General Variants

Land Mulligan

If you draw no land in the first seven cards, you may declare a misdeal and reshuffle and redeal. Alternately, if you draw nothing but land initially, you may request a redeal. In either case, your opponent may elect to redeal his or her own hand.

Land Stack

Shuffle your lands and spells separately, and draw from either pile as you wish. You may split your opening draw between stacks, but thenceforth, whenever you are required to draw cards, you must choose either one stack or the other.

Land-fest

By Anthony Alongi

Players build forty to sizty card decks (agree on a size beforehand, and stick to it...self-milling is a real possibility here). No lands are allowed in the decks. Instead, put heaps of all five basic land types in the middle of the table. Each turn, during draw phase, a player draws his normal card, and then "draws" (chooses) a land and puts that land into play. No lands may be held in hand. If you like, you can limit total number of lands a player has to ten, to keep X spells reasonable over time. You can blend this format with a "hunt" or other modified player-target scheme; or you can just play it simply as chaos.

Landless Magic

Decks can be constructed for this variant but it was designed for the use of four boosters as a deck. The rules for the game are the same except for where land is involved. Any card may be played as a land. This card comes into play for free, like a land, and counts as a land in all aspects. It doesn't matter what the card was before you decided to use it as a land, it is now a basic land that produces mana of the cards colour. Blue cards make blue mana, green cards make green mana, etc. If the card was multicoloured it becomes a land capable of making any of it's colours. Any card from Ice Age that is used as a land is considered to be snow-covered.

Landless Magic 2

By Thomas Staudt

You treat all cards as having a casting cost of zero, in other words, you can play them without paying the mana part of the casting cost. All land cards are banned. Because I considered it to be out of flavor for the decks to feature Erhnam Djinn without drawbacks, Llanowar Elves to power special abilities, etc. for simplicity's sake any card that features mana symbols or anything concerning mana or land in the game text is banned (before you ask, abilities whose activation cost is zero are allowed, of course). X spells are banned.

To add an additional touch to the game and prevent that all decks feature only the biggest creatures, deck construction is limited further: a deck must have at least sixty cards (now that's big news) and the total casting cost of a deck may not exceed two hundred (aahh, that's why).

It's obvious that the more cheap cards you use the more monster cards you can put into the deck. An Urza's Bauble basically allows you to use Mahamoti Djinn. When constructing a landless deck, I personally take the approach to make a 60 card deck with especially cheap cards and the cards that belong to the deck's theme. Then I sum up the casting cost and either take some cheaper spells or upgrade the existing spells for more expensive ones (e.g. Incinerate instead of Lightning Bolt for the additional bury effect).

One of the nicest things in this variant is that you can really play with five colours without filling half of your deck with cards to assure you get the right mana.

Some cards you have to consider are:
Wrath of God - to clear the battlefields
Wheel of Fortune - First turn: empty your hand and do it all over again
Enduring Renewal - if your opponent can't get rid of this, you will be able to recast everything he or she manages to kill

Legend of the Five Colours

By Jason Schneiderman

This variant is played with normal Magic cards, but uses rules from the Legend of the Five Rings CCG. In L5R, players represent families or clans; there are no great families in Dominia, so planeswalkers must choose a "colour" to represent instead. The basic land for your chosen colour produces twice as much mana. The object is to destroy all four of your opponent's provinces.

Setup

Each player has two decks, each containing at least thirty cards. The first deck - the dynasty deck - contains lands, creatures, global enchantments (including Enchant Worlds) and artifacts. The second deck - the fate deck - contains local enchantments, sorceries and instants. You may not have more than one of any given enchantment or more than three of any other type of card in either deck. This includes basic land.

Rules Changes

The planeswalker handles the fight from behind castle walls, so there's no such thing as "player damage." All spells that deal damage may only affect creatures; spells that only deal damage to players are banned.
There is no "responding" in L5R; all effects resolve after they are announced and costs are paid, without stacking. In combat, players take turns performing actions, defender first.
Ignore the following abilities: trample, first strike, banding, poison, shadow, landwalk and landhome. Protection from X, in addition to targeting restrictions, is treated as a battle action that taps one opposing creature with X.

The Turn Sequence

At the start of the game, shuffle your dynasty deck and deal four cards face down in front of you, side by side. The four spaces where the cards reside are your provinces. Draw a hand of five cards from your fate deck. Each player starts the game with one basic land that corresponds to his chosen colour. This land does not count against the three-per-deck limit.

