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Already considered Magic: The Gathering's friendliest way to play, Commander just got a festive makeover just in time for the end of the year. As part of a holiday-themed video, personalities Josh Lee Kwai and Jimmy Wong played a four-player match dubbed "Holiday Countdown."

How the Holiday Variant Function

At its core involves a simple mechanic superimposed on a standard EDH game. A designated token moves between players. Once it arrives at the current player's turn, the game briefly pauses. All gamers privately decides if they will be being Nice or Naughty via two cards.

Everyone turn over their choice at the same time. After that, they apply the bonus linked to their own choice, beginning with the person holding the token. It is subsequently handed to the right. A special tracker ticks up by one step, and regular gameplay continues.

The Naughty/Nice options become more significant as the rounds continue, feeling well-balanced.

Escalating Effects

Early rounds provided minor, collective advantages for the Nice path, like gaining life or investigation clues. On the other hand, Naughty choices often gave more targeted benefits, usually targeting someone else. One round let players choosing Naughty get a 4/4 flying creature. Those who selected Nice generated a 1/1 Toy token creature for all participants.

The Climactic Arrival

During the eighth round, Santa Claus himself arrived, changing the experience. Depending on how often each player selected Naughty versus Nice, Santa distributed mystery presents. They appeared to be small containers, but held Magic booster packs worth different amounts.

• The kindest player got a top-tier special pack.
• Another friendly player got a slightly less valuable Collector Booster.
• A special guest received a mid-range set.
• The least nice player got the worst prize: a famously bad set that's essentially a joke.

Every card from these packs could then be playable for the rest of the game, used as a bonus with mana treating it as all colors. Players who were nice participants, their present wound up being a significant power spike. Meanwhile, the naughty players essentially got coal in their stocking.

Trying the Variant at Home

Although the original showcase featured a lot of custom components, this is a concept that players can adapt in their own playgroup. Participants uses their regular EDH deck, and the additional materials needed would be four different MTG packs from different sets.

One potential drawback lies in the fact that if players know ahead of time what being nice gets you, then everyone might aim for the top prize. One might mix it up with alternatives, like drafting cards together or letting players use specific cards not in their deck.

From the entertaining match, Countdown to XT-Mas is definitely a festive way to add holiday cheer when playing with friends. It adds a layer to the social interplay in the game in a fun and manner, resulting in a memorable way to play among Magic players this season.