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Widely regarded as Magic: The Gathering's friendliest way to play, the Elder Dragon Highlander format has received a festive twist perfect for the holidays. In a recent episode, creators Josh Lee Kwai and Jimmy Wong played a multiplayer game dubbed "Holiday Countdown."

The Mechanics of the Festive Variant Works

The basic idea is a straightforward mechanic superimposed on a standard Commander match. A rotating token travels between players. When it the active player's turn, the action temporarily stops. Each participant privately decides if they will be being Naughty or Nice via two cards.

All players turn over their choice simultaneously. They then resolve the bonus linked to their decision, starting with the player who has the marker. It then gets passed to the right. The holiday round counter moves forward a single increment, and standard gameplay carries on.

The choices become more significant over time progress, feeling well-balanced.

Escalating Choices

At the start provided minor, collective advantages for being Nice, such as gaining life or Clue tokens. Conversely, The Naughty paths often gave more specific upsides, usually at the expense of someone else. For instance let players who picked Naughty get a powerful airborne creature. Players that picked Nice created a small artifact token creature for all participants.

Santa's Big Showdown

On the eighth round, Saint Nick himself arrived, turning the experience. According to the tally of a participant selected Nice versus Naughty, Santa handed out sealed “gifts”. Outwardly, these were deck boxes, but inside were Magic booster packs of varying value.

• The most benevolent player got a high-value Collector Booster.
• The next kindest player opened a another type of Collector Booster.
• A special guest received a less powerful booster pack.
• The very naughty player got the worst prize: a famously bad set acting as a punchline.

All cards opened immediately became used for the duration, cast from exile by spending mana treating it as all colors. For the nicer players, their gift wound up being a major power spike. However, those who chose Naughty essentially got a punitive gift.

Trying the Variant with Friends

While the demonstration match had considerable polish and preparation, the format is something any group can adapt with friends. Everybody plays with their standard EDH deck, and the only extra items required would be several MTG packs from different sets.

One potential issue could be that if players know the rewards in advance the best pack's identity, they all might aim for the best booster pack. You could add variety by using other methods, such as drafting cards from a communal pile or letting players use cards from their collection from outside the game.

From the successful demonstration, this holiday variant proves to be a festive format to spread some joy during festive gatherings. It changes the dynamics between players in a uniquely festive way, creating a unique experience for Magic fans this season.