Straighten: Your tapped cards untap.
Events: Turn the cards in your provinces face up, starting from the left. If an enchantment turns up, bring it into play immediately at no cost. If the enchantment has an activation cost, you must use it during this phase or not at all. In any case, it affects all players, and any player can pay its activation cost. Events remain in play until your next straighten phase, when they are discarded.
Upkeep: If you've got upkeep costs to pay, now's the time.
Actions: During this phase you may play sorceries and local enchantments from your hand. If any creatures in your provinces are immune to summoning sickness, you may pay their costs and bring them into play now. Finally, if you have any legends in play, you may initiate duels (see below).
Battle: After all this preparation, you're ready to fight. The attacker decides which of the defender's provinces, if any, will be attacked and assigns his creatures to them. The defender then gets to assign his creatures in defense. Non-flying attackers and defenders are assigned before those with flying. This means that ground based defenders will be committed to defend their provinces before flying attackers are even assigned. Note that tapped creatures cannot defend.
The defender gets to choose the first province battle to resolve and may take the first battle action. Legal battle actions include artifact and creature fast effects and instant spells. Fast effects only affect the battle being resolved and creatures in that battle. Creatures using fast effects must be present at the battle; artifact fast effects may be used at any battle.
Battle actions that inflict damage, destroy or bury creatures or remove them from the game resolve immediately, taking those creatures out of the battle unless immediately followed by an action that regenerates, prevents or redirects damage.
The attacker and defender take turns performing actions. After both players have passed in succession, compare the total power of the attacking creatures at the province to the total toughness of the defending creatures and vice versa. If you tapped a creature to use its fast effect, it doesn't add its power to the army, but it does add its toughness. Creatures tapped by an effect or spell add neither. If that total power exceeds the total toughness of the opposition, the opposing army is destroyed. It's possible for both armies to destroy each other in a tie. Otherwise, each player assigns damage to the other player's creatures in any way he chooses. Then tap all surviving attackers.
If the attacking army exceeds the defender's total toughness by six or greater, the province is also destroyed. Any card in that territory is discarded. Slide the remaining cards together and move on to the next province, if any, being attacked.
Recruitment: You may bring cards from your provinces into play by paying their costs. Lands enter play tapped, and you can only bring one into play in a turn. If you bring any walls into play, they are "attached" to the province from which they come; they may not be assigned to defend another province. If you wish, you may discard any cards in your provinces to make room for new cards. Refill empty spaces with face down cards from your dynasty deck.
End of Turn: Draw a card from your fate deck. If you have more than seven cards in your hand, discard down to seven cards. All damage done to creatures in battles disappears now. You may add one province for every five life you gained this turn. At this point, it is considered polite to say, "The table is yours," to show that your turn is finished and your opponent may straighten.

Legendary Combat

Any legend in play has the ability to challenge any other creature - including another legend - to a duel of honour during the actions phase. To duel, tap the legend and declare an opposing creature as "the challenged." The controller of the challenged has the option to "strike," calling the duel to an end, or "focus," laying a card from his hand face down before him. The legend's controller may now do the same. If a player has no cards in hand, that player must strike. When strike is called, total the casting costs of the legend and its focus cards and compare the total to those of the challenger and its focuses. The one with the lower total is destroyed; a tie taps both characters immediately.

Liberal Highlander

All cards are restricted, except for basic lands. This is for weenies that don't have a lot of interesting land cards.

Lich War

By Thorin A. Zanger

This is a simple variation, which is based loosely on Lich. Instead of using life points to determine who wins, your life is based on the number of cards remaining in your library.

Each player should start with an equal size deck (unless you wish to give one player a handicap).

Whenever you would normally subtract life, remove an equal number of cards from the top of your library instead. Remove these cards from the game - they do not go to the graveyard. Whenever you would normally add life, take that number of cards from the top of your graveyard and place them at the bottom of your library.

As usual, the game ends when any player cannot draw a card from their library. Usually you should have a forty to sixty card deck, depending on how long you want the game to last.

Mageopoly

An unholy mixture of card and board game, by Dave Van Domelen.

To play Mageopoly, you need a standard Monopoly set and a magic deck with all the lands removed. Further deckbuilding strategy will become plain in a moment. All rules are observed as in the respective games with exceptions noted in this article. Starting cash, hotels, interrupts, etc. are all the same. Between upkeep and draw in the Magic turn, insert a normal Monopoly turn for the player.

Mana

All properties owned by a player can be tapped for one colourless mana. Mortgaged properties are tapped and remain tapped until the mortgage is paid off. Hence, artifact-heavy decks are recommended. Celestial Prisms are strongly recommended for those playing coloured cards.

Monopolies

Once a player has a monopoly on a colour of properties, he may draw coloured mana from those properties, with the colour defined at the time of the completion of the monopoly. This colour remains even if the monopoly is later broken. The colour of one property may be changed without changing the rest. Note: the colour of colourless properties can not be changed except by completing the monopoly. Houses and hotels can be built as normal.

Money

While secondary to the importance of mana and life points, money is needed to buy lands. If you run out of money, you must sell properties as normal for Monopoly, giving your opponent(s) more mana to use against you. Should you completely run out of money, you take one life point in damage for every $100 of debt. This life can be healed by paying off the debts, or by use of spells.

