Tactical Magic

This is a Magic variant that makes the game more "realistic". You will need a large playing area, such as a table or a bed. The table or bed can be any size. Remember that the further apart the player's tokens are, the longer and more complicated a game will be. Also, the smaller the playing area, the less space for moving creatures.

At opposite ends of the playing area, two tokens are placed to represent the two players. The tokens count as 1/20 creatures, and reflect the player's life score. However, at the healing stage of the turn they are not healed like ordinary creatures. You should decide upon a scale for movement purposes. Depending on the size of your playing area, the scale of your movement units will vary, but generally one unit of movement should be about 5 cm or 2 inches. Objects, such as books and magazines can be placed to simulate terrain. Enough space should be left aside for your library, graveyard, lands, enchantments, and artifacts. The area set aside should have a border around it so no cards can accidentally leave or enter it.

Card Placement

When a creature is summoned or generated, it must be placed within one unit of the player's token. If there is no available space, it must be placed as close as possible within the playing area. Lands changed into creatures must be placed within one unit of the player's token, as normal creatures.

Walls are an exception to the above rule, and can be placed anywhere within a five unit radius of the spellcaster. If lands or artifacts are changed into creatures, they follow the same placement rules as regular creatures. If both players are using the same color in their decks, tokens or plastic cardholders can be used to identify the owner and controller of a creature. Creatures sent to the graveyard for any reason must be removed from the playing area and placed in the graveyard, on a separate part of the table.

Creature and Player Movement

A creature's allowed movement is the average of its power and toughness, in movement units (rounded up): (P+T)/2. A player's token is limited to one movement unit per turn. When a creature becomes tapped, it cannot move until it is untapped. A creature does not have to move its full movement in one turn. Creatures with flying double their movement after having moved their full movement the previous turn. Walls cannot move, but can be placed up to five units away from the player's token when summoned. Animated walls, or walls that can somehow attack are the exception to this rule.

Attacking Another Creature or Player

If two or more creatures from opposing sides are within one unit of each other, they can attack each other. An attack cannot occur if two creatures cannot legally attack each other (a ground creature attacking a flying creature, landwalk ability, protection from a color, fear, seeker, etc.), or if the players order their creatures not to attack each other. An exception to the above rule about legal attacks is creatures with landwalk abilities. If two creatures have the same landwalk ability, they may attack each other, and can band with other creatures without the landwalk ability when attacking. Creatures that are "unblockable" cannot be attacked either.

If one player orders his creature not to attack but the other player does, both creatures deal their damage to each other. When both creatures attack, they must tap. However, the creatures that survive the attack become untapped at the end of the turn. If a creature's path of movement falls within the attacking range of another creature, regardless of whose turn it is, the stationary creature may attack the creature passing by, provided a legal attack can be made.

If this situation does occur, the moving creature must stop where it is attacked. Walls can attack creatures that come within their attacking range. If all creatures are forced to attack a particular creature and they are not within attacking range, they must move towards that creature and attack when within range, using the shortest possible route. If a creature is forced to attack, but given no particular target, the creature must attack the nearest creature controlled by the other player.

Defense

With this variation, you cannot let a creature "slip by your defense" and take damage from it. There is no "blocking" of creatures with creatures of your own, but creatures can be moved in strategic places that force smaller creatures around them. If a creature is made to block another, it must move towards it and attack it. If a card has text that is similar to the following: "If a creature is not blocked", it should be changed to: "If your creature attacks an opponent's token".

Special Creature Abilities and Spells

Creature abilities that require tapping or a sacrifice that affect other creatures can only be used when within the movement range of the target creature affected by the ability. Creature abilities or spells that destroy, bury, remove from the game, or sacrifice a creature cannot be used upon a player's token.

Creatures and spells cannot copy or control either player's token. If a creature must be sacrificed to another, it must be within the movement range of the target creature receiving the sacrifice. If two cards are banded together, they should be no more than one movement unit apart for banding to take effect. The rampage ability can only become active if more than one creature is within attacking range. Creatures with first strike have an attack range of two units instead of one. Trample damage can be transferred to other creatures within attacking range, not to the player's token, unless it is within attack range.

Player Enchantments

Spells and enchantments may be cast upon the player's token, for now it is a physical part of the game. Any spell can be used except spells containing the following effects: regenerating, destroying, burying, sacrificing, sending to the graveyard, or removing from play. The same goes for any effects from enchantments, artifacts or creatures.

The player can remove enchantments from a player’s token at any time, by paying the casting cost of the enchantment or losing two life. This ability counts as an interrupt. If a player's token becomes tapped due to spells or an attack, the player cannot cast any spells until it becomes untapped. The player can still use mana for upkeep, and still can use any cards in play.

History

This variant was created by Eric Huynh.