How to Play Magic: The Gathering - Two-Headed Giant

Magic: The Gathering (MTG) is a complex, strategic card game that has captivated players for decades. Among its many formats, “Two-Headed Giant” stands out as a unique and engaging multiplayer variant. In this format, teams of two players each work together to defeat their opponents. This guide will walk you through the rules, strategies, and nuances of playing Two-Headed Giant (2HG).

Basic Rules of Two-Headed Giant

Two-Headed Giant is a multiplayer format where teams of two players face off against each other. Here’s a breakdown of the core rules:

Team Setup: Each team consists of two players, referred to as “heads.” Players on the same team sit next to each other and share resources.

Starting Life Total: Each team starts with a combined life total of 30 life points.
Turn Structure: Teams take their turns simultaneously. This means both players on a team can play spells, activate abilities, and attack as if they were a single entity.
Deck Construction: Each player builds their own deck, following the usual deck construction rules for the chosen format (Standard, Modern, Commander, etc.). There are no shared decks in Two-Headed Giant.

Shared Phases: Each phase and step of the turn is shared by the team. For example, both players on a team will draw a card during the draw step, and they will attack as a single unit during the combat phase.
Communication: Players on a team can communicate and strategize openly with each other. However, they must keep their hands of cards private.

Setting Up the Game

Form Teams: Pair up with another player to form a team. Decide which team will take the first turn (usually determined by a dice roll).

Shuffle and Draw: Each player shuffles their deck and draws an initial hand of seven cards.
Mulligan: Teams can decide to mulligan together. If one player chooses to mulligan, both players on the team must do so. The mulligan rule follows the standard MTG mulligan procedure (the London Mulligan, where players draw a new hand of seven cards, then put a number of cards equal to the number of mulligans taken on the bottom of their library in any order).

Phases and Turns

Two-Headed Giant follows the same turn structure as a regular MTG game, but with both players on a team acting together. Here’s a breakdown of each phase:

Beginning Phase:
- Untap Step: Both players on the team untap all their permanents.
- Upkeep Step: Any upkeep effects take place.
- Draw Step: Both players draw a card.
Main Phase:
- Players can play lands, cast spells, and activate abilities. They can discuss their plays and strategies during this phase.

Combat Phase:
- Declare Attackers Step: Both players declare their attackers simultaneously.
- Declare Blockers Step: The opposing team declares their blockers.
- Damage Step: Combat damage is dealt.
Second Main Phase:
- Similar to the first main phase, players can cast spells, play lands, and activate abilities.

Ending Phase:
- End Step: Any end-of-turn effects take place.
- Cleanup Step: Players discard down to their maximum hand size and remove any end-of-turn effects.

Winning the Game

A team wins the game by reducing the opposing team’s life total to zero or less, or if the opposing team is unable to draw a card from their library when required to do so. Other win conditions, such as alternate win conditions from specific cards, also apply.

Key Strategies for Two-Headed Giant

Communication and Coordination:
- Effective communication between teammates is crucial. Discuss your strategies, plan your turns together, and coordinate your plays to maximize your effectiveness.
- Share information about your hands, potential plays, and any threats you foresee from the opponents.
Deck Synergy:
- Build decks that complement each other. For example, one player might focus on control and removal, while the other focuses on aggressive creatures and damage.
- Consider using cards that benefit both players on a team, such as spells that grant bonuses to all creatures you control or that affect each opponent.
Resource Management:
- Be mindful of your shared resources, especially life points. One player’s aggressive playstyle might leave the team vulnerable if the other player cannot protect the team adequately.
- Coordinate your land drops and mana usage to ensure both players can cast their spells efficiently.
Defensive Play:
- Protect your life total, as your team only has one combined life total. Use blockers, removal spells, and lifegain effects to maintain your life points.
- Consider using defensive creatures with high toughness or abilities that make them difficult to remove.
Offensive Strategies:
- Combine your forces for powerful attacks. Use combat tricks and buffs that affect multiple creatures to maximize your combat effectiveness.
- Coordinate your attacks to ensure that your opponents cannot easily block or respond to your threats.

Common Card Interactions and Questions

How do “target” effects work in Two-Headed Giant?
- If a card says “target opponent,” you can choose either opponent as the target. If it says “each opponent,” it affects both opponents.

How do life gain and loss work?
- When a card causes a player to gain or lose life, it affects the team’s shared life total. For example, if one player gains 3 life, the team’s life total increases by 3.
How do combat effects work?
- Combat effects that target “all creatures you control” will affect creatures controlled by both players on a team. Similarly, effects that affect “opponents’ creatures” will affect creatures controlled by both opponents.
How do planeswalkers work?
- Each player can control their own planeswalkers. However, attacks and abilities can target planeswalkers controlled by either player on a team.

Example Turn in Two-Headed Giant

To illustrate how a turn plays out in Two-Headed Giant, let’s walk through an example turn:

Beginning Phase:
- Both players untap their permanents.
- Any upkeep effects are resolved.
- Both players draw a card.
First Main Phase:
- Player A plays a land.
- Player B casts a creature spell.
Combat Phase:
- Both players discuss their attack plans.
- Player A attacks with a creature.
- The opposing team declares blockers and assigns damage.

Second Main Phase:
- Player B plays a land.
- Player A casts a sorcery spell.

Ending Phase:
- Any end-of-turn effects are resolved.
- The team ends their turn.

Building Effective Decks for Two-Headed Giant

When building decks for Two-Headed Giant, consider the following tips:

Balance Aggression and Defense:
- One player might focus on aggressive creatures and direct damage, while the other focuses on control and defense.