Victory Conditions

As per standard Magic rules. Generally, any player about to lose according to the Monopoly rules is pretty bad off in terms of his Magic position too, although a last second attack could turn the tables.

Prohibited Cards

As mentioned above, no land may be present in a player's deck. Similarly, no Moxes or other mana-supplying artifacts may be present (like Sol Ring, etc.). The reason for this is to emphasize the importance of buying lands as properties. Artifacts which only store mana, like Mana Vault and Basalt Monolith, are allowed. Player discretion on any cases of cards which may be borderline (generally, any card that generates mana is banned). However, cards which convert mana may be used (more mana goes in than out).

Similarly, land-destruction cards are forbidden, due to the very limited pool of lands. Land alteration cards are still allowed, as are cards which "unsummon" lands. Unsummoned lands are Mortgaged, but the owner is given money equal to the cost of unmortgaging it, to represent being able to get it back in play any time he wishes. This money comes from the bank. Remember, colourless lands may not be turned into coloured by means of spell.

Although not prohibited, cards with high coloured-mana costs are not recommended, since you're unlikely to get to use them until the final turns of the game. Fastbond is useless, since you can't get more than one land a turn in general anyway under Monopoly rules.

Magic Combat With Dice

By Shane Morales

How To Attack

The attacker indicates who she is attacking and with what creatures. He can direct different creatures to more than one player, just like in the normal rules. The defender indicates if she is blocking and if so which of her creatures are blocking the attacker's creatures. If the defender chooses not to block or is unable to block, the attacker makes an undefended attack. If the defender does block, the attacker makes a resisted attack.

Undefended Attack: The attacker rolls 1d20 and adds the attacking creature's power (+/- any adjustments from enchantments and so on) to the roll. The result is compared to the Attack Table to determine success or failure.
Resisted Attack: The attacker rolls 1d20, adds the attacking creature's power (+/- any adjustments) and subtracts the defending creature's power (+/- any adjustments) to the roll. The result is compared to the Attack Table to determine success or failure.
Special Note: When the attack roll is made, the power of your creature includes any enchantments, interrupts, instants, or anything else that increases or decreases power. Once the attack roll is made, however, the attacking creature's power can be still be modified. This is important to keep in mind so that you don't waste spells. If the attack roll was unsuccessful, you can also increasing the power of your creature with spells or whatever so that it attacks successfully. Of course, your opponent can do the same thing; she can decrease your attacking creature's power after the roll to insure an unsuccessful attack normal timing rules apply.

The Attack Table

  1d20          Result
-------------------------
Natural 1        Doh!
  <1 - 5         Miss
  6 - 10     Partial Hit
11 - 20 +        Hit
Natural 20   Critical Hit

Doh!: This is bad. A Natural 1 means that the number on the d20 is a 1, not some other number and it was just modified to a 1 (a roll of 3 modfied by -2 is not a Natural 1). If your creature gets a Doh! on its attack roll, it automatically takes half its own power (rounded down) in damage (the defending creature still makes a defensive counter strike; see below).
Miss: You missed. <1 - 5 means any modifed number less than 5 (remember that negatives are possible).
Partial Hit: Target takes half damage rounded down. Creatures with a power of 1 do 1 point of damage.
Hit: Target takes full damage.
Critical Hit: Ouch. Target takes double damage. The attacking creature's power before the attack roll is used to determine the damage. Any modifications applied to the attacking creature's power after the attack roll are not "doubled" (applies to increasing and decreasing power).

If the blocking creature is still alive after the attacker's roll, that creature can make a defensive counter strike. A defensive counter strike is basically the defender attacking the attacker. This attack counts as a resisted attack and is handled the same way; but the blocking creature is now the attacker and the attacker is now the defender. It is important to realize that the damage dealing phase occurs right after the attack roll. So if there is more than one attacker, there will be multiple damage dealing phases, each governing that single attack only.

If more than one creature is assigned to block an attacking creature or banded attacking group, the attacking player makes one attack roll against all of the defending creatures. The average power (rounded down) of the defending creatures is used to modify the attacker's attack roll (the defenders retain full power when they make defensive counter strikes). Unless the defenders are banded, the attacking player gets to split his creature's damage to the defending creatures anyway he wants. Any remaining defenders can make separate defensive counter strikes against the attacking creature or group (see banding).

After a battle has occurred, any creatures that have taken damage do not heal automatically at the end of the turn. Once a creature has taken damage, its toughness remains compromised. At the end of the turn (when creaturs would normally heal in the normal rules) a creature's controlling player can sacrifice life equal to the amount of toughness needed to heal the creature back to its original or modified (enchantments, etc.) toughness. Any opponent can during this time sacrifice the same amount of life to prevent the healing. An injured creature cannot be healed past it's legal toughness. Since creatures reduced to 0 toughness go the graveyard before the end of the turn, they cannot be healed in this manner.

