Saw this on Reddit. Seems really cool. Meat Grinder (for 4+ Players) 1. Everyone buys in. You could do one pack, two packs, or any number of packs depending on your preference or wallet. (Players should agree on or the host store should dictate which set or sets the packs come from. Pro-tip: Its a terrific format for common/uncommon repacks.) 2. Each player opens a single pack, pitches any included land, ad, and promo cards, and adds three each of the basic lands to form their deck. (This is one pack at a time. If your buy-in was two packs, put the other one aside for a minute.) 3. Roll a die to see who goes first and proceed to play Chaos (an everybody-in battle royale heretofore referred to as the Meat Grinder). Everyone starts with 15 life and one-pack decks get a free Mulligan. 4. The round can only end when a player is killed or milled. If a player runs out of cards naturally or somehow kills him- or herself, theyre eliminated from this round but live to fight another day during subsequent rounds. Its important to have a winner because... 5. ...you take your opponents deck when you win a round and shuffle it together with yours, minus one card. (We found that more people were willing to play when they realized they wouldnt lose their shock land or mythic rare if they lost.) The card you take out of your losing deck cant be added to subsequent decks. Just slap that bad boy in your trade book. 6. The player who lost his/her deck can then open his/her second (or third or so on) pack, ditch the land and extras, add three each of the basic lands, and join the next round of Chaos. The winner of the last round automatically plays first but no longer receives a free Mulligan because he/she is no longer a one-pack deck. 7. Play rounds until the Grinder spits out two (or four or eight, etc.) players that have (at least) three-pack decks. These players are Champions and leave the Chaos circle behind. (With a lot of players, it may be best to have multiple Grinders going at once.) 8. These Champions each build a 40-card deck from the cards they have bought/won. (Leftover cards are considered Side Board, like a regular draft.) 9. The Champions compete in a Tournament of Champions under regular Magic rules (two out of three, 20 life). The winner of each round absorbs the losers deck (minus one card) and builds a 60-card deck for the next round. (So everyone will have a 40 card deck in the first round, then a 60-card deck in the second and any subsequent rounds.) 10. The winner of this tournament is the Grand Champion, keeps all the cards he/she has won, and is declared the winner of the overall game. 11. Alternatively, while the Champions are waiting or playing the tournament, more Meat Grinder rounds can be played. Some players will lose out and be totally eliminated, or they can buy back in, as well as any of the Champions who lost in the tournament but still have packs to open or otherwise buy back in. 12. The game continues until there are enough three- or four-pack decks to hold a second Tournament of Champions. The Grand Champion of the second tournament goes on to play the previous Grand Champion in a Super Bowl situation to determine an Ultimate Champion, who then takes his challengers cards (minus one) and wins a Total Domination Victory. 13. If players are willing to keep their Grand or Ultimate Champion decks built, Grand or Ultimate Champions from one day can go on to play Grand or Ultimate Champions from future games like an ongoing Gladiator RPG campaign or never-ending King of the Hill. Meat Grinder is low cost, low risk, new player friendly, and flexible. It can be a short game or a full day event.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 18:41:14 +0000