Just a fun variant to spice up your groups gameplay. It can be applied to most formats I can think of (Constructed, Limited, EDH, Cube, Multiplayer(3+) ect). Here's how it works.
Whenever a player casts a spell, it must be either 1 CMC more or 1 CMC less than the last spell cast this game. If it's not, the spell is countered. You may prevent your spell from getting countered by paying 1 life per CMC difference between your spell and the expected 1-up OR 1-down cost.
So for instance if I cast a Brainstorm (1 CMC), the next spell cast by anyone must cost either 0 or 2 CMC or else they'd need to pay the difference in life. So if the next player then wanted to cast Wrath of God (4 CMC), they would need to pay 2 life. This life cost has to be paid before the spell resolves.
So you might be thinking, "well I can just play my mass lifegain deck and just ignore the mechanics of the variant since I'll have plenty of life to spare". Not so fast.
The second mechanic; there's no FREE life gain. Players must pay 1 mana for EACH point of life they would gain.
There are also two instances in the game when players can cast a "freebie" spell where they wouldn't have to pay any life.
1) The very first spell cast in the game, since there would be no reference point.
2) If a complete round has passed and it comes back to the players turn that cast the last spell, the 1-up and 1-down numbers reset and any CMC spell can be cast for free. This is to try and prevent someone casting a 10+ CMC spell while everyone is low on health making it so people can't cast anything without dying.
Have Fun and Enjoy!! Let me know if you see any flaws or have any questions or ideas to make it more interesting. And yes, the name Rum and Coke directly relates to the AKA name.
Just a fun variant to spice up your groups gameplay. It can be applied to most formats I can think of (Constructed, Limited, EDH, Cube, Multiplayer(3+) ect). Here's how it works.
Whenever a player casts a spell, it must be either 1 CMC more or 1 CMC less than the last spell cast this game. If it's not, the spell is countered. You may prevent your spell from getting countered by paying 1 life per CMC difference between your spell and the expected 1-up OR 1-down cost.
So for instance if I cast a Brainstorm (1 CMC), the next spell cast by anyone must cost either 0 or 2 CMC or else they'd need to pay the difference in life. So if the next player then wanted to cast Wrath of God (4 CMC), they would need to pay 2 life. This life cost has to be paid before the spell resolves.
So you might be thinking, "well I can just play my mass lifegain deck and just ignore the mechanics of the variant since I'll have plenty of life to spare". Not so fast.
The second mechanic; there's no FREE life gain. Players must pay 1 mana for EACH point of life they would gain.
There are also two instances in the game when players can cast a "freebie" spell where they wouldn't have to pay any life.
1) The very first spell cast in the game, since there would be no reference point.
2) If a complete round has passed and it comes back to the players turn that cast the last spell, the 1-up and 1-down numbers reset and any CMC spell can be cast for free. This is to try and prevent someone casting a 10+ CMC spell while everyone is low on health making it so people can't cast anything without dying.
Have Fun and Enjoy!! Let me know if you see any flaws or have any questions or ideas to make it more interesting. And yes, the name Rum and Coke directly relates to the AKA name.