Special Considerations

Walls

Any attacks on walls are resisted attacks. Walls, however, don't need to counter attack; they deal damage automatically.

Regeneration

Regeneration rules are unchanged.

Landwalking

Attacking creatures with landwalking ability make an undefended attack.

Banding

Banded attacking creatures attack as one creature (one attack roll) and if any one of them can be blocked, the entire band can be blocked. An attacking band's power is equal to the sum of each creature's power that make up the band. Any damage the band takes from defenders is allocated as the attacking player sees fit. (Every creature but one in an attacking band must have banding)
Banded defending creatures block as one creature and can only block one creature or attacking band. A defending band's power is equal to the sum of each creature's power that make up the band. Any damage the band takes from attackers is allocated as the defending player sees fit. (Only one creature in a defending band need have banding)

Rampage

Rampage rules are unchanged.

First Strike

First strike is now a purely defensive ability and has no affect on attacking creatures (just blocking ones). Creatures with first strike make a defensive counter strike before an attacking creature makes it's initial attack.

Optional Rules

If you're of a mind that CoP's make white decks too powerful (like we are), here's something you can try. Play CoP's as if they have a Tap symbol in the activation cost. That way, one CoP can only protect against one source of damage.

Magic: Fortress Wars

By Nicholas Fang

Layout and Definitions

Safe Zone
[Victory]
Player One: (+0/+2 and Anti-Magic Aura) The Inner Sanctum
[The Last Line of Defense]
Player One: (+0/+1) Castle Courtyard
[Castle Gate]
Player One: Outer Holdings
[Central Battlefield]
Player Two: Outer Holdings
[Castle Gate]
Player Two: (+0/+1) Castle Courtyard
[The Last Line of Defense]
Player Two: (+0/+2 and Anti-Magic Aura) The Inner Sanctum
[Victory]
Safe Zone

The object of Fortress Wars is to take control of the entire battlefield, by destroying all of your opponent's forces within their fortress. Whoever controls their opponent's Inner Sanctum (makes the Victory Front into the active front) wins.

Setup

Each player begins with two lands behind the Victory Front (this is the safe zone, and this is also where all artifacts and enchantments are stored). The two lands here are indestructible and always remain (this is to give the loser a fighting chance until the end). Each player also begins with one land in the inner sanctum, and with twenty projection (instead of life) points. To begin the war, each player draws seven cards as usual.

Projection Points

Since the object of Fortress Wars is not to destroy the opponent, but to take control of their fortress, life points no longer exist. To replace them, we now have projection points. These projection points regenerate at a rate of one per turn, but any cards that affect life now affect projection points. When casting any spell that is not an artifact or an enchantment (which are free because they are in the "Safe Zone"), you must pay one projection point per zone away from your Inner Sanctum. For instance, it would cost one point to summon a creature, cast an enchant land or creature, or cast a sorcery into your Castle Courtyard, two into your Outer Holdings, three into their Outer Holdings, four into their Castle Courtyard, and five into their Inner Sanctum.

Creatures and Lands

Lands can now be placed into whichever zone you wish, except that you must have lands in each of the zones closer to you before you can begin placing lands in one furthur out. There can only be one person's land or creatures in any of the zones, and the person who has the land and/or creatures there is said to control that zone.

Creatures still do battle in the same way, initiating an attack across the front during their controller's turn. Each creature that is not blocked destroys a land of the creature's controller's choice, and after combat, if there are more creatures than the land can support, then the controller of that zone must either move enough creatures back one zone (this is the only time that you can move creatures other than during the Moving Phase of your turn) or bury enough so that the supporting ability of the lands in a zone is not surpassed.

Once a zone has no creatures in it and no lands in it, then and only then can you move in a creature to establish a presence and then take control of that zone by adding land. Establishing a presence is the only time that you can have a creature in a zone without a land, and if that zone is attacked and the creature that is there to establish your presence does not block at least one, then it must immediately be moved back one zone or buried.

The exception to that is landwalking ability. If a creature has landwalking ability, instead of having to destroy every land in a zone before taking control of the land, the landwalker can take control of the land, but all other lands must be destroyed before this can be done. This takes established your presence and takes control of the zone all at once.

Other Changes in Creature Abilities

Trample: Trample damage is taken away from the projection points of the opponent.
Landwalking: Can take control of a land instead of destroying it once all other lands and creatures of the opponent in the zone have been destroyed.
Flying: Same as normal flying, just if not blocked, land is destroyed as normal.

Artifacts and Enchantments

As previously stated, you cast all blanket enchantments and all artifacts that aren't creatures in the safe zone. These artifacts and enchantments can be affected by spells at a cost of two projection points. Enchantments and artifacts can be used to target anything in any initial zone of yours (your Inner Sanctum, your Castle Courtyard, and your Outer Holdings - note, this is not the same as your current zones, which are whatever you currently control) for a cost of one projection point and in any initial zone of your opponent for two projection points.

