Planeschase Variant 2 - Drafting Planes

Central Problem:
"Planechase is too random.  The planes become the central factor of the game rather than a strategic addition."

Axioms:

• Randomness is not bad.  This is not chess.  Variance is a design feature and not a bug.  But games should not feel like they are ALWAYS decided by randomness.  
• The more skilled player should win more often than the less skilled player.
• The less skilled player should always have a chance of beating the more skilled player if luck goes their way.

Variant:

1. If Commander (EDH) format, or similar, is played in conjuction with Planeschase, commanders must be revealed before drafting begins.

Reasoning:

• Drafting is made with partial information about potential opponent strategies.

2. All players take turns drafting cards from all available plane/phenomenon cards to make a communal planes deck of 20 cards.  Turns alternate between players selecting or banning certain planes. (Inspiration: Drafting in MOBAs like "Heroes of the Storm" and "League of Legends.")

Example: for 1 vs. 1

After commanders are revealed, 1st player chooses a plane ban. (1 ban)  2nd player chooses a plane to add and one to ban. (1 add, 2 ban) 1st player chooses 2 planes to add. (3 add, 2 ban) 2nd player chooses 2 to add. (5 add, 2 ban) 1st player chooses 1 to add. (6 add, 2 ban) 2nd player chooses 1 to ban. (6 add, 3 ban) 1st player chooses 1 to ban and 2 to add. (8 add, 4 ban) . . . until you have 20 planes added, with an equal number added by each player, and some number of bans decided equally by each players.

Reasoning:

• "Customized Randomness."  Planes can be chosen that favor your decks strategy, but you are not guaranteed that you will get the cards you want.
• Draft begins with ban, so cards that overwhelmingly favor your opponent or cripple your deck can be removed.
• Frequency of bans and selections needs playtesting, but should be established in the formal rules set.

3. Following the draft, the 2nd player shuffles the communal pool of planes and offers the 1st player a chance to cut it.  The planes deck is then set aside in the command zone, as normal.  Game setup continues as normal.  After players have resolved any mulligans, the 1st player turns over the top card of the planes deck.  They may then choose to discard a card and place the top plane card on the bottom of the plane deck.  They may only do this once.

Reasoning:

• Setup should be mostly normal.  One player is assigned to shuffle the plane deck and the other player has the opportunity to cut the deck to discourage cheating with the planes deck.
• Mulligans and setup decisions are made without knowledge of the starting plane so that the first player can't "sculpt" their first turn to produce an overwhelming advantage.
• The starting plane can have a huge impact on the early game.  I wanted a way to give players some control over the starting plane, but that choice should come with a cost.  The rules stated above allow a mulligan of the plane at the cost of a card. Another possible cost could be giving up "the play" so that the opponent plays first, but skips their first draw. Tuning the cost requires playtesting.

Advantages of this variant:

1. Only one set of planes is needed for a play group.  Aftermarket availability of planes cards is low and potential for hoarding and price spikes is high.  Needing one set of planes per group reduces acquisition pressure and discourages market manipulation.
2. Reduced randomness; increased strategic depth.  Drafting becomes part of the overall strategy of the game.  Opponents' strategy can be inferred from planes selected or banned.  Since this happens after revealing commanders (if that is part of the format), choices can be made with partial knowledge that increases as the draft progresses.
3. Can be used alone or in conjunction with other variant rules.

Disadvantages of this variant:

1. Time of setup increases.  Drafting takes time.  Depending on playgroup, the draft aspect could significantly impact setup time.  Drafting sequence needs tuning to reduce number of selection groups (which increase time) while allowing for sufficient response to opponent picks.