...So... after drawing a creature, you stop auctioning. Then what? Free attack with no blockers? Getting something like Phage or Blightsteel Colossus equals turn-two win, no competition. Does each player get a separate Bid Step before anyone gets a combat step? Getting something that pings every upkeep would destroy balance. Do you even have upkeep steps? When the bidding is done whose turn is it? If the person who gets the creature always gets their turn when they win their creature, then the match is pretty much Solitaire. If it is Player A's turn and Player B won all the auctions, then Player A pretty much does nothing. Obviously players bid in some kind of order, otherwise it would devolve into a screaming match. Do players get more gold to start if there are, like, five players? Do they get more each round the more players there are? They would have to, to have some kind of balance.
I propose the following:
60 card singleton + 60 per player: 10 of each color, 10 colorless including nonbasic lands
separate deck of 50 lands + ten fetchlands i.e. terramorphic expanse and evolving wilds
Begin game
Gold added to Each players gold pool equal to 10 + 5 X (number of players)
Each player is dealt one basic land card at random.
This sets their color identity.
Begin round one
Players may spend 10 gold to draw a land card at random, possibly adding another color to that players color identity. This counts as a land entering the battlefield for purposes of landfall and the like, but there is no restriction on how many lands may be played on each turn, except how much gold you possess.
Effects that let you play additional lands instead discount land purchases by two gold.
Players may only cast colorless cards and cards in their color identity.
If you come into possession of a permanent or spell outside of your color identity, or sell the last land in that particular color, you still retain control of said permanents and spells.
Should they return to your hand, however, you will need to purchase the appropriate land to cast them.
Player one untap
Player one upkeep
Begin Auction Phase
Sell Step: Any player may sell cards to Auctioneer for gold equal to the cards CMC, +1 for uncommon +2 for rare +3 for Mythic rare.
You may sell back lands for 5 gold apiece.
Cards that decrease casting cost instead multiply the amount of gold received by an amount equal to 1 + (amount of mana casting cost would be reduced by) ie Dragonspeaker Shaman would allow you to sell dragons back at triple their converted mana cost.
Sold cards are placed on the bottom of their respective decks.
A number of Bid Steps equal to (number of players) + (number of rounds passed) + 1
Bidding starts at half the converted mana cost of the card, rounded up. x2 for uncommon, x2.5 for rare, x3 for mythic rare.
Players bid in clockwise seating format.
Cards that do not receive a bid are placed on the bottom of the Auction Block.
Next bid begins with player seated clockwise from last bids winner.
Cards that allow for card draw instead give Coupon counters to purchase one card up for auction without spending gold or Competing with buyers.
Any time an effect would let you draw an additional card, it adds that many coupon counters to your pool.
Cards that draw multiple cards are restricted to 2 per 120 cards.
Cards that allow for repetitive card draws, i.e. Arcanis the Omnipotent are outright banned.
Using a coupon causes you to pass the next Bid Step, as well as the next Income Phase.
If you have multiple coupons, you may use one, then you skip a Bid Step, then you may use another.
Unlike the player's personal cards, there is no graveyard for the Auction Block.
If a card would cause cards to be put from a library into the graveyard, instead receive a number of rotation counters equal to the number of cards it would 'mill'.
This specifies the number of times you may rotate the card up for auction to the bottom of the auction block without giving other buyers the chance to bid.
This does not end the current bid step.
You may still bid this step.
You may not rotate again this step.
You skip the next Bid step, as well as the next Income Phase.
Cards that search a library, instead let the caster choose a card to put up for auction from the Auction Block immediately.
Cards that exile cards from a library, instead add those cards to the controllers Private Reserve, unless otherwise stated.
At the beginning of the next match, each player begins with their private reserve in hand.
End auction phase
main phase one
play any number of spells in hand within your color identity without paying their mana costs.
you may use the lands you have available for alternative costs or kickers or the like.
combat
main phase two
Income Phase
Players add gold to their pool equal to 3 + (2 x number of rounds passed)
end of player one's turn
begin player two's turn
untap
upkeep
Auction
etc
after final player ends turn, end of round one declared,
begin round two
It sounds a lot more complicated than it is, but just flat-out drawing and milling would not only wreck the flavor of auctioning, it would seriously tip the balance in one players favor an ever-snowballing "Wait for a mill or draw card, do nothing else first to bid big wins the game" type scenario. In altering the draw mechanics, you must alter ALL the draw mechanics.
-Pick any Planeswalker except the following: Garruk Relentless, Gideon, Battle-Forged, Gideon, Champion of Justice, Jace, Telepath Unbound, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Kaya, Ghost Assassin, Karn Liberated, Liliana, Defiant Necromancer, Nissa Revane, Nissa, Sage Animist, Sarkhan the Mad, Sorin Markov, or Vraska the Unseen as they are banned. It remains in the command zone; You may not cast it or move it to the battlefield.