Circles of Protection now prevent the destruction of any of your lands by any source of the colour protected.

Special Abilities in Your Initial Zones

Castle Courtyard: There is a permanent +0/+1 for all of your creatures defending your Castle Courtyard from attack when the active front is your Castle Gate. Note, this is only on defense.
Inner Sanctum: There is a permanent +0/+2 for all of your creatures that are defending your Inner Sanctum from attack when the active front is your last line of defense. Note, this is only on defense. In addition, until the active front is your last line of defense, no spell of your opponent can target anything in your Inner Sanctum (the Anti-Magic Aura).

The Movement Phase

An optional phase occurring during your Main Phase, the Movement Phase allows your creatures to move from one zone to another (although they can only move within your current zones). An untapped creature can move only one zone in either direction, and a tapped creature cannot move. An untapped creature that moves does not become tapped, but suffers "summoning sickness" again, in a sense, in that it cannot attack or tap until your next turn, but it can still defend. A creature just summoned cannot be moved until next turn.

Optional Rules

Outposts

You can create outposts by tapping any number of creatures in one of your current zones. During your next upkeep, these creatures are buried and an outpost is created in that zone with a defense of the combined toughness of the buried creatures. An outpost allow you to reconfigure the amount of projection points needed to cast a spell, it costs one less projection point to cast a spell in any zone with an outpost. An enemy creature can be directed to attack an outpost, and if not blocked, instead of destroying a land it does damage to the outpost. An outpost can never be healed. You can have a maximum of two outposts in play at any one time. If you attempt to create one and there are already two in play, then the creatures are buried with no effect.

Alternate Beginnings

You can start with as many creatures/lands as you desire, and this can be used as a handicap. Also, starting projection points can be changed.

Maximum Attacks

A zone can only be attacked with a maximum of one more attacker than there are creatures in that zone.

Martyrism

A creature that is being used to establish a presence can (and possibly must) block all attackers. If he doesn't, he must immediately withdraw or be buried.

Uniqueness

Basically, the Legends rule for everything except land - one of any creature, artifact, or enchantment can be in play at a time. Works best for creatures only in this game.

Flanking Columns

Each player could have a flanking column on the side, which a creature could enter for the cost of 5 projection points. Next turn, that creature is then entitled to launch a flank attack against any column, and then it would die. Of course, there is the bonus of attacking any column, but only one creature could be in a column at a time, and he should have like a +3/+0 bonus.

Alternate Setups

You could have four or five layer fortresses, or have a small square, change the number of projection points, and as long as you have some points of connection between opposing players' Initial Zones, you have a viable game!

Multiplayer Rules

Each player has his own Initial Zones, the Inner Sanctum, the Right Flank, and the Left Flank. Each Inner Sanctum is spread out to be one vertex of a regular polygon, and the Left and Right Flank is spread out on the left and right side, so in a four person game, you have.

+------+------+------+------+
|4.    |4.    |3.    |3.    |
|I.S.  |L.F.  |R.F.  |I.S.  |
+------+------+------+------+    I.S. = INNER SANCTUM
|4.    |             |3.    |    L.F. = LEFT FLANK
|R.F.  |             |L.F.  |    R.F. = RIGHT FLANK
+------+             +------+
|1.    |             |2.    |
|L.F.  |             |R.F.  |
+------+------+------+------+
|1.    |1.    |2.    |2.    |
|I.S.  |R.F.  |L.F.  |I.S.  |
+------+------+------+------+

Fronts are described as:
Player 1's Right Side Front
Player 1's Left Side Front
Player 1 and Player 2's Central Battlefield Front and so on...

Rules are the same, but the object is now to conquer the entire ring.

Another option is to have each player's fortresses (which are identical to the ones in a two player game) affixed around a central point.

The interesting thing about this setup is that you can have taken over someone else's Outer Holdings, then yours is taken over, and you can have clusters of current zones.

Optional Rules

Storage Zones

This only works in a four player game, but the central region that is the size of four zones can be used as a storage zone, one zone per person, where creatures can be kept safe from everything, and can be moved as normal when necessary to either a player's Left Flank or Right Flank. No creatures in this zone may be affected by any spells, there is no land in this zone, and no limits of creatures that go in this zone, and this zone can not be taken over, and is not part of the overall objective. It would seem that these zones could lengthen the game considerably.

Alternate Setups

Same as in a two player game, the more connection points and Initial Zones, the more fun (and longer the game).

Trapped!

When you are playing the version on the bottom, and you get a zone that is seperated from the rest of your forces, that zone is trapped. Normally, you can still cast into that zone because you control it, but in the Trapped! option, you cannot summon creatures, etc. into that zone any more, however, the trapped creatures fight with a frenzy, giving them a +2/+2 bonus.

