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Widely regarded as Magic: The Gathering's most social format, Commander has received a festive update perfect for the end of the year. As part of a holiday-themed video, hosts Josh Lee Kwai and Jimmy Wong played a multiplayer match titled "Holiday Countdown."

The Mechanics of the Holiday Variant Works

At its core is a straightforward layer added on top of a normal Commander game. A designated marker moves around the table. Once it arrives at the active player's turn, the action temporarily stops. Each participant makes a hidden choice if they will be being Nice or Naughty by using two cards.

Everyone reveal their choice simultaneously. Next, they carry out the effect linked to their selection, first with the person who has the token. This marker then gets passed to the next player. The countdown ticks up by one step, and regular gameplay carries on.

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

Increasing Effects

The initial phases offered minor, collective advantages for the Nice path, like life gain or Clue tokens. On the other hand, Naughty paths typically offered more targeted benefits, often at the expense of another player. For instance allowed those who picked Naughty receive a powerful airborne creature. Anyone who picked Nice generated a 1/1 Toy creature token for each player.

The Grand Arrival

On the final round, Father Christmas personally arrived, changing the game. According to the frequency with which a participant selected Naughty versus Nice, Santa gave out wrapped prizes. Outwardly, these were small containers, but held MTG booster packs of varying value.

• The nicest player got a premium special pack.
• Another friendly player opened a slightly less valuable premium pack.
• One player received a less powerful booster pack.
• The most mischievous player got the worst prize: a famously bad booster pack acting as a joke.

Every card opened immediately became used for the rest of the game, used as a bonus with mana treating it as any color. Players who were nice participants, their present became a huge advantage. However, the naughty players were given a disadvantage.

Recreating the Variant Yourself

Although the video featured significant polish and preparation, this is a concept that any group can adapt with friends. Everybody plays with their regular Commander deck, and all you'd need would be four different booster packs with different worth.

The main issue could be that if players know ahead of time the prize for being Nice, then everyone try to get the most valuable gift. You could add variety with alternatives, for example drafting cards from a shared pool or enabling gamers to pull cards from their collection from their binders.

Based on the successful demonstration, Countdown to XT-Mas stands as a fun way to add holiday cheer when playing with friends. It changes the social interplay at the table in a fun and manner, creating a memorable experience for MTG fans this season.