Magic The Gathering has had a long history of format inception and death, and today has the largest roster of formats to play since its inception. From competitive formats to casual, playing in a large group, or even from the comfort of your own home, Magic has some playstyle to offer to everyone. Rules and Legality often get muddied in the sheer number of ways to play, as such, this guide serves to inform players experienced and new of the many ways to play the game, and the basic rules of each.
Formats and B&R
In magic, there are a few different format descriptors that help notate the behavior or rulesets of formats. Rotating formats are those that have sets coming in and out of the format on a semi-regular basis; sets rotate in and then back out after a set period. Non-rotating formats, therefore, are those that do not have any sets rotating out, though new sets still join the format as they are made. Singleton formats are those whose decks can only run one of any given cards other than basic lands. Constructed refers to any format where you show up with a predetermined decklist before sitting down to play. Limited, therefore is the opposite of constructed, you make the deck you play at the event with the randomly obtained cards during the event. Before building any constructed deck, be sure to check the Banned and Restricted list of any format. For all formats, any cards removed from the game due to racist depictions, cards with the conspiracy card type, silver-bordered cards, cards with the acorn holofoil, cards featuring ante mechanics, cards featuring sticker mechanics, cards with physical skill requirement, and Shahrazad are banned.
Constructed:
Standard
Standard is Magic’s sole rotating constructed format where recent standard releases are legal. Standard releases from the past 3 years of magic make up the large majority of the card pool. In addition, Foundations sets, a newer version of the older core sets, are legal for 5 years in standard. Standard decks are 60 or more cards with a 15-card sideboard; up to 4 total copies of a card, excluding basic lands, can be played in a given deck and/or sideboard. Standard is usually played one vs. one and starts at 20 life.
Pioneer
Pioneer is a non-rotating constructed format where standard releases from the set Return to Ravnica onwards are legal. Notably, while including the Khans of Tarkir block, the Fetch Lands have been banned in Pioneer since its inception, differentiating its play patterns and deck building from Modern. Pioneer decks are 60 or more cards with a 15-card sideboard; up to 4 total copies of a card, excluding basic lands, can be played in a given deck and/or sideboard. Pioneer is usually played 1 vs. 1 and starts at 20 life.
Modern
Fetch Lands, such as Flooded Strand, are one of the most defining features of the Modern format.
Modern is a non-rotating constructed format where standard releases and some select sets, from Mirrodin onwards, are Legal. The Modern Horizons series, Lord of the Rings, and Assassin’s Creed, while not being standard releases, are Modern legal. Modern decks are 60 or more cards with a 15-card sideboard; up to 4 total copies of a card, excluding basic lands, can be played in a given deck and/or sideboard. Modern is usually played 1 vs. 1 and starts at 20 life.
Legacy
Legacy is a non-rotating constructed format where all releases in Magic’s history, save a powerful few cards, are Legal. Legacy separates itself from Vintage by banning Magic’s most powerful cards, making the game slightly less powerful. Legacy decks are 60 or more cards with a 15-card sideboard; up to 4 total copies of a card, excluding basic lands, can be played in a given deck and/or sideboard. Legacy is usually played 1 vs. 1 and starts at 20 life.
Vintage
Vintage is a non-rotating constructed format where all releases in Magic’s history are legal. Vintage restricts its most powerful cards to 1 copy per deck rather than banning them, making it the most powerful and expensive format. Vintage decks are 60 or more cards with a 15-card sideboard; up to 4 total copies of a card, excluding basic lands, can be played in a given deck and/or sideboard. Vintage is usually played 1 vs. 1 and starts at 20 life.
Pauper
Pauper is a non-rotating constructed format where all cards printed at common rarity in any set are legal. Pauper is defined by its low price barrier to entry, as well as its powerful but extremely restricted card pool. Pauper decks are 60 or more cards with a 15-card sideboard; up to 4 total copies of a card, excluding basic lands, can be played in a given deck and/or sideboard. Pauper is usually played 1 vs. 1 and starts at 20 life.