Glossary of Terms

Front: The border between two zones.
Zone: One particular section of the battlefield.
Initial Zones: The Zones that a player begins with.
Current Zones: The Zones that you currently control.
Active Zones: The Zones adjacent to the Active Front.
Outer Holdings: The outermost Zone of the Initial Holdings of each player in a two player game.
Castle Courtyard: The middle Zone of each players Initial Holdings in a two player game.
Left Flank: The left Zone of each player in a multi-player game.
Right Flank: The right Zone of each player in a multi-player game.
Inner Sanctum: The innermost Zone of each player's Initial Holdings.
Central Battlefield: The Front between the two Outer Holdings.
Castle Gate: The Front between an Outer Holding and a Castle Courtyard.
The Last Line Of Defense: The Front between a Castle Courtyard and an Inner Sanctum.
Victory Front: This is basically the back line of the playing field. If this ever becomes the Active Front, one of the players has won.
Active Front: The current border between one players forces and another's. The battle is being fought across this particular line between two zones.
Projection Points: Used instead of life, projection points give you the ability to cast sorceries, enchantments, and summonings in zones other than your Inner Sanctum.
Establishing A Presence: Moving a creature into an empty Zone.
Taking Control (of a Zone): Placing a land into a zone you have already established a presence in.
Supporting Ability: The amount of creatures that the land in a zone can support (1/land).

Projection Point Table

   Area      Projection Point Cost
----------------------------------
Their I.S.             5
Their C.C.             4
Their O.H.             3
Your O.H.              2
Your C.C.              1
Your I.S.            Free

This is the anti-magic zone as well. Indestructible land, artifacts, and enchantments go here, behind the playing field.

Magic: The Ascension

By Shane Morales

In Magic: The Ascension, all players create starter decks using the same deck creation rules and then play against each other. When a player wins a game, their deck earns Mana Points which the player can use to improve their deck. These decks should only be played against other Ascension decks of comparable power. If you've ever played a role playing game, then this type of system is nothing new to you. Making a starter deck is just like making a first level character and then earning and using experience points to gain power and abilities.

Starter decks are all made with the same restrictions so that everybody starts out the same. The basic premise is to use mostly common cards from one basic set and one expansion set. A few uncommon cards and one rare card are allowed. As your deck earns mana points, you can use them to buy new cards (of varying rarity), the ability to use cards from a new expansion sets, a side board, Legends, and other stuff.

Building A Starter Deck

Players can choose to play with a two colour deck or a three colour deck. The descriptions below summarize the requirements for each type of deck.

Starter Deck Size

A two colour deck must contain forty-five Cards. A three colour deck must contain sixty cards.

Colour Alliances

The colour combinations in a two colour deck are limited to the following list:

White-Blue
Blue-Black
Black-Red
Red-Green
Green-White

The colour combinations in a three colour deck are limited to the following list:

White-Blue-Black
Blue-Black-Red
Black-Red-Green
Red-Green-White
Green-White-Blue

Gold cards of any kind or rarity are not permitted in starter decks nor are any type of Summon Legend card.

Card Set

A player can use cards from one Basic Set and one Expansion Set. The Basic Set must be either 4th Edition or Ice Age. You can't use 4th Edition cards and Ice Age cards. 4th Edition also includes Revised. Either 4th Edition Starter Decks or Ice Age Starter Decks can use Alpha/Beta/Unlimited cards that are not reprinted in any other Basic Set or Expansion Set.

After choosing a Basic Set, the player chooses which Expansion Set she can draw cards from. When a player builds her deck, she can choose not to use any cards from an Expansion Set, but must still pick one before making the deck. This will enable her to earn cards from that Set in the future. Once a player picks an Expansion Set, she can only buy cards from that expansion until she buys another expansion. A two colour deck can have up to ten cards from the chosen Expansion Set. A three colour deck can have up to fifteen cards from the chosen Expansion Set.

Artifacts

A two colour deck can have up to five artifacts. Of these, only one artifact can be uncommon; the rest must be common. A three colour deck can have up to seven artifacts and only two of those can be uncommon. All other artifacts must be common. No artifacts in a starter deck can be rare.

Rarity

Starter decks are built almost entirely with common cards. Both types of decks are allowed one rare card (chosen from either a Basic Set or the player's chosen expansion set). Two colour decks are allowed five uncommon cards and three colour decks are allowed seven uncommon cards. The rest must be commons.

Legends

Summon Legend cards are not allowed in starter decks.

Number of Same Card

Aside from basic lands, a starter deck can contain no more than two of the same card with the exception of one grace card (chosen by the player) of which there can be three of the same card.

Earning Mana Points

A player earns one mana point for every opponent she beats in a match. In one-on-one play, this will always be one mana point. In multi-player games, the number can vary depending on how many players are in the match and how many opponents die before you. In a game with four players, for example, the winner of the entire match will earn three mana points because she has beaten three other players. The first player eliminated from the game earns no mana points because they did not beat anyone. The next player out of the game earns one mana point, and the next player out earns two mana points.

