Hello everyone. This is my first post here.
For some time, I have been tinkering with the idea of creating a self contained format. I have been playing competitive Magic for a long time, as well as more casual Variants such as Commander, Highlander, Cube, DanDan or Fat Stack.
So I created a custom Format that I named TempoBox. Each player gets dealt 3 packs of 15 cards and a seeded pack of 15, containing: one of each blue fetchland, one of each dual land and one [[Batterskull]]. The duals and Batterskull are then shuffled together to create your deck. The fetches are part of your starting hand. To start a game, each player draws 3 cards. From there, the standard mtg rules apply. You can find the list alongside a primer on CubeCobra.
Below I will explain a bit how I came up with the idea and the design process.
As it is sometimes difficult to arrange a larger pod, I was testing formats that can be played 1v1. Drafting with 2 people is kind of akward and takes away from the time spent playing. The odds of having really balanced decks are also much lower than in a pod of 4. Tempo Twobert has been a welcome new experience, as I am a fan of Tempo Mirrors. When it comes to fair magic, this is where it's at.
I have built a Legacy gauntlet, but when only two are playing, Delver vs Delver seems like the most fun and most fair option. However, while the gameplay is fun, it will become stale after some time. Variety is necessary when playing tons of games.
This lead me to think about a format like DanDan, but with a bigger card pool. Initially, I put in all the tempo threats I loved and the classic permission spells. Added Fetchlands, Duals and Wastelands to finish the deck. However, this played out very poorly, since mana is key. One player would draw two taigas, while the other would have three fechlands, fetching for all colors. That means one player might not be able to cast any spells, while the other searches out lands for each land type and deduces your hand from the library.
My first solution was to pull out the fetches and duals into a seperate individual library. You could either draw from the shared deck or your personal library. Equipment would also be placed in your personal library, but could only be searched for by stoneforge mystic. This however proved very difficult to explain and required some rule bending. The shared graveyard was fun, but effects from cards like [[Endurance]] or [[Deathrite Shaman]] were tedious to resolve. Mana screwing your opponent was equally difficult, as he could just draw the correct dual at any time. It was a horrible solution.
One day, I took this personal deck and shuffled some cards from the shared deck into it. It was better, much better. But having all three Equipments in your deck usually meant the game is over once you had two of them. Cards like [[Deathrite Shaman]] or [[Dragon's Rage Channeler]] require lands in the graveyard before they can be active. A land count of 20 was too high, most legacy tempo decks play 18-19. So I wanted less lands, reduce mana screw that comes from it and reduce the time spent on thinking about the first turn.
My solution was to keep the lands in the seeded pack and the Batterskull to guarantee a target for [[Stoneforge Mystic]] and a win condition (in the unlikely case you have no creatures in you library). I moved the other equipment into the shared deck, which I now call the pile. I have shaved the non-blue fetchlands and replaced them with another set of blue ones, but I still had the issue where you would lose to bad mana. This lead me to cut the duplicate feches again and put the four fetchlands into the player's starting hand. This felt amazing, as now you can easily support the low land count, get the mana you need, support delirium.
Another thing that I noticed is how hard it is to come back once your opponent crosses a certain threshold on the board. For this, I have added Supreme Verdict as a way to reset the boardstate. Balance turns out fits this niche too, punishing players for overextending both on creatures, as well as lands. It can also give a fighting chance to a player stuck on two lands or with a low hand size.
The resulting gameplay is fair, fast-paced, allows for comebacks and rewards patience. A game can end in 2 minutes or 30. Once a game is finished the decks can be played again, parts swapped or rebuilt in a matter of minutes. This keeps it fresh for a long time to come.
You can find some more initial design notes in the Primer as of writing.
If you have come this far, I thank you for reading and hope you enjoy this format as I currently do. Feel free to share feeback, comments and gameplay experiences.
You can find the list on CubeCobra.
For some time, I have been tinkering with the idea of creating a self contained format. I have been playing competitive Magic for a long time, as well as more casual Variants such as Commander, Highlander, Cube, DanDan or Fat Stack.
So I created a custom Format that I named TempoBox. Each player gets dealt 3 packs of 15 cards and a seeded pack of 15, containing: one of each blue fetchland, one of each dual land and one [[Batterskull]]. The duals and Batterskull are then shuffled together to create your deck. The fetches are part of your starting hand. To start a game, each player draws 3 cards. From there, the standard mtg rules apply. You can find the list alongside a primer on CubeCobra.
Below I will explain a bit how I came up with the idea and the design process.
As it is sometimes difficult to arrange a larger pod, I was testing formats that can be played 1v1. Drafting with 2 people is kind of akward and takes away from the time spent playing. The odds of having really balanced decks are also much lower than in a pod of 4. Tempo Twobert has been a welcome new experience, as I am a fan of Tempo Mirrors. When it comes to fair magic, this is where it's at.
I have built a Legacy gauntlet, but when only two are playing, Delver vs Delver seems like the most fun and most fair option. However, while the gameplay is fun, it will become stale after some time. Variety is necessary when playing tons of games.
This lead me to think about a format like DanDan, but with a bigger card pool. Initially, I put in all the tempo threats I loved and the classic permission spells. Added Fetchlands, Duals and Wastelands to finish the deck. However, this played out very poorly, since mana is key. One player would draw two taigas, while the other would have three fechlands, fetching for all colors. That means one player might not be able to cast any spells, while the other searches out lands for each land type and deduces your hand from the library.
My first solution was to pull out the fetches and duals into a seperate individual library. You could either draw from the shared deck or your personal library. Equipment would also be placed in your personal library, but could only be searched for by stoneforge mystic. This however proved very difficult to explain and required some rule bending. The shared graveyard was fun, but effects from cards like [[Endurance]] or [[Deathrite Shaman]] were tedious to resolve. Mana screwing your opponent was equally difficult, as he could just draw the correct dual at any time. It was a horrible solution.
One day, I took this personal deck and shuffled some cards from the shared deck into it. It was better, much better. But having all three Equipments in your deck usually meant the game is over once you had two of them. Cards like [[Deathrite Shaman]] or [[Dragon's Rage Channeler]] require lands in the graveyard before they can be active. A land count of 20 was too high, most legacy tempo decks play 18-19. So I wanted less lands, reduce mana screw that comes from it and reduce the time spent on thinking about the first turn.
My solution was to keep the lands in the seeded pack and the Batterskull to guarantee a target for [[Stoneforge Mystic]] and a win condition (in the unlikely case you have no creatures in you library). I moved the other equipment into the shared deck, which I now call the pile. I have shaved the non-blue fetchlands and replaced them with another set of blue ones, but I still had the issue where you would lose to bad mana. This lead me to cut the duplicate feches again and put the four fetchlands into the player's starting hand. This felt amazing, as now you can easily support the low land count, get the mana you need, support delirium.
Another thing that I noticed is how hard it is to come back once your opponent crosses a certain threshold on the board. For this, I have added Supreme Verdict as a way to reset the boardstate. Balance turns out fits this niche too, punishing players for overextending both on creatures, as well as lands. It can also give a fighting chance to a player stuck on two lands or with a low hand size.
The resulting gameplay is fair, fast-paced, allows for comebacks and rewards patience. A game can end in 2 minutes or 30. Once a game is finished the decks can be played again, parts swapped or rebuilt in a matter of minutes. This keeps it fresh for a long time to come.
You can find some more initial design notes in the Primer as of writing.
If you have come this far, I thank you for reading and hope you enjoy this format as I currently do. Feel free to share feeback, comments and gameplay experiences.
You can find the list on CubeCobra.