A casual variant that hopes to achieve a number of goals:
Change what it means for cards to be efficient.
Reduce the kinds of randomness that lead to non-games.
Increase the kinds of randomness that require skillful choices during play.
Let player Planeswalkers bring the same kind of mechanical inevitability to the table that Planeswalker cards do when they create emblems.
Quick Start Rules
Use the banned/restricted list for the desired format, but your deck must include: A) exactly 1 copy of a non-Aura Enchantment to represent your Personal Emblem; B) a minimum of 3 basic lands; C) no more than 1 copy of each non-basic land; D) no more than 1 copy of each Legendary permanent and Planeswalker; E) no more than 2 copies of each other card.
Before shuffling your deck, remove the Enchantment card that will represent your Personal Emblem and 3 basic land cards.
Shuffle the lands into a face-down pile in the Command zone; this is your Spark. When you would draw the first card of your draw step, you may instead draw a card from your Spark.
The Enchantment is placed face-down in the Command zone, and becomes the player’s Personal Emblem. It is disabled while face-down, and has no abilities, but can be enabled as described below.
You start with 10 more life than usual.
Choose the starting player randomly, and in matches with more than one game, alternate starting with your opponent.
Prior to drawing your starting hand, Scry 7. There will be no mulligans.
Draw 2 fewer cards for your starting hands (5 unless you’re also playing Vanguard).
If the game is a duel and you are the second player, then before the starting player takes a turn, you draw an additional card from your library and put a land from your hand onto the battlefield.
If the game is a duel, then the starting player does not skip the first turn’s draw step.
At any time if you have drawn all cards from your Spark, and if you control a number of lands at least equal to the CMC of your Personal Emblem, then if you could generate the correct mana necessary to cast the Enchantment card, you may turn your Emblem face-up, enabling it. See the detailed rules for how to handle enters the battlefield effects, emblems that are also creatures, and emblems with abilities that cause a change of type.
Celestial Convergence seems like a pretty good choice, just need to get ahead in life after 4 turns.
So while face down (i.e., not enabled) the emblem has no abilities, just like Morph cards that are face down. It's described in the detailed rules, but I'll update the quickstart rules. Celestial Convergence doesn't get its counters until it's enabled, so won't end the game until your turn 11.
Celestial Convergence seems like a pretty good choice, just need to get ahead in life after 4 turns.
So while face down (i.e., not enabled) the emblem has no abilities, just like Morph cards that are face down. It's described in the detailed rules, but I'll update the quickstart rules. Celestial Convergence doesn't get its counters until it's enabled, so won't end the game until your turn 11.
Oh ok, that is a lot more fair. This variant is probably too powerful for commander since having access to invulnerable Food Chain, Humility, or other super cards all the time is a bit too good.
personal emblem rule 6 needs revision: does it increase as you get more lands or is x set when it is enabled?
personal emblem rule 10 needs revision: the "other permanent type" part of this rule does not really make sense, it is already a permanent type. It is also a bit confusing that you could pick an enchantment/creature but this rule does not care because it has not become anything. If it is about type changing then say "changes type", but if it is about being specific types say "if at any time your emblem is a [type]". you are most likely looking for "when it is enabled" and "if it becomes [type]" with some kind of clause like "as long as it is [type]". This rule will probably be a bit complicated to write because there are so many crazy things that can happen once something is in play.
Why is Bridge from Below banned? it would never do anything. Battle of Wits is definitely banned because of power considerations... it does not care if it is in the command zone according to your given rules. Possessed Portal should be on the list because it expects itself to be a permanent (it is what Descent into Maddness was based off of) Lich should probably be on the list based on the same principle.
This variant is probably too powerful for commander since having access to invulnerable Food Chain, Humility, or other super cards all the time is a bit too good.
I agree that from a purely functional perspective, Emblem and Commander are somewhat at odds with each other, and initially I considered stating that they shouldn't be combined. In the end, I decided to let people rely on Commander's social contract to decide what needs to be disallowed, or the Commander committee if they should decide to support an Emblem-modified variant of Commander (which seems unlikely).
personal emblem rule 6 needs revision: does it increase as you get more lands or is x set when it is enabled?
