Ragnarok: The Twilight of the Gods

An Old School(-ish) Magic Format

One-Time Special Event

Friday June 23, 2023

5-10PM Pacific (end time could vary)

Rules Status: LOCKED!

Ragnarok: The Twilight of the Gods Rules

The Twilight of the Gods is a special, one-time event scheduled to be played the Friday night of Ragnarok, a two-day Old School MtG event with a Norse Gods theme in Seattle, WA. Registration in The Twilight of the Gods is included as part of registration for Ragnarok. The Twilight of the Gods will be held at Rooftop Brewing, along the Lake Washington Ship Canal ("the Cut") on the north edge of Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood, starting at 5PM. The first hour of drinks is included as part of the event. After that, you're on your own. There will also have a food truck on site with food for purchase. (Note: Saturday's main event, which is Swedish rules and US reprints, will be held at the Swedish Club starting at 10AM.)

Registration: Tolaria. All proceeds go to Mary's Place, a nonprofit whose mission is to help children who are the victims of trauma or abuse.

Trailer hyyyype: Ragnarok.

Confirmed artists for Saturday include Mark Tedin, Jesper Myrfors, Julie Baroh, Margaret Organ-Kean, Anthony S. Waters, and Nicola Beeson. Note that Saturday's main event is normal Swedish Old School, with US reprint rules (original art and original frame, any edition: Chronicles, FWB, FBB, Fourth Edition, Timeshifted, CE/IE all legal). Friday night is the only event with special rules.

The Twilight of the Gods Overview
The Twilight of the Gods: Rules
Deck Construction
Valhalla
The Rainbow Bridge & Gods' Favor
The Gods
List of Favor & God Cards
Asgard
FAQ

The Twilight of the Gods Overview

Before ships, before swords, before man, there were the Gods. The Gods were many in the olden times, but the strongest among them, the true Gods, were the Gods of the North. Odin. Thor. Loki. Freya. Baldur. Heimdall. Freyr. Hel. Old, powerful, emotional, flawed. Yet not immortal. The Norse Gods are doomed to die, some at the hands of their fierce foe Surtr, some by other means. Yet it is foretold that all Gods must die, in the great final battle of Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods, so that the wheel may turn once more to new powers. Now, that great battle Ragnarok is at hand!

The Twilight of the Gods is a special Old School Magic variant in which you will sacrifice to the Gods, gain their favor, and summon them in avatar form to the battlefield. Creatures that die valiantly go to Valhalla, able to return to the world of the living as a ghost in pursuit of vengeance or unfinished tasks, or as a great hero ready to battle in the final climactic battle Ragnarok.

These rules are now FINALIZED. No further changes will be made.

The Twilight of the Gods: Rules

The Twilight of the Gods is a standard Swiss-style tournament (TBD: if it will include enough rounds to have a single undefeated player). Decks are constructed following the Swedish ruleset, with five additions:

Valhalla: creatures (that aren't tokens, Artifacts, or Gods) that die due to spells, effects, or damage controlled by a player who isn't the controller of the creature go to Valhalla. A player may return creatures from Valhalla to play under certain circumstances. If a match heads into a dramatic final game 3, creatures from Valhalla may also begin the game in play.
The Gods: players choose at least one God to be associated with their deck. The Gods you choose define basic land types that you must or must not include in your deck. By making certain sacrifices to their Gods, players make use of The Rainbow Bridge, a mechanic which gains them the favor of a God and eventually may allow them to put that God into play. Players receive specially printed God cards, as well as their associated Favor cards, for use during the tournament.
Asgard, Home of the Gods: all players may include one copy of the special card Asgard, Home of the Gods (see below) in their deck. Asgard, Home of the Gods, is restricted.
Instead of following standard Swedish reprint rules, players may use US-style reprint rules: any card featuring the original art and the original card frame is legal. (Unlike Saturday's event, there are no special prizes for playing fully Swedish legal printings on Friday.)
City of Brass, Blood Moon, and Tawnos's Coffin are banned.

Deck Construction

All players must choose at least one of 10 Norse Gods to be associated with their deck. Each God has a positive relationship with one color of mana and a negative relationship with one color of mana. Your combined deck and sideboard must include at least one land with the basic land type that produces your chosen God(s) positive mana, and may not include any lands with the basic land type that produces your chosen God(s) negative mana. There is a chart at the bottom of this page which helps illustrate this. Cards called Favors represent your relationship with your chosen God(s), and you interact with Favor cards to both access the powers of your God(s), and eventually, summon them to the battlefield.

Gods and Favors are represented by special double sided cards (more details on the card specifics later). A player's choice of Gods and Favor card(s) is public information. Requirements about whether you must or must not include lands of a certain basic land types are asserted based on the contents of your deck and sideboard combined, i.e., you may not sideboard in different lands to change the set of Favor cards available to you.

