Multiplayer
Multiplayer - Emperor[4:50] - Teams of three players. Each team has one emperor, who is protected by the other players.
Multiplayer - Usurper [9:08] - 5 players with randomly assigned roles.
Multiplayer - Commander[1:22] - 100 card decks with specific rules centered around a legendary creature called General or Commander.
Multiplayer - Tiny Leaders[2:34] - It is a variant of Commander, but restricts deckbuilding to cards of converted mana cost 3 or less.
Multiplayer - Big Deck [5:08] - Large pool of cards with no lands. Players can play each card as a land that taps for that card's color.
Multiplayer - Free-for-All - A group of players compete as individuals against each other.
Multiplayer - Dual Commander[7:42][7:42] - 1 vs 1 commander.
Multiplayer - Two-Headed Giant - Two Teams of two players each all play together in a single game.
Multiplayer - Planechase[2:02] - Normal decks are augmented with oversized plane and phenomenon cards.
Multiplayer - Chaos - Players create a "Chaos Deck" that adds extra challenges for players.
Multiplayer - Archenemy[0:44] - One player versus many opponents.
Multiplayer - Grand Melee - Ten or more players. Multiple players to take turns at the same time.
Multiplayer - Type 4 - Each player has access to unlimited quantities of mana, but is restricted to casting only one spell on each turn.
Multiplayer - Centurion - 100 card decks with at least 15 of each color, only one of each card.
Multiplayer - Assassin - Players are randomly assigned "targets" to defeat.
Multiplayer - 3-Card Blind - Forum-based, played with decks of three cards.
Multiplayer - Auction - Players bid with life points and hand size for preconstructed decks.
Multiplayer - Horde Magic[5:59] - All players working cooperatively to defeat an automated deck, usually made of zombies or goblins.
Multiplayer - Team vs. Team - Teams play against each other. Resources are not shared.
Multiplayer - Alternating Teams - Players are seated so that no one is next to a teammate and each team is equally spaced out.
Multiplayer - Conspiracy - Focuses on the drafting process and politics.
Multiplayer - Challenge Decks - All players working cooperatively to defeat an automated deck.
Constructed
Constructed - Pauper Magic - Only allows common cards.
Constructed - Tribal Wars - Emphasizes creature combat and tribal themes.
Constructed - Vanguard[3:29] - Normal decks are augmented with oversized cards that modify the rules
Constructed - Star[8:38] - Five players each represent one of the five colors of Magic.
Constructed - Prismatic - Each deck must contain at least 250 cards, including at least 20 cards of each color.
Constructed - Duel Decks - Sealed product.
Constructed - QL Magic - Only allows cards from the original border sets (Alpha through Onslaught). Uses Sixth Edition rules.
Constructed - 93/94 - Non proxy cards from Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends and The Dark. Non-English versions and reprints after Unlimited are considered proxies.
Constructed - Heirloom - Card price is below 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 1 for commons to mythics.
Constructed - Peasant Magic[6:45] - Commons and uncommons allowed.
Constructed - Highlander - Only one copy of each card in the deck, with the exception of basic lands. A deck must contain at least 100 cards. No sideboard.
Constructed - Rainbow Stairwell - Each deck contains exactly 60 cards, six cards from each of the five colors as well as six artifacts or colorless cards.
Constructed - Ancient - Only allows cards from the original border sets (Alpha through Onslaught).
Constructed - Singleton - Only one copy of each card in the deck, with the exception of basic lands.
Constructed - Freeform - All sets and cards are allowed. Regular deckbulding rules are relaxed.
Constructed - Classic - All sets and cards are allowed. Regular deckbulding rules do apply.
Constructed - Build Your Own Standard - Each player chooses a core set and two blocks to create their own Standard world.
Constructed - Build Your Own Block - Each player selects the first set from any block, the second set from any block and the third set from any block.
Constructed - Block Party - Each player uses cards from his favorite block.
