No, this is not a multiplayer Magic format thread.
Recently James visited, and we played Magic along with my girlfriend. I've been pretty into pick-up and play formats lately (see Cube pack wars), so we brewed up a new format.
For me, the biggest issue with three player formats is, how do you keep the third player occupied?
We came up with the idea that, maybe the third player can do some light deckbuilding while the other two play.
The Format - King of the Hill
Separate your cardpool into fixing lands, basics, and non-land spells.
Each player receives a starting deck consisting of:
15 non-land cards
10 basics (2 of each)
5 random fixing lands
Then shuffle your fixing lands with your nonland spells and set these cards aside. (Supplemental cards)
The first two players play a single-game match with their randomly made decks.
The loser receives 6 random cards from the Supplemental Cards pile, and builds and updated 30-card deck using their pool. They are free to now adjust their deck (land counts) as they see fit (and take / remove basic lands freely).
The third player then plays the winner. This continues for as long as you like. After each game, the loser gets 6 new cards for deckbuilding, and the winner stays on with their deck unchanged. At the end of the night the winner is the one with the fewest cards in their card pool (fewest losses).
Pros
Quick set up. It's more or less modified pack wars.
Self-balancing. Weaker players will be given the benefit of a larger card pool over time.
The player not playing can keep themselves occupied with deckbuilding while games are happening.
You get to have your deck evolve over time, which to me evokes the memory of being a new player and having janky decks that I edited as I got new cards.
Cons
Can be luck-based, as it starts as a pack wars format. One of our players had a very creature-light pool, and had trouble taking any matches. Theoretically you could remedy this by sorting cards and letting losing players select from certain pools (creatures, lands, other).
Recently James visited, and we played Magic along with my girlfriend. I've been pretty into pick-up and play formats lately (see Cube pack wars), so we brewed up a new format.
For me, the biggest issue with three player formats is, how do you keep the third player occupied?
We came up with the idea that, maybe the third player can do some light deckbuilding while the other two play.
The Format - King of the Hill
Separate your cardpool into fixing lands, basics, and non-land spells.
Each player receives a starting deck consisting of:
15 non-land cards
10 basics (2 of each)
5 random fixing lands
Then shuffle your fixing lands with your nonland spells and set these cards aside. (Supplemental cards)
The first two players play a single-game match with their randomly made decks.
The loser receives 6 random cards from the Supplemental Cards pile, and builds and updated 30-card deck using their pool. They are free to now adjust their deck (land counts) as they see fit (and take / remove basic lands freely).
The third player then plays the winner. This continues for as long as you like. After each game, the loser gets 6 new cards for deckbuilding, and the winner stays on with their deck unchanged. At the end of the night the winner is the one with the fewest cards in their card pool (fewest losses).
Pros
Quick set up. It's more or less modified pack wars.
Self-balancing. Weaker players will be given the benefit of a larger card pool over time.
The player not playing can keep themselves occupied with deckbuilding while games are happening.
You get to have your deck evolve over time, which to me evokes the memory of being a new player and having janky decks that I edited as I got new cards.
Cons
Can be luck-based, as it starts as a pack wars format. One of our players had a very creature-light pool, and had trouble taking any matches. Theoretically you could remedy this by sorting cards and letting losing players select from certain pools (creatures, lands, other).