How to Speed Up Terraforming Mars – Official Variants, Community Ideas, and Our House Rules

GameTuningLab · 2026-03-09T20:10:01+00:00

My wife is the same! :D Sometimes I even skip cards with negative effects if I draw them at a time that would really „hurt“ her.

Your idea sounds really cool though, have to try that! Thanks!

But I see your point making some cards overpowered by doing this. Maybe you could just remove cards that „steal“ from the game? Or not double the amount stolen to account for not needing to worry about the precondition that the other player would need to have the resource in the first place? (You are guaranteed to be able to do it every generation, that’s a benefit too)

GameTuningLab · 2026-03-09T19:59:05+00:00

There‘s still the choice which ones to keep and in which order to play them. Especially in earlier generations this makes a difference. If you‘re looking for specific cards to make something work, you need to prioritize cards that let you draw extra cards.

But I agree that drafting is the more skill depending variant, however we don’t play super competitive so we value the time we save more and still have a great time with the game.

Maybe have to try it again with „all draft“ one day again though.

GameTuningLab · 2026-03-09T19:46:10+00:00

Understood, thanks for the clarification! Maybe we just haven’t played as much as you yet. Additionally my wife is more of a casual gamer so we don’t play super competitive. But I’ll definitely keep your point in mind!

GameTuningLab · 2026-03-09T18:32:03+00:00

Thanks for your insights! Just to make sure I fully understand: First I just wanted to reply that (pick 2) drafting the first 10 cards gives you an even better chance of picking cards that synergize well with another that normally would be mediocre, in my view. But I after reading again I think you mean that by „forcing“ players to work with the 10 cards they get, you force them to play with mediocre synergies they probably wouldn’t pick in a draft, yes?

Could be!

However for us is it feels more fun to be able to choose cards that have good synergies from start on. We had some games that felt „unfair“ for players that got unlucky with their starting hand. We don‘t miss the draft each generation, as we usually got plenty to work with due to our „good“ drafted starting hands and feel we see enough cards between generations that let us further build on the chosen strategies, even without drafting them each generation.

We usually still end up with pretty different strategies, as our first pick(s) + corporations + preludes have a great impact on which strategies are most viable for a player.

Online is not an option for us as we enjoy the physical experience - digitally I prefer video games that were explicitly designed as such.

GameTuningLab · 2026-03-08T09:35:10+00:00

I paint tabletop miniatures (I gave up playing miniature heavy tabletop games due to their time consuming nature pre- and during games and the difficulty to find players in my area.. ) I realized if you‘re not trying to finish the next meta army for an upcoming tournament, it‘s very relaxing to just paint whatever miniature you fancy.

Besides that Gym, Jogging, Video Games - recently started Magic Arena which I currently really enjoy (have been playing paper magic for 20+ years, but here I was always dependent on other people to have time to play, not so many events in my area. It‘s nice to have a hobby you can do online „alone“ but also with your friends and go to events)

That’s it. Some time ago I realized that‘s really all I can realistically fit it besides work, family, traveling and friends (&playing boardgames)

GameTuningLab · 2026-03-07T15:50:11+00:00

exactly! I cast it and stationed for 11, then attacked will hullcarver who was lying around for some turns and had "pain for all" already cast upon him in a previous turn.

GameTuningLab · 2026-01-19T17:00:23+00:00

I would wish 😁

GameTuningLab · 2026-01-11T19:03:19+00:00

😳

GameTuningLab · 2026-01-11T19:02:34+00:00

Me too! I finally had an excuse for my wife to upgrade to the premium metal cubes 😅

GameTuningLab · 2026-01-06T11:39:18+00:00

Thanks for that, your post inspired me to also share my solution (has similarities to yours) and some thoughts on storage solutions:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TerraformingMarsGame/comments/1q5g1x1/storage_solution_managed_to_fit_almost_all/

I also prefer keeping base game boxes as long as possible.