Improving Your Deck

A deck can be improved by spending mana points on deck options. Mana points can only be spent between games. A player can buy an option any time they have enough mana points to spend on it.

Option Cost

1 common card (any card except Summon Legends) - 1 mana point
1 uncommon card (any card except Summon Legends) - 2 mana points
1 rare card (any card except Summon Legends) - 4 mana points
2 basic lands - 1 mana point
1 gold card - +1 mana point (This cost is in addition to the cost of the card based on rarity.)
1 Summon Legend - +2 mana points (This cost is in addition to the cost of the card based on rarity.)

Additional Expansion Set

When a player buys an expansion set she attains the right to buy cards from that set. The more sets you have, the more expensive it is to buy a new one. A player can never have more than four total expansion sets. When a player buys a new set they can pick five common cards from that set to add to their deck.

First Set - 10 mana points
Second Set - 12 mana points
Third Set - 15 mana points

Increase the Number of Duplicate Cards Allowed

This option allows the player to have more than two of the same card in their deck. 8 mana points must first be spent to increase the limit of duplicate cards to three, and then 10 mana points can be spent at any time thereafter to increase the limit to four. The limit can never exceed four.

Three of the same card - 8 mana points
Four of the same card - 10 mana points

Sideboard

Each sideboard comes with five common cards. The cost for each sideboard is cumulative. If you've already spent ten mana points for your first five card sideboard and you want to increase the size of your sideboard to ten cards, you must spend twelve mana points to do so. If after this you want to increase your sideboard to fifteen cards, it will cost fourteen mana points. If you have no sideboard and want to buy one with fifteen cards, it will cost thirty-six mana points. A player can never have more than fifteen cards in their sideboard.

First (five cards) - 10 mana points
Second (five additional cards; ten total) - 12 mana points
Third (five additional cards; fifteen total) - 14 mana points

Kill A Card

This option allows a player to remove a card permanently from their deck and/or sideboard.

Maximum Deck Size

A two colour deck can never have more than seventy cards while a three colour deck can never have more than eighty-five cards. If a player buys more cards than she can legally keep in their deck (or sideboard if this option is bought), then the player must kill cards (see above) until her deck meets the maximum deck size.

Deck Power

A player should keep a running total of every mana point their deck earns, even if they are all spent on options. This will act a rating for the deck that gives some indication as to its power and effectiveness.

Losing Streaks

Sometimes a player may make a starter deck that for all intents and purposes just plain sucks. This can lead to a bored and frustrated player playing against decks that are increasing in power at a rapid rate while hers remains at a crappy level for all time. If a player loses their first five games (consecutively), they can do one of two things. They can either make a new deck with no rare cards at all, or they can opt to kill five cards from her deck, two of which must be common cards, and exchange them for five legal (from the the right Basic and Expansion Set) common cards.

Magic: The Blitzkrieg

By Ken Carpenter

Deck Construction

Each deck must contain at least eighty cards. Each deck should have no more than five of any given card, excluding basic land cards. Each deck may have no more than five artifacts. Each deck may have one of each of the following cards: Black Vise, Braingeyser, Copy Artifact, Time Vault.

Game Turn

Basically, the play is as normal. The exceptions follow:

Draw Phase: Draw until you have seven cards in your hand. If for some reason you are allowed to have more than seven cards, you may draw one card even if this places you above seven. (Note that this means you won't be drawing a card on your first turn).
Main Phase: You may play up to two land cards.
Discard Phase: If you have any cards left, you must discard between one and four cards, at your discretion.

Special Rules

Each player gets two land cards in play before cards are dealt. These cards should be the bottom two land cards of the deck after shuffling. Change cards which don't make sense. Players should agree on potential disputes before the game, if possible. If you want a longer game, start with forty life points per player instead of twenty.

Magic: The Board Game

The game can be played by two or more people, but four to six is probably best. To play you need:

A deck of M:tG cards per player. All lands and all cards that only target players are taken out.
At least two + (number of players) land cards of each colour.
A set of unnumbered markers per player. It should be possible to distuingush the markers of the different players. Small coloured cardboard rectangles are okay. They should either have distuinguishable front/back or be non-square, so you can mark them as tapped.
A set of numbered markers per player. As above, but they are numbered from one to the number of lands.

The game starts by laying out the board, then playing for control of the board.

Layout

The first player (selected randomly) lays out two different lands on the table, so they touch top-to-bottom. The next player selects a land and places it to the right of the first two, so it touched both. The figure below shows the idea.

+---+
|   |
| 1 |+---+
|   ||   |
+---+| 2 |
+---+|   |
|   |+---+
| 1 |
|   |
+---+

Going clockwise round the table, each player lays down a land of his choice, placing it so the board is built in a spiral. The figure below shows the arrangement after seventeen cards are placed.

