Planechase (format)

Planechase
DCI Sanctioned
Paper
Magic Online
Magic Arena
Rules
Type	Constructed
Multiplayer
Add. rules	Additional singleton planar deck (10+ card, maximum 2 phenomena)
Dedicated Products
Products	Planechase Planechase 2012 Planechase Anthology March of the Machine Commander Doctor Who

For other uses, see Planechase (disambiguation).

Planechase, also known as Planar Magic, is an official game variant first popularized by Planechase and acts as an augmentation to other formats though players can also play decks specifically geared towards this format.

Description

In addition to their normal deck, each player has a deck of at least ten plane or phenomenon cards. A deck can have at most two phenomenon cards. This is called the planar deck, which exists in the command zone. No two plane or phenomenon cards in a planar deck may have the same name.

At the beginning of the game (after mulligans have been taken), the starting player turns the top card of their planar deck face up and its effects become present in the game. There will always be one plane card (or, in rare circumstances [such as from the effects of Norn's Seedcore], more than one plane card) face up in the command zone. At the beginning of each player's turn, that player gains control of the plane card in the command zone and is known as the planar controller.

Any time a player could cast a sorcery, they may roll the planar die. This die has four blank sides which have no effect. One side has the planeswalker symbol () on it. When the planeswalker symbol is rolled, the planar controller puts the active plane or phenomenon card at the bottom of its owner's planar deck. Then the player who rolled the planeswalker symbol turns the top card of their planar deck face up. This process is known as the planeswalking ability. The final side of the planar die shows the chaos symbol () which triggers the chaos ability of the active plane card (Chaos ensues). The chaos ability then goes on the stack and the active player gets priority.

Rolling the planar die costs an amount of mana equal to the number of times the player taking that action has done so that turn. For example, the first die roll costs , the second costs , and so on.

Leaving the game

If the planar controller would leave the game, instead the next player in turn order that wouldn't leave the game becomes the planar controller, then the old planar controller leaves the game. If the owner of the active plane leaves the game, the next player in turn order (the new planar controller) turns the top card of their planar deck face up.

Variants

In response to the observation that playing with a single planar deck was much more common and not well balanced, a detailed unofficial variant, the Blind Eternities Map, was created and published online by Wizards of the Coast, written by Gavin Duggan. In this variant, planes are placed on a grid, with at least five planes visible; the current plane and the four orthogonally adjacent to it. When planeswalking, you may either move to one of those four adjacent planes or, if a diagonally-adjacent space is empty/face-down, hellride to that space blind, flipping up a new plane card to see where you have traveled to. As described in the article, it is easier to get away from a plane you dislike and gives more control when planeswalking to account for the increased variance of a shared deck. Online tools and apps exist to support this variant.

Rules

Planeswalk

The planar die

The act of moving from one plane to another.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Planeswalker Symbol

The Planeswalker symbol appears on the planar die in the Planechase casual variant. See rule 107.11.

Chaos ensues

Chaos ensues is a term introduced in the Planechase cards of the March of the Machine Commander for an existing mechanic. It means to roll the chaos symbol () on the planar die and trigger the chaos ability of the active plane card. It was also an added extra on multiple regular cards in the Universes Beyond set Doctor Who.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Chaos Symbol

The chaos symbol appears on the planar die and near some triggered abilities of plane cards in the Planechase casual variant. See rule 107.12.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Chaos Ability

An ability of a plane card that triggers “Whenever chaos ensues” in the Planechase casual variant. See rule 311.7.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Planechase

A casual variant in which plane cards and phenomenon cards add additional abilities and randomness to the game. See rule 901, “Planechase.”

