🔗 Share this article A Popular Gaming Channel Introduces a Seasonal MTG Variant Players Can Play at Home. Widely known as MTG's friendliest way to play, Commander just got a festive twist perfect for the holidays. In a holiday-themed episode, creators Josh Lee Kwai and Jimmy Wong demonstrated a multiplayer game dubbed "Holiday Countdown." The Mechanics of the Holiday Format Function Fundamentally involves a simple layer added on top of a normal EDH game. A rotating indicator travels to each player. Once it arrives at the active player's turn, the action halts for a moment. Each participant makes a hidden choice if they will be being Naughty or Nice with the help of choice cards. Everyone reveal their choice at the same time. They then resolve the consequence linked to their selection, beginning with the player who has the token. This marker is subsequently handed to the right. The holiday round counter ticks up by one step, and regular Commander continues. The Naughty/Nice options do escalate with each passing round go on, seeming finely tuned. Increasing Outcomes Early rounds offered minor, collective benefits for choosing Nice, like gaining life or Clue tokens. On the other hand, The Naughty paths often gave more targeted upsides, often to the detriment of an opponent. One round let players choosing Naughty receive a powerful airborne creature. Those who selected Nice generated a 1/1 Toy creature token for each player. Santa's Big Showdown During the final round, Santa Claus himself arrived, transforming the game. Depending on the frequency with which each player chose Naughty versus Nice, Santa gave out sealed “gifts”. These looked like small containers, but contained MTG booster packs with different rarities. The nicest player got a top-tier special pack. Another friendly player opened a another type of Collector Booster. Another participant received a older set. The very naughty player drew the short straw: a famously bad set acting as a gag. Every card opened instantly were used for the duration, played from outside the game by spending mana treating it as any color. Players who were nice players, their boon proved to be a significant boost. However, those who chose Naughty basically received coal in their stocking. Playing the Format Yourself While the original showcase featured a lot of production value, the format is something anybody can adapt in their own playgroup. Everybody uses their regular Commander deck, and all you'd need would be a selection of booster packs from different sets. One potential issue lies in the fact that if everyone know ahead of time what being nice gets you, they all try to get the most valuable gift. Groups can mix it up with alternatives, such as doing a mini-draft from a communal pile or letting players include cards from their collection from outside the game. From the successful demonstration, Countdown to XT-Mas stands as a joyous format to spread some joy during festive gatherings. It adds a layer to the strategy between players in a uniquely festive manner, resulting in a unique experience for Magic enthusiasts everywhere.