-You do not have life points, instead, your Planeswalker begins with 10x the number of loyalty counters that they normally would begin with. If you run out of loyalty counters, you lose.
-All cards with "You win the game", "You lose the game", "Target opponent loses the game" or "Target player loses the game" are banned.
-No poison counters. Infect is essentially wither.
-Cards that reference planeswalkers no longer affect planeswalkers. If they would effect a player, such as causing damage, they still affect the planeswalker in the way they would affect the player i.e. damage removes loyalty
-Any effect that would cause you to lose or gain life causes your planeswalker to lose or gain loyalty counters instead
-you must pay your planeswalker's casting cost to 'Ignite' it and begin using its abilities. the same timing restrictions apply.
-Any time you would gain loyalty counter EXCEPT FOR THE POSITIVE COSTS OF YOUR PLANESWALKER'S ABILITIES you gain that many 'adrenaline counters'
-If you would remove counters from your planeswalker as a cost of its abilites, NOT AN EFFECT, you gain that many 'Adrenaline counters'
-Upon 'Igniting' your planeswalker - or in the case of Arlinn Kord, transforming into Arlinn, Embraced by the Moon - you gain 'adrenaline counters' equal to its ultimate ability.
-At the beginning of each upkeep, following the 'Igniting' of your planeswalker, you lose 1 'adrenaline counter'.
-If you would lose loyalty counters EXCEPT AS A COST OF PLANESWALKER ABILITIES, you lose 1 'adrenaline counter' for every 2 loyalty lost.
-When you have no 'adrenaline counters', you may use your planeswalker's ultimate ability.
-If you would receive an emblem when you already have one, the new emblem overwrites and removes the old
-your deck's color identity is that of any planeswalker card printed with the subtype of your chosen general, even if it is banned
-you may have any cards with the same subtype as your general in your deck (still only one of each) and replace your general with them by paying their casting cost if you have them in hand. You may not have any other planeswalker subtype in your deck. Loyalty counters carry over. You gain 1 'Adrenaline counter' for each time you do so
-You may not search your library for planeswalker cards. If an effect would reveal a planeswalker card and put it into your hand, ignore the part about planeswalkers.
-100 card singleton
220. I am not allowed kick player away from table while performing the above.
221. I am not allowed to play 'card basketball' with my opponent's discarded cards and the wastebin across the room.
222. Even if I get it in 'with no net'.
223. Not allowed to say 'There's always room for Jell-o' When playing Gelatinous Genesis.
224. Or Gutter Grime.
225. Or S.N.O.T.. Ew.
226. Casting knights with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx does not make them 'The Knights Who Say Nyx'
227. Playing Temple of the false god does not make me a Pastafarian. Also, some people may find that offensive.
228. No, we must not act out our turns like scenes in a play simply because Thespian's stage is on the battlefield.
229. Am not allowed to make eating noises when playing Thromok the insatiable or Omnath, locus of mana. This includes when saying their names.
230. I am not allowed to eat my opponent's Ghave, guru of spores, even if 'Fungus Shaman' essentially means 'Magic Mushroom'.
231. Likewise, if a creature with devour eats aforementioned creature, it is not considered 'trippin balls, yo'.
4x Composite Golem
1x Death's Presence
1x Dictate of Karametra
24x Forest
4x Gelatinous Genesis
1x Genesis Hydra
1x Giant Adephage
1x Gutter Grime
1x Hydra Broodmaster
4x Karametra's Acolyte
3x Market Festival
1x Mistcutter Hydra
1x Nessian Wilds Ravager
4x Nim Deathmantle
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Ohran Viper
1x Omnath, Locus of Mana
1x Pelakka Wurm
1x Phytotitan
1x Polukranos, World Eater
1x Renegade Krasis
1x Rogue's Passage
1x Soul of Zendikar
1x Temple of the False God
1x Terra Stomper
1x Thespian's Stage
3x Verdant Haven
2x Voyaging Satyr
1x Wildheart Invoker
Link to deck @ TappedOut.net
So, this is my Devotion abuse deck. Polukranos, world eater to hose flying/unblockable, Nim Deathmantle and Composite Golem to go infinite, Mistcutter Hydra, Gelatinous Genesis, Hydra Broodmaster and Omnath, Locus of Mana to dump mana into.
Any thoughts?
You now have a Wrath of God that doesn't hit your creatures, instead doubling them every turn.
On a stick.
For 2.
Thaumaturge is insane.
Nykthos is absolutely insane in mono-color EDH if you just get stuck in attrition.