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

• 901. Planechase
  • 901.1. In the Planechase variant, plane cards and phenomenon cards add additional abilities and randomness to the game. The Planechase variant uses all the normal rules for a Magic game, with the following additions.
  • 901.2. A Planechase game may be a two-player game or a multiplayer game. The default multiplayer setup is the Free-for-All variant with the attack multiple players option and without the limited range of influence option. See rule 806, “Free-for-All Variant.”
  • 901.3. In addition to the normal game materials, each player needs a supplementary planar deck of at least ten plane and/or phenomenon cards and the game needs one planar die. No more than two cards in a planar deck can be phenomenon cards. Each card in a planar deck must have a different English name. (See rule 311, “Planes,” and rule 312, “Phenomena.”)
    • 901.3a A planar die is a six-sided die. One face has the Planeswalker symbol. One face has the chaos symbol. The other faces are blank.
      901.4.All plane and phenomenon cards remain in the command zone throughout the game, both while they’re part of a planar deck and while they’re face up.
  • 901.5. Once all players have kept their opening hands and used the abilities of cards that allow them to take an action with those cards from their opening hands, the starting player moves the top card of their planar deck off that planar deck and turns it face up. If it’s a phenomenon card, the player puts that card on the bottom of their planar deck and repeats this process until a plane card is turned face up. (See rule 103.7.) No abilities of any card turned face up this way trigger during this process. The face-up plane card becomes the starting plane.
  • 901.6. The owner of a plane or phenomenon card is the player who started the game with it in their planar deck. The controller of a face-up plane or phenomenon card is the player designated as the planar controller. Normally, the planar controller is whoever the active player is. However, if the current planar controller would leave the game, instead the next player in turn order that wouldn’t leave the game becomes the planar controller, then the old planar controller leaves the game. The new planar controller retains that designation until they leave the game or a different player becomes the active player, whichever comes first.
  • 901.7. Any abilities of a face-up plane card or phenomenon card in the command zone function from that zone. The card’s static abilities affect the game, its triggered abilities may trigger, and its activated abilities may be activated.
    • 901.7a A face-up plane card or phenomenon card that’s turned face down becomes a new object.
  • 901.8. Planechase games have an inherent triggered ability known as the “planeswalking ability.” The full text of this ability is “Whenever you roll the Planeswalker symbol on the planar die, planeswalk.” (See rule 701.24, “Planeswalk.”) This ability has no source and is controlled by the player whose planar die roll caused it to trigger. This is an exception to rule 113.8.
  • 901.9. Any time the active player has priority and the stack is empty, but only during a main phase of their turn, that player may roll the planar die. Taking this action costs a player an amount of mana equal to the number of times they have previously taken this action on that turn. This is a special action and doesn’t use the stack. Note that this number won’t be equal to the number of times the player has rolled the planar die that turn if an effect has caused the player to roll the planar die that turn. (See rule 116.2i.)
    • 901.9a If the die roll is a blank face, nothing happens. The active player gets priority.
    • 901.9b If the die roll is the chaos symbol, chaos ensues (see rule 311.7). The active player gets priority.
    • 901.9c If the die roll is the Planeswalker symbol, the “planeswalking ability” triggers and is put on the stack. The active player gets priority. (See rule 901.8.)
    • 901.9d Rolling the planar die will cause any ability that triggers whenever a player rolls one or more dice to trigger. However, any effect that refers to a numerical result of a die roll, including ones that compare the results of that roll to other rolls or to a given number, ignores the rolling of the planar die. See 706, “Rolling a Die.”
  • 901.10. When a player leaves the game, all objects owned by that player except abilities from phenomena leave the game. (See rule 800.4a.) If that includes a face-up plane card or phenomenon card, the planar controller turns the top card of their planar deck face up. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the player leaves the game.
    • 901.10a If a plane leaves the game while a “planeswalking ability” is on the stack, that ability ceases to exist.
    • 901.10b Abilities from phenomena owned by a player who left the game remain on the stack controlled by the new planar controller.
  • 901.11. After the game has started, if a player moves the top card of their planar deck off that planar deck and turns it face up, that player has “planeswalked.” Continuous effects with durations that last until a player planeswalks end. Abilities that trigger when a player planeswalks trigger. See rule 701.24.
    • 901.11a A player may planeswalk as the result of the “planeswalking ability” (see rule 901.8), because the owner of a face-up plane card or phenomenon card leaves the game (see rule 901.10), or because a phenomenon’s triggered ability leaves the stack (see rule 704.6f). Abilities may also instruct a player to planeswalk.
    • 901.11b The plane card that’s turned face up is the plane the player planeswalks to. The plane card or phenomenon card that’s turned face down, or that leaves the game, is the plane or phenomenon the player planeswalks away from.
    • 901.11c If a player planeswalks when there is more than one face-up plane card, that player planeswalks away from all such planes.
  • 901.12. A Two-Headed Giant Planechase game uses all the rules for the Two-Headed Giant multiplayer variant and all the rules for the Planechase casual variant, with the following additions.
    • 901.12a Each player has their own planar deck.
    • 901.12b The planar controller is normally the primary player of the active team. However, if the current planar controller’s team would leave the game, instead the primary player of the next team in turn order that wouldn’t leave the game becomes the planar controller, then the old planar controller’s team leaves the game. The new planar controller retains that designation until they leave the game or a different team becomes the active team, whichever comes first.
    • 901.12c Even though the face-up plane or phenomenon is controlled by just one player, any ability of that plane or phenomenon that refers to “you” applies to both members of the planar controller’s team.
    • 901.12d Since each member of the active team is an active player, each of them may roll the planar die. Each player’s cost to roll the planar die is based on the number of times that particular player has already rolled the planar die that turn.
  • 901.13. In multiplayer formats other than Grand Melee, plane cards and phenomenon cards are exempt from the limited range of influence option. Their abilities, and the effects of those abilities, affect all applicable objects and players in the game. (See rule 801, “Limited Range of Influence Option.”)
  • 901.14. In Grand Melee Planechase games, multiple plane cards or phenomenon cards may be face up at the same time.
    • 901.14a Before the first turn of the game of the game, each player who will start the game with a turn marker sets a starting plane (see rule 901.5). Each of them is a planar controller.
    • 901.14b If a player would leave the game and that player leaving the game would reduce the number of turn markers in the game, that player first ceases to be a planar controller (but no other player becomes a planar controller), then that player leaves the game. Each face-up plane card or phenomenon card that player controlled is put on the bottom of its owner’s planar deck. No player is considered to have planeswalked.
  • 901.15. Single Planar Deck Option
    • 901.15a As an alternative option, a Planechase game may be played with just a single communal planar deck. In that case, the number of cards in the planar deck must be at least forty or at least ten times the number of players in the game, whichever is smaller. The planar deck can’t contain more phenomenon cards than twice the number of players in the game. Each card in the planar deck must have a different English name.
    • 901.15b In a Planechase game using the single planar deck option, the planar controller is considered to be the owner of all cards in the planar deck.
    • 901.15c If any rule or ability refers to a player’s planar deck, the communal planar deck is used.