Hello friends, and welcome back to the column dedicated to the elements of the casual side of Magic. It’s sometimes a little lighter, and sometimes a little darker, but always the more fun and less stressful side of Magic. (All opinions are my own.)
Way back in April of 2005, I wrote Entry Six for the Compendium of Alternate Formats. This was a newly updated version of the Chess Magic format that debuted way back in Duelist #4. This is an old school format.
You can find the initial rules for the format in my article here.
The great thing about Chess Magic is that is simply is not like a lot of other formats, so it feels really different.
For today’s article, I am assuming that you have read that article, but allow me to remind you as to what the format is.
The goal is to use some of the feel and precepts of Chess in constructing your Magic deck. Your deck must have 60 cards. You will be playing a King’s Side and a Queen’s side. Cards on each side must be the color of their King/Queen. Your King/Queen must each be the appropriate gender, and they can either be the same color or other colors.
So, you could have Akroma the First and Ixidor as your Queen and King. You could also have Ixidor and Empress Galina, and so forth.
There are various rules in the previous article about what sorts of creatures you have to include as King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, Pawns, plus it adds King’s Wizard and Queen’s Artifact.
In the extra rules section, I add King’s Beast, Queen’s Jester, Court Enchantment, Coat of Arms, and Demesne.
It’s a really fun format, and what I want to do is update it for today, and then build some decks!
The Banned List
Here is the original list banned from the original article
• The ability to make token creatures (The Hive, Grizzly Fate, Dual Nature, Stangg).
• The ability to destroy or damage most or all creatures in play (Wrath of God, Massacre, Decree of Pain, Earthquake).
• The ability to take control of any card an opponent owns (Control Magic, Animate Dead).
• Wishes, Ring of Ma’Ruf
• Any card which destroys or goes after a creature type (Extinction, Engineered Plague).
• Humility.
• Any effect that removes a creature for the game (Swords to Plowshares, Final Judgment).
• Any card or ability that has or makes permanents indestructible (That Which Was Taken, Darksteel Gargoyle).
I have the following changes to make.
Humility Expanded
The reason Humility is banned is because it messes with the format. Some creatures get extra abilities when they are in play, and Humility messes with that. It also shuts down, largely, the creature oriented nature of the format.
What I want to do is expand that second part. Creature combat is the core of the format, attacking and blocking.
Any enchantment, creature, or artifact that prevents creatures from attacking is not allowed. Therefore, you may not play cards like Teferi’s Moat or Peacekeeper.
Now, you can make attackers play fair. You want to remove flying from attackers or something, that’s fair. Feel free to drop a Spore Cloud to punish people who attack.
You just can’t have something like Katabatic Winds out. That’s all.
Mass Removal Expanded
The rule above for banned mass removal cards is a bit unclear, so allow me to fix it.
Every card which destroys more than one creature or deals damage to more than one creature or does -x/-x to more than one creature is not allowed. Not even Arc Lightning or Tremor or Dry Spell or Massacre or Pyroclasm or Sandstorm or Holy Light is allowed. Sorry, but no.
Don’t play games and say Barter in Blood is allowed because it technically forces a sacrifice. You can’t play sacrifice, or Hallowed Burial, or whatever. This also includes cards like Call to the Grave and The Abyss.
No card can take out two or more creatures. It can bounce them a la Undo, but it cannot handle them permanently.
This rule only applies to opposing creatures, so feel free to use Phyrexian Tribute or something.
Now there should be no need for clarification.
Planeswalkers
Everybody likes Planeswalkers! They are awesome, and they have become the lifeblood of many decks, games, formats, and hearts. They are lots of fun and can dominate the table in the right conditions, setting you up for a victory.
However, there is a slight problem with Planeswalkers. They do not fit this format. This format is designed to give Magic a bit of a Chess flair, and having a third player off the side of the board casting Magic on it does not really fit.
Therefore, no Planewalkers are allowed. Sorry.