Commander
Commander is a Singleton, non-rotating constructed format, where all Magic releases are legal. When deckbuilding for commander, a player chooses a legendary creature or any card that says “can be played as your commander”, as their commander. Cards in commander decks must match the color identity of the chosen commander and can only include one copy of any given card. Commander decks include the commander, 99 cards, with an optional 1 card, companion only, and sideboard. If a companion is chosen, the deck must meet the companion’s stated restriction, and the companion must be within the commander’s color identity. Players start at 40 life; when commander creatures deal combat damage, that damage is tracked. Once a player reaches 21 damage from any single commander, they lose the game. Commander is played with 2-4 players, requiring a different playstyle to any other format since players have more foes.
Oathbreaker
Oathbreaker is another Singleton, non-rotating constructed format that finds its roots in Commander (and was created by players much like Commander was). In Oathbreaker, you build your deck around two featured cards: a Planeswalker and a "Signature Spell." The Oathbreaker will always be a Planeswalker, and the deck has to be built around that Oathbreaker's color identity. The Signature Spell operates the same way a Commander/Oathbreaker does in that it lives in the Command Zone and can be cast anytime you're legally able to cast that spell. However, there is still a tax on each successive cast, to the tune of [2] mana added each time, and the Signature Spell can only be cast when you control your Oathbreaker, meaning players can't simply fire, say, a Counterspell on a whim at any time if that is their Signature. Unlike Commander, Oathbreaker decks are only 60 cards (58 when you take out the Oathbreaker and Signature Spell), and players start with 20 life instead of 40.
Limited
Draft
The draft is a limited event format where players, ideally eight or more, each select three booster packs, usually from one assigned set, and pass them between each other, round-robin style, to build decks. When sitting in a draft pod, players open their packs one at a time, choose a card, and then pass the pack to the player next to them. After all players have chosen all available cards from the first pack, the next pack is opened, and the process is repeated. When players are finished drafting, they take an hour to construct a 40-card deck from the cards chosen separately and any amount of basic lands. Players play a best-of-three event with their decks, with any extra cards used as a sideboard. Using the obtained card pool, deck edits can be made between games. The draft introduces a random element to constructing a deck, as well as requires quick thinking and fast deck-building skills. Draft events are commonly held at local game stores as well as on Magic’s online mediums.
Sealed
Sealed is a limited event format where players are given six preselected booster packs. The players open those packs and, from the given cards and any amount of basic lands, construct a 40-card deck. Players play a best-of-three event with their decks, with any extra cards used as a sideboard. Deck edits, using the obtained card pool, can be made in between games. Like Draft, sealed is more random than constructed and requires quick deckbuilding to play well.
Magic the Gathering: Arena
Arena includes formats like Standard, Draft, and Sealed, but also includes Arena-exclusive formats such as Explorer, Historic, and Brawl.
Explorer
Explorer is the Arena equivalent of Pioneer. Players can play with a large portion of the Pioneer card pool. Arena is missing many of the cards from Pioneer however, since many of the sets legal in pioneer are not present on Arena. Wizards of the Coast has been adding cards to Arena and making the Pioneer legal cards Explorer legal as to eventually make it a literal equivalent to Pioneer on Arena. Explorer decks are 60 or more cards with a 15 card sideboard; up to 4 total copies of a card, excluding basic lands, can be played in a given deck and/or sideboard. Explorer is usually played 1 vs. 1 and starts at 20 life.
Historic
Historic is an Arena equivalent to Modern or Legacy. All cards added to Arena, barring a select few cards deemed too powerful, are legal in Historic. Like Explorer, Historic gets anthology sets on Arena that add to the card pool every few months. Unlike Explorer, Historic has no true paper equivalent, since wizards have not expressed the desire to add cards/ban cards specifically to turn Historic into a paper equivalent. Explorer decks are 60 or more cards with a 15 card sideboard; up to 4 total copies of a card, excluding basic lands, can be played in a given deck and/or sideboard. Explorer is usually played 1 vs. 1 and starts at 20 life.
Brawl
Brawl is the Arena equivalent to commander, with a couple changes: commanders can be a legendary creature or planeswalker, there is no commander damage, the starting life total is 25 instead of 40, and Brawl is 2-players only. Like commander, a brawl deck is 100 cards, including the commander, the deck is singleton, and must match the commander’s color identity. Brawl is separated into two categories: Standard Brawl, where only cards legal in standard can be played, and Historic Brawl, where only cards legal in Historic can be played.
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