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As of now I have been writing only articles based on the 5-Color variant of playing Magic. There are different things to do and I always like to bring new ideas to light. I have found another variant that is quite enjoyable and fits into my love of playing a less strict version of Sanctioned DCI Magic.
Now for something somewhat different:
Centurion – First there are no lands allowed within Centurion. Any card may be played as a land and once played as a land it will produce the color of the card used as the land. If it phases out or is temporarily removed from game it remembers its game state and returns as a land but once in the graveyard, library, or hand is no longer a land. This effectually makes you never get land hosed in a deck. Also as there are no lands in the deck there is no reason to play and land fetching cards.
All decks must be exactly 100 cards no more or less as this is also the reason for the name of the variant. Only Foil rares are allowed and as so far only Foil Goblin Charbelcher is banned, as with no land it is a tad bit unfair. The decks must include 15 of each color leaving 25 cards up to your needs per deck.
All matches are played for Signature Ante with the loser signing the card they lost to the winner. As the decks should be almost all common or uncommon this should not be too much of a loss. The game begins with both players flipping over the first card and that is now the Ante and whoever has the higher casting cost goes first. In case of a tie then whichever card has the most colored mana goes first and then if still a tie a dice roll or some other random effect. If you have a signed card in hand by your opponent and they cast a spell of the same name, then counter that spell by simply showing the card signed. In the same manner, if you have in hand a card signed by your opponent and a permanent is in play by the same name, you may remove from game that permanent by showing the card signed by that opponent. Revealed cards are not used and still kept in hand. Cards that are lost and signed by multiple players count for any opponent in the game. If in a multi-player game, it counts for any opponent that has lost and signed that card.
The whole signed card part of the game is what truly makes the game different from other variants as if you have played that person before then you should remember what is signed on both sides. This can effect how you rebuild you deck as the more signed cards an you acquire give you more counter effects to their deck until the next rebuild.
This variant is somewhat smaller than 5-Color but has the same card pool allowed as Vintage. As most decks will not have many rares in them it is quite easy to get into to play and can be enjoyable to play. Also as only Foil rares are allowed you don’t have to worry about to many bomb cards from Vintage showing up in a deck and as it is not a sanctioned format your play group may choose to go with Extended or Standard card pools depending on the availability of all who wish to play.
I do hope that this has been helpful in bringing yet another variant format to the forefront and that you can get a playgroup together and try it out a soon as possible.
D. Martin DeOlden
Tawnos76@msn.com
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