Limited
Limited - Cube Draft - Players create a "cube", a specifically selected set of at least 360 different cards.
Limited - Fat Stack - Two communal libraries of cards which produce and don't produce mana.
Limited - Duplicate Sealed - Each player is provided with the exact same pool of cards.
Limited - Mental Magic - A card can be played as any card in the game with the same exact mana cost.
Limited - Rotisserie Draft - Every card of a subset of cards is legal and every card only appears once.
Limited - Solomon Draft - Drafting for two or four people.
Limited - Winston Draft - Drafting with variable stacks of cards.
Limited - Winchester Draft - Drafting with variable stacks of cards.
Limited - Back Draft - Reverse Booster Draft. Players build their opponent's card pool.
Limited - Reject Rare Draft - Each player donates 45 reject rares to play with.
Limited - Continuous Draft - Each player has a constantly changing card pool.
Limited - Judge Tower - Shared library and infinite mana.
Limited - Mini-Master - Each player starts with a single booster pack and fifteen basic lands.
Limited - Pick-a-Pack - Drafting with booster packs from many sets.
There was an old format called emperor that I liked, though you needed exactly to 6 people to play. It gave the game a clear goal and there was no politics involved, so it was a really fun casual format. Barring that I'll have to vote for archenemy for almost all the same reasons. I could be bias because I was the defacto archenemy in alot of the games I'd played with friends anyway.
The last three options are duplicates. Emperor and two headed giant are also fun. (And 93/94 or QL magic if you're counting formats that are casual but not necessarily multiplayer).
Emperor is great! I'very been trying out this new Emperor whereby each emperor is playing EDH and each of the 4 lieutenants are playing Tiny Leaders with a restricted range of 1 around the table.
My favorite of all time was probably 5-Color for ante but it kinda died out.
Shawn Cranford of Colorado developed a format called Centurion which was a hit in my area for a long time but I moved and subsequently lost contact with anyone else that knows what it was.
Star format is another way to play which is very political and swingy which a lot of people really enjoy.
Also, Reject Rare Draft is ridiculous fun.
I've really enjoyed building RAV/RTR guild themed decks with the restriction of only cards with the given guild watermark on them, leads to fun games with a reasonable power level.
I'm between building some tribal EDH decks, building the anthologies duel decks or building some Heirloom decks. I would like to see some tribal decks like the dwarves one and some guild themed decks. Also I can't find a recent Heirloom deck.
Limited Infinity Cube Draft is probably my favorite. Infinite mana, one spell per turn. Any time a card could be cast "without paying its mana cost" or at a reduced cost it doesn't count as a spell for that turn. This format works extremely well if the cube is carefully constructed, especially if a large number of instant speed effects are included.
EDIT: Xyx, that looks absolutely amazing... I don't think any of my friends would want to play though.
I used to enjoy playing Planechase a lot but I lost most of my planes and nobody else has bought any of the packs. I guess there still is the app with all the planes on it.
Making EDH decks and playing is fun but I think my playgroup was more casual than I was/my decks were too much of a "threat" for the people I played with. Plus the guys who I used to play with have been busy lately.
the few duel decks I've played are fun and I wish the anthology wasn't so expensive.
I have thought up a new limited format. This is for those times when you have either not enough packs, or players to draft. Designed to get the most out of those 6 left over booster packs from a box.
You and one or more people each open 3 packs at once. You keep all the cards you open and build a 40 card deck from it. However each basic land counts as each basic land type (they all tap for 5 colors.) I've only played a couple of times but it's been fun. A great way to get rid of a few left over packs.
We decided that counting each basic land as every land type maximizes the efficiency of any card you might open. For example Nightfire Giant gets +1/+1 if you control any basic lands Seismic Strike Deals damage equal to number of basic lands you have.
Land walk becomes unblockable.
I'd be interested to hear feedback from anyone who tries it out.