The land restrictions imposed by Favor cards refer to basic land types, so dual lands are also affected. That means that if you choose a Favor card that says you cannot play Mountains, that also means you cannot play Volcanic Islands, Taigas, Badlands, or Plateaus. You may, however, play Hammerheim, Mox Ruby, or Fellwar Stone, all of which can still make red mana.

Valhalla

Valhalla is a new zone is represented by a large Planechase-sized card for flavor. Placing cards on top of this card is a helpful way to track which cards are in Valhalla.

If a non-token, non-Artifact creature or creature spell you both own and control would die, be exiled, or be countered due to:

a spell, ability, or effect controlled by another player
lethal damage or zero toughness, where no source of damage on the creature, nor abilities or effects which reduce its toughness, are or were controlled by you this turn

then you may put a Valkyrie counter on it and place it in Valhalla instead. Creature cards with a Valkyrie counter gain the following ability: "Remove a Valkyrie counter from this card in Valhalla and pay its mana cost: cast a copy of this spell. Play this ability only any time you may play a sorcery." Recall that copies of permanent spells place tokens into play.

When a game ends, note any creature cards still in Valhalla with a Valkyrie counter on them, then shuffle all cards from Valhalla into their owner's decks (just as you would an exiled card). At the start of the third game in a match (before players draw their hands), each player may put a copy of each of their noted creature cards from games 1 and 2 in the match into play. (These tokens will be unaffected by summoning sickness because they will begin the first turn already in play.)

The Rainbow Bridge & Gods' Favor

The Rainbow Bridge is a special mechanic players may use to interact with special Favor cards connected to the God(s) associated with their deck. Players begin each game with their Favor cards in exile.

All Favor cards are associated with a color, but are colorless. Once per turn, any time a player may play a sorcery, they may choose a Favor card in their exile zone and activate the "Rainbow Bridge" ability of that card. The Rainbow Bridge ability (which is visually alluded to on Favor cards, and is intrinsic to how they work) is as follows:

Rainbow Bridge
Perform one of the following:

If the Favor counter is at zero, pay 1 mana of the Favor's God's color.
If the Favor counter is at one, sacrifice a land with a basic land type that can produce mana of the Favor's God's color.
If the Favor counter is at two, exile a non-token creature of mana value at least 4 that you control and whose color matches the Favor's God's color.

Then advance the Favor counter by one and activate the Favor card's ability for the Level you advanced it to.

Because each Favor card follows the same pattern (a banned basic land type, then 1/2/3 abilities that all want one mana of the color, then one land of the basic land type, then one 4+ CMC creature of the color), card design uses visual conventions to reduce the amount of text needed. Visual indications are as follows:

The visual indication of the level 1 Favor ability is the mana symbol of the Favor's God's color, on the left of the card's rule box.
The visual indication of the level 2 Favor ability is the Land symbol from Future sight, colored in the Favor's God's color, on the left of the card's rule box.
The visual indication of the level 3 Favor ability is a Viking helmet symbol colored in the Favor's God's color, on the left of the card's rule box.
The visual indication of the banned basic land type is the mana symbol that basic land type produces, faded and crossed out, on the right side of the card just above the card's rule box.

An example Favor card is shown below. Note that because using the Rainbow Bridge on a card advances a counter, but there is no means to later move the counter back, each ability may not be used more than once per game. In some ways, this is similar to the Level Up mechanic in Magic, or to simply ticking up a die from 1 to 2 to 3 on a card in order to activate an ability at each new level.

The Gods

When a player has used the Rainbow Bridge enough times on a given Favor card, they may put an associated God token into play.

Gods have a special ability called Aesir. This ability has several effects:

When a creature with Aesir enters the battlefield, its Aesir ability triggers.
A creature with Aesir may not be targeted or chosen by a spell or effect which would copy it, or place a token that copies it into play.
Creatures with Aesir have "Hexproof from mana value 4 or less." (They may not be targeted by spells your opponents control that have a mana value 4 or less, and they may not be targeted by effects or abilities of permanents your opponents control with a mana value 4 or less.)
Creatures with Aesir are tokens.

The Gods have casting costs for rules purposes, but note that there is no way to cast them practically speaking.

One God, Freya, has an ability that introduces a new kind of counter called a "love counter." Love counters have two effects, which always apply, regardless of what state Freya's Favor and Freya, Goddess of Love are in:

You have protection from permanents with love counters you placed onto them.
Abilities of permanents with love counters on them can't be activated unless they're mana abilities.

Freya's Favor includes reminder text about these effects.

