Context:
I’ve been playing commander since around 2014, and around that time my friends and I would occasionally shuffle all our decks together and play from a massive deck that we all shared. It was a messy and not very intuitive way to play, but after watching a video about the Dandan format, I had the thought to revisit the idea but in a more intentional way. Thus, the Wizard’s Tower was born.
The Game Mode:
500 card deck. Players share a library and a graveyard. At the start of the game, each player is randomly assigned 2 commanders by revealing cards from the top until they hit 2 legal commanders. Then, the arduous task of shuffling the 500 card deck can commence. Once the deck is shuffled, players get their hands normally, but with special mulligan rules to avoid needing to shuffle each time: players can mulligan in turn order by setting aside their hand and drawing (7 minus 1 for each mulligan beyond the first) new cards. Once all players have mulliganed, the set aside cards are shuffled into the deck one final time. Then, the game can begin. Each player starts with 40 life (subject to change based on gameplay). Some special rules apply, such as when a card references a card/spell/permanent’s owner, which will instead refer to that entity’s controller. If a spell or ability says “All players/opponents X”, that ability will resolve for each player in turn order, starting with the active player. Other special rules may apply, but would need some play testing to find such interactions. There are no effects which cause the deck to need shuffling.
Quirks:
The shared library is a key component of the game mode. Top deck manipulation and mill will allow players to interact with each other’s draws. The shared graveyard is also key. Cards that mill, discard, exile cards from graveyards, or have ways to be played from the grave will all be available to all players, so managing the resources in the graveyard will be crucial to the strategy of play. Lastly, the randomized commanders will incentivize players to play the shared resources in slightly different ways, and affect a few commander dependent cards.
Final Word and Deck Link:
This is a fresh idea I have spent several hours crafting, but haven’t had a chance to play the list yet. Would love some suggestions for cards that enhance the game dynamics outlined above, and if any of you madlads decide to give the format a go, would love to hear how those games went! Here is the link to the list on Moxfield: https://moxfield.com/decks/U5op7S5ezUCkekyzJ0WcNQ
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I’ve been playing commander since around 2014, and around that time my friends and I would occasionally shuffle all our decks together and play from a massive deck that we all shared. It was a messy and not very intuitive way to play, but after watching a video about the Dandan format, I had the thought to revisit the idea but in a more intentional way. Thus, the Wizard’s Tower was born.
The Game Mode:
500 card deck. Players share a library and a graveyard. At the start of the game, each player is randomly assigned 2 commanders by revealing cards from the top until they hit 2 legal commanders. Then, the arduous task of shuffling the 500 card deck can commence. Once the deck is shuffled, players get their hands normally, but with special mulligan rules to avoid needing to shuffle each time: players can mulligan in turn order by setting aside their hand and drawing (7 minus 1 for each mulligan beyond the first) new cards. Once all players have mulliganed, the set aside cards are shuffled into the deck one final time. Then, the game can begin. Each player starts with 40 life (subject to change based on gameplay). Some special rules apply, such as when a card references a card/spell/permanent’s owner, which will instead refer to that entity’s controller. If a spell or ability says “All players/opponents X”, that ability will resolve for each player in turn order, starting with the active player. Other special rules may apply, but would need some play testing to find such interactions. There are no effects which cause the deck to need shuffling.
Quirks:
The shared library is a key component of the game mode. Top deck manipulation and mill will allow players to interact with each other’s draws. The shared graveyard is also key. Cards that mill, discard, exile cards from graveyards, or have ways to be played from the grave will all be available to all players, so managing the resources in the graveyard will be crucial to the strategy of play. Lastly, the randomized commanders will incentivize players to play the shared resources in slightly different ways, and affect a few commander dependent cards.
Final Word and Deck Link:
This is a fresh idea I have spent several hours crafting, but haven’t had a chance to play the list yet. Would love some suggestions for cards that enhance the game dynamics outlined above, and if any of you madlads decide to give the format a go, would love to hear how those games went! Here is the link to the list on Moxfield: https://moxfield.com/decks/U5op7S5ezUCkekyzJ0WcNQ