Synergize Your Decks:
- Look for cards that work well together. For example, if one player has a lot of token generators, the other might include cards that benefit from having multiple creatures on the battlefield.
Include Versatile Answers:
- Make sure both decks have answers to a variety of threats, such as removal spells, counterspells, and ways to deal with enchantments and artifacts.
Mana Fixing:
- Include mana fixing and ramp cards to ensure both players can cast their spells efficiently. Cards like “Cultivate” and “Kodama’s Reach” can be particularly useful.

Utilize Shared Benefits:
- Look for cards that grant benefits to both players, such as “Fires of Invention” or “Teferi’s Protection.”

Two-Headed Giant (2HG) has specific nuances and rules that might not be immediately apparent to players familiar with other MTG formats. Here’s a deeper dive into the rules and additional considerations to ensure a thorough understanding of 2HG.

Priority and Turn Order

Priority:
- Within a team, players share the priority. When one player on a team has priority, their teammate can also take actions.
- Teams take turns in the regular sequence, but each player on a team can act during their team’s turn phases.

Simultaneous Actions:
- Since both players on a team act simultaneously, they can play cards and activate abilities in any order, provided they communicate and agree on their actions.

Shared and Separate Resources

Life Total:
- The team’s life total is shared. Any damage dealt to either player or life gained by either player affects the team’s life total.
Cards and Hands:
- Each player has their own deck, hand, graveyard, and exile zone. These are not shared between teammates.

Mana Pools:
- Each player maintains their own mana pool. Mana is not shared between players on a team.

Damage and Combat

Combat Damage:
- During combat, players on a team can choose to attack either opposing player or their planeswalkers. The attacking team’s creatures can be divided among the defending team’s players and their planeswalkers as desired.
Damage Assignment:
- When assigning combat damage, the attacking team decides how damage is distributed among blockers and opposing players.
- If a creature with trample deals excess damage to one player, that excess can be assigned to the opposing team’s life total.

Planeswalkers and Legendary Rule

Planeswalkers:
- Each player controls their own planeswalkers. Players can target either their opponents or their opponents’ planeswalkers with attacks or abilities.

Legendary Rule:
- The legendary rule applies to each player individually. A team can have two legendary creatures or planeswalkers with the same name if each is controlled by a different player on the team.

Additional Strategic Considerations

Combo Decks:
- Some players prefer using combo decks that can achieve an immediate or overwhelming victory condition. However, since 2HG involves more interactions and potential disruptions, combo decks need to be resilient and capable of handling various threats.
Card Effects and Interaction:
- When building decks, consider the interaction of specific card effects that might benefit both players. For example, effects that affect “each player” or “each opponent” can be particularly powerful in 2HG.

Synergy and Coordination:
- Create decks that have synergistic interactions. For instance, one player might focus on enchantments and auras, while the other uses creatures that benefit from those enchantments.
Diversity in Strategy:
- While it’s important to have synergy, having diverse strategies can also be beneficial. This diversity ensures that the team is not overly vulnerable to a single type of threat or disruption.

Specific Card Interactions and FAQs

“Each Player” Effects:
- Cards that affect “each player” will impact all four players in the game. For example, “Howling Mine” will cause all players to draw an additional card during their draw step.

“Opponent” Effects:
- Cards that refer to “each opponent” will affect both opponents. For example, “Mind Rot” would force each opponent to discard two cards, impacting both players on the opposing team.
Damage Redirection:
- Some effects allow you to redirect damage to other targets. For instance, if an effect allows a player to redirect damage from a creature to a planeswalker, this can be strategically used to protect vital creatures.
Life Loss and Gain:
- Effects that cause life loss or gain are significant in 2HG. For example, “Exquisite Blood” and “Sanguine Bond” can create powerful life gain/loss loops when used effectively between teammates.

Building Decks: Further Tips

Complementary Colors:
- Utilize complementary color pairs or combinations. For instance, one player might use a blue/white control deck, while the other uses a green/red aggro deck.
Mana Curve:
- Ensure both decks have a balanced mana curve to prevent early game stagnation. Both decks should ideally have plays in the early, mid, and late game.
Shared Utility Cards:
- Include cards that provide utility to the team. For instance, “Teferi’s Protection” can protect both players and their permanents, providing a significant advantage.

Special Rules and Variants

Commander Variant:
- Two-Headed Giant can also be played in the Commander (EDH) format. Each player has a Commander and a 99-card deck, adhering to the usual Commander rules, but playing as a team.
Limited Formats:
- Two-Headed Giant is also popular in limited formats like Sealed or Draft. Each team opens a shared pool of booster packs and builds their decks from that pool.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Poor Communication:
- Lack of communication can lead to suboptimal plays. Always discuss potential plays and strategies with your teammate before executing them.

Ignoring Opponent’s Strategy:
- Pay attention to the opponents’ strategies and potential threats. Keeping track of their game plan allows for better counter-strategies and proactive plays.
Overextending:
- Be cautious about overextending. Sometimes it’s better to hold back and prepare for a more calculated strike, especially if the opponents have potential board wipes or mass removal spells.
Mismanaging Life Total:
- Monitor your life total closely. It’s easy to get carried away with aggressive plays and overlook the need to defend and maintain a healthy life total.

Sample Deck Lists

Here are two sample deck lists designed to complement each other in a Two-Headed Giant game:

Deck 1: Aggro-Red

Creatures:

4x Goblin Guide

4x Monastery Swiftspear
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Eidolon of the Great Revel

4x Chain Lightning

Spells:

4x Lava Spike

4x Rift Bolt
4x Boros Charm
4x Skullcrack

4x Light Up the Stage

Lands:

20x Mountain

Deck 2: Control-Blue