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Widely considered Magic: The Gathering's friendliest format, the Elder Dragon Highlander format just got a festive twist just in time for the holidays. In a holiday-themed show, creators from a popular channel played a four-player match titled "Holiday Countdown."

The Mechanics of the Festive Variant Works

At its core is a straightforward layer added on top of a regular EDH match. A rotating indicator circulates to each player. Upon reaching the active player's upkeep, the action briefly pauses. Every player makes a hidden choice whether they're being Naughty or Nice by using indicator cards.

The participants reveal their choice simultaneously. Next, they carry out the consequence linked to their selection, beginning with the person who has the token. The token is then passed clockwise. A special tracker moves forward by one step, and normal Commander continues.

These decisions intensify as the rounds go on, feeling finely tuned.

Increasing Outcomes

The initial phases provided modest, shared boons for choosing Nice, such as life gain or Clue tokens. In contrast, Naughty paths often gave personal upsides, usually at the expense of someone else. For instance allowed those who picked Naughty create a 4/4 flying creature. Anyone who picked Nice made a small artifact token creature for everyone.

The Climactic Finale

When the final round, Saint Nick himself showed up, changing the experience. Based on the tally of a participant selected Nice versus Naughty, Santa gave out sealed “gifts”. Outwardly, these were deck boxes, but inside were Magic booster packs of varying value.

• The kindest player was awarded a high-value Collector Booster.
• Another friendly player opened a another type of premium pack.
• A special guest ended up with a older set.
• The very naughty player got the worst prize: a historically poor booster pack acting as a joke.

All cards opened instantly were used for the rest of the game, played from outside the game by spending mana as though it were all colors. For the nicer players, their gift became a significant power spike. Meanwhile, those who chose Naughty essentially got a disadvantage.

Recreating the Format with Friends

Although the video included significant custom components, this is a concept that any group could easily replicate with friends. Everybody would bring their regular Commander deck, and all you'd need would be a selection of booster packs of varying value.

The main drawback is that if everyone know the rewards in advance what being nice gets you, they all try to get the most valuable gift. Groups can mix it up with alternatives, like selecting cards together or enabling gamers to pull specific cards from their binders.

Judging by how the format played out, this holiday variant stands as a fun way to create laughter during festive gatherings. It adds a layer to the strategy between players in a uniquely festive manner, creating a memorable way to play among MTG players this season.