Between-Round Games for the Unprepared Mage

So you’re at an event with some friends, and the rounds are taking forever. Maybe it’s a limited GP and everyone is going to time. Maybe you all showed up with aggro today. Bad beat stories can only cover so much time in a day before your brain melts out of your head and you flop mindlessly on the floor. For this reason I provide my favorite games that are available, and quite good, without requiring forethought or any special equipment (just a land box and some people).

The Land Game

This is an old one with several variations. Some of the oldest variations were a bit on the odd side. Jeremy Dezani recently did an updated version that is very similar to the version I will be describing, which is in turn very similar to an old Reddit thread describing the same game. My version has several variations that probably come as a result of mis-remembered information among people in our play group as the game gets passed along. The best part about the land game is that you only need one extra person and it is very fast. We spent a surprising amount of time in GP Vegas 2019 while waiting for our cohorts to finish their respective MCQs playing this.

Both players start with a randomized deck with 6 copies of each basic land type. Each player draws one card per turn and plays one card per turn (first player doesn’t draw on first turn, per normal magics). Lands you play go face up in front of you until game end, or until your opponent interacts with them. The first player to have 1 of each basic land type in front of them or 5 of a single basic land type is the winner. Each basic land type does something different:

Plains draw a card when they enter play. It’s a Thraben inspector.

Swamp causes each opponent to discard a card at random when it enters play. It’s a mini Hymn to Tourach.

Mountain destroys target land when it enters play. It’s a stone rain Forest lets you bring target land from your graveyard back to your hand when it enters play. It’s a regrowth.

Island does nothing when it comes into play. But, island can cancel an opponent’s play when discarded from hand. Whenever an opponent tries to play a card, you may discard an island and another basic land card of the type the opponent is playing to cancel the effect of their land and put it into the graveyard. For example if my opponent plays a mountain to destroy one of my lands, I can discard an isand plus a mountain to cancel the effect and have them put their mountain in their discard. Yes, you can counter their islands with your islands by discarding a second island. It’s a Disrupting Shoal.

Strategically you want to start with a swamp or plains early. Islands are interesting in that they provide negative card advantage, but can be a huge tempo swing; I tend to hold onto them for protection late in the game. Using mountains to blow up your opponent’s lands can be interesting strategically, because you often want to keep from making their forests live for good cards.

In general this game is great. There’s more strategy involved than you’d think at first glance, and can be constructed from any sufficiently stocked land-box. Having specifically sized decks for each player gives better knowledge of how many outs a player has at any given time and provides more interesting tension than some of the older versions, and alternate win conditions allow for more tension in games and protection from variance.

Skull and Roses (Swamp and Plains)

This is a direct ripoff from a favorite board-game of mine. If you like the game I recommend getting the official version, it’s pretty great. If I do an insufficient job of explaining the rules, check here for more explanation. If you’ve ever played liar’s dice or watched too much Pirates of the Caribbean this might seem familiar. If you enjoy lying to your friends this may be the game for you.

Each player starts with 3 plains and 1 swamp. Each player looks at the cards in their hand and places one face down in front of them.

The first player may play a card face down on top of their previous card, or may make a bet. If they play a card the next player in clockwise order is given the same decision. If they choose not to place a card (or are unable to), they make a bet.

The betting player announces the size of their bet, which is the number of cards they can flip among faceup cards without flipping a swamp. Each player, going clockwise, must then either raise the bet or pass. Continue until all players have passed except the remaining highest bidder.

The high bidder must then reveal a number of cards, one at a time, equal to their bet. They start by revealing cards from the their own pile first. Cards are flipped from the top (most recent) down. After finishing with their pile the high bidder must then move on to cards in other player’s piles. They can do this in any order they see fit.

If the high bidder reveals a swamp, they stop immediately and everyone picks their cards back up. The owner of the revealed swamp chooses a card which is removed from the game face down. The owner of the card gets to know what type of card it is, but no other player gets to know. The new first player is the owner of the swamp that was revealed (if you revealed your own swamp, you choose someone else to be first player).

If the high bidder matches his bid without revealing any swamps, they get a point (I recommend using Islands as points, best card in magic). Everyone picks up their non-removed cards, the high bidder is the new first player.

Continue with a new round and a new first player until a player gets two points, they are the winner.

This one is incredibly deep and while simple to play, will take a long time to master. Should be played with 3 or more players, 5-6 is probably best but not required.

Both of these games are fast and perfect for downtime. Both also help with basic magic skills. Tempo, bluffing, aggro, and the fun of land destruction are all important elements. Go forth, and never be bored during down-time again!