Background
"Evolution Magic" is designed (well, intended anyway) to increase the ratio of play-time to deck-build-time, to promote the use of a wider variety of cards (this should make each game more interesting and fun), to attempt to bring the "ante" concept back into the game (without threatening anyone's most precious and favorite cards), and to finally fulfill the promise first stated on the back of the Alpha Starter Deck Box to "gain a reputation".
Overview
Getting Started
Each player in the league owns a (rather large) set of MtG cards, which can change over time via buying, selling, trading. From his owned-cards pool, he assembles a set of at least 100 cards to be his spelldeck.
Note that there need be no basic land in this spelldeck.
Basic Land will be drawn from an "land deck" which is also owned be the player. The initial landdeck consists of precisely 12 each of the 5 basic lands cards (player may elect snow-covered or not for any land card).
The spelldeck must have no duplicates when the player enters the league. No cards are banned from play--*any* MtG card can be used, even Time Vault, Channel, Mox Nix, Dark Pact ('cuz we have ante rules), and Throat Wolf ;)
For a "fair" start in the league this guideline should be noted (but will not be strictly enforced): 8 each of BGRWU creatures, 8 each of BGRWU non-creature spells, 4 each of multicolor- and artifact-creatures, 4 each of multicolor spells, artifact. 4 more of anything (including non-basic land). That makes 100 even....you are free to add more cards, but are reminded that leaner spelldecks are statistically more predictable.
Note also, that the balance between the 5 colors correlates to the initial mix of the landdeck. The natural enforcment of the initial spelldeck format comes in the fact that the intial landdeck mix is color balanced.
Okay, that's how to get ready to play, and here's how it works. The name "Evolution Magic" was chosen because the spelldeck will evolve everytime it is used in a match.
How evolution works
Two players start a match in the usual way, by shuffling spelldeck (and landdeck), cutting and squaring off. The landdeck takes on the role of an "alternate library": anytime you would draw from your library, you may elect to draw from your spelldeck or from your landdeck. This format is specifically trying to avoid mana-starvation death (which, BTW, sucks mightily). Play a normal duel, until one player has lost, then each player sets aside all "played cards" for that duel: all cards that were in graveyard/hand/in-play when the duel ended (cards that have been removed from the game are in a separate limbo pile). The winner of the duel selects (at random) one card from the loser's set of "played cards" for that duel, then the loser selects (not at random) one card from his "played cards". These two cards are the "ante" the the loser forfeits...these two cards return to the loser's set of owned cards, and are no longer in his spelldeck. Note that if, for any reason, a second card is lost (beside the required ante) due to the effect of some card in the duel, the loss is assesed exactly as the ante...."ownership lost" card exits the spelldeck...and drags and randomly selected card with it.
Next, without returning the "played cards" to the library, the next duel begins....(not even necessary to shuffle the spelldeck again). The previous duel's "played cards" are considered to be "out of game" until the match ends. Match format is variable: single duel, 2 of 3, 3 of 5, 7 of 9 (grawrrr!), or...(my favorite when I've got time) until on player gets "decked" (runs out of cards in his spelldeck). As usual, you lose the duel in which you get "decked".
When the match has ended, each player (winner and loser) may opt either to re-mix his landdeck (possibly to lean in favor of a particular color), or to add one card per duel to his spelldeck from his set of "owned cards" (this is the "Ante-Adjust"). Each player may also add to his spelldeck a number of cards equal to or less than the number of duels he won in the match ("Spoils"). In addition to this, the winner of the match may permanently remove any one card from his spelldeck ("Flaunt").
When the Ante-adjust, Spoils, and Flaunt are complete, the two spelldecks should have now evloved slightly....a player can nurture his spelldeck in any way he sees fit (including duplicating spells, shrinking to less than 100...less than 60....less than 40 (not recommended), or adding basic land to the spelldeck. It is intended that the gradual evolution of a player's deck will be detected by opponents, and contered appropriately. The evolution mechanism is designed (well, intended anyway) to allow a losing spelldeck to evolve more flexibly than a winning one. A dominant spelldeck must be wary.
Most important of all, these games should be fun...because most of the stardard "combos" rely on duplicate spells and the element of surprise, both of which are risky propositions in this league. You will have to do more "thinking on your feet"....always my favorite part of the game.
Recap
Here's the recap:
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Other Cards Owned Cards Play Deck
--------------- --------------- -------------
Buy Initial >= 100
-------> --------------->
Sell Ante-Adjust (x1)
<------- --------------->
Trade Card-Lost (x2)
<------> <---------------
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Spelldeck:
Nothing Banned: includes any cards and any combos
Landdeck:
Only basic land
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Play format:
Seprarate landdeck for basic land. Library draw can be from
either landdeck or spelldeck, player's choice.
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Initial Spelldeck: 100 Card Minimum, No Duplicates, Basic Land Optional
Card-Lost: "Ownership Lost" Card removed from spelldeck;
For each lost card, *another* randomly selected card
is also removed from spelldeck
Ante-Lost: 1 card per duel lost (from that duel's "played cards")
"Ante Lost" Card removed from "played cards" (selected by
losing player); For each ante lost, *another* randomly
selected card is also removed from "played cards"
Ante-Adjust: 1 card per duel won or lost
(may duplicate another card in spelldeck)
Use or lose after each match
Land-Remix: In place of "Ante-adjust" a player may, instead,
completely reformulate his landdeck.
Spoils: 1 card optionally added to spelldeck per duel won
Flaunt: 1 card optionally removed by match winner
from his spelldeck
(selected by match winner)
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