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n lieu of the Innistrad League that will be held at The Tavern this month of October, I thought I’ll write something related to that. This column is an explanation of some rules regarding Two-Headed Giant, a Magic variant that will be a part of that Innistrad League.
First we’ll begin with a comparison between a duel game and a Two-Headed Giant game. Don’t worry; I’ll explain them after this.
Duel (one player vs. one player) | Two-Headed Giant (two players vs. two players) |
· Each player starts with 20 life · Each player loses the game if he has 10 poison counters · Only one player may lose the game · Only one player may win the game · Matches are played best-of-three · Creatures attack your opponent · You block the opponent’s attack with your creatures · You can only have a maximum of 4 of each card (excluding basic lands) | · Each team starts with 30 life · Each team loses the game if they have 15 poison counters · If one player loses the game, his entire team loses the game · If one player wins the game, his entire team wins the game · Matches are played with only one game · Creatures attack the opponents’ team · Your teammate may block the opponents’ creatures for you · You and your teammate can only have a maximum of 4 of each card (excluding basic lands) |
Now we get down to the nitty-gritty details.
First point: in a two-player game, you and your opponent each begin the game with 20 life. In a Two-Headed Giant game, your team starts with 30 life and the opposing team starts with 30 life.
Life totals are shared between each team. What this means is that if your teammate loses 3 life, your entire team’s life total goes down from 30 to 27 even though only one player loss the life. There is, however, one exception to this rule.
Exsanguinate says, ‘Each opponent loses life’. This means that it hits both opponents in a Two-Headed Giant game. What happens if you Exsanguinate your opponent’s team for 10? Both of your opponents will lose 10 life each, dropping their life total from 30 to 10. You will gain 20 life, because you stole 10 life from opponent A and 10 life from opponent B. Your team’s life total will rise from 30 to 50.
Second point: poison counters. In a duel, each player loses the game if he or she obtains 10 poison counters. In Two-Headed Giant, that limit is raised to 15. Poison counters, like life, is shared between teams, so if your teammate has 7 poison counters and you have 8, then your entire team loses the game for having 15 poison counters.
Third and fourth points: winning and losing. In Two-Headed Giant, if one player loses the game, the entire team loses. How does this happen? If your library (deck) is empty and you have to draw a card, you lose the game. When that happens, your teammate loses as well. Similarly, if one teammate has 15 poison counters while the other has 0, that team still loses the game.
Winning is similar. If a card says ‘You win the game’, you not only win the game but your teammate wins as well.
Fifth point: matches. In a normal two-player game of Magic (a duel), players play two or three games. The first player to win two games wins the match. In Two-Headed Giant, matches can take a long time, so only one game is played. The winners win unconditionally after only one game.
Point six and seven: combat. In a normal Magic game, you attack the opponent and the opponent blocks. In Two-Headed Giant, both your and your teammate attacks the opposing team at the same time (you both put your creatures into combat at the same time). Then both of your opponents’ block at the same time (they both put their creatures into combat at the same time). Like a duel, there is only one combat phase for Two-Headed Giant.
Last point: copies of a card. In a duel, you can only have 4 copies of a card with the same name (but you can have as many basic lands as you want). That means you can only have 4 copies of Day of Judgement. In a Two-Headed Giant game, you and your teammates cannot have more than 4 copies of Day of Judgement. What this means is that if you have 4 in your deck, your teammate cannot have any. If you have 3 in your deck, your teammate can only have 1. If you have 2, your teammate can only have 2. Two-Headed Giant counts the total number of cards that you can your teammate have, so you can’t have 4 Day of Judgements in your deck and expect your teammate to also have 4.
The turn structure of a Two-Headed Giant game is exactly the same as in a two-player game. You and your teammate both untap, then both have an upkeep, then both draw, then both have a main phase, combat phase, another main phase, then both end the turn at the same time. Consequently this means that you and your teammate take your turns at the same time. You both put down lands at the same time, attack at the same time, block at that same time, and can cast spells at the same time. That’s how it is in general.
A little note about communication in a Two-Headed Giant game. You can discuss strategies with your teammate. That is allowed. You can even look at each others cards and plot the best course of action. Just try not to talk too long. You’ve got a game to play, after all.
Now for the last detail: lands, mana, and permanents. You cannot use your teammates lands to cast your spells. You have to rely on your own lands. Also, cards that give bonuses to ‘creatures you control’ only give the bonus to your creatures, not to your teammate's creatures as well.
That is basically how a Two-Headed Giant game goes. I hope this helps you in expanding your Magic horizons. Be seeing you.
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