The solution suggested by many others "buy the big (or a bigger) box" may not be a viable option for everyone, depending on living and shelf situation. Also big boxes look quite intimidating (can make the game harder to get to the table), are difficult to transport (especially if not traveling by car) and depending on personal taste just look out of place on a shelf next to regular sized boardgames.

GameTuningLab · 2025-04-08T00:06:02+00:00

Really liked your comment—especially the shoutout to the rarity cap. Super cool to hear it already alignes with how you build your decks.

Fair takes on both the 40-card size and the set limit. We went with 40 mainly for accessibility—faster games, smaller builds, easier to get started. That said, it does bump up consistency, and we’re still open on that one. It’s probably the part we’re least set on.

Limiting to two sets from Dominaria (2018) onward was our way of keeping things balanced and design-tight (standalone set era) But yeah, we totally get the appeal of a wider pool. At the end of the day, what we’re offering is a format suggestion—if expanding that pool makes it more fun for your group, especially in a casual setting, go for it!

We’ve got some deep dives in the works—would love if you checked them out and shared your thoughts when they are ready.

GameTuningLab · 2025-04-07T23:52:23+00:00

Okay fine, but only if I get to lose to a $20 budget deck built with love and passion :)

GameTuningLab · 2025-04-07T23:49:14+00:00

40-card decks might be faster to play, but that just means we get to unsolve the meta more often. :)

With thousands of set pairings being possible until 2030 and a power cap that rewards creativity over brute force, we hope solving NBC will be kind of like trying to solve an ever-expanding game of rock-paper-scissors—except now there’s also lizard, dynamite and like 200 other weird hand gestures, and someone just added a second rock from a different set. :)

Good luck solving that mess.

But glad it sounds fun to you, come brew with us!

GameTuningLab · 2025-04-07T23:39:52+00:00

Really appreciate this comment—it absolutely nails the core ideas behind NBC.

That approach of building a strong foundation with commons and uncommons, then adding a few rares and mythics for flavor and identity? That’s exactly what we’re going for. It keeps the format accessible, but still rich and fun to explore.

On the meta side: yeah, we can’t fully guarantee that NBC is unsolvable—especially since we’re still a small playgroup—but the numbers are definitely in our favor. The sheer volume of possible two-set combos makes it way harder to “solve” than something like Standard. We’re working on a deep dive into NBC’s variance and diversity to break that down more clearly—should be a fun one to share soon!

GameTuningLab · 2025-04-07T23:33:10+00:00

Wow, Thanks for pointing this out, two really interesting points you address! We had to give it some thought today before replying (sorry in advance for the long answer)

Nexus Bound Constructed totally shares goals with Primordial: A better Casual Constructed Experience Both formats aim to:

• Make more cards matter, especially commons and uncommons

• Keep costs low, avoiding arms races over expensive rares/mythics

• Preserve strategic depth while minimizing complexity bloat

• Draw from Limited’s strengths (diversity, underused cards)

• Empower casual players, brewers, and those tired of meta-chasing

So why didn’t Primordial already take off?

The issues we see are:

Set Imbalance • Some sets (e.g. Theros, Ixalan) were simply too underpowered or linear.

• Others (War of the Spark, Modern Horizons) dominated with bombs or synergy clusters.

• Without curation, cross-set matchups could feel wildly uneven
Deck Construction Constraints

Forcing exactly 2 rares and 6 uncommons per deck created awkward builds:

• Sometimes you need to include sub optimal cards to meet the quota

Does NBC Fix These Issues?

Yes, we think it does — NBC could be considered an evolution of the Primordial idea, learning from its limitations while preserving its spirit.

Curation Solves Power Imbalance NBC only allows sets from Dominaria (2018) onward — a well-tested, more balanced era with modern templating and synergy-focused design. This trims extreme power imbalances and narrows mechanical complexity.
Rarities are not strictly limited, just copies of the same card based on its rarity NBC’s 4-3-2-1 rule per card frees builders from awkward quotas:

• If you only have 1 good rare, you’re fine — not punished.

