I have a question for you. Do you like playing chess? Do you like to metagame? Perhaps you are just an instant gratification kind of person?

If so, then we have a game for you, and it is called X Card Blind.

Do yourself a favor, step inside and let me show you around this quick little game that will give you a different perspective of Magic and let you skip that whole boring part of the game. You know, the waiting around, building up resources to blow your opponent away part of the game.

X Card Blind is a game that is designed to be a thinking man’s game. It is not for a player to match his playing skill against another guy, or for a person who has relied on having the best cards his entire career. In X Card Blind, you match your skill in combo design versus everyone else.

I must point out that it would be fairly boring if it just ended there.

If you are familiar with the game then you think you already know the rules, but you don’t know the rules of MDV’s X Card Blind, as we have modified them slightly to match our needs. Here is a quick run down of the rules:

• Your deck consists of X cards, where X is two to five.
• You do not lose the game for not being able to draw a card.
• You begin the game with your entire deck in your hand.
• Each player plays with their hand face up.
• All random effects go in the favor of your opponent.
• The game plays normally beyond these rules.
• Each match consists of two games, where each player goes first once.
• You play against each player in the field exactly one time.
• The Contest Admin plays each deck against each other, making the most logical moves available.
• In each game, the player going first determines how many cards are being used in the game.

“What?”

Ah, and now we get to the first twist of the game. In the normal ruling of X Card Blind, a deck with fewer cards would limit a bigger deck because in the rules, you can only play a maximum of the smaller number of cards. So if your deck list has five cards, and your opponent only plays with a one-card deck, then only the first card of your deck is playable, which is an obvious advantage to only playing the minimum number of cards. No one wanted to see everyone playing Dryad Arbor decks, so a limit was placed on deck sizes; you must play a minimum of two cards.

We decided that everyone playing Black Lotus and Magus of the Moon was pretty boring too, so we broke the rule up and decided to allow big decks a chance in the game. If I play a two-card deck and you play a five-card deck, in game one I will only allow you to play your first two cards (and since my deck is designed to operate on two cards, most likely I will win), however in game two when you start the game you are opening the game up to five cards. Since you have the ability to play all of your cards, you obviously have a tremendous advantage now.

It might seem to be an easy thing to continue using what works, such as City of Traitors + Isochron Scepter + Lightning Helix, but we saw you coming with that too.  MDV’s X Card Blind has a rotating Banned List. What this means is that each deck that wins a round has all of the cards in it banned for five rounds. In the example deck I just gave, if I won with that deck, all three cards would be removed from play for five rounds. You can see how after three or four rounds how diverse the game field becomes. In our first few rounds, Black Lotus was removed as the deck with it won, and only recently did it come back, just to be banned again two rounds later. Needless to say, we were pretty split on who was going to use it, and who was going to be gunning against its use when it became legal again.

This article is not designed to tell you how to be a good X Card Blind player. Its purpose is to get you interested in it, and hopefully, get you to give the game a try. Each round lasts around two weeks. You will submit your deck to the Contest Admin who will play out the round when he receives all the decks and then we get started with the next round.

In an effort to promote this game, I am increasing the points for it in the MSS from ISS to ISSx1.3. This is a reward for the existing players and an encouragement for new players to go in and give it a try.

Are you not sure what the MSS is? Then read this article and get yourself caught up. If you are interested in the contest series, then I highly encourage you to jump into X Card Blind and also Fit the Flavor 2008, which is going on right now. There are numerous other contests linked to the MSS; all you have to do is look in the Contest Forum.

Lastly, I give you leave to go to the X Card Blind forum and get involved. The guys are fun and are more than willing to answer your questions, as they know that the more people who play in the contest, the more possible points they can score.

If, after giving it a go, you wish to become a better player, then you should really take a look at the following articles written by MDV’s own Alex Hoffman (Death_By_Beebles) as he has a really good grasp on the game and its mechanics.

Hurry up! X Card Blind: Round 9 is waiting for you to sign up! (Deadline is July 28th.)

cpn

You can discuss this article in the MDV forums here.
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Articles Spotlights from 2008:
A Fresh Perspective: Stasis - Part One.
The Apprentice Magician - Part Six.
Design on a Dime: The Lunch Meat Edition!
Fit the Flavor 2008 - FINALE!
The Games People Play - Market & EDH.
Sarpadian Empires, Vol VII: Foreword.
More Evil Than Evil.
Pauper Chronicles: Top O' the Morningtide to You!
Words from the Streetz: Uncommon and Common Magical Treasures.
The Writers Guild: The Inside Scoop.