I'd like to post my commander variant that I have been working on with a few friends. We have been playing it for a while now, and I am always finding new ways to improve it.
It's called Warlords Commander, and it consists of a pile of "identity" cards, which are split up into "good" "evil" and "neutral."
Depending on the number of players, randomly divide good and evil identity cards in an equal proportion, and if there is an odd player, add a neutral card.
So,
5 players, 2 good cards, 2 evil, 1 neutral.
4 players, 2 good cards, 2 evil
Each player gets a card at random, and keeps his or her identity a secret.
The game plays out as normal, except good players must defeat evil players and vice versa, and neutral players end up getting on a side (through the abilities of their card) or winning all on their own.
The game begins as a mystery. Players are not allowed to share their identities unless their card instructs them to do so. Sometimes a board state will trigger a revealed identity, sometimes an action or timed event will. The game turns into a political game of intrigue where players have to figure out who is who.
We've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of this "subformat" and I would like to see it become a "thing" as well as get artwork commissioned for the cards rather than ripping off Wizards (I plan on making zero money from this). Feel free to print out the cards and try them in your own playgroup! Any comments/questions/ideas are welcome.
This seems like a very interesting idea. I've been looking for a way to spice up my playgroups EDH meet ups. I'm going to borrow this from you and try it out. Might have to tweak some of the identities as there a few conditions on them my group rarely, if ever, will meet. Overall, awesome job.
First off, great idea all around and good identity effects!
However, there appears to be a small hole. How do the Woodsman, Paladin, and similar identities become revealed when no Monsters are being used? Are the identities not always supposed to be revealed? If so, that creates a slight imbalance among people's bonuses.
Sorry to be the devil's advocate, but here's an idea to compensate:
TheBeast
Neutral
On the 10th turn, reveal your identity.
When you reveal your identity, each player may pay any amount of mana in order to hire you. The player who taps the most places a Bloodscent on another player and your alignment becomes the same as theirs. If you accept, you may search your library for 3 lands, 2 creatures, and one enchantment and put them onto the battlefield. If you defeat the player with the Bloodscent, you gain an amount of life equal to the number of permanents they had in play.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Haven't played anything but EDH and casual for over a year
I like the idea of alternate reveal conditions for identities that are dependent on other identities. I haven't had the chance of playing a game with say the Woodsman and no monsters, but I can see how the situation could be frustrating. As far as drawing an irrelevant identity, it's kind of a "tough luck" situation, but I can also see how there is some inherent frustration associated with this. I attempted to compensate by allowing players to trade identities one time when all identities of a faction are revealed. Maybe I could work in a "reroll" clause where players vote as a neutral party to allow or disallow an obviously irrelevant identity. Maybe I could simply allow one reroll at the beginning of the game.
The Beast sounds pretty cool, I'll definitely work that concept into future identities.
I'd like to post my commander variant that I have been working on with a few friends. We have been playing it for a while now, and I am always finding new ways to improve it.
It's called Warlords Commander, and it consists of a pile of "identity" cards, which are split up into "good" "evil" and "neutral."
Depending on the number of players, randomly divide good and evil identity cards in an equal proportion, and if there is an odd player, add a neutral card.
So,
5 players, 2 good cards, 2 evil, 1 neutral.
4 players, 2 good cards, 2 evil
Each player gets a card at random, and keeps his or her identity a secret.
The game plays out as normal, except good players must defeat evil players and vice versa, and neutral players end up getting on a side (through the abilities of their card) or winning all on their own.
The game begins as a mystery. Players are not allowed to share their identities unless their card instructs them to do so. Sometimes a board state will trigger a revealed identity, sometimes an action or timed event will. The game turns into a political game of intrigue where players have to figure out who is who.
We've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of this "subformat" and I would like to see it become a "thing" as well as get artwork commissioned for the cards rather than ripping off Wizards (I plan on making zero money from this). Feel free to print out the cards and try them in your own playgroup! Any comments/questions/ideas are welcome.
Rules Card
Identity Cards
However, there appears to be a small hole. How do the Woodsman, Paladin, and similar identities become revealed when no Monsters are being used? Are the identities not always supposed to be revealed? If so, that creates a slight imbalance among people's bonuses.
Sorry to be the devil's advocate, but here's an idea to compensate:
TheBeast
Neutral
On the 10th turn, reveal your identity.
When you reveal your identity, each player may pay any amount of mana in order to hire you. The player who taps the most places a Bloodscent on another player and your alignment becomes the same as theirs. If you accept, you may search your library for 3 lands, 2 creatures, and one enchantment and put them onto the battlefield. If you defeat the player with the Bloodscent, you gain an amount of life equal to the number of permanents they had in play.
The Beast sounds pretty cool, I'll definitely work that concept into future identities.
Major thanks to Traprootkami for the signature.