So, Planechase is fun, right? Well, if you haven't played it before, it is. Specifically, when played with a communal planar deck. The original intent was to have 10-card planar decks for each player and you build it specific for your deck... well, it's much more fun to use their variant for a communal deck, and this goes well with big multiplayer games. Especially commander, I find.
Now, in 2012 they released a second wave of Planechase, which I was very pleased with. And they included a special new card specific to Planechase, basically, in Fractured Powerstone. It's a really neat card, that will sadly never, ever, ever get played. Because it's specific to Planechase. However, I'd like to change that. I think it could be used to great effect in just regular games, if it were given room to... actually be used. So here's what I thought up.
Realm of the Powerstones - A Multiplayer Planechase Variant
(Note: designed specifically with Commander in mind, but any casual format will work.)
Realm of the Powerstone is a multiplayer Planechase variant which uses the card Fractured Powerstone in the command zone -- essentially, like a commander. Planechase itself is played normally, with a communal deck, or Eternities Map, with the following additional rules.
Fractured Powerstones - The card is played almost identical to the original card, with the following changes:
The card's mana cost is 3.
The card is a Legendary Artifact
The card's second ability can only be activated once per turn.
The card is treated as a token, which means if it leaves the battlefield in any way, it is exiled from the game.
The Powerstones are placed in the middle of the table, next to the planar deck or what have you. Each player may play a maximum of one Powerstone at a time from the command zone, similar to casting a general.
Additionally, if a player's Powerstone is destroyed, exiled, or otherwise leaves their battlefield, they may recast another Powerstone at an additional cost of 1 for each time they have cast one past the first.
The card's mana ability functions as normal.
If a player has their own Fractured Powerstone in their deck, they may NOT play a token Powerstone. The Powerstone in their deck is played exactly as written.
Now, the implications of this is that it gives people extra planar dice rolls and a little something extra to do, but the dangerous part is giving everyone a free rock to play with. Now I intend to play this format in EDH specifically, but I imagine it would work fine with 60 card Planechase as well. The hard part to balance is giving everyone that extra mana acceleration, which is why I increased the casting cost. The reason I want to do this is, I like the idea of a specific Planechase card to encourage people to play the format, but no-one is going to make a separate EDH made purely for Planechase. That's why I came up with this system to encourage the playing of a unique and interesting card, as well as speeding up what can be a sometimes slow form of Planechase (that is, communal deck/eternities map).Balance with artifact decks is my main concern, however, as giving them an extra rock, even one, seems like it can be dangerous. However, at CMC3 I feel it's both good enough to be useable, but not broken. The printed 2 is strong for EVERYONE to have immediate use of, and a cost of 4 means no-one would cast it. The extra abilities are intended to help level the playing field so that one person doesn't get an enormous extra benefit from it in comparison to others (Legendary and "Once per turn" stipulations stop Untap effects/Clone effects from getting an unfair advantage from the card.) So, that's my logic behind the format.
Thoughts? Ideas? Improvements? Let me know!
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Props to Theismisacrime for the sig! Click for Trade list!
Major EDH player! Current decks:UUBraids, Waifu | UGZegana | RGWEnchantress Uril, the Miststalker | WBTriad of Fates (new!) | RBGXira Arien Re-dredge-imator (unretired!)
Eladamri | Anowon | Sydri | Melek | Augustin IV | Thelon | Sliver Overlord | Ramirez DePietro
Retired! Kangee | Kaalia
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Now, in 2012 they released a second wave of Planechase, which I was very pleased with. And they included a special new card specific to Planechase, basically, in Fractured Powerstone. It's a really neat card, that will sadly never, ever, ever get played. Because it's specific to Planechase. However, I'd like to change that. I think it could be used to great effect in just regular games, if it were given room to... actually be used. So here's what I thought up.
Realm of the Powerstones - A Multiplayer Planechase Variant
(Note: designed specifically with Commander in mind, but any casual format will work.)
Realm of the Powerstone is a multiplayer Planechase variant which uses the card Fractured Powerstone in the command zone -- essentially, like a commander. Planechase itself is played normally, with a communal deck, or Eternities Map, with the following additional rules.
Fractured Powerstones - The card is played almost identical to the original card, with the following changes:
Now, the implications of this is that it gives people extra planar dice rolls and a little something extra to do, but the dangerous part is giving everyone a free rock to play with. Now I intend to play this format in EDH specifically, but I imagine it would work fine with 60 card Planechase as well. The hard part to balance is giving everyone that extra mana acceleration, which is why I increased the casting cost. The reason I want to do this is, I like the idea of a specific Planechase card to encourage people to play the format, but no-one is going to make a separate EDH made purely for Planechase. That's why I came up with this system to encourage the playing of a unique and interesting card, as well as speeding up what can be a sometimes slow form of Planechase (that is, communal deck/eternities map).Balance with artifact decks is my main concern, however, as giving them an extra rock, even one, seems like it can be dangerous. However, at CMC3 I feel it's both good enough to be useable, but not broken. The printed 2 is strong for EVERYONE to have immediate use of, and a cost of 4 means no-one would cast it. The extra abilities are intended to help level the playing field so that one person doesn't get an enormous extra benefit from it in comparison to others (Legendary and "Once per turn" stipulations stop Untap effects/Clone effects from getting an unfair advantage from the card.) So, that's my logic behind the format.
Thoughts? Ideas? Improvements? Let me know!
Props to Theismisacrime for the sig! Click for Trade list!
Major EDH player! Current decks: UUBraids, Waifu | UGZegana | RGWEnchantress Uril, the Miststalker | WBTriad of Fates (new!) | RBGXira Arien Re-dredge-imator (unretired!)
Eladamri | Anowon | Sydri | Melek | Augustin IV | Thelon | Sliver Overlord | Ramirez DePietro
Retired! Kangee | Kaalia