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Already considered Magic: The Gathering's most interactive way to play, Commander has received a festive twist perfect for the end of the year. In a special episode, creators Josh Lee Kwai and Jimmy Wong demonstrated a multiplayer game titled "Holiday Countdown."

How the Holiday Format Function

Fundamentally is a simple mechanic added on top of a standard EDH game. One special token circulates around the table. Upon reaching the current player's upkeep, the action halts for a moment. All gamers secretly chooses whether they're being Nice or Naughty by using choice cards.

All players turn over their card together. After that, they resolve the effect tied to their selection, starting with the person who has the marker. It then gets passed to the right. The countdown ticks up a single increment, and regular Commander carries on.

The choices become more significant as the rounds go on, feeling finely tuned.

Escalating Outcomes

The initial phases provided minor, collective advantages for choosing Nice, including gaining life or investigation clues. Conversely, The Naughty options usually provided personal benefits, frequently at the expense of someone else. As an example let players choosing Naughty get a powerful airborne Reindeer token. Anyone who selected Nice generated a 1/1 Toy token creature for all participants.

Santa's Big Finale

During the final round, Saint Nick himself made an appearance, turning the match. According to how often each player was Nice versus Naughty, Santa distributed mystery presents. They appeared to be deck boxes, but contained Magic booster packs of varying value.

• The most benevolent player got a high-value Collector Booster.
• Another friendly player received a slightly less valuable Collector Booster.
• Another participant received a less powerful booster pack.
• The most mischievous player essentially received coal: a notoriously weak set which is basically a gag.

All cards from these packs instantly were used for the remainder of the match, cast from exile with mana considered to be all colors. Players who were nice participants, their boon became a significant boost. Meanwhile, the naughty players essentially got a punitive gift.

Playing the Variant at Home

Although the demonstration match had a lot of polish and preparation, this is a concept that players can easily try in their own playgroup. Everybody would bring their regular Commander deck, and all you'd need are a selection of booster packs of varying value.

One potential challenge lies in the fact that if players know the rewards in advance the best pack's identity, they all try to get the top prize. One might add variety in different ways, such as drafting cards together or letting players include specific cards from outside the game.

Based on the entertaining match, Countdown to XT-Mas stands as a fun format to add holiday cheer this holiday season. It complicates the social interplay at the table in a fun and manner, creating a memorable experience for MTG enthusiasts this season.