Creatures Redux
In addition to banning cards that make tokens, we are also banning cards that become creatures.
Wishes
The Wishes ban is extended to include Research/Development.
Control
I am altering the control line to disallow taking control of someone’s creatures. Other forms of stealing are fine. Annex is fine. Control Magic is not. The problem with token creatures or stealing creatures is that the rules are written in such a way that they would make your deck massively more powerful, as you’ll see when you review the play rules. However, that does not apply to taking control of non-creature permanents, so it should be allowed.
The New Banned List
• The ability to make token creatures (The Hive, Grizzly Fate, Dual Nature, Stangg) or to become a creature (Faerie Conclave).
• The ability to destroy, -x/-x, sacrifice, or damage more than one opposing creature in play (Wrath of God, Massacre, Decree of Pain, Barter in Blood, Arc Lightning).
• The ability to take control of any creature an opponent owns (Control Magic, Animate Dead, Bribery).
• Wishes, Ring of Ma’Ruf, Research/Development.
• Any card which destroys or goes after a creature type (Extinction, Engineered Plague).
• Humility and any card that prevents a creature from attacking.
• Any effect that removes a creature from the game (Swords to Plowshares, Otherworldly Journey).
• Any card or ability that has or makes permanents indestructible (That Which Was Taken, Konda).
• Planeswalkers.
• Non-basics which tap for colorless or do not tap for mana. (See below.)
There is the new banned list for the format. I hope that helps!
Power
Whenever a card previously read that it had to have a power greater than another card, it now reads greater than or equal to that card.
Duplication
With the previous version implying that you had to play a King of one color and a Queen of another, this question did not arise. Can you use the same creature for both sides? Could your King and Queen each have the same rook if they are the same color(s)?
What if I can fit the card into both the King’s Wizard and King’s Bishop? Can I play two copies of it then?
I’d say no to the first question. The rules for Chess Magic require that you know the cards on each side, and having the same card on each side prevents that. You cannot have the same card on the King’s and Queen’s side.
However, I’d say yes to the second. If you can fit the card into multiple places on that side, then do so.
More on Colors
Chess Magic was conceived a long time ago. There were rules on the colors of cards that did not consider the possibility of hybrid mana.
Whatever color your King is, that is the color your King’s pieces must also be. If your King is Crovax the Cursed, then your King’s Knight can be Black Knight, but it cannot be White Knight. If your Queen is Empress Galina, then the Queen’s Bishop could be Air Elemental but not Dragon Whelp.
The problem is that hybrid really plays around with this. If I have Crovax as my King, can I play Oona’s Gatewarden as my Rook?
Does the Queen’s color change this answer? Would Oona’s Gatwarden be acceptable if the Queen was Empress Galina but not if Akroma the Red? Would it matter at all? Is this allowable?
Should the format really preclude multi-colored legends?
So, here are the new rules.
The King and Queen follow all old rules (legendary, male, female, 4+ cc). However, this rule is new. They may be of any color (including all five colors).
However, every piece on that person’s side must have the exact same color combination as the King or Queen.
Suppose you have taken Tor Wauki as your King. The King’s Knight, Bishop, Rook and Pawns, plus the King’s Beast must be Red/Black.
Hybrid cards count as all colors.
This will allow you to take gold legends as long as you rock the multicolor goodness in the whole slate of cards on that side.
This is also a hindrance for cards with three colors. It might be hard to build a good slate of Queen’s cards for Rith, the Awakener, for example.
The King and Queen’s colors do not have to dovetail. You could have Princess Lucrezia as your Queen in Black/Blue and then Hazduhr the Abbot as your King in White. That’s fine. You could also have your colors connect, like Tor Wauki and the Princess, or even match each other, like the Princess and Riven Turnbull.
You may not take a colorless creature as King or Queen, so no Karn or anything.
The Queen’s Artifact
Another point that had not been examined was the colorness of artifacts. The Queen’s Artifact may have the Queen’s colors in its casting cost, but no other. If the Queen is Blue, then you can have Courier’s Capsule as the Queen’s Artifact.
