The Christmas break has kicked off. With COVID-19 back with a vengeance (again?), there will be less opportunity to do things like see friends and go to movies but it will mean more time for games, including Magic.

So far, the Magic-playing family members have squeezed in three rounds of Commander. Let’s see how far we can keep it going.

On the first day of Christmas Commander, Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice, lost to Athreos, God of Passage.

On the second day of Christmas Commander, Talrand, Sky Summoner, beat Kenrith, the Returned King, and Xanathar, Guild Kingpin. Then it got pummeled by the tag team of Krark, the Thumbless and Sakashima of a Thousand Faces.

On the third day of Christmas Commander, Jazal Goldmane under the command of Arahbo, Roar of the World crushed Lathril, Blade of the Elves, but forgot to leave troops to defend against Jeska and Kamahl, Heart of Krosa. While Kamahl never made it out of the command zone, Jeska was able to administer over 60 points of Commander damage in one fell swoop thanks to that 11/11 ooze token on the board.

In a second game, both Arahbo and Talrand were walloped by Osgir, the Reconstructor, who was flanked by two Bronze Guardians and two Combustible Gearhulks. Turn one Sol Ring into turn two Osgir will do that…

On the fourth day of Christmas Commander, I was out running final Christmas errands while Xanathar and Kenrith battled it out. Kenrith won the first game but lost the second. No word yet on when the deciding game will take place.

On the fifth day of Christmas Commander, I unveiled my new Kaalia of the Vast deck. Noah had bought me this new commander for my birthday so this introduction was much overdue. Things did not start well for Noah. After repeated mulligans, a shortage of lands left him on the back foot. I started relatively well but things turned once Xanathar landed. Noah conceded and despite my most valiant attempts, not being able to remove Xanathar meant an inevitable end.

On the sith day, Kenrith built up an army that gave him an impenetrable defensive shield. Windborne Muse (which Noah copied a number of times making it nearly impossible to mount any sort of attack against him), Aegis of the Gods, and Saryth, the Viper’s Fang, along with mana-generating cards like Ramos, Dragon Engine and Incubation Druid, turned the game in his favour. Lathril, Blade of the Elves and Kaalia of the Vast could do little and eventually succumbed.

As a result of the Kenrith win, we have instituted a new family rule. The winning commander cannot make a return to the table for at least the next game.

On the seventh day, Osgir, the Reconstructor battled against Kaalia of the Vast (piloted by Noah this time) and Animar, Soul of Elements. I’m not sure why but poor Osgir got most of the attention early in the game, leaving Christian unable to mount much of an attack. A few board wipes did set Animar back but the mana ramp (thank you Zendikar Resurgent) allowed me to rebuild quickly and Terror of the Peaks and Skarrgan Hellkite proved to be a lethal combination. In one massive turn, I was able to kill them both. Unfortunately, due to our new rule, Animar will be sitting out the next game.

In the meantime, we had also talked about some kind of house-baked Commander format like pauper Commander (only the Commander would be of a rarity higher than Common). Although someone with an odd sense of humour is pushing Kamigawa Tiny Leaders despite the fact that we have almost no Kamigawa cards. That did not come to fruition this holiday season.

I’ll update this post as we continue to play through the holidays…

Final update: And that’s all the Commander we managed to squeeze in during the break. Good fun and hopefully a new family tradition.