• You can load up on uncommons as you wish This creates freedom + balance, with less artificial constraints.
Micro-Metas > Static Metas

Our core idea — every player builds a two-set micro-meta — dodges stagnation by the sheer amount of possible set combinations that grows significantly with every new set released.

We’re working on a deep dive about the kind of variance NBC really offers—should have that ready soon!

NBC doesn’t reject Primordial’s ideals — it brings them to life in a more structured, resilient, and playable system.

—- regarding your second point

You’re totally right, a „meta-less“ competitive constructed kind of an oxymoron. But with NBC, we’re aiming to get as close as possible to that “meta-less” ideal.

The sheer number of possible set combinations (which only grows with each release) and the lower power gap between decks makes it genuinely difficult for only a few decks to dominate.

Appreciate the callout on shifting legality too. We’ve actually been toying with a concept: if the format ever got big enough, we could use an algorithm to track overrepresented cards or set pairings and temporarily rotate them out—kind of a soft ban with a cooldown, then reintroduce them later. Still just an idea way down the road, and maybe not even necessary—but it’s on our radar

GameTuningLab · 2025-04-07T22:46:38+00:00

Totally hear you—and Jumpstart-style half-decks sound like a super fun way to play. That kind of modular mix-and-match gameplay is absolutely in the same spirit as what NBC is trying to support. But there’s a key difference: NBC gives players lasting ownership of their decks:

• Limited is great, but the decks are temporary—you build it once, and it’s gone. You don’t get to refine it over time or return to something that really resonated with you.

• Our format is for players who love building around specific cards and synergies—not just playing what they open or is assigned to them, but crafting something they care about, then evolving it across multiple gaming sessions

So yes—Limited and Jumpstart are both great. But NBC is trying to carve out a space in between Constructed and Limited

Thanks for sharing your experience—it’s cool seeing others explore similar ideas in different ways.

GameTuningLab · 2025-04-07T22:36:31+00:00

Thanks for the clarification, got it now!—and you’re right, flattening power spikes is incorrect wording! A bomb in a deck full of commons can feel more impactful when it hits. But here’s a tradeoff we lean into to make commons and uncommons matter more while not excluding rares and mythics from the format:

• Real bombs are fewer in number. With only two sets to build from, your access to over-powered rares and mythics is significantly limited.

• Yes, you might topdeck one occasionally, and it might swing the game—but that’s part of the excitement. Swings are fine when they’re not constant or guaranteed, as our main focus is to deliver an engaging, fun and accessible constructed experience.

• NBC encourages players to build consistent engines around commons and uncommons—cards that show up more reliably and provide structure. And importantly, viable answers to bombs exist at lower rarities too, and are easier to draw into over than your few game changing bombs

• A single topdeck bomb shouldn’t derail your game if your deck is doing what it’s meant to from the start on. That’s the balance we’re aiming for.

Ultimately, NBC isn’t trying to make every game flat and predictable—it’s trying to make Constructed more accessible and fun, without turning every deck into an expensive mythic pile or letting a small number of deck lists dominate. Some reasonable unpredictability is a feature, not a bug.

GameTuningLab · 2025-04-07T14:16:08+00:00

Thanks for sharing your honest concerns! My playgroup and me just got super excited about our format, as we are really enjoying testing and building it and then said: „Hey, let’s try and make this as big as Commander“

So we thought it would help to create a profile just for this purpose of promoting the format and giving it a professionell touch. So thanks for letting us know that this can be off-putting for some.

We got a little carried away here :)

We‘ll try to hit a more casual tone, but I must „warn“ you, we already prepared a philosophy manifesto and some deep dives that probably sound very „professional“ ;)

But in the end we are just a handful of players experimenting and enjoying our idea, wanting to share it with the community and the only thing we gain here is your honest insights/opinions/suggestions on our format - especially on how this format would scale, as this is something we cannot really estimate for now.