Note that you could not, under the old rules, include artifact creatures because they had no color. They could not be added in the extra cards (No extra creatures are allowed there), they were excluded from the Queen’s Artifact, and they did not have the color of their King or Queen. Now that we have artifact creatures with colors, they are allowed as King or Queen and as their creatures.
Court Enchantment and Extra Cards
In the extra cards that you are allowed to play, you may play enchantments, artifacts, sorceries, and instants. If you can play extra artifacts there, what purpose does the Queen’s Artifact serve? Why have a spot just for an artifact if you can have four or six or ten more? Forcing you to list one as the Queen’s Artifact doesn’t seem like much, because it does not have any of the special skills that are given to pieces. That makes it a bit questionable.
As such, what I am doing is modifying the rules. You may only play one artifact, the Queen’s Artifact. The extra cards may not include any artifacts.
If you can get an artifact in through your Demesne, then you can play two artifacts. Your Coat of Arms might make it three. That’s the cap for non-creature artifacts.
This also leads to problems with the Court Enchantment. Therefore, I am removing the Court Enchantment from the advanced rules. You can play zero, one, five, or twelve global enchantments for all I care.
The format previously separated the extra cards into 24 lands and the rest extra cards. I am removing that requirement. As long as your deck totals 60, you can have the remainder of your deck be whatever land to spell ratio that you want.
Other than your Demesne, you may no longer play a legendary land. I am removing the restriction on non-basic lands, you may play any amount. In order to play a non-basic, it must be able to only tap for one or more of your colors. No Maze of Ith or City of Brass (Unless you had a five color legend as King or Queen, then the City would be okay)
Although you may not have extras of the creatures in your extra cards, you might have extras elsewhere. A clever Demesne might also allow 3 of in the regular deck to bring your count to four. This is merely a clarification, not a change.
As a reminder, here are the requirements under the new rules, including advanced:
King
King’s Bishop
King’s Knight
King’s Rook
King’s Pawns
King’s Wizard
King’s Beast
Queen
Queen’s Bishop
Queen’s Knight
Queen’s Rook
Queen’s Pawns
Queen’s Artifact
Queen’s Jester
Demesne
Coat of Arms
22 cards total.
You may not play any creatures or artifacts in the extra 38 cards.
Are you ready for some fun? Here we go! These decks are built in the same order as the list above, so you know where everything fits.
The Fist and the Sister
1 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
1 Child of Gaea
1 Joreal’s Centaur
1 Wall of Blossoms
4 Skyshroud Elves
1 Prodigal Pyromancer
1 Yavimaya Wurm
1 Jeska, Warrior Adept
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Fledgling Dragon
1 Wall of Diffusion
4 Fire Imp
1 Disrupting Scepter
1 Cinder Elemental
1 Heartbeat of Spring
1 Konda’s Banner
2 Kaervek’s Torch
4 Kodama’s Reach
4 Harmonize
4 Incinerate
4 Shivan Oasis
4 Highland Weald
9 Forest
7 Mountain
This deck is simple. The brother and sister are tag teaming their enemies. You have some mana production, solid creatures, removal, and more.
This deck was originally supplemented by Rolling Thunder until I remembered that cards like it were banned. The Torch is a replacement, but it’s fine here.
There is definite room for improvement. The Pyromancer, Wurm, and Centaur are probably not the best cards for their slots and I’m sure you can find better among your collection.
Remember, the King’s Wizard may be of any color or combination of the King and Queen’s colors. In this deck, it could be Green, Red, or Green and Red.
Note that Fire Imp and the FTK give you five creature based ways of doling out some damage.
Remember that the rules for pawns about not self-pumping do not apply to King or other pieces. Kamahl can pump your whole army and the Fledgling Dragon has firebreathing.
