Magic: The Eternal Struggle

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This variant on magic, “Magic: The Eternal Struggle,” incorporates some of the rules from Vampire: the Eternal Struggle ©. Avid Magic players who have always wanted to learn Vampire may find this variant to be not only enjoyable but helpful as well. The Vampire rules add more strategy and decision-making elements to the game, effectively making it less a game of chance and more a game of skill.

Rules

Players start with 50 life.
There is no draw phase; players draw a card immediately after they play a land or cast a spell.
When players cast creatures, they pay the casting cost along with X life, where X is the creature’s toughness rather than the toughness on the card; thus, you determine the toughness of each of your creatures.
Damage dealt to creatures is permanent. Use blood counters to indicate a creature’s toughness; a blood counter is effectively a +0/+1 counter.
As an instant, a player may pay 1 life to put a blood counter on a creature.
When a player successfully deals damage to another player, the player who dealt the damage gains control of the “Edge.” The player with the Edge gains 1 life during his upkeep.
When a spell or effect forces a player to discard, he immediately draws a card to replace each discarded card. Players do not draw when they have seven or more cards.
Cards that allow players to raise the number of cards in their hands (like Blinking Spirit, Jayemdae Tome, Fact or Fiction, and cantrips) are banned, as are Library of Leng, Black Vise type cards (Black Vise, Viseling), Underworld Dreams, and any card that you may discard to (Stormbind, Wild Mongrel).

Mulligan Rules

Standard “Paris” Mulligan is used for this variant.

Before each game begins, a player may, for any reason, reshuffle and redraw his hand, drawing one less card. This may be repeated as often as the player wishes, until he has no cards left in his and. After the participant, who plays first, mulligans as often as he likes, the decision of whether to mulligan passes to the other player. Once a player passes the opportunity to mulligan, that player may not change his mind.

Keep in mind; if you take a mulligan down to 6 or less cards then, for the remainder of the game you will only have 6 or less cards in your hand.

History

This variant was taken from July 1996 Issue of the Duelist. It was written by Vince Favilla.