In this variant for Magic, you get to add a little flavour to your own abilities. Instead of representing yourself with one mage, you can assemble your own spellcasting team from two to, well, however-many-you-want mages. Each one has his own strengths and weaknesses but, combined, you've got a powerful circle of wizards to represent you.
Deck and Mage Construction:To start things off, you'll need a deck. Any deck construction rules are okay, as long as you and your opponent use the same rules. Decide among yourselves the minimum number of mages each player is required to have - having two wizards can sometimes be better than three. You're now ready to build your circle.
You have 20 points to spend on your mages' attributes. It's easier to keep track of which mage can do what if you name them, and add a little personality. One point will buy you one of the following:
- 5 life
- 1 card in hand
- 1/4 cards drawn per turn
- 1 colour proficiency
For each colour in your deck, you must have at least one mage with that colour proficiency. The number of cards drawn per turn for each mage is totalled to tell the total number of cards you'll draw in your draw phase. After the totals are added together, round up if 2/4 or greater. The number of cards in hand is likewise totalled to find your maximum hand size. This includes the amount of cards you draw at the start of game, as well as the number you must discard down to during your discard phase.
Play: Each game is played using the normal rules of Magic. Each mage counts as a separate player, 'controlled' by you. Any card you cast, referring to "you" or "controller" or "owner" means that you get to choose the mage affected by the card, provided the mage has the colour proficiency for the colour of the card.
Consider all of your mages to have banding in the sense that damage from attacking creatures can be assigned however you prefer. Life totals are kept separate for each mage. Any time a non-targeted spell or ability makes you, the player, take damage, you decide which mage takes the damage. If a spell or ability specifically states that it affects all players (such as Earthquake or Pestilence), all of your mages (and your opponent's) take damage.
Targeted spells can only target one mage at a time, unless the card specifies it can target more than one player. This means a Fireball can target any combination of creatures and/or opposing mages, and a card like Black Vise only affects one opposing mage.
The mages do not count as creatures, so they are not affected by Wrath of God, Control Magic, or other such cards directly. Cards you cast referring to "opponent" affect any opposing mage you wish. All mages can cast and be affected by artifacts. In the case of discarding effects, a mage forced to discard can only discard the number of cards he contributes to your hand. For example, if a mage adds one card in hand to your total cards in hand, and he is targeted by a Hymn to Tourach, you only have to discard one card.
When a mage dies, the group of mages loses the dead mage's abilities. You lose any colour proficiency, ability to draw, and hand-size that the mage had in his abilities. This means that if your ability to draw cards is reduced to zero, you can't draw and must continue without any new cards, unless a spell or ability allows you to draw. Likewise, you must discard down to your new hand size at the end of your turn.
If the dead mage has a colour proficiency that none of your other mages have, you cannot cast spells of that colour. Also, you can't pay that coloured mana for activation or upkeep costs of permanents. You can still control and use any permanents in play of that colour.
Strategy: Customized mages is a great variant when dealing with newer players with large five-colour decks. It makes them think about the advantages of focusing a deck to a theme and limiting the number of colours in their deck to get more powerful mages.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket! You should never have your points distributed so one mage has an eight card hand, another a two card per turn draw, and a third the decks' white and black colour proficiencies. A group of mages like that is too easy to disrupt by picking off one with direct damage and watching the rest scream in anguish as you take your time to finish them off.
Smaller losses of life have larger consequences in this game as this affects the number of cards drawn and in hand, and the colour of spells one can cast. Cards like Howling Mine, Armageddon Clock and Syphon Soul come in handy, as each mage counts as a player.
How To Win: To end the game, all opposing mages must be killed or out of cards. If your opponent can draw no cards due to a loss of mages, you should play it through unless it is obvious that the game will be hopeless.
The true beauty of this variant is that every time you build a new deck, you can construct a new set of mages, and there's no set number you have to use. There's no law saying you have to stick to 20 points, either. The possibilites are nearly limitless!
Sample Deck:
Here's a sample deck and a set of mages; the two are built to work with each other. The deck focuses on direct damage and creatures for offense, and plenty of damage prevention for defense. Here are some tips for playing:
- In combat, have Jorge take damage first. If you have to lose a mage and you have a choice, let Bob be the first one to bite it.
- The Earthquakes are the key spell in this deck, as they can hit all of your opponent's mages. However, they also nail all of yours. Protect your mages with Sphere of Law, Harm's Way or Embolden.
- The Jalum Tome is a safety valve. If you get down to the point where Jorge or Bob is your only mage, use the Tome to dump spells you can't cast.
- Don't be afraid to cast Wrath of God or Akroma's Vengeance even if you have creatures out, especially if all three of your mages are still alive. Drawing two cards per turn should easily get you more creatures.
MAGES
Bob (5 points)
5 life
1 card in hand
2/4 cards drawn per turn
1 colour proficiency (red)
Jorge (6 points)
10 life
1 card in hand
2/4 cards drawn per turn
1 colour proficiency (white)
Phineas (9 points)
10 life
3 cards in hand
2/4 cards drawn per turn
2 colour proficiencies (red and white)
DECK LIST
Artifacts
1 Jalum Tome
Red
3 Earthquake
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Viashino Sandstalker
White
1 Akroma's Vengeance
2 Embolden
3 Guardian Seraph
2 Harm's Way
2 Journey to Nowhere
4 Kor Firewalker
2 Sphere of Law
2 Wrath of God
Gold
2 Aurelia's Fury
1 Figure of Destiny
4 Boros Reckoner
3 Wear/Tear
Land
6 Mountain
11 Plains
1 Shivan Gorge
4 Wind-Scarred Crag
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