I love playing multiplayer. There's nothing like getting together with some friends for a night of free-for-all. When plain old Magic just isn't enough, we often mix it up with variant formats like Commander, Planechase, Archenemy, etc. Despite trying out almost every variant format I've ever heard of (still haven't managed to get together six people for a game of Emperor), I've never made up one of my own.

Until now.

Balance of Power

This format is a hybrid of Respawn Magic and Archenemy. It creates an incredibly action-packed game, and largely eliminates the politics part of multiplayer many players dislike. You will need some of the Archenemy scheme cards to play this format.

The Setup

Each player draws his starting hand, takes any mulligans, and then takes four turns. There is no turn order, and each player is in his own separate game. Players are not allowed to target or attack other players, and anything that would affect other players has no effect. After each player has finished his first four turns, roll a die to determine who will be the first overlord. The overlord gets the deck of scheme cards, and will take the first turn.

The Rules

Each player joins the game with whatever he managed to play during his first four turns, and the game begins. Whenever a player is killed, any ongoing schemes that player controlled are shuffled back into the scheme deck. Then, that player shuffles up his deck and starts again, taking his first four turns immediately as the other players continue the game. Once the "reborn" player finishes his four turns, he waits until the turn order comes back to him, then rejoins the game. New players may join the game at any time in the same manner. Whenever a player kills the overlord (whether by dealing damage, causing life loss, or removing the last card in his deck, causing him to lose the game the next time he would draw a card), he becomes the overlord, and gains control of the scheme deck.

The Objective

The overlord's goal is to kill as many players as possible before being killed. The goal for the other players is to kill and become the overlord. Although each player's goal is to kill the overlord, the players are still opponents, and may attack each other if they choose, though killing another non-overlord player will not give any points. Whenever the overlord kills another player, he gets one point. Whenever one of the other players kills the overlord, he gets two points. The winner may be decided either by choosing a set number of points before the game starts, or by playing for some length of time and determining who has the greatest number of points afterward.

To help show off the format, I gathered up a few friends and shuffled up for a game. We decided to play to 6 points.

The Players

Me – Sunburst

Scott – U/B Specters

David – Overwhelming Stampede

Kyle – Black Knights

After everyone finished their four turns, I had three Signets and an Etched Oracle with 4 counters; Scott had a Hypnotic Specter, a Shadowmage Infiltrator, and 21 life thanks to a Refuge; David had Iwamori of the Open Fist and an Imperiosaur; and Kyle had a Hand of Cruelty, two Black Knights, and two Nantuko Shades.

Kyle won the roll, but blanked on his first scheme. He attacked David with a Nantuko Shade, which, after a double block and some pumping, managed to trade with Iwamori of the Open Fist. Kyle then played Hymn to Tourach on David, forcing him to discard Howl of the Night Pack and another Imperiosaur. I was next, and I managed to top-deck a land, giving me enough to cast Solarion with 5 counters. Scott attacked with Hypnotic Specter, putting Kyle to 18. He then played Ghastlord of Fugue, threatening 4 unblockable damage each turn. David dropped a Leatherback Baloth and decided not to attack.

Kyle flipped Your Puny Minds Cannot Fathom, drawing four cards. He then attacked Scott with both Nantuko Shades. One took down the Shadowmage Infiltrator, and the second hit for 5, putting Scott to 16. Kyle played a third Black Knight and a Stromgald Crusader before ending his turn. I played a Lunar Avenger, and decided not to attack into the trio of First Strikers. Scott attacked with the Ghastlord, putting Kyle to 14 and exiling the Swamp in his hand, then played Agony Warp to kill one of the Shades. David played another Leatherback Baloth and passed the turn.

Kyle's next scheme was My Undead Horde Awakens. He attacked Scott with Hand of Cruelty and Nantuko Shade. Hypnotic Specter threw itself in front of the Shade, and Scott took 2, going down to 14. I tapped my Solarion at end of turn to make it a 10/10, and Kyle used his scheme to resurrect Iwamori of the Open Fist. On my turn, I played Contagion Engine, killing Nantuko Shade and Stromgald Crusader, and putting a -1/-1 counter on Kyle's other creatures. I then removed a counter from Lunar Avenger to give it Flying and attacked Kyle for 6, putting him at 8. Scott attacked with the Ghastlord again, putting him down to 4. Kyle cast the Terror in his hand in response to the trigger, killing David's Imperiosaur. Scott then played Dimir Cutpurse and passed the turn. On his turn, David cast Overwhelming Stampede, and killed Kyle with his two 8/9 Tramplers, getting 2 points.