Thanks, it's been updated.
personal emblem rule 10 needs revision: the "other permanent type" part of this rule does not really make sense, it is already a permanent type. It is also a bit confusing that you could pick an enchantment/creature but this rule does not care because it has not become anything. If it is about type changing then say "changes type", but if it is about being specific types say "if at any time your emblem is a [type]". you are most likely looking for "when it is enabled" and "if it becomes [type]" with some kind of clause like "as long as it is [type]". This rule will probably be a bit complicated to write because there are so many crazy things that can happen once something is in play.
113.5. An emblem is neither a card nor a permanent. Emblem isn’t a card type.
While the cards representing Personal Emblems are restricted to being Enchantments, as Emblems they do not keep that type. The purpose of rule 10 is to ensure that the very many cards that are cast as Enchantments, but which then trigger or activate to become other types, can be used as Personal Emblems, so that I don't have to Ban them all. What I probably need to clarify in both rules 9 and 10, is whether or not the token has the Enchantment type...which I would like to avoid. I'm using Enchantments as a placeholder for a new concept, so I'd like to keep the rules worded in a way that is consistent for both the Enchantment proxies, and actual Personal Emblem cards should they be printed by fans. Anyway, if I were writing these rules to the same level of specification that WotC's comprehensive rules were written, this one would likely need to be broke up, but for now, I think people understand that "becomes" means to add a type that didn't exist previously...and as noted, Emblems do not have a type.
I'm not a fan of the idea that someone might build a deck around a card, failing to understand that it's useless, then take it to an event at a friend's house or FLGS and find out that they can't participate.
Lich should probably be on the list based on the same principle.
I'm of the opinion that Lich still works appropriately as a Personal Emblem. While it changes in power level some (ability 3 makes it more dangerous to use; ability 4 makes it less dangerous to use), it's no worse than lots of other choices. My general philosophy here is that Personal Emblems should generate inevitability, without completely shutting down all strategies. Lich does this.
Lol sorry. I was just thinking about how awful Possessed Portal would be and forgot about whether or not it would qualify to begin with.
I did consider allowing the use of artifacts, but decided that there are more than enough enchantments available. I'm sure I'll eat those words in a block or two after Zendikar, as we drift farther away from Theros and into something enchantment-light, like Kaladesh.
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Quick Start Rules
The full, detailed rules can be found on the subreddit wiki.
Edit: clarified requirements for enabling your Emblem.
Edit 2: clarified that disabled Emblems have no abilities.
So while face down (i.e., not enabled) the emblem has no abilities, just like Morph cards that are face down. It's described in the detailed rules, but I'll update the quickstart rules. Celestial Convergence doesn't get its counters until it's enabled, so won't end the game until your turn 11.
Oh ok, that is a lot more fair. This variant is probably too powerful for commander since having access to invulnerable Food Chain, Humility, or other super cards all the time is a bit too good.
personal emblem rule 6 needs revision: does it increase as you get more lands or is x set when it is enabled?
personal emblem rule 10 needs revision: the "other permanent type" part of this rule does not really make sense, it is already a permanent type. It is also a bit confusing that you could pick an enchantment/creature but this rule does not care because it has not become anything. If it is about type changing then say "changes type", but if it is about being specific types say "if at any time your emblem is a [type]". you are most likely looking for "when it is enabled" and "if it becomes [type]" with some kind of clause like "as long as it is [type]". This rule will probably be a bit complicated to write because there are so many crazy things that can happen once something is in play.
Why is Bridge from Below banned? it would never do anything.
Battle of Wits is definitely banned because of power considerations... it does not care if it is in the command zone according to your given rules.
Possessed Portal should be on the list because it expects itself to be a permanent (it is what Descent into Maddness was based off of)
Lich should probably be on the list based on the same principle.
I agree that from a purely functional perspective, Emblem and Commander are somewhat at odds with each other, and initially I considered stating that they shouldn't be combined. In the end, I decided to let people rely on Commander's social contract to decide what needs to be disallowed, or the Commander committee if they should decide to support an Emblem-modified variant of Commander (which seems unlikely).
Thanks, it's been updated.
I'm not a fan of the idea that someone might build a deck around a card, failing to understand that it's useless, then take it to an event at a friend's house or FLGS and find out that they can't participate.
Thanks. I'll add this.
Edit: or no I won't...it's an artifact.
I'm of the opinion that Lich still works appropriately as a Personal Emblem. While it changes in power level some (ability 3 makes it more dangerous to use; ability 4 makes it less dangerous to use), it's no worse than lots of other choices. My general philosophy here is that Personal Emblems should generate inevitability, without completely shutting down all strategies. Lich does this.