The Banner and Heartbeat are the Coat of Arms and Demesne of the deck. The Heartbeat really likes the Torches, Cinder Elemental, and Kamahl Activations. The deck is solid and I hope you enjoy it.
The Minotaur and the Barbarian
1 Tahngarth, Talruum Hero
1 Boldwyr Intimidator
1 Talruum Minotaur
1 Wall of Diffusion
4 Brighthearth Banneret
1 Jeska, Warrior Adept
1 Lovisa Coldeyes
1 Viashino Sandstalker
1 Sandstone Warrior
1 Wall of Opposition
4 Mudbutton Torchrunner
1 Obsidian Battle-Axe
1 Orcish Artillery
1 Keldon Necropolis
1 Coat of Arms
4 Incinerate
4 Browbeat
2 Scrap
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Forgotten Cave
20 Mountain
Here is another quick deck. It includes a lot of warriors, but there are a few barbarians and berserkers in there as well . The leaders are Tahngarth and Lovisa. Jeska makes a nice King’s Wizard here, so I included her to show that she can be a Queen in one deck and a Wizard in another.
The deck obviously is built around Lovisa with every creature getting pumped when she is out. There are several interesting tricks here including the Intimidator, Tahngarth, and more.
I liked the Torchrunners over other choices because they can whittle down your opponent’s life total when they die, or they can serve as backup emergency removal. The Bannerets add a nice quasi-Giant Growth feel to the deck with reinforce plus they can help you play your warriors. Not all of the creatures are warriors, but enough are to make them tasty.
I included Scrap for opposing artifacts, but the difficulty with adding artifact removal is that your opponent may only have 2-3 artifacts in their deck. You want to have removal for them when needed, but you don’t want it to be a wasted card. Ergo, Scrap, with its cycling, is a nice choice.
This gives you a taste of a mono-colored Chess Deck so you can get a look under the hood.
Okay, I want to give you one more thing before I go. In the Appendix below we have the fully updated rules for the format. This includes all of the rules today. That way, they are all in one place.
Chess Magic is a blast to play, so get ready for fun city! I hope you enjoyed today’s article and we’ll see you again here next week.
Until later…
P.S. — I am vacationing this week and will be unable to immediately respond to all comments. I will read them the week I get back, I promise, so feel free to leave them, I just won’t be around for a few days.
Appendix — The Complete Rules of Chess Magic
King: The King must have a casting cost of four or more and be legendary. The King must be male. If the King is multicolored, then every servant must have the exact same color combination.
King’s Bishop: The King’s Bishop must be the same color as the King. It must have power equal to or greater than its toughness. Additionally, it must have a power higher than or equal to the King’s Knight. The King’s Bishop cannot have a power more than three greater than the King.
King’s Knight: The King’s Knight must be the same color as the King. It must have a power greater than or equal to the King’s Pawns. Its combined power and toughness cannot be more than six. The King’s Knight must have a combat-related ability that does not allow it to evade combat, such as first strike, vigilance, banding, double strike, flanking, haste, provoke, rampage, bushido, or trample.
King’s Pawns: The four Pawns must be the same color as the King. All four pawns must be the same creature. A pawn must have a casting cost of three or less. It also cannot have a combined power and toughness greater than three. It cannot have any abilities that make it bigger or require the use of mana.
King’s Rook: The only restriction on the King’s Rook, other than being the color of the King, is that it must either be a wall or a creature with defender.
King’s Wizard: The King’s Wizard is the only creature in the deck that may be of either the Queen’s or King’s colors. The King’s Wizard is also the only creature other than the King and Queen who can be legendary. The King’s Wizard must have an ability that requires tapping. It cannot have a higher power and toughness than 4/4.
King’s Beast: The court pet, this thing must be in the same color as the King. Its only restriction is that it has to be a beast, or non-thinking animal. Examples include actual beasts, wurms, snakes, goats, cats, dogs, etc. It does not include zombies, humans, golems, etc.
