New Ways (and some Old Ways) to Play Magic: Elder Dragon Legend Wars 93/94 or 93-2003

Originally published in July of 1996 by Jesus M. Lopez. The idea of Elder Dragon Legend Wars is as a multiplayer variant, we have expanded and clarified the rules below but you and your playgroup can adapt this however you enjoy most. If you use the following rules you can easily join us for games in our Discord Server Here

Deck Construction:

  1. Players choose one of the five original Elder Dragons from ‘Legends’ as their army’s “leader“. Arcades Sabboth, Chromium, Nicol Bolas, Palladia-Mors, or Vaevictis Asmadi.
  2. Players must include exactly 8 of each basic land in their deck for each color type included in their leader’s casting cost. (No more, no less, though they may, and should, play other lands as well)
  3. A EDLW deck must contain 103 cards, including the leader. ‘Set aside’ 3 basic lands that match your leader’s colors and those will begin the game in play on your battlefield. (99 +1 Leader +3 Basics in play)
  4. With the exception of basic lands, no two cards in the deck may have the same English name.
  5.  Decks must have a minimum of 25 creatures including the leader, 3 of which are designated as ‘Warlords’ and two of which are designated as ‘Captains’. Write these down or in some way mark them (a sticker, a stamp, or paint marker on the inner sleeve if you use them) These will be referenced through the game.

Play Rules:

1. Players begin the game with 30 life.
2. Agree beforehand which cards are banned, we have a default list below.
3. At the start of the game each player will announce which 3 of their creatures are Warlords and which 2 are Captains. If an opponent destroys, kills, or otherwise
sends a Warlord to the graveyard the Warlord’s controller (not owner) loses 3 life and that opponent gains 3 life. The same is true for Captains except the loss is 2 life points. If a Leader (Elder Dragon Legend) or copy is destroyed then 4 life is exchanged. This represents the direct connection between the mage, the leader, and their forces. 
4. Leaders begin the game in the “Leader Zone.” While there it may be cast, subject to the normal timing restrictions for casting creatures. Unlike modern ‘Commander’ the Leader will never return to this zone, once it is cast is treated identically to every other card in the deck. It may be killed, removed from the game, retuned to hand or shuffled into the library as otherwise as instructed by the actions of the game.
5. Leaders are subject to the Legend rule; a player cannot control more than one legend with the same name.
6. Parts of abilities which bring other card(s) you own from outside the game into the game (such as Living Wish) do not function in EDLW.

Included Sets:

This format is meant to be played as
A.) 93/94   or   B.) 93-2003 Original Frame.

Please build your decks to adhere to one of those two standards described below and agree ahead of playing which era you will be utilizing:

if playing 93/94: 
Decks may consist of cards from all sets printed from 1993-1994 in any language, This includes Alpha/Beta, CE/ICE, Unlimited, Revised, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, The Dark, and Fallen Empires Alpha through Scourge. Additionally Promotional cards from 1994 are also included: Arena, Sewers of Estark, Nalathni Dragon. Reprints are allowed, original frame preferred. 

If playing 93-2003:
Decks may consist of cards from all sets printed from 1993-2003 in any language other than silver border ‘un-set’ cards. Gold border (front or back) are welcomed. This spans Magic sets from Alpha through Scourge. Additionally Promotional cards from 1994 & 1995 are also included: Arena, Sewers of Estark, Nalathni Dragon, and Mana Crypt. Reprints are allowed, original frame preferred. 

Proxies: Are Allowed
In an effort to maximize creative flexibility and foster a friendly environment in our gatherings and formats, we allow proxies for Elder Dragon Legend Wars. This focuses on “the gathering” over ownership of specific assets. We do encourage all players to find and own authentic cards above all others (and love them ourselves) but recognize the value this flexibility offers our fellow friends and hobbyists. If proxies are used we encourage players to either make their own following fair use doctrine or find & source proxies that do NOT infringe WotC, it’s artists, or affiliates. A great example of an good proxy would be an artist alter made by yourself or another by hand.

Artist Proofs: Are Allowed.

Art Alters: Are Allowed.
Art Alters & Proxy Guidelines:
1.) Include a written card name. A clear casting cost, and power/toughness are encouraged where appropriate.
2.) Wherever possible please include the rules text on the card or have a copy with rules text readily available to show your opponent.

The following cards are Banned in EDLW – Elder Dragon Legend Wars 

  • All cards that refer to the ante mechanic (full list here)
  • All cards that Wizards removed from constructed formats (full list here)
  • Anarchy
  • Biorhythm
  • Braids, Cabal Minion
  • Coalition Victory
  • Karakas
  • Limited Resources
  • Monsoon
  • Reclamation
  • Royal Decree
  • Shahrazad
  • Time Vault
  • Time Walk
  • Tinker
  • Tolarian Academy
  • Trade Secrets
  • Upheaval
  • Yawgmoth’s Bargain

Other Notable Rules/Differences from Modern Era of Magic

– MANA BURN STILL HAPPENS (as in, players lose 1 point of life for each unused mana in the mana pool at the end of each phase)
– THE FOLLOWING CARDS WILL HAVE THE UPDATED ORACLE TEXT, AS SHOWN BELOW:

Chaos Orb
2
Artifact
1, Tap: Choose a nontoken permanent on the battlefield. If Chaos Orb is on the battlefield, flip Chaos Orb onto the battlefield from a height of at least one foot. If Chaos Orb turns over completely at least 360 degrees during the flip, and lands resting on the chosen permanent, destroy that permanent. Then destroy Chaos Orb.
(Note: because of how Chaos Orb is worded, with it being destroyed after a flip, it can still be Disenchanted or Shattered in response to the activation, which will nullify the ability to flip, since it is no longer on the battlefield. This is consistent with the wording of Chaos Orb not being sacrificed upon activation, as it probably would with modern templating. Also note that Chaos Orb chooses, but does not target.)

Falling Star
2R
Sorcery
Choose any number of non-overlapping creatures on the battlefield. Flip Falling Star from at least a height of one foot. If Falling Star turns over completely at least 360 degrees during the flip, it deals 3 damage to each chosen creature it lands resting on. Any creatures damaged by Falling Star that are not destroyed become tapped.
(Note: Falling Star chooses upon resolution, but does not target.)

EDLW is usually played casual multiplayer! Just like EDH.

No Draws in EDLW 1-vs-1 Matches (if you are playing cEDLW)
In order to encourage the maximum amount of Magic and matches being played (and disincentivize draws and concession for seeding), we enforce a strict no draw policy (intentional or otherwise). After 50 minutes if there was a tied match, the tie breaker will be a sudden death Chaos Orb flipping contest, similar to a hockey or soccer overtime shootout. If both players make or miss the Chaos Orb flip in the same round, repeat the process. The first person to make it while the other person misses will be declared the winner of the match. The point of EDLW is to play EDLW, so we always encourage everyone to have fun each round, and this structure has worked very well to that end.

You can see below the original article we have taken the inspiration from to update EDLW to a modern magic “NA Old School” style format.