      +-+
   +-+|9|+-+
   |8|+-+|A|+-+
   +-+|1|+-+|B|
   |7|+-+|3|+-+
   +-+|2|+-+|C|
+-+|6|+-+|4|+-+
|H|+-+|5|+-+|D|
+-+|G|+-+|E|+-+
   +-+|F|+-+
      +-+

When a total of ten + five * (number of players) lands are placed, the board is complete.

Land Selection

Starting after the last player to place a land, and going clockwise, each player selects a land by placing an unnumbered token on it. This is repeated until each player has two lands.

The Game

Each player has a deck of cards with the restrictions described above. These are shuffled before play. Each player draws five cards. The players take turns, starting with the player after the last to select a land and going clockwise, until the end of the game.

A turn consists of the following phases (like in the card game):

Untap. All tapped cards and lands are untapped.
Upkeep. As per standard rules.
Draw. As per standard rules.
Summoning. See below.
Movement. The player moves his creatures on the map. See below.
Combat. See below.
Control lands. See below.
Discard. If you have more than five cards on hand, discard the excess.
End. The next player starts his turn.

Summoning

A player can place a creature from his hand on one of his lands where it is native. To do so he must pay the usual mana cost. One of the mana must come from the land the creature is placed on. You tap a land by turning the marker over (or on its side). Additional mana can come from artifacts or spells. No two creatures can be in the same land, unless they band (usual rules). To avoid cluttering the board, a numbered token is placed instead of the creature, and the creature is placed before the player in a position that makes the number clear. You can have another set of numbered tokens for this if you want. Artifacts may be summoned by paying the usual cost. These are placed before the player.

Movement

A player can move any of his creatures on the board, subject to the restrictions and allowances below. If a creature enters a land occupied by another players creature, that creature can block the movement if it wishes (subject to the normal blocking restrictions from the card game). A blocked creature ends its movement in the land whre it is blocked. A creature can move through a land with a friendly creature, but not end its movement there, unless it can band with it.

All non-wall creatures have a movement allowance of three, except creatures native in plains, which have an allowance of four. All creatures must spend one movement point to move into a plains land. Except for native or flying creatures, a creature must spend two movement points to enter swamp, forest, mountain or island. Creatures with landwalk powers for a certain kind of land can once per turn enter such a land at no movement cost or avoid being blocked in such a land.

Movement allowances can not be accumulated from turn to turn. They are reset at the start of a players turn. Newly summoned creatures can not move in the turn in which they are summoned.

Combat

If after movement a creature is in the same land as an enemy creature (or creatures), it must attack. This is handled like in the card game with the usual possibilities of adding spell effects. All players may use spells to affect the outcome of a combat, not just the players involved in the combat. A creature that has attacked is tapped. A tapped creature can not block other creatures, but may defend itself if directly attacked. Defending doesn't tap a creature. Dead creatures are removed to the owning players graveyard. If creatures from both sides remain alive after combat, the attacking creature must retreat to a neighbouring land belonging to the attacking player. It expends no movement points on this, but must not go to a land that is already oocupied by a creature, unless it bands with it. It it can't retreat under these constraints, it is removed to the owning players graveyard.

Control Lands

Any land that after combat has solely your creature(s) in it is yours, and you may place an unnumbered token in it (removing any that may have been there before). If the land is newly conquered, it is considered tapped. Any land that contains no creatures remain in the ownership of the previous owner.

Winning

The winner of the game is the first player to control more than half the lands on the board.

Notes

If a land is destroyed, it is removed from the board, creating an impassable hole. Enchantments on a land are marked by numbered tokens just like creatures. Enchantments on a land remain in play even when the land is conquered, and can be used by the player who controls the land. If a wall is animated, it moves like a native of its land.

Magic: The Drinking

Robert J. Greanias

Rules

Standard Magic rules apply, but card sleeves are HEAVILY encouraged.

Life

The concept of life points is altered. Instead of losing life when damanged, you instead drink. The following is standard for various game types.

High School Social - 1 damage = 1 sip (beer)
Social - 1 damage = 1 drink (beer)
Cutthroat - 1 damage = 1/4 can (beer)
Tournament - 1 damage = 1 shot (hard liquor)
Final Round Tournament - 1 damage = 1 shot (hard liquor, proof > 125)
(note - this could explain popularity of Elder Dragon Legends!)

As you cannot effectively gain life back, and life-gain spells are dealt as damage to opponent instead. Opponent has option of taking three more damage and having spell affect you as well, however. Ruling still needed on Eye-for-an-Eye (grin).

Victory Conditions

Player loses if he/she:

passes out
hurls (hence the encouragement of sleeves)
knocks over his/her/someone elses library
recycles graveyard
merges graveyards
pulls out Pocket Players Guide
sits motionless for over 2 mintues pondering interrupt casting (may double as condition #1)