A few months ago when the new format rotation was announced, there was something of an uproar, and then an idea for a new format emerged. The format was commonly called "Overextended" and was supposed to be Mercadian Masques block forward. This weekend at the prerelease, I was discussing article ideas with Trick and he expressed some interest in the development of such a format. With that idea in mind, for the next few weeks I will be delving into a fresh idea, trying to map out a metagame or at the very least flesh out a banned/restricted list. I encourage you all to play along and see if you agree with my conclusions!

Let's start with a simple question: Why begin at Masques? The prevailing opinion is that if we begin with Masques, every card will be something that can be reprinted. One of the biggest barriers for entry to legacy is the fact that mana bases alone are in some cases in the thousands of dollars. With Overextended, if the format becomes viable, WotC has the option to alleviate some of the secondary market stress with a timely reprinting. This could help the format grow and develop beyond Grand Prixes and the occasional casual event to a broader audience, possibly including PTQs.

Another interesting aspect of the format is the variety of decks that almost make the transition. Belcher, Goblins, Zoo, Counterbalance, ANT—you can make a list of almost every deck in Legacy, weaken them just slightly, and transition them to the new format. One wonders what will happen when slightly watered-down Legacy decks battle against slightly higher-powered Extended decks. Fairies with Daze, Jund with ‘Goyf—can these decks stand up to weaker versions of Legacy decks? Even better, will some dark-horse candidate come from nowhere and dominate them all? Wide-open formats are the most exciting time to be a deck builder, and I think this format offers a great variety to work with.

The first ground rule that should be established is the banned and restricted list for our initial development. I propose that to start there be no banned list. I know that this will change rather rapidly; however, I think that for right now, the format should develop as organically as possible. Another common issue is what core sets should be legal. I would like to propose that Seventh Edition onward should be the core sets legal for the format. This serves two purposes. First, a good number of the cards in Sixth Edition would have ended up banned. Second, Sixth Edition was essentially the outgoing core set for Masques block. Following this line of logic, it just makes sense to have Seventh Edition be the starting base set.

For the next few weeks, I have a rather ambitious schedule set. Next week, I will examine the purely aggressive decks in the format. In the following weeks, there will be development of the pure rock-paper-scissors ideas, with control and then combo following. Of course, once some tentative lists have been posted, the real fun happens: Testing will begin! I look forward to hearing from all of you regarding your play choices, your card selections, and of course how the format looks and sounds! I encourage you to set up matches or even leagues and record your results. I will be writing frequently about my experiences playing at Armada Games, as the owners Aaron and Michael Fortino have wholeheartedly embraced the wacky nature of a brand-new format. Bring your decks up on Friday, and I'll be happy to make glorious battle with you!

Finally, I'd like to welcome Deborah Freeland to the ManaNation team. Debbie, or "Spirit Fingers," as she's known in some circles, is a newly certified Level 1 judge, and easily the second-peppiest judge in the program. Debbie will be editing articles, and it's with that in mind that I write, "thx 4 al ur help! Ur teh best, idk how i culd write without ur help!"