What is Archenemy?
Archenemy is a variant on the normal game of Magic the Gathering, created for the sole purpose of multi player games using the two headed format. So if you only play with one other this is a bit lost on you but it does make for a good collectors set. I myself am a sucker for limited edition sets with a twist on the game.
How does it work then?
Well as I have said you need at least three people in order to play. The player who is the archenemy will play with the super powered pre-made 60 card deck. There are four to choose from;
· Scorch the World with Dragon Fire
· Assemble the Doomsday Machine
· Bring About the Undead Apocalypse
· Trample Civilization Underfoot
Along with these decks is a 20 oversized scheme deck.
Although you should be able to use any deck, as long as you have a deck of scheme cards.
The other players use their decks to team up against the Archenemy.
Arranging the Pieces
To play Archenemy, each player needs a deck made of normal-sized Magic cards. By default these will be normal Constructed decks consisting of at least 60 cards (such as, for example, the 60-card decks featured in the four Archenemy game packs), but in theory you could also try this with 100-card EDH decks, 40-card Sealed Decks, or any other Magic decks. The player playing as the archenemy also needs a scheme deck made of at least 20 oversized scheme cards (also included in each game pack—note that some schemes appear in more than one game pack).
If each player has an Archenemy game pack, players can take turns using their scheme decks as the archenemy. If you want to customize the scheme deck, there are only two rules to follow: the deck must have at least 20 scheme cards and it can't include more than two of any single card.
At the start of the game, each player shuffles his or her traditional deck. The archenemy also shuffles his or her scheme deck. The archenemy keeps the scheme deck face down and can't look at it or rearrange the cards in it, just like his or her library.
Set Your Schemes in Motion
The archenemy's turn plays out just like a turn in any Magic game, with one major difference. As the first main phase of the archenemy's turn begins, that player sets a scheme in motion—yes, that is now an actual game action!—by turning the top card of the scheme deck face up. It might look something like this:
Most scheme cards, including this one, have abilities that trigger "When you set this scheme in motion." As with other triggered abilities, archenemy and his or her opponents have the chance to respond to these abilities by casting spells or activating abilities.
Some schemes say ongoing on their type line, like this one:
An ongoing scheme remains face up until an effect causes it to be abandoned (put on the bottom of the scheme deck). Most ongoing schemes have a condition that causes them to be abandoned, although it will likely take some work on your opponents' part. Note that ongoing schemes aren't on the battlefield; they're not permanents, and they can't be destroyed.
Schemes that aren't ongoing are simply put on the bottom of the scheme deck once all their abilities resolve or are countered (for having no legal targets, for example).
Some schemes may ask you to pay some amount of mana to reap their full benefits:
If a scheme's triggered ability has one or more targets, as this one does, you'll choose them when you put the triggered ability on the stack, as with any other triggered ability. You won't choose how much mana to pay for , however, until the ability resolves. So your opponents will know what's going to take damage, but they won't know how much. A few "hot seat" schemes let you put one of your opponents in a very awkward position by asking, "Self or others?"
Will your opponent take one for the team, choosing the option that puts less total hurt on the archenemy's opponents? Or will he or she decide to let teammates take the heat, leaving his or her own position unchanged? A team player will look at this choice objectively, consult with his or her teammates, and choose the option that's best for the team as a whole ... but not everybody's a team player!
If the opponent you choose doesn't have any teammates left, he or she can choose "others" and suffer no ill effects at all. On the other hand, that player is facing you and your scheme deck all alone—not an enviable position!
Revealing a scheme as your first main phase begins is mandatory. Gravely intoning its name and flavour text and then cackling madly is optional.
Win, Lose, or Draw
The rest of the rules are pretty straightforward. The archenemy starts at 40 life, and each other player starts at 20 life. Each player draws an opening hand of seven cards, and players may then take mulligans as normal. In multiplayer games, the first time a player takes a mulligan, he or she draws a new hand of seven cards rather than six cards, then subsequent hands decrease by one card as normal.
The archenemy goes first and draws a card during his or her first draw step.
The archenemy's opponents share a turn, in the same way that teammates do in Two-Headed Giant. You each un-tap your permanents during your team's un-tap step, you each draw a card as your team's draw step begins, and so on. Each teammate can play a land during the team's main phase. Each teammate chooses which of his or her creatures will attack the archenemy or a planeswalker the archenemy controls, and then those creatures all attack at the same time. You can't attack your teammates.
The team of players opposing the archenemy needs to work together to have any hope of defeating the archenemy's quest for domination. But you can't share cards or other resources. You can't give your teammates mana to cast spells, for example.
If you or a member of your alliance is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice and leave the game, the rest of the team continues the fight. However, the usual rules for what happens when a player leaves a multiplayer game apply: All permanents and other cards that player owned leave the game, any spells or abilities controlled by that player cease to exist, and any effects that caused the player to gain control of permanents he or she doesn't own end.
The archenemy wins the game by defeating each member of the opposing team. The opposing team wins by defeating the archenemy. Every player on that team wins the game, even players that left the game before its conclusion.
Remember, players lose the game when their life total is reduced to 0 or less, when they have to draw a card from an empty library, when they have ten or more poison counters, or when an effect says that player loses the game or an opponent wins the game. If the archenemy would lose the game at the same time as the last remaining member of the opposing team, the game is a draw.
So how well does the game play?
Well I have only played three of the decks properly and the forth against anther Archenemy deck.
Well as far as I can see you need more than two opponents as there’s decks are over powered to the max then with the scheme cards it’s just too easy to win. This makes it unfun.
We all like it the first few times if we have spent months thinking about making a killer deck then having to gather the cards to compile it, then play it to find.. yes it works! And in a fast way that your opponent could ask what just happened. But this then doesn’t become your main deck. We all know the best games are the ones that have amazing power struggles that then come down to sudden death your both just waiting for that one card.
Unfortunately this wasn’t the case with these decks not against just 2 opponents. Although they both used elf decks for the Onslugt series and further back, this got them a very easy victory. I was hoping with them playing with elf decks that feed off more elves for power that there would be the power struggle we all crave. Again this didn’t happen as I had a bad starting hand and started with a ongoing scheme with the criteria was never met to abandon. As a result I as the Archenemy was walked all over.
I would like to repeat that mach again as I feel it has more potential to be a very good match.
We tried slivers decks but I won this very easily. I held off from doing anything for as long as they were no threat but as soon as they where I dominated and won. This again was no fun.
My verdict so far when it comes to archenemy is that you need three or more opponents to have an interesting game.