When I first started playing weird multiplayer, we had a format called General, which is what is now referred to as emperor. 1 general, and 2 lieutenants on each side, general has reach 2, lieutenants have reach 1.
The point of this however, is we did have a format called Emperor, which was a 10 player format, 5 on each team. In the center was the emperor range 3, each side had a general of range 2, and at the ends were the lieutenants of range 1. The play was the same as emperor except more people. No idea what to call it now that Emperor is known as 6 players, but it was fun the one time we played it... for 6 hours...
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I basically only play EDH:
Damia, Jenara, Xiahou Dun, Mareth, Nekusar, Oloro, Kresh, Deretti
I've finally finished building this cube and it's really easy and fun to play with. I'm also thinking about making a couple of Heirloom decks but it doesn't seem like a format that people play in paper. Has anybody tried it like a kitchen table format? Also, what is the name of the format in which you can play any card in your hand as a land? It's not exactly Mental Magic and I don't remember if the lands produced any color or only the color of the card.
The Magic: the Gathering Multiplayer and Casual Format Gateway
Other Formats of Magic, Part 1
Other Formats of Magic, Part 2
Multiplayer
Multiplayer - Emperor [4:50] - Teams of three players. Each team has one emperor, who is protected by the other players.
Multiplayer - Usurper [9:08] - 5 players with randomly assigned roles.
Multiplayer - Commander [1:22] - 100 card decks with specific rules centered around a legendary creature called General or Commander.
Multiplayer - Tiny Leaders [2:34] - It is a variant of Commander, but restricts deckbuilding to cards of converted mana cost 3 or less.
Multiplayer - Big Deck [5:08] - Large pool of cards with no lands. Players can play each card as a land that taps for that card's color.
Multiplayer - Free-for-All - A group of players compete as individuals against each other.
Multiplayer - Dual Commander [7:42] [7:42] - 1 vs 1 commander.
Multiplayer - Two-Headed Giant - Two Teams of two players each all play together in a single game.
Multiplayer - Planechase [2:02] - Normal decks are augmented with oversized plane and phenomenon cards.
Multiplayer - Chaos - Players create a "Chaos Deck" that adds extra challenges for players.
Multiplayer - Archenemy [0:44] - One player versus many opponents.
Multiplayer - Grand Melee - Ten or more players. Multiple players to take turns at the same time.
Multiplayer - Type 4 - Each player has access to unlimited quantities of mana, but is restricted to casting only one spell on each turn.
Multiplayer - Centurion - 100 card decks with at least 15 of each color, only one of each card.
Multiplayer - Assassin - Players are randomly assigned "targets" to defeat.
Multiplayer - 3-Card Blind - Forum-based, played with decks of three cards.
Multiplayer - Auction - Players bid with life points and hand size for preconstructed decks.
Multiplayer - Horde Magic [5:59] - All players working cooperatively to defeat an automated deck, usually made of zombies or goblins.
Multiplayer - Team vs. Team - Teams play against each other. Resources are not shared.
Multiplayer - Alternating Teams - Players are seated so that no one is next to a teammate and each team is equally spaced out.
Multiplayer - Conspiracy - Focuses on the drafting process and politics.
Multiplayer - Challenge Decks - All players working cooperatively to defeat an automated deck.
Constructed
Constructed - Pauper Magic - Only allows common cards.
Constructed - Tribal Wars - Emphasizes creature combat and tribal themes.
Constructed - Vanguard [3:29] - Normal decks are augmented with oversized cards that modify the rules
Constructed - Star [8:38] - Five players each represent one of the five colors of Magic.
Constructed - Prismatic - Each deck must contain at least 250 cards, including at least 20 cards of each color.
Constructed - Duel Decks - Sealed product.
Constructed - QL Magic - Only allows cards from the original border sets (Alpha through Onslaught). Uses Sixth Edition rules.
Constructed - 93/94 - Non proxy cards from Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends and The Dark. Non-English versions and reprints after Unlimited are considered proxies.