Queen: The Queen must be a female legendary creature with a casting cost four or greater. If the Queen is multicolored, then every servant must have the exact same color combination.
Queen’s Bishop: The Queen’s Bishop must be the same color as the Queen. It must have power equal to or greater than its toughness. Additionally, it must have a power higher than or equal to that of the Queen’s Knight. The Queen’s Bishop cannot have a power more than one greater than the Queen.
Queen’s Knight: The Queen’s Knight must be the same color as the Queen. It must have a power greater than or equal to the Queen’s Pawns but a combined power and toughness no higher than six. Like the King’s Knight, the Queen’s Knight must have a combat related ability – but it may count any combat ability, including evasive ones.
Queen’s Pawns: The four Pawns must be the same color as the Queen. All four pawns must be the same creature. A pawn must have a casting cost of three or less. It also cannot have a combined power and toughness greater than three. It cannot have any abilities that make it bigger, or require the use of mana.
Queen’s Rook: The Queen’s Rook must be the same color as the Queen. The Rook has to be either a wall or have defender.
Queen’s Artifact: The Queen’s Artifact represents a little toy of hers that she uses to great effect. This cannot be a creature. It cannot produce mana of a color other than the Queen or King’s color(s). There are no additional restrictions.
Queen’s Jester: Cannot have a combined power/toughness greater than 5. Must have a powerful ability and be in the Queen’s color.
Demesne — This represents the realm your court rules over. It could be represented by any legal card, from a legendary land to an enchantment to an artifact, perhaps even a clever sorcery. (Untamed Wilds, as an example). This is the only place you can get a legendary land into your deck.
Coat of Arms — This is the coat or symbol your court uses. It must be a permanent. It could be a banner, flag, totem, idol, symbol, or even Coat of Arms itself.
Additional Cards:
You are required to play 60 cards in your deck. Your additional cards may not include any creatures or artifacts and must follow the banned list below. All cards must be in your colors, no other colors are allowed.
The New Banned List
• The ability to make token creatures (The Hive, Grizzly Fate, Dual Nature, Stangg.) or to become a creature (Faerie Conclave)
• The ability to destroy, -x/-x, sacrifice, or damage more than one opposing creature in play (Wrath of God, Massacre, Decree of Pain, Barter in Blood, Arc Lightning)
• The ability to take control of any creature an opponent owns (Control Magic, Animate Dead, Bribery)
• Wishes, Ring of Ma’Ruf, Research/Development
• Any card which destroys or goes after a creature type (Extinction, Engineered Plague)
• Humility and any card that prevents a creature from attacking
• Any effect that removes a creature from the game (Swords to Plowshares, Otherworldly Journey)
• Any card or ability that has or makes permanents indestructible (That Which Was Taken, Konda)
• Planeswalkers
• Non-basics which tap for colorless or do not tap for mana or which tap for mana not in the colors of your King/Queen, and no legendary lands unless they are your Demesne.
Creature Abilities:
In order to roughly simulate the Chess flavor, there are a few special abilities for creatures, as follows:
Pawns – All Pawns have haste. Additionally, all Pawns have the following text: “At the beginning of your upkeep, you may remove this card from the game to put a creature card of the same color from the graveyard into play tapped. You may not put the King into play this way.” This ability can only be used by one Pawn per turn.
Rooks, King/Queen – Rooks have the following text: “At the beginning of your upkeep, you may return this card to your hand and put a King or Queen of the same color into play.” The King and Queen have the following text: “At the beginning of your upkeep, you may return this card to your hand and put a Rook of the same color into play.” You may only use this ability once per game.
Note that you cannot use the King’s Rook for the Queen (or vice versa) unless they are of the same color.
King’s Death – When the King goes to the graveyard from play, the controlling player loses half of his or her life rounded up.
King’s Ploy – Every servant of the King (Bishop, Rook, Knight, Pawns, Beast and Wizard) has the following ability: “Tap, Sacrifice the Queen: The King is indestructible until the end of turn”