Grand Melee

Grand Melee is a casual multiplayer format for Magic: the Gathering allowing ten or more players to play at the same time. It is a variant of Free-for-All.

Players sit around the table exactly as they would for a Free-for-All game, choosing their seats randomly. However, the "limited range of influence" rule is in effect, with each player having a range of influence of 1. This means a player's spells and abilities can affect only themselves and players seated to their immediate left and right; players seated further away are, for the most part, considered to not exist. For example, if you play Wrath of God, it'll destroy only the creatures controlled by you and your two neighbors, and if you play Coalition Victory, it'll cause only your two neighbors to lose the game instead of you winning the entire Grand Melee game. Furthermore, players are allowed to attack only the player immediately to their left.

The most unique aspect of Grand Melee is that multiple players can take their turns at the same time. This is done via the use of "turn markers" (which can be buttons or coins or other such items), each with a number starting from 1, to keep track of which players are currently taking turns. One turn marker is used for every four players in the game, meaning a Grand Melee game with 16 players uses four turn markers, while a game with 15 players uses three turn markers. At the start of the game, one player is randomly chosen to take the turn marker numbered 1. The player four seats to that player's left takes the turn marker numbered 2, the player four seats to that player's left takes the turn marker numbered 3, and so on until all of the turn markers have been handed out.

Each turn marker represents an active player's turn. At the start of the game, all players with turn markers start their turns at the same time. When a player ends their turn, that player passes the turn marker to the player on their left. A player can't receive a turn marker if the player the three seats to their left already has one. If this is the case, the player who would receive it must wait until the player four seats to their left takes the other turn marker. If an effect gives a player an extra turn and that player currently has a turn marker, they hold on to the marker and take that turn. If it's not that player's turn, however, that player instead takes the extra turn immediately before when their next turn would happen.

If a player leaves the game and that player's leaving would reduce the number of turn markers in the game, a turn marker is removed. This doesn't happen immediately; turn markers are removed only between turns. The turn marker that's removed is the one closest to the departed player's right. If more than one player has left the game and there are multiple turn markers that could be removed, remove the marker with the lower number.

The last player to survive wins.

Rules
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