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Widely regarded as Magic: The Gathering's friendliest format, the Elder Dragon Highlander format has received a festive update perfect for the end of the year. In a holiday-themed show, personalities from a popular channel played a multiplayer game titled "Countdown to XT-Mas."

How the Holiday Format Function

The basic idea involves a straightforward mechanic added on top of a normal Commander match. A rotating token moves to each player. When it the active player's upkeep, the action briefly pauses. Each participant privately decides if they will be being Nice or Naughty with the help of choice cards.

All players turn over their card together. They then carry out the consequence associated with their own choice, beginning with the person who has the marker. This marker is then passed to the next player. The holiday round counter ticks up a single increment, and standard Commander carries on.

The choices intensify with each passing round go on, seeming finely tuned.

Escalating Effects

The initial phases offered minor, collective benefits for the Nice path, such as gaining life or Clue tokens. Conversely, The Naughty options usually provided personal upsides, usually at the expense of someone else. For instance let those who picked Naughty receive a powerful airborne Reindeer token. Those who selected Nice created a small artifact token creature for each player.

Santa's Big Finale

During the eighth round, Father Christmas personally arrived, changing the match. According to the frequency with which a participant chose Naughty versus Nice, Santa distributed sealed “gifts”. They appeared to be deck boxes, but held MTG booster packs of varying value.

• The kindest player got a high-value special pack.
• The next kindest player received a different Collector Booster.
• One player received a mid-range booster pack.
• The very naughty player got the worst prize: a notoriously weak set which is basically a punchline.

Every card unwrapped instantly were playable for the rest of the game, cast from exile by spending mana treating it as all colors. For the nicer players, their gift wound up being a significant power spike. Meanwhile, mischievous participants basically received a disadvantage.

Recreating the Variant Yourself

While the original showcase featured a lot of production value, it's one that any group can easily try in their own playgroup. Everybody would bring their regular EDH deck, and the only extra items required are a selection of booster packs from different sets.

The main drawback lies in the fact that if everyone know ahead of time what being nice gets you, then everyone might aim for the best booster pack. One might add variety in different ways, such as selecting cards from a communal pile or letting players include cards from their collection from outside the game.

Based on the entertaining match, this holiday variant is definitely a festive way to spread some joy when playing with friends. It complicates the dynamics in the game in a uniquely festive way, making it a memorable way to play for MTG fans this season.