ELDER DRAGON LEGEND WARS
by Jesus M. Lopez
Nicol Bolas, Chromium, Arcades Sabboth -- legendary creatures of immense power and stature. They look great in your binder and are probably rarely, if ever, used. Well, take them out, dust them off, and gather up three or four of your friends. It’s time to let the Elder Dragons battle it out.
Tournament Magic, while exciting, is so cutthroat that the visual aspect of seeing beautiful cards in play is diminished. In “Elder Dragon Legend Wars,” armies have time to assemble, and powerful creatures abound. The basic rules for this variant are designed to create a balanced environment while allowing individual creativity and strategy.
- Three or more players are recommended.
- Players choose (or select at random) an Elder Dragon Legend as their army's leader. This Dragon must be supported by creatures and spells corresponding to each of the Dragon's (three) specific casting colors.
- Players include eight basic lands for each of those colors in their decks.
- Decks must have twenty to twenty-four creatures and may have no more than one of the same creature. All creatures should be 3/3 or better unless they have a special ability (i.e., regeneration, mountainwalk, etc.).
- To help ensure balance, the total power and toughness of each player's creatures should not exceed a number predetermined by the players.
- Players designate and announce three of their creatures as “Warlords” and two creatures as “Captains.” Ifan opponent destroys a Captain, the Captain’s controller takes 2 damage, and the destroyer gains 2 life. Ifa Warlord is destroyed, the controller takes 3 damage while the destroyer gains 3 life. And for an Elder Dragon Legend, the controller takes 4 damage, and the destroyer gains 4 life.
- No more than one of each spell may be included in a deck.
- Decide beforehand which cards are banned. Some cards that tend to be unbalancing because they have such global effects include Balance, Wrath of God, Anarchy, and Gloom.
- Players begin play with one of each land type already in play.
- Players start with 25 life.
- Players have a sixty-card minimum deck, in addition to the lands already in play.
We've played free-for-all, attack-left, and “temporary teams,” where as soon as one team lost, the temporary alliance would dissolve and the remaining two players would battle it out. But since the intent of “Elder Dragon Legends Wars” is to increase playing pleasure, feel free to introduce your own rules and requirements.