Solo Magic: Balance of Power

I've recently collected and revised a set of solo formats for Magic: the Gathering into a reference document. I'm sharing a few excerpts over the next few weeks for folks who are interested.

Balance of Power

Balance of Power was created by Bruce Zimov and his original rules can be found here: http://www.angelfire.com/games4/magicvariants/Balance_of_Power.htm The following rules are based on those.

Introduction

Balance of Power uses four creature piles and a land pile to represent four creatures battling to create a status quo. The creature on the top of each pile will attack the other others whenever it wouldn’t result in their death. The game ends when no creature will attack.

Game Concepts

Creature piles are piles where creatures and other non-land cards are placed. A pile will always have a creature on top. If a creature is ever not on top of a pile, then all cards in that pile are put into the graveyard.

The land pile is a pile of lands that any creature pile may use to cast spells, activate abilities, or pay for any other cost. Mana abilities of lands require the land be tapped and sacrificed in order to be activated.

The four creature piles are laid out in a 2x2 grid so that each pile is adjacent to two other piles. Creatures may attack other piles, but may only attack adjacent piles.

Game Rules

Setup

Shuffle your deck and reveal the top card of your library. If it is a land, put it into the land pile. If it is a creature, put it on top of the current creature pile and the next pile becomes the current pile. Otherwise, put the revealed card on top of the current pile. Continue drawing until you have placed four creature cards, one on top of each creature pile.

Cards placed on top of creature piles this way are considered to have been cast.

Gameplay

Play proceeds counter-clockwise from the first creature pile. Each creature pile has a turn. During that turn they will not draw or have a second main phase.

The creature cards on top of piles are considered to be on the battlefield, but their abilities that trigger when they or another permanent enter the battlefield do not trigger. All creatures have haste.

Creature piles may cast spells from their pile and activate abilities of permanents they have cast from their pile, and target creatures or any permanents or spells played by a creature pile.

If a creature pile has a spell they could cast which would not result in all of their cast creatures leaving play, but would remove other cast creatures from play, they must play that spell unless they attack this turn.

Cards in a creature pile which have not been cast can be affected by discard effects.

If a creature pile casts a spell, it may not attack or cast any other spells that turn.

Attacking

Creature piles get an attack phase, can only attack adjacent creature piles and can only attack if they would not die as a result of that attack.

Cast creatures on top of a defending creature pile must block if able.

Unblocked creatures deal no no damage and have no effect. Similarly, effects like trample have no effect. Attacking is done to force blocks and the removal of other creatures.

If a creature pile attacks on their turn, it may not cast spells that turn.

A pile may cast instants during the turn of other piles, but priority between piles favors the active pile, much like it does an active player.

Creatures Dying

When all cast creatures in a pile have been removed from the pile, all cards--cast and uncast--from the pile are put into the graveyard. Then reveal the top card of your library. If it is a land, put it into the land pile. If it is a nonland, non-creature card, put it onto that creature pile. If it is a creature, cast it and put it on top of that creature pile. Continue drawing until you have cast a creature spell or until you need to reveal a card from the top of your library, but there are no cards in your library.

Play continues until you run out of cards in your library or when no cast creatures can attack or cast a spell without leaving the battlefield.

Victory

If you achieve a balance of power--that is, no creature pile is able to cast a spell or make an attack that would not result in them being removed from the battlefield--then you win.

Otherwise, if you need to reveal a card from the top of your library, but have no cards, then you lose.

Rulings and Tips

Drawing a card does take a card from the library and add it to a creature pile as an uncast card.

Enchantments with the supertype “World” are added to a separate, world pile they are cast and are not removed when the creature pile that cast them leaves the battlefield.

There aren’t any players, so life gain has no effect and tokens which would be placed on players are ignored.

Magic: the Quiet Evening In is available as a .pdf document on Google Docs. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1IY7PvM19uYzFm-waDCAIKKgt8kmUCUIY Feedback will be incorporated into Revision 1.