A few weeks ago I had four friends over to try out the Clue magic format but using (non-Clue) Jumpstart packs. We each opened two Jumpstart 2022 packs and sat down to play. I got Merfolk and Fangs decks (and rolled to go first); player two (P2) got Think Again and Holy packs; player three (P3) got Law and Morbid; player four (P4) got Treasure and Rats; and player five (P5) was on Ferocious and Scrying.
We used a slightly different setup to play Clue with five players instead of the normal four. After randomly choosing the solution cards without showing anyone, we removed three rooms (instead of two) to leave 15 cards. That's divisible by the five players we had, so we each got exactly three cards. The rooms we revealed to everyone were Ballroom, Billiard Room, and Study. I was dealt the Candlestick, Wrench, and Lounge.
The Ravnica Clue packs are designed with lots of evasion, so that format runs with 30 life per player. In my opinion, you want people to be making accusations when life totals are low. We played with 25, assuming we wouldn't be able to deal enough damage with these packs for 30. We weren't even close.
I started off turn one with Triton Shorestalker, which I expected to be one of my MVPs in this format. On turn two I attacked P2 and guessed Commander Mustard, Rope, and Conservatory. They didn't have any of those cards and passed. They hit me back, guessing Plum, Candlestick, and Dining Room. I had the Candlestick, so I showed that and got a treasure for my troubles. P5 also got in on me, guessing Peacock, Wrench, and Secret Passage, which I passed on.
I attacked P5 back on my turn, guessing Scarlett, Pipe, and Hall, which they passed on. At this point some of us were asking to be attacked because they wanted treasures! That was a weird phenomenon that led to P2 attacking P3 on their turn with their Spectral Sailor. They guessed Peacock, Wrench, and Secret Passage. P3 showed them a card and took their treasure. Wild!
P3 turned around and hit P4 with a Kami of Ancient Law, guessing White, Rope, and Conservatory. P4 also showed a card and picked up a treasure. They paid it forward again, hitting P5 with a Burglar Rat and guessing Plum, Rope, and Dining Room. Then they played Gadrak. P5 continued the combat, and hit P3 and P4. They guessed Green, Wrench, and Library and got the maximum amount of information; P3 passed, but P4 showed a card.
All that was in the first three turns! Tons of little bits of damage got in, sometimes willingly. So much Clue-information had been spilled, for such small amounts of blood.
On my fourth turn I kept the pressure on, getting in on both P2 and P3. I guessed Scarlett, Rope, and Lounge, and P2 showed me the Headliner Scarlett card. I then dropped Windrider Patrol to scare off would-be attackers.
P2 was stuck on two land, but they got in on P4 and P5, guessing Plum, Rope, and Conservatory. They were shown a card, I believe by P4. P3 got through on me (I think they attacked with two creatures) and guessed White, Knife, and Kitchen, which I passed on. Then they cast Tragic Slip on Gadrak, which everyone seemed to be afraid of. P4 attacked anyways, hitting P3 for one damage and guessed Mustard, Pipe, and Hall. P3 showed him one of those three cards. P5 then attacked me, P2, and P3, guessing Scarlett, Pipe, and Lounge. I showed them the Lounge.
On the fifth round of turns, I attacked P2 and P5, guessing White, Rope, and Kitchen. Both players passed. We were getting close to solving the murder, but I didn't get the information I needed and passed the turn. P2 attacked P4 and guessed Plum, Rope and Kitchen. P4 showed them one of his card. P4 cast Chittering Rats on their turn, then eschewed attacking to Collect Evidence 6 instead. With their guess they said White, Rope, and Hall. P5 passed, I passed, P2 passed, and then P3 showed them a card. We were saved!
Then P4 spent their accusation, calling White, Rope, and Secret Passage. They were correct and won the game!
The life totals were: 18, 21, 17, 21, and 18. No one was close to dying. We should have at least dropped the starting totals to 20 instead of 25, but it could have also been a problem with us inviting attacks by little creatures. I really hoped that I would be able to get a big advantage by trying to prevent myself from getting hit, but it didn't quite work out. Even though I didn't invite attackers, I didn't do a good enough job of keeping my shields up.
Bonus Game: After that game the five of us played again with Pre-constructed commander decks and with 30 life. I won't relate all the details, but the game lasted until the sixth round of turns. I had a big enough board that I was threatening to win via combat. One of the players had just died that turn and the remaining life totals were 6, 7, 14, and 22 (me). I did not win, however, because one person was able to Collect Evidence 6 on their turn, make an incorrect guess, but then make a correct accusation as a result. That was a great game and it seemed that 30 life was appropriate for that level of decks.
Happy Magicking and simultaneous murder-solving!
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