[Today's guest author, Scott Marshall, is a Level 4 judge hailing from Denver, Colorado. Scott has been involved in organized Magic play for longer than some readers have been alive. I've worked with Scott several times—most recently during his stint as head judge of 2007 US Nationals—and I'm pleased to bring you his exposition of a fine and subtle format for Magic play. Well, maybe not so subtle. But certainly fun. -Seamus]

Chaos
You might expect a judge to prefer Order to Chaos... and usually, I do. I love it when a tournament goes smoothly, with a place for everything and you-know-what in its place. When it comes to my spare time, I'm a Chaos kind of judge... (Chaotic Neutral, maybe, though some might insist I'm Evil.)

I enjoy the many sanctioned formats and the competition that they entail, both as a player and a judge. Many of us have enjoyed 5-color, Type 4, cube draft, Winston draft, or some other "House Rules" variant. Regular readers know about Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH), a favorite of judges at every Pro Tour. For me, and for many, Magic really shines as a friendly means for networking; as an icebreaker for judges new to each other; or as therapy after a long (hopefully orderly) tournament.

When this devotee of Order takes off the stripes, the format of choice is Chaos.

Chaos usually takes one of two forms: Chaos Draft (largely indistinguishable from insanity) or Chaos Sealed. Each form has a common element—the product used is a random mix of boosters from every set ever printed—thus, Chaos.

Chaos Draft
Chaos Draft was introduced to Pro Tour judges in London, the Pro Tour that started the day after terrorists bombed the underground and a bus. After that rough start and three long days, nearly two dozen judges gathered around a makeshift draft table, busting open an odd and varied assortment of packs. Ice Age, Urza's block, Tempest, even Unhinged—anything and everything up through (then-current) Saviors of Kamigawa.

The welcome laughter began almost immediately, and those judges enjoyed a sense of camaraderie even beyond what's usually formed on the floor of a professional event. Years later, judges still laugh about the wild card combinations, how powerful Ancestral Mask is with enchantments all over the table, and the shaky alliances formed and broken as the game state changed.

Pro Tour Kuala Lumpur will see another Chaos Draft, probably on Sunday evening, and the lineup of packs looks... well, Chaotic!

All those packs go in a big black bag. Everybody pulls out one pack at random, we open and pass that left as usual, pull another pack at random to pass right, and finally pull a third random pack to finish the draft. Ten or fifteen minutes later, we re-form the circle and play a Grand Melee (often with multiple turn counters and range of influence).

Sealed Play
Chaos Sealed is typically a two-player variant, played for ante, and instead of 2 out of 3, we typically play to 10 wins (or 5-0, which is a "skunking"). Each player chooses exactly five "booster sets". Typically, a set is just one booster, but for 8-card boosters like Alliances or Fallen Empires, you get two per set. Each different set has a point value, ranging from 0 (Homelands) to 5 (Fifth Dawn). You can spend up to 15 points on your five sets—so 3x Fifth Dawn and 2x Homelands is possible. You also get five of each basic land—one of each Snow-Covered—and can buy extra basic land (Snow-Covered or not) for 1 point.

It's not unusual for us to play "arrogant", selecting a Homelands set to go with 4 other boosters (that total 15 points)—and then not even opening the Homelands. Considering my dwindling supply of Homelands, I like to call this "practical" but have to admit, it is a bit arrogant.

Speaking of dwindling supplies—not everyone has access to old boosters, and there's precious little of what they do have. If you have a fairly complete collection, you could use a Sealed Deck Generator to randomize a pack, and then pull the cards from your collection. (I found one such tool; I'm sure there are others.)

Chaos Sealed has its origins in the basement of Steve Kovach, now retired from Magic (or, more accurately, sucked into the bottomless vortex known as "Evercrack"). Steve and Chris Ebeler concocted the original point values; the guardianship of Chaos points now falls on me, Chris, and a mysterious person known only as "The Evil Ghost". We try to keep our point list current.

Because of the minimal supply of basic land, Chaos is usually a four-color format; playing a three-color deck is either a luxury, or foolish. One of the reasons Fifth Dawn holds its high point value is the ease with which you can support four or even five colors. If you're lucky enough to open good Sunburst cards, you can even abuse what normal Sealed Deck builders abhor—a greedy, five-color mana disaster.

Now, about that ante—it's an important component to the fun of Chaos Sealed. Losing a basic land can be traumatic, and multiple land losses usually force a new build. Open that "chase rare" you've needed? Great! Now, do you play it, and risk losing it in ante? Hmmm… now that's a tough choice, there. Got that Naturalize you need to counter your opponent's Armadillo Cloak? Great—but lose it in ante, and your Deathrender is suddenly a lot more vulnerable!

The unusual interplay of a wide variety of sets leads to memorable plays. It might seem that, compared to normal Sealed Deck, Chaos decks are "unfocused"; instead, I'd argue they're versatile. Many Chaos matches are determined by a key card or two exchanging sides in ante. I've had 3-0 and 4-0 starts, only to lose a key card to mana screw, and lose the series over 15-19 tough games.

Combo Chaos
Bullwhip + Wall of Souls is a Chaos combo for the ages—in fact, I keep those two cards in a hard plastic sleeve, and wave it at Chris when he gets uppity. I also have distinct memories (though not nearly as fond?) of being at 3.5 life, thanks partly to Little Girl-induced mana burn, when I was hit with a perfectly-lethal Sauté.

If you've played Chaos, or something similar, and you've got a memorable combo of cards from across the ages of Magic, feel free to share your story in the comments thread. If you're in Kuala Lumpur for the PT this weekend, feel free to find me and say hi.

[Thanks, Scott. Have fun in Kuala Lumpur! -Seamus]