Clover: The Power of Uncommons

Hello little sprouts! Get cozy in the soil and welcome to the Clover patch.

My name is Amanda aka OnionBug, and I am the creator of the indie-format, Clover.

Clover is a 60-card, singleton, uncommon-only Magic: The Gathering format created with multiplayer in mind.

Most multiplayer formats run with 100 card decks these days but, before Elder Dragon Highlander gained popularity and changed its name to Commander, my friends and I played multiplayer with 60 card decks designed to handle multiple opponents.

I have such nostalgia for when the official Magic website ran articles from this era of the game.

The construction was no different than the standard (type 2 at the time) decks we'd take to FNM to compete but the card selection looked nothing like that.

Magic wasn't designed for multi-player back then but we forced it to work. The hunt for cards that got better with the more opponents you had at the table was exciting.

Singleton rules didn't apply either. Wanna build around specific cards? Run four copies of each.

I miss that.

Pouring one out for my old friend's mono red chaos deck that ran 4 Warp World and 4 Thieves Auction - you were an evil person, Dave. Respect.

Why create a new Magic format?

Clover allows for tighter deck construction, more consistency, and honestly a sleeved 60 card deck feels good in the hands.

Uncommons only because they deserve a chance to shine. Mythic and rare cards run free in commander and there are a wealth of pauper based common only formats like PDH and Pendragon.

Uncommons fill interesting design space in Magic. Medium power levels, rock solid utility effects, and strange abilities that feel too niche at rare or mythic and too warping at common.

I felt like they deserve a place of their own. So I followed the proverbial rainbow looking for the pot of gold and after plenty of testing, brainstorming, and rules refining, we landed on Clover.

The Clover Command Zone:

This is the only place in Clover where you may use a legendary creature. In an effort to make legends feel special we restrict them to the command zone.

Looking at commander deck lists I see so many legendary creatures in the 99. Clover has a more limited pool of commanders and I wanted to avoid all of them being in every possible deck that supported their colors.

We wanted players to have no more than a single creature in the zone so we banned partner commanders altogether.

Turns out, the 60 card deck size means less space for overall resources and access to extra creatures is a big advantage.

They see plenty of use in commander and cEDH anyway.

We do allow the use of commanders with “choose a background” however since they are played less often in other formats and don't provide access to multiple perpetually available creatures in the command zone.

The Lucky Clover:

If Clover had a mantra, it would be “make your own luck”. Your deck’s Lucky Clover is any non-land uncommon card of 3 Mana Value or greater that you run 4 copies of. They are shuffled into the rest of your deck increasing the chances you draw into them.

The lucky clover in conjunction with your commander opens up endless deck building options.

Two decks with the same commander may have drastically different builds and play patterns based on the Lucky Clover selection alone.

Clover is building a reputation as a deck brewers paradise. We have started a deck brewing challenge tradition on the Clover Discord and it's been incredible.

The Main Deck:

The remaining 55 cards (or 54 if you are running a background commander) form your main deck. Singleton applies here unless a card’s rules text allows it to break from that, like Relentless Rats.

20 to 24 lands are typical. Without rare land bases color-fixing is harder in Clover than other constructed formats. As such, artifact and land fetching color fixing becomes more important, and one and two color commanders are more popular.

Interaction, removal, and protection become more critical here since decks have a higher threat density. 60 is a lot less than 100.

Deck Construction

Any strategy you could pull off in commander should be available in Clover but it will look different and rely on cards you're not used to.

In a 100 card format redundancy is real important but that takes more of a backseat in Clover favoring a well made interaction package.

Can you deal with creature swarms?

What about problem lands like Rogue's Passage, Glacial Chasm, Maze of Ith?

Are you able to remove artifacts and enchantments? Or will my Koya, Death from Above Triskelion combo deck machine gun the whole table? (Yes, Triskelion did get one uncommon printing in paper baby!)

Games typically take less time than in commander but it’s also less likely for any single card to swing the game in one player’s favor. Actions are more deliberate in this environment.

I enjoy seeing players having budget options for playing Magic the Gathering in addition to players with large collections getting to make use of all of it. Clover is a format that will turn your bulk into treasure instantly. Sending all the uncommons you have laying around into sleeves and then onto the gaming tables.

Our community has been growing at a wonderful pace and exploring the format’s limits together has been incredible. If you’re seeking an affordable way to play, a use for all those uncommons sitting in storage, or new brewing challenges in a limited card pool, I hope you join us in experiencing everything Clover has to offer.

You can find our discord here. We're always excited to see new members show up. Clover was created and is maintained by trans women for everyone. We're dedicated to being a space where everyone feels like a welcome part of the game and is respected.