🔗 Share this article

Widely regarded as MTG's most interactive format, the Elder Dragon Highlander format is getting a festive twist perfect for the holidays. During a special video, personalities Josh Lee Kwai and Jimmy Wong played a four-player game called "Countdown to XT-Mas."

The Mechanics of the Festive Variant Function

Fundamentally involves a simple layer added on top of a standard EDH match. A designated marker moves to each player. When it the current player's upkeep, the action temporarily stops. Each participant secretly chooses whether they're being Naughty or Nice via choice cards.

Everyone reveal their card simultaneously. They then resolve the bonus associated with their decision, first with the person who has the token. This marker is subsequently handed to the next player. A special tracker ticks up by one step, and regular Commander carries on.

The Naughty/Nice options do escalate as the rounds continue, seeming finely tuned.

Growing Effects

The initial phases provided modest, shared benefits for choosing Nice, such as life gain or Clue tokens. On the other hand, Naughty options usually provided personal advantages, frequently to the detriment of someone else. One round allowed those choosing Naughty receive a 4/4 flying Reindeer token. Those who selected Nice generated a 1/1 Toy creature token for all participants.

The Grand Arrival

On the eighth round, Saint Nick personally made an appearance, changing the game. According to how often a participant was Nice versus Naughty, Santa distributed sealed “gifts”. These looked like deck boxes, but inside were MTG booster packs with different rarities.

• The kindest player received a top-tier Collector Booster.
• The second-nicest player received a another type of premium pack.
• Another participant ended up with a older set.
• The least nice player got the worst prize: a famously bad set acting as a joke.

Each card opened instantly were used for the duration, used as a bonus with mana as though it were any color. For the nicer players, their gift became a major power spike. However, those who chose Naughty essentially got coal in their stocking.

Trying the Game Yourself

Although the original showcase included a lot of custom components, it's one that players could easily replicate at home. Everybody plays with their usual EDH deck, and the only extra items required are a selection of booster packs of varying value.

A possible challenge is that if everyone are aware beforehand the prize for being Nice, they all try to get the best booster pack. You could change this by using other methods, like doing a mini-draft from a communal pile or allowing participants to use specific cards not in their deck.

From the entertaining match, this holiday variant proves to be a fun method to create laughter this holiday season. It changes the strategy in the game in a joyous way, resulting in a memorable way to play for Magic players in their playgroups.