The non-rare abilities are okay, but not great. Finally, none of the neutral allies are really outstanding. [Bubblesmash]'s 2 health is a real liability - I prefer to play 4-drops that don't die instantly to [Baxtan, Herald of Flame]. [Hyjal Stag] is a card that I imagine will be tabling WoW drafts in the months to come. That leaves [Jadefire Felsworn] and [Trag'ush]. While I like [Jadefire Felsworn]'s effect, I wish it didn't come at the expense of stats. I could see drafting [Jadefire Felsworn] if I felt that I could build a deck aggressive enough to win on turn 6 or 7. However, I tend to play decks that focus more on card advantage and attrition, so this is not an ally that really suits my playing style. I'd probably end up going with [Trag'ush]. While the Conspicuous keyword is a liability, [Trag'ush] is a good ally to turn on a lot of the "ally with 6 or more ATK" effects in Crown of the Heavens - like the aforementioned [Gurubasi Punisher]; which I would probably take if it came back around on the wheel.

Michael Barnes’s Pick: [Trag'ush]

Pack 3

Tim Rivera: When I looked at this pack there were two choices, [Keeper Balos] and [Fire and Brimstone]. [Keeper Balos] has been in the spotlight recently for his ability to create unfair game states early on. This can be true, but the real reason I would take him is to stay open. I’m not one to shy away from moving into a class first pick for a powerful card, so that is why [Fire and Brimstone] was also a top choice. In the end I would take the Warlock ability. I am a fan of Warlock in draft and this ability will answer any card my opponent throws at me. If I have a card like that in my deck I always feel like I can construct a 3-0 deck because I will not lose to one card that I could not answer.

Tim Rivera’s Pick: [Fire and Brimstone]

Dan Clark: This pack is boring. As much as I am a sucker for quests with a turtle on them it really only comes down to two choices, [Fire and Brimstone] and the [Keeper Balos]. From what I’ve heard [Keeper Balos] real text says You Win! Congrats, but i like to work for my wins. I think the real benefit of the card is that you can stay open to any class or faction and i would probably pick this a few months from now but I haven’t had much of a chance to draft with Crown and when learning Limited play you will see rares a lot less than the commons so it can be a bit more difficult to know what to do with them when drafting at say Realm Champs. I would take the [Fire and Brimstone]. I have no issues with moving into a class early and Warlock is usually not sought after from other players and has quite a few powerful cards. I’d rather learn than win so that I can win from learning.

Dan Clark’s Pick: [Fire and Brimstone]

Jason Newill: This pack is pretty weak with no clear winner. The four cards that catch my eye are [Fire and Brimstone], [Keeper Balos], [Jadefire Scout], and [Master's Embrace]. I don't like first picking class cards that can't win the game on their own so I wouldn't pick up [Fire and Brimstone] or [Master's Embrace]. Picking a [Vanquish] that prevents you from playing [Soul Swap] later doesn't seem very strong. [Master's Embrace] is a much better ability to take but staying neutral can help your draft a lot more. With the first pick i would try to stay open with [Keeper Balos]. [Jadefire Scout] is a good aggressive card but I can put [Keeper Balos] in any deck i draft and have him be powerful.

Jason Newill’s Pick: [Keeper Balos]