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Already considered Magic: The Gathering's most interactive way to play, the Elder Dragon Highlander format just got a holiday update perfect for the festive season. During a recent episode, personalities from a popular channel played a four-player match titled "Holiday Countdown."

The Mechanics of the Festive Variant Works

At its core is a simple mechanic added on top of a regular EDH match. One special indicator travels between players. Upon reaching the active player's turn, the game halts for a moment. All gamers privately decides whether they're being Nice or Naughty via choice cards.

All players reveal their choice at the same time. After that, they apply the consequence tied to their selection, beginning with the person holding the marker. This marker is subsequently handed clockwise. A special tracker advances one notch, and normal gameplay continues.

The Naughty/Nice options intensify over time progress, designed to be well-balanced.

Escalating Choices

The initial phases granted small, table-wide advantages for the Nice path, such as gaining life or Clue tokens. On the other hand, Naughty options often gave more specific advantages, often to the detriment of an opponent. For instance allowed players who picked Naughty create a 4/4 flying Reindeer token. Players that picked Nice created a 1/1 Toy creature token for each player.

Santa's Big Finale

When the eighth round, Father Christmas himself showed up, changing the game. Depending on how often each player selected Nice versus Naughty, Santa gave out mystery presents. Outwardly, these were deck boxes, but inside were MTG booster packs worth different amounts.

• The nicest player received a high-value Collector Booster.
• Another friendly player received a slightly less valuable Collector Booster.
• Another participant ended up with a less powerful set.
• The least nice player got the worst prize: a notoriously weak booster pack that's essentially a joke.

Every card unwrapped could then be playable for the duration, played from outside the game by spending mana considered to be colorless. Players who were nice participants, their gift proved to be a huge power spike. Meanwhile, the naughty players were given a punitive gift.

Recreating the Format at Home

Although the demonstration match included considerable production value, the format is something anybody can adapt at home. Each player would bring their regular EDH deck, and the additional materials needed would be a selection of booster packs with different worth.

One potential issue is that if everyone know ahead of time the best pack's identity, they all might aim for the best booster pack. Groups can mix it up with alternatives, like drafting cards from a shared pool or letting players pull cards from their collection from their binders.

Judging by the successful demonstration, Countdown to XT-Mas stands as a festive way to spread some joy when playing with friends. It changes the dynamics between players in a uniquely festive way, making it a memorable experience among Magic fans this season.