Battle of the formats Contest - Post your custom formats!

Hello fellow cardsmiths, we wanted to ask the community about their favorite formats and what formats they can come up with. For rules unmentioned, assume that they are the same as a normal game of magic the gathering.

To give an example of how this will work, we'll post our own format here. If you wish to skip to the other sections, scroll until you see the prizes.
----- Community Spotlight Format -----
Additional setup: Construct a 30 card singleton deck of custom MTG cards.

Basic Rules:
1) You may look at the top card of your library and at your laid out custom cards.
2) You may choose to draw from your library or from your laid out custom cards.
3) If a custom card would move to your library, put it on the bottom of its owner's custom deck instead.

Instructions:
1) At the beginning of the game, lay out three custom cards from your custom deck face down.

2) When drawing from your laid out custom cards, draw cards one at a time. If you would draw a laid out custom card replace it with the top card of your custom deck.

3) At the beginning of each of your third turns, put any number of laid out custom cards you own on the bottom of your custom deck, then lay out that many custom cards from your custom deck face down.
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Prizes: (Make sure to check out these prizes)
A) The top format's smith will get the following...
- 1 month of premium subscription.
B) The top three formats' smiths will each get the following...
- A follow from us.
- 5 favorites of your own choice.

Due date:
The due date for this contest is the 23rd of August. Late entries won't be accepted since we want to keep our contests/challenges contained to their timeline.

Rules:
1) You must post a format, that either exists or doesn't yet.
2) You may post any number of formats.
3) Formats can be edited as long as the due date hasn't passed.
4) Formats can be switched out as long as the due date hasn't passed.

Comments

  • Draftmander/Sealedmander/Constuctedmander

    This format is actually more like a sub format of any format that doesn’t follow the Commander or Brawl formula. Basically, at the beginning of the game, you choose a creature from your deck (It can be any creature, not just legendary), and put it into the command zone. That creature is now your deck’s commander. The game then follows normal commander rules (Commander tax, game loss due to Commander damage, etc). You may only play the colors in your commander’s color identity plus one more (as some decks will not have a creature that is all their deck’s colors). Games can be played one-on-one or multiplayer, although multiplayer is suggested. Up to 2 of each card other than basic lands are allowed.

    If you have any questions about the format, feel free to ask.

    Also, question about the prize: If the person who wins already has premium, can you save it for when the current subscription runs out?
  • @Aggroman15
    It automatically just adds to the duration you have. So no worries!
  • We're glad someone entered. We weren't sure as this was an experiment for a contest. Hence the big prizes.

    Hopefully we get at least three entraints as we're looking to expand the list of people we follow. We felt this would be an interesting way of doing so rather than scouring the account, @modnation675.
  • @murkletins here's a custom format off the top of my head (consider this my entry): CHAOS MAGIC

    Write out on a piece of paper 20 different card names and make sure the cards have a number next to them. Make sure the cards are equally balanced for best effectiveness in the game. I recommend 4 cards per color for each of the 5 colors of magic. Make sure everyone involved is cool with the cards listed. What are they? I'll explain in a sec.

    How it works:

    Each player starts the game with whatever format they choose, 60 card deck (modern) or 100 card commander are recommended. You start the game set up like any other time you play. Except this:

    Before your 1st untap step, roll a 20 sided dice. Consult your list of 20 cards you made and do what that card says if possible. Nothing can destroy it, or exile this ability.
  • @sorinjace
    Interesting, seems powerful!

    We're designing a format with example cards to post here as another example, if we can finish the cards.
  • Format Ettin

    Its two headed giant except each player plays for both players on your team so they have two decks and 30 life. Works better when both decks either complement each other or work as opposites as this makes you a lot harder to beat.
  • I've wondered this for a long time. What exactly does it mean when you say "Bump"?
  • @Aggroman15 It's something that people do on the site so that your post gets noticed more. The more comments and the more frequent a comment is posted on a post, the more likely it'll be placed on the first page of the forums.
  • @ManaChrome Thanks for explaining.
  • @Aggroman15
    Yeah. I was gonna bump by posting a custom format, but I haven't finished it yet.
  • 5 Card MTG (inspired by 5 Card Hearthstone)

    General Rules:

    1) Can be played in any format and uses that banlist.
    2) Players cannot lose by decking.
    3) Players start with 20 lands and cannot have any more lands than that.

    Deckbuilding Rules:

    1) Players make a 40 card initial deck with no sideboard.
    2) Players choose 20 lands that they start with every round. If any land becomes exiled, it comes back at the beginning of the next round.

    Gameplay:

    1) The game lasts for 8 rounds (although it can be played anywhere from 3+ rounds). First player is determined as usual then switches every round.
    2) Each player starts with 20 life.
    3) At the start of each round, each player creates a 5 card "play deck" from their initial deck. They may look through their deck and pick any 5 specific cards they want. Then they draw those cards, meaning players have 5 cards in hand and 0 cards in deck when the round starts. All other cards are considered outside the game.
    4) Play continues normally until one player wins.
    5) At the end of each round, each player exiles their hand and graveyard, then starts a new round using the remaining cards in their initial deck.
    6) If a player has less than five cards in their initial deck, then they play the next round with the remaining cards, even if they have 0 cards remaining.
    7) Once all the rounds are done, the person who wins the most rounds wins the game.

    Commander: If a commander is being used, it does not count as part of the 40 card initial deck and cannot be in your starting hand. It can be cast from the command zone as normal. It goes back to the command zone at the beginning of each round.

  • edited August 2018
    Alright, this contest is now closed for entries. Sorry for the delay!

    I'll have the results within 5 days.
  • Contest results:
    1st) @Aggroman15 Draftmander
    2nd) @BorosPaladin Ettin
    3rd) @sorinjace Chaos Magic

    For prize details, click here.
  • YAAAAAAAAAY! I literally just came up with that on the spot when I saw this contest, so I'm glad you like it! Here's my favorite requests.
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/ancient-ankylosaurus-1
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/fistfight
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/aggrol-wayward-elemental-2
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/myra-watershaper
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/quest-for-the-slumbering-beast
    When will the Premium come into effect? Just wondering, because I have never received premium before.
  • @Aggroman15
    Favorited the cards. The premium subscription should activate within 24 hours.

    If there are any issues, please send us a private message.
  • Stupidraft:
    Requires 3 packs per player, any sets

    Each player (usually two) opens a pack, drafts a card and passes it to the next player. Repeat until pack is empty and you run out of packs.

    Rules:
    1) Players must play all cards they draft in their deck
    2) Players can't put basic lands in their deck
    3) At the start of each turn, that player gets a generic land that taps for any color of mana. This doesn't count as their land for turn. It does count for things like landfall.

    Basically, two players go back and forth drafting cards from packs until you've drafted everything, then you play with every card you drafted and you get an 'any' land each turn to compensate. It's a decent way to use prize packs or extra packs lying around that is more fun than pack wars. It's actually surprisingly fun trying to figure out uses for usually bad cards when you are all playing 5 color stuff.
  • @BorosPaladin
    I'll give you four days to redeem your prize. After that, I'm closing this thread.
  • @Corwinnn
    May you please close this thread?
  • edited September 2018
    Oops, posted an entry without realising the contest was closed. Sorry everyone!
This discussion has been closed.