List of Favor & God Cards

Odin, the All Father

Loki, the Trickster God

Thor, God of Thunder

Tyr, God of War

Heimdall, the Watcher

Baldur, God of Light

Freya, Goddess of Beauty

Freyr, God of Fertility

Hel, Goddess of Death

Surtr, the Destroyer

Asgard

Finally, there is a special land players may play in any deck. This land is restricted. Players will receive a single copy of this land to include in their deck.

FAQ

General

Is there mana burn?
No. Twilight of the Gods uses Swedish rules, which have no mana burn.

Can I play Fallen Empires cards?
No. Twilight of the Gods uses Swedish rules, which do not allow Fallen Empires.

Can I play CE power?
Yes. Though Twilight of the Gods uses Swedish rules, it follows typical US reprint policies (original art, original frame is all OK).

Can I play proxies?
No.

Valhalla

Do creatures have to go to Valhalla?
No. Going to Valhalla is optional. You may choose to let the creature go to your graveyard (for example, if you want to be able to use Hel's Favor's level 1 Favor ability to reanimate it).

How can I return creatures from Valhalla to play?
As a sorcery, you may remove a creature from Valhalla (aka, remove a Valkyrie counter from it) and pay its mana cost to cast a copy of that creature spell.

This only applies to creatures in Valhalla from the current game - not the list of creatures you have noted which ended a previous game with a Valkyrie counter still on them.
If you use this ability on a creature in Valhalla, you will not note it down as a creature that can be copied on the battlefield in game 3.
Because you are casting a copy of that creature, per normal Magic rules, when it resolves you place a token that is a copy of that creature into play.

At the beginning of game 3, you may place a copy of all creatures you noted into play before players draw their hands.

What causes a creature to go to Valhalla?
Creatures only go to Valhalla if they die, are exiled, or are countered solely as a result of things your opponents control. Some examples:

If Ball Lightning dies to its own sacrifice ability, it does not go to Valhalla.
If you cast Wrath of God, your opponent may send their creatures to Valhalla, but your creatures must go to the graveyard.
If you have an Erhnam Djinn in play and cast Earthquake for 2, and then your opponent casts Lightning Bolt on your Djinn, it may not go to Valhalla and must go to the graveyard because 2 of the damage that killed it was from you.
If you have an Erhnam Djinn in play and cast Earthquake for 2, and then your opponents casts Swords to Plowshares on your Djinn, it may go to Valhalla if you choose, because it died due to a spell your opponent controlled. The damage you had placed on it played no role in its death.
If you cast an Erhnam Djinn and your opponent casts Counterspell on it, you may choose to send it to Valhalla.
If you cast an Erhnam Djinn and your opponent casts Force Spike on it, and you choose not to pay the 1, you may choose to send it to Valhalla. Even if you could have paid the 1 and chose not to, your opponent's spell still was responsible for countering it.
If you cast an Erhnam Djinn from Valhalla and your opponent casts Counterspell on it, you may not send it to Valhalla and the spell is exiled. Spells cast from Valhalla are exiled if countered.
If you control a Savannah Lions, block your opponent's Erhnam Djinn, cast Giant Growth on your Savannah Lions, and your Savannah Lions dies as a result of combat damage from the Erhnam Djinn, you may send your Savannah Lions to Valhalla. You played effects which increased your Savannah Lions' toughness, and none which reduced its toughness or dealt damage to it, so you may send your Savannah Lions to Valhalla.
If you control a Savannah Lions, and your opponent has no creatures, and your opponent casts Balance, you may send your Savannah Lions to Valhalla. Even though you are sacrificing your creature, your opponent's spell made you do it.
If you control a Savannah Lions, and your opponent casts The Abyss. During your next upkeep, you sacrifice your Savannah Lions. You may send your Savannah Lions to Valhalla. Even though you are sacrificing your creature, your opponent's effect made you do it.

Does Oubliette send a creature to Valhalla?
No. Under current rules, a Oubliette phases a creature out. It does not exile or otherwise kill it.

Can creatures in Shahrazad subgames go to Valhalla?
No. Valhalla does not function in any way during subgames. You may not send creatures to Valhalla, nor may you remove Valkyrie counters from them to put copies of them into play.

Can lands go to Valhalla?
Perhaps. An activated Mishra's Factory cannot (it's an Artifact), but a land animated by Living Plane or Living Lands could. However, note that you may not play lands from Valhalla, only cast creature spells. So it is probably better to let the lands go to your graveyard if they become animated and are killed.

What happens with creature cards left in Valhalla in game 3?
Before drawing their hands and making mulligan decisions, you may place a copy of all noted creatures onto the battlefield. Because they will begin turn 1 under your control, they do not have summoning sickness.

Do my creatures from Valhalla carry over to my next match?
No. The list of noted creatures who ended a game still in Valhalla (== with a Valkyrie counter on them) resets at the beginning of each match.