Constructed - Heirloom - Card price is below 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 1 for commons to mythics.
Constructed - Peasant Magic [6:45] - Commons and uncommons allowed.
Constructed - Highlander - Only one copy of each card in the deck, with the exception of basic lands. A deck must contain at least 100 cards. No sideboard.
Constructed - Rainbow Stairwell - Each deck contains exactly 60 cards, six cards from each of the five colors as well as six artifacts or colorless cards.
Constructed - Ancient - Only allows cards from the original border sets (Alpha through Onslaught).
Constructed - Singleton - Only one copy of each card in the deck, with the exception of basic lands.
Constructed - Freeform - All sets and cards are allowed. Regular deckbulding rules are relaxed.
Constructed - Classic - All sets and cards are allowed. Regular deckbulding rules do apply.
Constructed - Build Your Own Standard - Each player chooses a core set and two blocks to create their own Standard world.
Constructed - Build Your Own Block - Each player selects the first set from any block, the second set from any block and the third set from any block.
Constructed - Block Party - Each player uses cards from his favorite block.
Limited
Limited - Cube Draft - Players create a "cube", a specifically selected set of at least 360 different cards.
Limited - Fat Stack - Two communal libraries of cards which produce and don't produce mana.
Limited - Duplicate Sealed - Each player is provided with the exact same pool of cards.
Limited - Mental Magic - A card can be played as any card in the game with the same exact mana cost.
Limited - Rotisserie Draft - Every card of a subset of cards is legal and every card only appears once.
Limited - Solomon Draft - Drafting for two or four people.
Limited - Winston Draft - Drafting with variable stacks of cards.
Limited - Winchester Draft - Drafting with variable stacks of cards.
Limited - Back Draft - Reverse Booster Draft. Players build their opponent's card pool.
Limited - Reject Rare Draft - Each player donates 45 reject rares to play with.
Limited - Continuous Draft - Each player has a constantly changing card pool.
Limited - Judge Tower - Shared library and infinite mana.
Limited - Mini-Master - Each player starts with a single booster pack and fifteen basic lands.
Limited - Pick-a-Pack - Drafting with booster packs from many sets.
My favorite of all time was probably 5-Color for ante but it kinda died out.
Shawn Cranford of Colorado developed a format called Centurion which was a hit in my area for a long time but I moved and subsequently lost contact with anyone else that knows what it was.
Star format is another way to play which is very political and swingy which a lot of people really enjoy.
Also, Reject Rare Draft is ridiculous fun.
EDIT: Xyx, that looks absolutely amazing... I don't think any of my friends would want to play though.
Making EDH decks and playing is fun but I think my playgroup was more casual than I was/my decks were too much of a "threat" for the people I played with. Plus the guys who I used to play with have been busy lately.
the few duel decks I've played are fun and I wish the anthology wasn't so expensive.
I've always wanted to try cube and emperor
You and one or more people each open 3 packs at once. You keep all the cards you open and build a 40 card deck from it. However each basic land counts as each basic land type (they all tap for 5 colors.) I've only played a couple of times but it's been fun. A great way to get rid of a few left over packs.
We decided that counting each basic land as every land type maximizes the efficiency of any card you might open. For example Nightfire Giant gets +1/+1 if you control any basic lands
Seismic Strike Deals damage equal to number of basic lands you have.
Land walk becomes unblockable.
I'd be interested to hear feedback from anyone who tries it out.
The point of this however, is we did have a format called Emperor, which was a 10 player format, 5 on each team. In the center was the emperor range 3, each side had a general of range 2, and at the ends were the lieutenants of range 1. The play was the same as emperor except more people. No idea what to call it now that Emperor is known as 6 players, but it was fun the one time we played it... for 6 hours...
Damia, Jenara, Xiahou Dun, Mareth, Nekusar, Oloro, Kresh, Deretti