Introduction
One day, as I was browsing my cards, a wild idea appears! I was always a fan of Commander a.k.a EDH, a format where you choose a legendary creature to build around a 100 card deck, so I tried brewing one. After awhile, I came across with this "budget" casual format, the Noble format. This is somehow a variant of Pauper and Commander Format. I was immediately hooked by the idea. After awhile another wild idea appears! "Why don't I combine the Commander format and the Noble format?" Thus, the Champion format was born.
What is the Champion Format?
Basically, the Champion Format is a variation of the Commander Format and Noble Format. You choose a rare/mythic rare creature card to be your champion and construct a deck around that card. It doesn't have to be legendary, but of course legendary creature is a plus. This format is for the Commander Format lovers but don't have the budget to build a decent deck for it.
Deck Building
Since this is a "house" game format or a casual game format, the minimum number of cards in a Champion format deck is 61 including your Champion. First, you'll need to have a Champion. Your Champion should be a rare/mythic rare creature. It doesn't have to be a legendary creature, but of course legendary creature is a plus.
Like the Commander format, Champion uses color identity to determine which cards can be included in a deck. For example, your chosen Champion is Venser, Shaper Servant. Cards that can be included to your deck are blue creatures, blue spells, blue enchantments and lands that produces blue mana. Of course artifacts can be included too for it is colorless.
Each card in the deck must have a different English name, other than basic land cards. This means you can have only one (1) of each cards included in the deck. You can have at most 4 rares/mythic rare including your Champion, 11 uncommon and the remaining cards must be only common.
Champion is an eternal format. Meaning any legal Magic: The Gathering card is playable in this format. But of course, it can exist in any non-eternal formats like modern or standard.
The only thing that separates this format to Commander is that you are allowed to have any color in your deck when you choose to have an artifact creature as your Champion. Meaning, if you choose Myr Battlesphere as your champion, you can brew a deck with any color identity you want. If you wanted too, all five colors can be included for as long as you follow the "rarity count" in brewing a Champion format deck.
Before I forgot, we follow the lowest printed rarity of a card. For example, Doom Blade is counted as common even though it was recently printed as uncommon. Also, cards like Sengir Vampire that was printed as rare before can't be your Champion for it is printed as uncommon, which is its lowest rarity.
Sideboarding
Sad to say, there are no sideboards in this format. :( Which means you have to build your deck carefully to have an answer for almost every deck created for this format.
How to Play
First, you have to separate your Champion from your deck. Like the Commander format, your Champion is placed at the Command Zone, where it can't be interacted with. You may cast your Champion any time allowed by the standard game rules and any abilities of your Champion may be played as if it was in your hand.
Once your Champion has been cast, it will be treated as a normal creature card and you may choose to return it to the Command Zone whenever it dies or exiled. Like in Commander, as an additional cost to cast your Champion from the command zone, its owner must pay additional two (2) for each time it was previously cast from the command zone. Which means the more time your Champion dies, the harder it will be for you to cast it over again and again.
We apply the Commander mulligan rule in Champion format. In your first mulligan, you draw another seven (7) cards as your starting hand and will be reduced by one (1) in your next consecutive mulligans.
Other than that, the game should proceed as any other MTG games.
Banned List
I have no idea on what cards should be banned but I guess following MTG's Commander banned list will not hurt. Click here to view the current Commander banned list.
Sample Deck List
These are the latest Champion decks that we use:
And that's it! I hope you guys loved the idea of the Champion Format. I would love to hear from you if you ever tried playing this format with your friends, relatives or in your local game store! Have fun brewing!
Deck Building
Since this is a "house" game format or a casual game format, the minimum number of cards in a Champion format deck is 61 including your Champion. First, you'll need to have a Champion. Your Champion should be a rare/mythic rare creature. It doesn't have to be a legendary creature, but of course legendary creature is a plus.
Like the Commander format, Champion uses color identity to determine which cards can be included in a deck. For example, your chosen Champion is Venser, Shaper Servant. Cards that can be included to your deck are blue creatures, blue spells, blue enchantments and lands that produces blue mana. Of course artifacts can be included too for it is colorless.
Each card in the deck must have a different English name, other than basic land cards. This means you can have only one (1) of each cards included in the deck. You can have at most 4 rares/mythic rare including your Champion, 11 uncommon and the remaining cards must be only common.
Champion is an eternal format. Meaning any legal Magic: The Gathering card is playable in this format. But of course, it can exist in any non-eternal formats like modern or standard.
The only thing that separates this format to Commander is that you are allowed to have any color in your deck when you choose to have an artifact creature as your Champion. Meaning, if you choose Myr Battlesphere as your champion, you can brew a deck with any color identity you want. If you wanted too, all five colors can be included for as long as you follow the "rarity count" in brewing a Champion format deck.
Before I forgot, we follow the lowest printed rarity of a card. For example, Doom Blade is counted as common even though it was recently printed as uncommon. Also, cards like Sengir Vampire that was printed as rare before can't be your Champion for it is printed as uncommon, which is its lowest rarity.
Sideboarding
Sad to say, there are no sideboards in this format. :( Which means you have to build your deck carefully to have an answer for almost every deck created for this format.
How to Play
First, you have to separate your Champion from your deck. Like the Commander format, your Champion is placed at the Command Zone, where it can't be interacted with. You may cast your Champion any time allowed by the standard game rules and any abilities of your Champion may be played as if it was in your hand.
Once your Champion has been cast, it will be treated as a normal creature card and you may choose to return it to the Command Zone whenever it dies or exiled. Like in Commander, as an additional cost to cast your Champion from the command zone, its owner must pay additional two (2) for each time it was previously cast from the command zone. Which means the more time your Champion dies, the harder it will be for you to cast it over again and again.
We apply the Commander mulligan rule in Champion format. In your first mulligan, you draw another seven (7) cards as your starting hand and will be reduced by one (1) in your next consecutive mulligans.
Other than that, the game should proceed as any other MTG games.
Banned List
I have no idea on what cards should be banned but I guess following MTG's Commander banned list will not hurt. Click here to view the current Commander banned list.
Sample Deck List
These are the latest Champion decks that we use:
- Force of Nature - This is a mono green ramp type of deck. Yeva, Nature's Herald is this deck's champion. This is what I currently use.
- Rakdos Rampage - Rakdos (Black Red) aggro deck. Helped my cousin to brew this one.
- Avenging Battalion - A Boros (Red White) battalion deck lead by its champion, Firemane Avenger.
- Undead Army - Dimir (Blue Black) zombie themed deck lead by Grimgrin, Corpse-born. Currently used by another cousin of mine.
- Infini-Tap - A deck that will tap every creature on the board. Stoic Angel is the champion of this deck.
- Rubble Rush - Gruul (Red Green) deck with some Infect shenanigans. A full aggro deck.
- Lawful Redemption - An Azorius (White Blue) life gain deck with unlimited life combo.
- Eternal Cycle - An Orzhov (White Black) permanent control deck. This one is aggro-control type of deck lead by Treasury Thrull.
- AEther Tide - A mono blue control champion deck lead by AEtherling. Creatures are mostly unblockable for sure damage.
And that's it! I hope you guys loved the idea of the Champion Format. I would love to hear from you if you ever tried playing this format with your friends, relatives or in your local game store! Have fun brewing!
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