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Already considered Magic: The Gathering's friendliest format, Commander has received a seasonal update perfect for the holidays. During a special show, creators from a popular channel showcased a four-player game called "Countdown to XT-Mas."

The Mechanics of the Festive Variant Function

The basic idea involves a straightforward layer added on top of a standard EDH game. A designated indicator travels to each player. Once it arrives at the current player's turn, the game temporarily stops. Every player makes a hidden choice whether they're being Naughty or Nice by using two cards.

The participants flip their choice simultaneously. After that, they apply the bonus linked to their decision, starting with the player who has the marker. It is then passed to the next player. The countdown ticks up a single increment, and regular gameplay resumes.

These decisions intensify over time continue, designed to be carefully crafted.

Growing Effects

The initial phases offered modest, shared advantages for choosing Nice, including life gain or Clue tokens. On the other hand, Naughty paths typically offered more specific upsides, frequently at the expense of another player. As an example let those choosing Naughty receive a powerful airborne creature. Anyone who selected Nice generated a 1/1 Toy creature token for all participants.

The Grand Finale

On the last phase, Santa Claus himself made an appearance, changing the match. Depending on the frequency with which each player selected Nice versus Naughty, Santa distributed mystery presents. These looked like deck boxes, but contained MTG booster packs of varying value.

• The nicest player received a premium special pack.
• Another friendly player got a slightly less valuable premium pack.
• One player ended up with a older booster pack.
• The very naughty player drew the short straw: a historically poor booster pack which is basically a joke.

All cards opened instantly were used for the duration, cast from exile by spending mana considered to be colorless. For the nicer participants, their gift wound up being a huge advantage. However, the naughty players essentially got a disadvantage.

Recreating the Game Yourself

While the demonstration match included considerable polish and preparation, it's one that any group can easily try in their own playgroup. Everybody plays with their regular EDH deck, and the additional materials needed would be several MTG packs from different sets.

The main challenge lies in the fact that if players know ahead of time the prize for being Nice, players might try to get the top prize. Groups can change this with alternatives, like drafting cards from a shared pool or enabling gamers to include specific cards not in their deck.

Based on the successful demonstration, this holiday variant stands as a fun format to spread some joy this holiday season. It complicates the social interplay between players in a joyous manner, resulting in a memorable experience among MTG players in their playgroups.