The Command Zone Unveils a Seasonal Commander Game Mode You Can Recreate with Friends.

Widely known as MTG's most social format, Commander just got a seasonal twist just in time for the end of the year. In a holiday-themed video, creators from a popular channel demonstrated a four-player game dubbed "Holiday Countdown."

The Mechanics of the Festive Format Function

Fundamentally involves a simple mechanic superimposed on a standard Commander game. One special marker moves between players. Once it arrives at the active player's turn, the action halts for a moment. Each participant privately decides if they will be being Nice or Naughty with the help of choice cards.

Everyone flip their card simultaneously. They then carry out the effect associated with their decision, first with the person who has the marker. The token then gets passed clockwise. The holiday round counter moves forward a single increment, and standard Commander resumes.

The choices intensify as the rounds continue, designed to be finely tuned.

Increasing Effects

The initial phases granted modest, shared boons for being Nice, such as life gain or Clue tokens. Conversely, The Naughty options typically offered personal advantages, often to the detriment of another player. One round allowed those who picked Naughty get a 4/4 flying creature. Players that selected Nice generated a 1/1 Toy token creature for each player.

Santa's Big Finale

During the eighth round, Father Christmas personally showed up, changing the match. Depending on the tally of a participant was Naughty versus Nice, Santa handed out mystery presents. These looked like deck boxes, but held MTG booster packs with different rarities.

• The kindest player got a premium Collector Booster.
• Another friendly player opened a different Collector Booster.
• Another participant ended up with a mid-range booster pack.
• The very naughty player got the worst prize: a historically poor booster pack that's essentially a punchline.

All cards opened could then be playable for the duration, used as a bonus by spending mana as though it were all colors. For the nicer players, their present became a significant boost. Meanwhile, mischievous participants were given coal in their stocking.

Trying the Game at Home

Although the demonstration match had significant production value, it's one that anybody could easily replicate at home. Everybody would bring their usual EDH deck, and the only extra items required are four different MTG packs of varying value.

The main challenge lies in the fact that if everyone are aware beforehand the prize for being Nice, then everyone try to get the most valuable gift. One might change this with alternatives, such as drafting cards together or letting players include cards they own from outside the game.

Based on how the format played out, Countdown to XT-Mas is definitely a fun way to create laughter this holiday season. It complicates the social interplay in the game in a fun and way, making it a special way to play among MTG players this season.