I grew up in a very small town and was first introduced to Magic: the Gathering at around the same time Born of the Gods was released. This town had no game store, so my friends and I just slapped together casual decks with no banlists and would play against each other. Very quickly we found that there was a complete lack of balance to our gameplay and it became a frustrating experience overall. As none of us could afford to play formats like Modern or Legacy, I introduced my group to EDH, which seemed like the answer to these gameplay problems.
However, we quickly ran across some other issues. We began to brew our own decks and found that not all generals were created equal. Until the day I moved away, my Prossh, Skyraider of Kher deck dominated our small meta. Even with the randomness of Planechase thrown into the mix, I was winning between 60% and 70% of all of the games we played and wasn't enjoying it.
This variant of EDH is similar to some other home brewed formats, I've been told. This would have been my solution to the inequality of the playgroup if I had the idea sooner. There are much simpler ways of solving these problems than creating an entirely new variant, but this is one that I wanted to share with the MtG community, whether it's good or bad. I've attached images to this thread to help explain certain concepts, so let's have a look.
Seating
The minumum amount of players for this format is six at one time, something that makes the format a bit harder for some playgroups to reach. If you have a look at the image file titled "Seating," you'll see six players on two different teams which take their turns at the same time. The teams can discuss strategies with each other before and during the game. The team that takes the first turn seats themselves before the opposing team.
The two large players are the VIP players, usually chosen at random or, if you want a more intuitive experience, chosen strategically. VIP players start with 60 life and sit on opposite ends of the table. Next to each VIP are two Guards, players that start with 40 life and have some limitations the VIP players don't have.
The goal is to kill the opposing VIP player while keeping your VIP alive.
Gameplay and Range of Influence
The primary limitation that the players have is a limited Range of Influence(ROI) on the table. A player's range of influence dictates how many players on the table their spells can effect. There are two attachments, titled "VIP ROI" and "Guard ROI," that might help you visualize each player's limitations.
Each VIP has a Range of Influence of two. This means that, in either clockwise or counter clockwise direction on the table, the VIP's spells can effect two players. This gives each VIP access to every player on the table except for the opposing VIP. Each Guard has a Range of Influence of only one, meaning they have access to only the players sitting right next to them, usually an opposing Guard and their ally VIP. This is where strategically seating players can become very interesting. When a player is eliminated, the board changes. It only takes one player's death for each VIP to have access to the entire board and to each other.
Another image attached, titled "Spell ROI," showcases a spell(in the form of a poorly drawn arrow) from a player outside of a VIP's range of influence targeting a player within that VIP's range of influence. If any spell enters your ROI, even from a player you cannot target, you can counter or manipulate that spell. Another important detail, wrath spells and other spells that effect all players only effect the board as far as your ROI extends. If a VIP uses Wrath of God before a player is eliminated, the other VIP will be unharmed.
THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THIS SYSTEM. Glaring issues include VIPs with fast combo decks capable of eliminating all players in one swoop, such as a VIP running a Food Chain + Prossh, Skyraider of Kher combo. This is where Meta Legislation comes into play. Personally, I would ban all "I Win" cards (Laboratory Maniac, for example), all Time Walk effects, and all infinite combos, both mandatory and non-mandatory. Cards such as Mikaeus, the Unhallowed would not be banned, but using him to go infinite with Persist creatures or with Triskelion would result in a loss for your team. We don't want to ban too many extra cards that enable infinite combos because many of them have non-infinite applications. These added rules create a meta where you have to interact with your opponents and teammates and where games don't end because of an explosive combo on the fourth turn, but these can be changed to suit your meta.
I have not had the opportunity to test this gametype very much, so I'm unsure of other flaws or other cards that might be broken in this format. On the occasions my playgroup has played this format, we have enjoyed it and found it to be an interesting experience. Are there any other glaring problems with this format that any of you see?
ATTACHMENTS
Title
VIP ROI
Pawn ROI
Spell ROI
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Everyone knew Walid was a pious man, for he had been blessed with many sons, many jewels, and a great many Camels.
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However, we quickly ran across some other issues. We began to brew our own decks and found that not all generals were created equal. Until the day I moved away, my Prossh, Skyraider of Kher deck dominated our small meta. Even with the randomness of Planechase thrown into the mix, I was winning between 60% and 70% of all of the games we played and wasn't enjoying it.
This variant of EDH is similar to some other home brewed formats, I've been told. This would have been my solution to the inequality of the playgroup if I had the idea sooner. There are much simpler ways of solving these problems than creating an entirely new variant, but this is one that I wanted to share with the MtG community, whether it's good or bad. I've attached images to this thread to help explain certain concepts, so let's have a look.
The minumum amount of players for this format is six at one time, something that makes the format a bit harder for some playgroups to reach. If you have a look at the image file titled "Seating," you'll see six players on two different teams which take their turns at the same time. The teams can discuss strategies with each other before and during the game. The team that takes the first turn seats themselves before the opposing team.
The two large players are the VIP players, usually chosen at random or, if you want a more intuitive experience, chosen strategically. VIP players start with 60 life and sit on opposite ends of the table. Next to each VIP are two Guards, players that start with 40 life and have some limitations the VIP players don't have.
The goal is to kill the opposing VIP player while keeping your VIP alive.
Gameplay and Range of Influence
Each VIP has a Range of Influence of two. This means that, in either clockwise or counter clockwise direction on the table, the VIP's spells can effect two players. This gives each VIP access to every player on the table except for the opposing VIP. Each Guard has a Range of Influence of only one, meaning they have access to only the players sitting right next to them, usually an opposing Guard and their ally VIP. This is where strategically seating players can become very interesting. When a player is eliminated, the board changes. It only takes one player's death for each VIP to have access to the entire board and to each other.
Another image attached, titled "Spell ROI," showcases a spell(in the form of a poorly drawn arrow) from a player outside of a VIP's range of influence targeting a player within that VIP's range of influence. If any spell enters your ROI, even from a player you cannot target, you can counter or manipulate that spell. Another important detail, wrath spells and other spells that effect all players only effect the board as far as your ROI extends. If a VIP uses Wrath of God before a player is eliminated, the other VIP will be unharmed.
THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THIS SYSTEM. Glaring issues include VIPs with fast combo decks capable of eliminating all players in one swoop, such as a VIP running a Food Chain + Prossh, Skyraider of Kher combo. This is where Meta Legislation comes into play. Personally, I would ban all "I Win" cards (Laboratory Maniac, for example), all Time Walk effects, and all infinite combos, both mandatory and non-mandatory. Cards such as Mikaeus, the Unhallowed would not be banned, but using him to go infinite with Persist creatures or with Triskelion would result in a loss for your team. We don't want to ban too many extra cards that enable infinite combos because many of them have non-infinite applications. These added rules create a meta where you have to interact with your opponents and teammates and where games don't end because of an explosive combo on the fourth turn, but these can be changed to suit your meta.
I have not had the opportunity to test this gametype very much, so I'm unsure of other flaws or other cards that might be broken in this format. On the occasions my playgroup has played this format, we have enjoyed it and found it to be an interesting experience. Are there any other glaring problems with this format that any of you see?
If my post has no tags, then i posted from my phone.