At the end of his turn, I tapped Solarion to make it a 20/20. Then on my turn, I played a Tumble Magnet, Proliferated twice with Contagion Engine, and killed David with my 22/22 Solarion, getting 2 points for myself. On Scott's turn, I tapped down Ghastlord of Fugue before it could attack, and Scott played Wrench Mind. I chuckled a bit and discarded Energy Chamber. David joined in with an Imperiosaur and a Mitotic Slime. He played Overwhelming Stampede and attacked me with a 9/9 and a 10/10. I blocked the 10/10 with my Etched Oracle and Lunar Avenger. I went down to 11, and Imperiosaur killed my Lunar Avenger. Kyle jumped in with Nantuko Shade, Order of the Ebon Hand, Bad Moon, and Dark Tutelage. He was also down to 14 from Dark Tutelage triggers. He revealed another Nantuko Shade, going down to 12, then attacked me with the first. I blocked with Etched Oracle, and Kyle pumped the Shade to an 8/7. My Oracle died, and Kyle passed the turn.

I revealed Roots of All Evil, and got five Saproling tokens. I then tapped down Scott's Cutpurse with Tumble Magnet, and killed him with my Solarion, getting a third point. I then played another Etched Oracle and Proliferated twice. David played Bestial Menace, and Kyle lost another 2 life and played two more Nantuko Shades and a Black Knight.

My next scheme was A Display of My Dark Power. I used the extra mana to play a Skyreach Manta and a Tumble Magnet, and Proliferated twice. As David and Kyle each had several blockers, I passed the turn with no attacks. Scott joined back in with two Dimir Cutpurses. He played and equipped a Whispersilk Cloak, but I tapped the Cutpurse in response. David played a Rampant Growth, then played Overrun, then Overwhelming Stampede, giving his creatures +10/+10 and Trample. I tapped down Mitotic Slime, and Solarion annihilated the Elephant token. Etched Oracle and Skyreach Manta chump-blocked, and I went down to 3. Kyle lost another 2 life, going down to 8, and played a Stromgald Crusader. Solarion made itself a 52/52 at end of turn.

I flipped Behold the Power of Destruction, and destroyed all Kyle's nonland permanents. I then tapped Scott's blocker and killed him again, getting a fourth point. David revealed One Dozen Eyes for 5 Insect tokens, and attacked with everything. I blocked with 3 Saprolings, and killed the Snake. Kyle played a new Dark Tutelage, along with a Hand of Cruelty, which I tapped at the end of his turn.

I flipped Look Skyward and Despair for a 5/5 Dragon, Proliferated, and killed Kyle with a 56/56 Solarion, getting point number five. Scott joined in with a Blizzard Specter and a face-down creature. He passed the turn after playing a land. I tapped down David's Slime and Wolf token, and he attacked me with 5 Saprolings. The Dragon and both Saprolings blocked, and I took 2, going down to 1 life. Kyle's run of bad luck continued, and he lost another 2 during his upkeep. He then played Terror on my Dragon token, and killed me with Hand of Cruelty, getting 2 points. He played Knight of Stromgald and passed the turn.

On his turn, Scott flipped his morphed creature face-up. It was a Silent Specter. He then swung for 6 in the air and killed Kyle, getting 2 points. David put Scott down to 16, then played Imperiosaur. Kyle joined in with two Nantuko Shades and a Black Knight. He played a Bad Moon, then attacked and took Scott down to 7. I joined in with a Signet, an Etched Oracle, and a Skyreach Manta. I promptly killed Scott for the third time, going up to 7 points and winning the game.

As this game clearly illustrates, survival is a big part of this format. If you can live long enough to establish a commanding board position, you will be in a much better position to start attacking and take over the game. However, there is something to be said for playing aggressively as well. Several of the kills in this game were simply attacks of opportunity, getting through for those last few points of damage before anyone else could. Removal is also more valuable than usual, since you will usually be at a disadvantage on board when you rejoin the game. A big part of my win was the fact that Kyle's Terrors couldn't hit any of my creatures. He mentioned that he had three of them rotting in his hand before I killed him the last time.

Regardless of the various strategies involved, this format is a great way to have an epic multiplayer battle with some friends, and the dynamics of working with and against your opponents at the same time can make for some interesting decisions. I encourage anyone who loves multiplayer to give this format a try. Every player can jump right into the action without delay, and best of all, no one ever has to wait for the next game.