Casual Magic Formats Outside Commander

During my last visit to my LGS, me and two other friends were short players for a pod. While other groups were playing we were just waiting, shuffling our EDH decks and talking about what sets were on the store shelves. I passed them the idea of trying a sealed pod, and 9 packs of Kamigawa later, I was explaining the rules to a style of play introduced to me as Hunter.

Hunter

Each player can only attack players to their left, but are allowed to target any player with anything else. It was interesting seeing how they adapted not just to Limited play versus the Constructed EDH, but how some commander skills translated into the games. Deciding who is the threat, focusing down on their target to swing for the game, and how to sideboard with the shorter matches. They were enamored with the mode, and while we eventually picked up another player for Commander, they were excited to eventually draft with four or more players.

Many players are introduced into Magic from EDH, and this becomes the primary lens that they view the game from. Discovering new ways to engage with the game is rewarding, but most players don’t think about those other ways. It’s the push from other players that gets them interested, and then invested. Earlier, the Professor released a video talking about ‘forgotten’ formats that have not seen much play, or formats that see casual play between more competitive formats. I wanted to talk about a few modes of Magic that I feel are underplayed, and why they may have gotten there.

Archenemy

Archenemy as a term has outgrown its roots as a gamemode. Archenemy is a 3 versus 1 mode, allowing something similar to an EDH pod with a co-operative aspect. One player takes the role as the archenemy, and has access to a set of schemes that they can use to gain an edge over the 3 other teamed-up players. The archenemy has 40 life, while each of the other players have only 20. Decks are 60-card constructed, and there are an additional 20 schemes set aside for the archenemy to ‘put into motion’ during their main phase. Schemes offer lots of different advantages and tools, and offer a proper supervillain flavor. Archenemy had an initial release, but also got a Nicol Bolas themed release during the events of the Ahmonket block. Archenemy is ironically a good way of teaching players Magic by allowing a group of friends to be led by a more experienced member, while allowing newer players to feel powerful and get a feel for Magic’s aesthetic. In addition, schemes allow players to discover Magic’s most fundamental effects.

Archenemy has lost popularity due to its intended pool size being the same as Commander’s. EDH has become the de facto means of playing Magic, and with the auxiliary deck required to play a hand it’s no wonder the format is more obscure. However, its novelty has kept it in the minds of players who were around for either of the mode’s releases. Sadly, those releases are out of print- though websites like Haumpheh's Schemer lets you randomly choose schemes for your archenemy games.

Pentagram / Headhunter

When I was first introduced to this next format, it was through an old Achievement Hunter video. They never did name it, but only said they chose it since they had a group of five players. Explaining the strange rules and non-standard group size to my playgroup in college finally got me a name, and a pod of Pentagram. In Pentagram, all players play with standard deck and life totals, but everyone has two allies: the player directly to their left and right. Any player wins as soon as all non-ally players are killed. In a five person pod, this means that you have two targets, and two allies. Though, this is a free-for-all format. Meaning that you don’t only need to work with your allies to eliminate common enemies, you also need to protect your allies from being eliminated. Only one player can win, and the ally to your right will be gunning for the ally to your left. This leads to really tense, political games where a single attack can have massive consequences for the entire match. The game is best played with five players, as it balances your allies and enemies, but in theory it can support as large pods as one would need.

It’s fairly clear why this format is never played: it’s confusing. It’s a lot of extra brainpower to track alliances, and understand five board states at once. Another factor is that… I’m not sure if this is called Headhunter. That was the name I was given, but I’ve heard this called things like Star or Sheriff or Headhunter. Likely, this set of rules comes from a pre-Commander landscape, where having five players didn’t just mean an extra big EDH game. In the same way that EDH began as a little side even between ‘real’ matches, Headhunter took up the same space. Though it’s clear which format won out in the end.

Conspiracy

Conspiracy is both a unique draft format, and one of the fourteen card types. Present in two sets, the conspiracy is a special card that lives in the command zone and provides passive effects. Most interact with fundamental rules of Magic, and some even require you to note names, numbers, or colors. Some are hidden until you reveal them, and others can impose deck building restrictions. As stated, Conspiracy was a draft format, and these lower-case-C conspiracy cards were inside packs. This totally changed the game when drafting, as being passed a conspiracy usually gives a lot of information. In addition, choosing a Conspiracy over an actual card helped to cultivate more interesting game plans and lines of play. This really sold the flavor of acting like a table of scheming, back-stabbing, insidious oligarchs vying for control.

Unfortunately, Draft isn’t for everyone, and the magic sort of fades away once everyone knows what conspiracies you always had ready. The format alienated those that don’t enjoy draft, and with only two sets the lines of play felt rather limited. In addition, a lack of reprints means that getting the experience of a proper Conspiracy draft is expensive in paper. However, some of the design space explored in Conspiracy did return in Mystery Boosters, and later we would receive Jumpstart, so perhaps one day we’ll get our third return to the plane of Fiora.