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Widely known as MTG's most social format, Commander is getting a holiday makeover just in time for the festive season. During a special video, personalities Josh Lee Kwai and Jimmy Wong demonstrated a four-player match titled "Holiday Countdown."

How the Holiday Format Function

The basic idea is a straightforward mechanic superimposed on a regular EDH match. A rotating marker moves between players. Once it arrives at the current player's turn, the action briefly pauses. Every player secretly chooses whether they're being Nice or Naughty via indicator cards.

Everyone turn over their card at the same time. After that, they resolve the effect linked to their own choice, beginning with the player who has the token. The token is subsequently handed clockwise. The holiday round counter ticks up by one step, and normal Commander continues.

The choices do escalate with each passing round go on, feeling carefully crafted.

Escalating Effects

The initial phases offered small, table-wide boons for choosing Nice, including life gain or investigation clues. On the other hand, The Naughty options typically offered more specific benefits, frequently at the expense of someone else. One round allowed players who picked Naughty create a powerful airborne Reindeer token. Anyone who picked Nice created a 1/1 Toy creature token for everyone.

The Climactic Showdown

When the final round, Santa Claus personally made an appearance, turning the game. According to the tally of a participant was Nice versus Naughty, Santa handed out mystery presents. They appeared to be small containers, but held MTG booster packs worth different amounts.

• The nicest player got a premium special pack.
• The next kindest player opened a another type of Collector Booster.
• A special guest got a less powerful set.
• The most mischievous player got the worst prize: a notoriously weak set acting as a joke.

All cards unwrapped instantly were used for the remainder of the match, played from outside the game by spending mana considered to be colorless. The kinder players, their present became a huge power spike. Whereas, those who chose Naughty essentially got a punitive gift.

Trying the Variant at Home

While the original showcase had significant polish and preparation, the format is something players could easily replicate at home. Each player plays with their standard EDH deck, and the additional materials needed would be four different booster packs from different sets.

One potential drawback could be that if everyone know ahead of time what being nice gets you, then everyone might aim for the most valuable gift. One might add variety in different ways, for example doing a mini-draft from a communal pile or allowing participants to include cards from their collection from outside the game.

Based on how the format played out, this holiday variant is definitely a fun way to add holiday cheer this holiday season. It changes the dynamics between players in a fun and manner, creating a memorable experience among Magic enthusiasts everywhere.