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Already known as Magic: The Gathering's most social way to play, the Elder Dragon Highlander format has received a seasonal update perfect for the end of the year. As part of a special show, hosts from a popular channel demonstrated a multiplayer match titled "Holiday Countdown."

The Mechanics of the Holiday Format Works

The basic idea involves a simple mechanic superimposed on a regular EDH game. A rotating token travels between players. Upon reaching the current player's upkeep, the game briefly pauses. Every player secretly chooses if they will be being Naughty or Nice with the help of choice cards.

All players turn over their card simultaneously. After that, they apply the consequence tied to their decision, starting with the person holding the token. The token is then passed to the right. A special tracker advances one notch, and regular gameplay continues.

These decisions intensify over time go on, designed to be finely tuned.

Growing Choices

Early rounds granted minor, collective benefits for choosing Nice, like gaining life or Clue tokens. In contrast, The Naughty choices often gave personal upsides, usually at the expense of another player. As an example allowed those who picked Naughty create a 4/4 flying Reindeer token. Anyone who picked Nice generated a 1/1 Toy token creature for everyone.

The Climactic Arrival

On the eighth round, Father Christmas himself arrived, turning the game. Depending on the tally of each player selected Nice versus Naughty, Santa distributed mystery presents. Outwardly, these were small containers, but held Magic booster packs of varying value.

• The nicest player got a top-tier Collector Booster.
• The second-nicest player opened a different Collector Booster.
• One player got a mid-range set.
• The most mischievous player essentially received coal: a famously bad booster pack that's essentially a punchline.

Every card from these packs instantly were used for the duration, used as a bonus using mana as though it were all colors. The kinder participants, their present became a huge advantage. Meanwhile, mischievous participants essentially got a punitive gift.

Recreating the Game at Home

While the demonstration match had considerable polish and preparation, it's one that any group could easily replicate in their own playgroup. Everybody plays with their regular EDH deck, and the additional materials needed would be several MTG packs with different worth.

A possible challenge is that if players are aware beforehand the best pack's identity, then everyone try to get the best booster pack. Groups can add variety by using other methods, for example doing a mini-draft from a communal pile or letting players pull cards from their collection from outside the game.

Based on how the format played out, this holiday variant proves to be a joyous format to create laughter during festive gatherings. It complicates the social interplay at the table in a joyous manner, making it a special way to play among Magic fans this season.