Favor Cards

When can I activate Favor cards?
Unless otherwise specified (e.g., following Surtr's Aesir ability), you may use the Rainbow Bridge as a sorcery to activate a Favor card. You may not under any circumstance use the Rainbow Bridge more than once per turn.

Can Favor cards be used in Shahrazad subgames?
Yes. You may use Favor cards and summon gods normally in Shahrazad subgames. Be sure to keep track of the state of Favor cards and gods in the original game if you use your copies of Favor cards and gods in the subgames.

What do abilities that say "your graveyard, Valhalla, or exile zone" mean?
Each player has their own graveyard and Valhalla zones, but the exile is shared. The phrase above is a shorter way of referring to "a creature card you own in your graveyard, your Vallhala zone, or the exile zone." You may not use these abilities to target, use, or otherwise affect cards you do not own.

What cards modify when I can use Favor cards?

Surtr, the Destroyer's Aesir ability prevents your opponents from using the Rainbow Bridge until the start of your next upkeep.

This means they cannot activate the Rainbow Bridge during their turn for one turn.
If they have Heimdall, the Watcher in play, they still cannot use the Rainbow Bridge until your next upkeep, though they can respond to Surtr's Aesir ability by using the Rainbow Bridge while his Aesir ability is on the stack.

Land Type Cheat Sheet

The number of Gods you have access to depends on your choice of colors. For convenience, here is how many Gods you have access to depending on the number of basic land types you choose:

Zero basic land types (mono-brown): 0 Gods (illegal deck - all decks must have at least one God)
One basic land type (mono-color): 2 Gods
Two basic land types (allied colors): 4 Gods
Two basic land types (enemy colors): 2 Gods
Three basic land types (wedge): 4 Gods
Three basic land types (shard): 2 Gods
Four basic land types: 2 Gods
Five basic land types: 0 Gods (illegal deck - all decks must have at least one God)

The table below shows the specific combinations of basic land types, and which gods are available to decks containing that combination of basic lands:

Basic Lands	Common Name	Type	Gods Accessible
No Basic Lands	Mono Brown	No Color	No Gods - ILLEGAL DECK
Islands	Mono Blue	Mono	Odin, Loki
Mountains	Mono Red	Mono	Thor, Tyr
Plains	Mono White	Mono	Heimdall, Baldur
Forests	Mono Green	Mono	Freya, Freyr
Swamps	Mono Black	Mono	Hel, Surtr
Islands, Plains	Azorius	Allied	Odin, Loki, Heimdall, Baldur
Islands, Swamps	Dimir	Allied	Odin, Loki, Hel, Surtr
Mountains, Forests	Gruul	Allied	Thor, Tyr, Freya, Freyr
Mountains, Swamps	Rakdos	Allied	Thor, Tyr, Hel, Surtr
Plains, Forests	Selesnya	Allied	Heimdall, Baldur, Freya, Freyr
Islands, Forests	Simic	Enemy	Loki, Freyr
Islands, Mountains	Izzet	Enemy	Odin, Tyr
Mountains, Plains	Boros	Enemy	Thor, Heimdall
Plains, Swamps	Orzhov	Enemy	Baldur, Hel
Forests, Swamps	Golgari	Enemy	Freya, Surtr
Plains, Islands, Swamps	Esper	Shard	Odin, Loki, Baldur, Hel
Swamps, Mountains, Forests	Jund	Shard	Thor, Tyr, Freya, Surtr
Forests, Plains, Islands	Bant	Shard	Heimdall, Baldur, Loki, Freyr
Mountains, Forests, Plains	Naya	Shard	Freya, Freyr, Thor, Heimdall
Islands, Swamps, Mountains	Grixis	Shard	Hel, Surtr, Odin, Tyr
Forests, Islands, Mountains	Temur	Wedge	Freyr, Tyr
Islands, Mountains, Plains	Jeskai	Wedge	Odin, Heimdall
Mountains, Plains, Swamps	Mardu	Wedge	Thor, Hel
Swamps, Forests, Islands	Sultai	Wedge	Surtr, Loki
Plains, Swamps, Forests	Abzan	Wedge	Baldur, Freya
Mountains, Plains, Forests, Swamps	Dune-Brood	Nephilim	Thor, Freya
Islands, Plains, Forests, Swamps	Witch-Maw	Nephilim	Loki, Baldur
Islands, Mountains, Forests, Swamps	Glint-Eye	Nephilim	Tyr, Surtr
Islands, Mountains, Plains, Swamps	Yore-Tiller	Nephilim	Odin, Hel
Islands, Mountains, Plains, Forests	Ink-Treader	Nephilim	Heimdall, Freyr
All Basic Lands	5-Color	5-Color	No Gods - ILLEGAL DECK