My homebrew/variant format is designed to start all players on equal footing- the only variance being the luck of the draw and one's play skill level.
A communal deck is built by the owner. There are no limits or restrictions to what goes into a deck, however all five colors (as well as artifacts, gold cards, and colorless cards) should be represented. The deck can be as big or small as one desires, but 50 cards or so for each player involved in the game would be a nice number.
Much like the Cube format, one of the perks of this format is that only one community deck can be drawn from. Other players don't have to have their own decks with them (they wouldn't need them if they had them), in fact they don't even have to own their own cards!
Because this is a casual format, I believe that more life than the normal 20 should be the start point. 40 life or more is ideal as this is a community game meant to be played and experienced by friends.
All normal Magic game rules apply, however these are the alterations from traditional Magic.
There are no mulligans. Players keep what they draw.
If the entire communal deck is exhausted, the graveyard is shuffled up and replaced fresh.
The game ends only when all players have died. When a player dies, his cards in play and his hand are all placed into the graveyard.
In addition to the starting 7 cards in each player's hand at the start of the game, each player also begins play with two additional "packs" of cards.
LAND PACK- The first pack is a five card pack consisting of one forest, one plains, one swamp, one island, and one mountain. These five cards are shuffled and placed face down at the start of the game. During each of the player's first five turns, they flip the top card from their land pack onto the battlefield. This does not count towards their one land drop per turn. This accelerates one's mana count, helps prevent mana screw, and enables players to play large spells sooner than later.
SPELL PACK- Each player also starts the game with a spell pack. This spell pack should consist of 7 classic and functional cards. Examples of cards that should/could be included are Desert Twister (destroy any card in play), Terror (spot removal), Disenchant (enchantment/artifact removal), Counterspell (counter target spell), Fissure (destroy target creature or land), Stream of Life (life gain), Braingeyser (card draw), and Wrath of God (board wipe). How one designs the spell pack is a matter of choice, however all five colors should have a card represented in the spell pack and each player's spell pack should be identical to everyone else's. The spell pack gives players options to take out nuisance creatures, lands, or other permanents, counter a spell, gain life, wipe the board, or things that otherwise should help keep the game in check and serve to lengthen the game. Cards from the spell pack can be played at anytime, they can be played only one time, they don't count towards the seven card limit in one's hand, and once a card is played from a spell pack it should be removed from the game. I would advise against direct damage spells (ie Fireball) from being included in the spell pack as the spell pack is not intended to outright eliminate opponents, but rather enhance game play and give players options.
CHAOS STACK- The Chaos Stack is a separate pack of cards that affects all players and game play. It should consist of 20 to 30 cards. The cards should be shuffled and placed in a face down stack. Whichever player starts the game by going first must flip the top card of the chaos stack at the beginning of his or her turn. Whatever card is flipped will affect game play for the entirety of each player's turn. When it gets back to the first player, he flips the next card over which nullifies the previous card. For example, on the first turn a Mana Flare might be flipped. As such, each player's land produces twice as much mana on that turn. On the second turn a Howling Mine might be flipped. The Howling Mine negates the Mana Flare and now each player draws an additional card on their draw step. "World" enchantments and artifacts such as Howling Mine and Mana Flare are ideal for this. Sorcery cards can also be placed in the Chaos Stack, however unlike enchantment or artifacts, they only happen one time- when they are initially flipped. Sorcery cards that would be ideal for the Chaos Stack include Warp World, Wrath of God, and Balance. If the game lasts long enough and the entire Chaos Stack is exhausted, it is shuffled back up, and the process begins again.
A communal deck is built by the owner. There are no limits or restrictions to what goes into a deck, however all five colors (as well as artifacts, gold cards, and colorless cards) should be represented. The deck can be as big or small as one desires, but 50 cards or so for each player involved in the game would be a nice number.
Much like the Cube format, one of the perks of this format is that only one community deck can be drawn from. Other players don't have to have their own decks with them (they wouldn't need them if they had them), in fact they don't even have to own their own cards!
Because this is a casual format, I believe that more life than the normal 20 should be the start point. 40 life or more is ideal as this is a community game meant to be played and experienced by friends.
All normal Magic game rules apply, however these are the alterations from traditional Magic.
There are no mulligans. Players keep what they draw.
If the entire communal deck is exhausted, the graveyard is shuffled up and replaced fresh.
The game ends only when all players have died. When a player dies, his cards in play and his hand are all placed into the graveyard.
In addition to the starting 7 cards in each player's hand at the start of the game, each player also begins play with two additional "packs" of cards.
LAND PACK- The first pack is a five card pack consisting of one forest, one plains, one swamp, one island, and one mountain. These five cards are shuffled and placed face down at the start of the game. During each of the player's first five turns, they flip the top card from their land pack onto the battlefield. This does not count towards their one land drop per turn. This accelerates one's mana count, helps prevent mana screw, and enables players to play large spells sooner than later.
SPELL PACK- Each player also starts the game with a spell pack. This spell pack should consist of 7 classic and functional cards. Examples of cards that should/could be included are Desert Twister (destroy any card in play), Terror (spot removal), Disenchant (enchantment/artifact removal), Counterspell (counter target spell), Fissure (destroy target creature or land), Stream of Life (life gain), Braingeyser (card draw), and Wrath of God (board wipe). How one designs the spell pack is a matter of choice, however all five colors should have a card represented in the spell pack and each player's spell pack should be identical to everyone else's. The spell pack gives players options to take out nuisance creatures, lands, or other permanents, counter a spell, gain life, wipe the board, or things that otherwise should help keep the game in check and serve to lengthen the game. Cards from the spell pack can be played at anytime, they can be played only one time, they don't count towards the seven card limit in one's hand, and once a card is played from a spell pack it should be removed from the game. I would advise against direct damage spells (ie Fireball) from being included in the spell pack as the spell pack is not intended to outright eliminate opponents, but rather enhance game play and give players options.
CHAOS STACK- The Chaos Stack is a separate pack of cards that affects all players and game play. It should consist of 20 to 30 cards. The cards should be shuffled and placed in a face down stack. Whichever player starts the game by going first must flip the top card of the chaos stack at the beginning of his or her turn. Whatever card is flipped will affect game play for the entirety of each player's turn. When it gets back to the first player, he flips the next card over which nullifies the previous card. For example, on the first turn a Mana Flare might be flipped. As such, each player's land produces twice as much mana on that turn. On the second turn a Howling Mine might be flipped. The Howling Mine negates the Mana Flare and now each player draws an additional card on their draw step. "World" enchantments and artifacts such as Howling Mine and Mana Flare are ideal for this. Sorcery cards can also be placed in the Chaos Stack, however unlike enchantment or artifacts, they only happen one time- when they are initially flipped. Sorcery cards that would be ideal for the Chaos Stack include Warp World, Wrath of God, and Balance. If the game lasts long enough and the entire Chaos Stack is exhausted, it is shuffled back up, and the process begins again.
Current decks:
Legacy: Zoo, Aggro Elves, The Gate, White Weenie, Red Deck Wins, and Merfolk. Currently building Solidarity.
Casual: Warp World Revolution and Old School Red-Green.
Standard: Ob-Nixilis Wave and Elves.