My kids and I have played Magic for a couple of years and enjoy the game on a casual level. We are interested in creating an alternative multiplayer format and I thought I would post our idea here to see what people think.
Our goal is to create a fast, casual format that can be played very quickly be randomly assigning cards or, if we have more time, support a draft format.
(Some of the ideas below are inspired by the card game Epic)
Card Pool
A "cube" of 80 specially selected cards (no lands) that will work well for this format.
A pool of 120 land cards (24 of each color)
Player Decks and Lands
Players create a 20 card deck either by random dealing of cards or (time permitting) a draft.
Each player gets six of each color land making a 30 card land "deck"
Game Start
Each player has 20 life to start.
Each player draws a five card hand from their 20 card deck.
Each player keeps their lands in a separate deck in front of them.
Game Play
The following describes one round of game play where each player gets a turn.
Part one: Mana declaration
A six sided die is rolled. The result is how many lands all players will get to play for that round.
All players choose the number of lands from the die roll from their 30 card land deck and keep them face down.
When all players have selected their desired lands, all players reveal their selections by placing the lands in front of them, untapped.
Part two: Player turns
Game play proceeds by regular Magic rules as each player takes their turn.
Players may use their mana on their turn or save for other players turns (removal,buffs, etc)
Players may discard cards from their hand at any point to add one mana of any color to their mana pool for each card discarded this way.
Part three: Card draw and reset
All players draw back up to a five card hand from their 20 card deck.
All lands (tapped or not) are returned to each player's land deck.
When the round is over the die is rolled again and Mana declaration happens again, etc.
Most other basic rules of Magic apply (you lose if milled; you have your own graveyard, etc)
Design Ideas and Feedback
Our hope here is that by limiting the pool to 80 cards, we will become familiar with the signaling that the mana declaration provides and be able to make interesting tactical decisions based on other player's mana. This also provides good bluffing opportunities.
The ability to discard cards for extra mana would help when the land die roll is low (1 or 2) and you have a hand of higher cost cards. The risk though is that you will mill yourself out given the 20 card deck.
Our initial thoughts on cards to include would be the same as most small pools: Nothing too powerful. Interesting cards that interact in multiple ways.
My kids and I have played Magic for a couple of years and enjoy the game on a casual level. We are interested in creating an alternative multiplayer format and I thought I would post our idea here to see what people think.
Our goal is to create a fast, casual format that can be played very quickly be randomly assigning cards or, if we have more time, support a draft format.
(Some of the ideas below are inspired by the card game Epic)
Card Pool
Player Decks and Lands
Game Start
Each player has 20 life to start.
Each player draws a five card hand from their 20 card deck.
Each player keeps their lands in a separate deck in front of them.
Game Play
The following describes one round of game play where each player gets a turn.
Part one: Mana declaration
Part two: Player turns
Part three: Card draw and reset
When the round is over the die is rolled again and Mana declaration happens again, etc.
Most other basic rules of Magic apply (you lose if milled; you have your own graveyard, etc)
Design Ideas and Feedback
Our hope here is that by limiting the pool to 80 cards, we will become familiar with the signaling that the mana declaration provides and be able to make interesting tactical decisions based on other player's mana. This also provides good bluffing opportunities.
The ability to discard cards for extra mana would help when the land die roll is low (1 or 2) and you have a hand of higher cost cards. The risk though is that you will mill yourself out given the 20 card deck.
Our initial thoughts on cards to include would be the same as most small pools: Nothing too powerful. Interesting cards that interact in multiple ways.
We would appreciate any feedback you may have.
Thanks!