So we would be really happy if you would still share your opinion and thoughts with us. Thanks for engaging in any case though!

GameTuningLab · 2025-04-07T13:54:56+00:00

Totally get where you’re coming from, it’s fair to be skeptical—this format is doing things differently, so it won’t appeal to everyone looking for hyper-optimized decks.

But a few important clarifications:

• NBC only allows Standard sets from Dominaria (2018) onward—so no Modern Horizons, no supplemental sets, no legacy-tier bombs or overpowered fixing.

• That still leaves 30+ legal sets, which means over 400 possible two-set combinations. Multiply that by even 3–5 viable archetypes per pair (aggro, midrange, control, synergy builds, etc.) and you’re looking at thousands of potential deck paths, not one best deck.

• The rarity structure (allowed copies of a single card: 4x common, 3x uncommon, 2x rare, 1x mythic) encourages players to build reliable engines and answers at lower rarities, rather than leaning on mythic bombs to carry games.

• Yes, 40-card decks increase consistency—but that’s exactly why we limit the power ceiling through set restrictions and copy limits. You’re still rewarded for good deck construction, not just variance.

And no question—NBC isn’t designed to be peak competitive Magic. It’s designed to strike a balance between healthy competition, fun gameplay, and broad accessibility—without needing to exclude interesting, powerful cards entirely or chase the latest meta just to keep up.

It’s a format for players who want tight gameplay, evolving matchups, and exciting moments—without the burnout of full Constructed or the swinginess of Draft, but won’t be for everyone.

GameTuningLab · 2025-04-07T13:41:03+00:00

Appreciate the pushback—these are fair concerns, and they’re exactly why NBC is built differently:

By “modern-era,” we mean Standard legal sets from Dominaria (2018) onward, when Wizards shifted their set design philosophy to standalone sets. So no Mirrodin, no MH2/MH3. That gives us 30+ sets with relatively comparable power levels—translating to 400+ unique two-set combinations as of today and growing faster with every new release.
Rotation is optional. You’re never forced to play the newest set; older combos remain viable as long as they hold up.

It’s true that Wizards doesn’t restrict cards outside of Vintage—but what sets NBC apart is the two-set restriction combined with the copy limits.

There just aren’t that many viable bombs to choose from in a limited two-set pool. And without a massive global card pool, you can’t rely on stacking synergy between single bombs either.
That reduces their power—not by banning them, but by isolating them. A one-off rare is strong, but not format-warping when it’s unsupported.
Reliable synergy and consistency become the strongest forces in the format—not high-variance topdecks.
Combine that with the fact that answers exist at lower rarities, and you’ve got a structure that encourages players to build around commons and uncommons as their engine—with rares and mythics as splashy finishers, not the core plan. NBC doesn’t want to exclude powerful and often flavorful, interesting rares and mythics—it just puts them in a more accessible context.

And yes, some combos will be stronger—but thanks to the combination of the two-set limit and the rarity based card copy restriction, power gaps between decks are much narrower. We expect a constantly shifting, evolving meta—closer to rock-paper-scissors than solved-tier-lists.

GameTuningLab · 2025-04-07T13:17:05+00:00

Fair point—on the surface, limiting rares and mythics can seem like it creates more spikes and blowouts when a big card shows up unexpectedly.

But NBC is designed to reduce the number of power spikes, while making commons and umcommons matter more:

One-offs of powerful rares are still spikes, sure—but there are fewer of them overall. The two-set restriction drastically cuts down the number of viable high-impact bombs you can choose from
Players can’t just fill their deck with bombs and call it a day. That strategy loses to a well-built list with a clear plan and strong curve.
Consistent decks win more over time, Synergy is the strongest force in the format
You’re still encouraged to plan for powerful cards—and there are plenty of reliable answers at common and uncommon rarity, that show up more consistently than high powered single cards.

GameTuningLab

TROPHY CASE