4 Cairn Wanderer
4 Necrotic Ooze
1 Skyspear Cavalry
1 Avacyn, Guardian Angel
1 Spawnwrithe
1 Skylasher
1 Rummaging Goblin
1 Chromanticore
1 Warden of Evos Isle
1 Sophic Centaur
1 Erebos's Emissary
1 Drifting SHade
1 Megantic Sliver
1 Acidic Slime
1 Amphin Pathmage
1 Mistcutter Hydra
1 Quag Vampires
1 Nemesis of Mortals
1 Graverobber Spider
1 River Boa
1 Xathrid Slyblade
1 Horror of the Dim
1 Blood Host
1 Stonefare Crocodile
1 Prognostic Sphinx
4 Diabolic Tutor
Lands:
1 Halimar Depths
1 Golgari Guildgate
1 Tainted Wood
3 Dimir Guildgate
3 Transguild Promenade
8 Swamp
8 Forest
Wish I had Buried Alive to make this faster, but it works rather well without it. I could switch out the Pathmage for Marchesa's Smuggler and get haste, but that would probably require more red...
Usually looking to get the Emissary out fast, then tutor chromanticore. The oozes are just for support, but they can get crazy with the shade and nemesis in the graveyard.
I don't have Akroma, Angel of Wrath or Sphinx of the Steel Wind, but I'm trying to get Mistmeadow Skulk and other landwalkers.
Could use some suggestions.
Also, not using isochron scepter, because I'd have to take out big cards in this slow-format deck to put in small cards. And drawing a bunch doesn't help when you've got a game-changer with every card. The main drawback isn't getting cards, it's drawing board-hate - which, with the people I play, EVERYTHING gets board-hate. I literally have to play like a timmy in order to keep on the board. In a slow format like commander, my cards are coming fast enough. Anything helps me pretty much anytime I get it. I understand card advantage is important in a lot of matches, but Isochron scepter + draw card is two spells that only work effectively if the other is out on the field. Besides, Bred for the Hunt can get me a LOT of card capital if biomancer is out there. And aeon chronicler and soul ransom, too, I guess...
And as for securing the field, unless they board wipe, I've got dungeon geists and revoker to hold down creatures, tromokratis to open them up for attack, Archetype for spell evasion, Mirko Vosk and a whole bunch of other cards to mill...
I guess I don't understand what exactly you mean when you say 'secure the board
I mostly wanted rounded copiers, as well as backups for my stuff to copy If the opponents just played chump blockers and non- permanents or artifacts and enchantments. Getting hydra broodmaster and dictate of karametra out before playing progenitor mimic is game over for most anyone.
Also, little-known factoid: When The Mimeoplasm copies something, it ceases to be The Mimeoplasm, and becomes the colors, name, supertype, subtype and creature type of the new card. The 'legendary' is just there because he was made to be a commander.
1 The Mimeoplasm
Lands:
1 Transguild Promenade
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Simic Guildgate
1 Golgari Guildgate
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Halimar Depths
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Tainted Wood
12 Forest
11 Swamp
8 Island
Creatures:
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Progenitor Mimic
1 Horizon Chimera
1 Master Biomancer
1 Dimir Doppelganger
1 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker
1 Reaper of the Wilds
1 Shrike Harpy
1 Desecration Demon
1 Wight of Precinct Six
1 Maze Abomination
1 Toxic Nim
1 Leeching Sliver
1 Maalfeld Twins
1 Dungeon Geists
1 Arbiter of the Ideal
1 Tromokratis
1 Jace's Mindseeker
1 Aeon Chronicler
1 Body Double
1 Chasm Skulker
1 Giant Adephage
1 Archetype of Endurance
1 Nylea's Disciple
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Terra Stomper
1 Arbor Colossus
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Hydra Broodmaster
1 Ohran Viper
1 Genesis Hydra
1 Phytotitan
1 Nessian Wilds Ravager
1 Undergrowth Scavenger
1 Monomania
1 Paranoid Delusions
1 Extract from Darkness
1 Unexpected Results
Enchantments:
1 Dictate of Karametra
1 Ooze Flux
1 Market Festival
1 Verdant Haven
1 Followed Footsteps
1 Grave Betrayal
1 Bred for the Hunt
1 Soul Ransom
Artifacts:
1 Haunted Plate Mail
1 Soul Foundry
1 Mimic Vat
1 Deathrender
1 Shield of the Avatar
Instants:
1 Chord of Calling
1 Polymorphous Rush
1 Tragic Slip
1 Grisly Spectacle
1 Plasm Capture
Planeswalkers:
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
1 Vraska, the Unseen
Because why play with one of something when I can play with ten of everything.
The Mana curve sucks, It draws way too much hate, and everything kinda depends on something else, but I like it.
I wanna stick with the theme of "copy stuff, make more of stuff", but I'm willing to take advice and suggestions.