… Sometimes, at the beginning of the game, neither of us has anything we can play.

A: You have to play another card, but you may choose to draw instead, just as if it were your “second draw” option. Imagine that Warp Factor 3 lets you have another play for your turn, and, just like the first play for your turn, you can opt to draw instead (especially since, as you point out, early in the game sometimes you might not have any good plays to make.)