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Widely considered Magic: The Gathering's most interactive format, Commander is getting a holiday twist just in time for the festive season. In a recent show, hosts Josh Lee Kwai and Jimmy Wong demonstrated a multiplayer match titled "Holiday Countdown."

How the Festive Variant Works

Fundamentally involves a simple layer superimposed on a normal EDH match. A designated token travels around the table. When it the active player's turn, the game temporarily stops. Each participant makes a hidden choice whether they're being Naughty or Nice with the help of indicator cards.

Everyone flip their choice simultaneously. Next, they resolve the bonus tied to their decision, starting with the player who has the token. The token is subsequently handed to the right. The countdown moves forward a single increment, and regular gameplay carries on.

The Naughty/Nice options intensify with each passing round go on, seeming finely tuned.

Increasing Choices

The initial phases offered minor, collective boons for choosing Nice, including life gain or investigation clues. On the other hand, The Naughty paths often gave more specific benefits, often targeting someone else. As an example let players who picked Naughty receive a powerful airborne creature. Anyone who picked Nice created a 1/1 Toy token creature for everyone.

Santa's Big Finale

When the eighth round, Santa Claus personally showed up, turning the match. Based on the frequency with which a participant chose Naughty versus Nice, Santa handed out sealed “gifts”. These looked like deck boxes, but contained Magic booster packs with different rarities.

• The most benevolent player was awarded a premium Collector Booster.
• The second-nicest player opened a different premium pack.
• A special guest ended up with a less powerful booster pack.
• The least nice player got the worst prize: a notoriously weak booster pack which is basically a gag.

Each card unwrapped could then be playable for the remainder of the match, cast from exile with mana considered to be any color. For the nicer players, their boon proved to be a significant advantage. Whereas, the naughty players basically received a disadvantage.

Recreating the Game with Friends

Although the video featured a lot of polish and preparation, it's one that players can adapt with friends. Each player would bring their regular EDH deck, and the additional materials needed are four different MTG packs from different sets.

The main drawback is that if everyone know the rewards in advance the prize for being Nice, players might try to get the most valuable gift. You could mix it up by using other methods, such as doing a mini-draft from a shared pool or letting players use cards they own from their binders.

Judging by the successful demonstration, this holiday variant stands as a joyous way to add holiday cheer this holiday season. It complicates the social interplay between players in a fun and manner, making it a special experience among Magic fans everywhere.