Magic: The Gathering is a game of wits where we battle strategy and tactics. A game where, in theory, each player has equal access to all the cards and construct the most efficient group of spells to out-duel other Planeswalkers. Through the years, we players have come to learn and collect all manner of spells that suits our style of play, but the available formats these days prevent us from actually using our favorite cards in a competitive manner. Most of our favorites, like Stone Forge Mystic, Arcanis the Omnipotent, Mad Auntie, Siege Rhino and Birthing Pod, and flavorful cards like Kamahl, Pit Fighter and Mayor of Avabruck to name a few will never see a competitive, constructed play. Standard is ever-changing and Legacy-Modern is composed of nothing but the best. Commander is fine and flavorful, but more than a dozen in that deck should be the premier cards like Sol Ring, Tutors, Fetch Lands, Dual Lands, and the likes. Maybe it's time to have a format that is both flavorful and competitive, where new players can have equal footing with veterans, and can be versatile and of course, affordable.
PLANAR FORMAT
A format designed to put a balance on Magic formats, span the different generations of sets, and where old and new players, and experienced ones, can have a fun and competitive game. Planar Magic can expose new players to the different sets, and veterans can have the advantage of making well-crafted decks without the high price tags. A format that emphasizes on balance, creativity and collectibility!
Planar Format is a Block Format with a Commander style build around but with several twists. It is you, as a Planewalker, starting out in your home Plane. Where you travel to different Planes and in the process, dueling with different Mages when you travel to their worlds. To keep the flavor and the design that the developers of Magic intended, all of your cards must be from the same Expansion sets. All spells and lands must be limited to the Expansion of your choice. As you battle with other Planar Decks, you will see how the developers of those sets worked very hard to capture the look and feel of the Plane that they created. It will be a battle of Game Mechanics! Will Cascade triumph over Affinity? Will Zendikar's Eldrazi and Landfall defeat Theros' Gods and Enchantments? Or will Alpha prevail above all?
Planar Magic is a 41 card deck made up entirely from a single Expansion set, a Core set or a Duel Deck. All cards must have the same symbol, or symbols belonging to that Expansion Set. For example you are playing Scars of Mirrodin Block, you can also use Mirrodin Besieged and New Phyrexia. You can not use Mirrodin, Darksteel and Fifth Dawn cards. Let's say you are using Disperse in your build, you must use the Disperse card from Scars of Mirrodin, not the Morningtide version or any other. The only exception from this is if there are DCI and Masters version available. Even basic lands should be from the same set. This is to keep the flavor of the artworks from your Plane intact. (e.g. Zendikar, Worldwake, and Rise of the Eldrazi cards only, or Ravnica, Guildpact, and Dissension only, or Return to Ravnica, Gatecrash, and Dragon's Maze only)
If you want a more diverse spells that span multiple Planes but want more than a Core set can give, try the Commander Decks and Duel Decks! As long as the Duel Deck has the same symbol, you can use it! Let's say you merge the Jace vs. Vraska decks, you can play a Sultai Deck with Remands and Nekrataals!
Rarity Count:
All experienced Magic Players can attest that the more Rares, the more powerful the deck. Which also limits what you can build. Sooner or later you'll be stuffing it with Rare Bombs and that's that. So to have a more creative aspect to the deck building, Planar Magic will have a Rarity Count. Only 4 Rares are allowed in the Deck at a time and only 6 Uncommon cards, which leaves 30 Common cards for the rest. This is where experience will play along as every card you put in must have a synergy with the entire Deck. So no more 8 Fetch Lands in a Deck!
Pairs as Playset:
Now to add more twist to the Format, we won't be using 4 cards of the same name or just 1 like in Commander. Being able to use 4 cards of the same thing is already 10% of the deck, and just the 1 in Commander means card like Squadron Hawk are rendered useless. In this Format, a Pair of cards of the same name is balanced. Other than basic lands, cards can have 2 copies in the deck. 2 Black Lotus? Sure!
The Mythic Rule:
Like Commander, its fun to have a card where your strategy is based upon. In Planar Magic, we'll be using Mythic cards! You can only have 1 Mythic card in your entire build.
All Mythic cards are automatically in the Command Zone in the start of the game. You may cast your Mythic card as if it were in your hand. All Mythic cards can only be in the Mythic Zone, Stack, or in the Battlefield. Whenever it leaves the Battlefield or when the Sorcery or Instant leaves the Stack, it goes back to the Command Zone. Whenever you recast your Mythic, its Mana cost gets +2 generic mana for each time you recast it.
You can use Planeswalker or a Creature for your Mythic, and also you can use any other Mythic cards like Lands, Artifacts, Enchantments, Instants or Sorceries! Try a Sphinx's Revelation deck or a Rakdos' Return Deck!
Older Sets don't have Mythic Rarity, they can use any Planeswalker from any expansion with 6 or more casting cost for their Mythic.
Some Mythic cards have certain effects when in Exile. For example, Misthollow Griffin from Avacyn Restored says "You may cast Misthollow Griffin from exile", this can override the Mythic Rule because you can just keep on casting it for its original cost over and over. Another example is Obzedat, Ghost Council from Gatecrash which says "At the beginning of your end step, you may exile Obzedat. If you do, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of your next upkeep", Obzedat goes back into the battlefield as normal since it has a statement that makes it able to go back into play. Other cards that exiles like Oblivion Ring will remove your Mythic from the battlefield as normal, you can have your Mythic go back by recasting it or by destroying the Oblivion Ring, since the O-Ring has "When Oblivion Ring leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to to the battlefield under its owner's control".
Sideboard Cards:
Up to 9 cards can be used for the sideboards. You can put any Rarity in your sideboard other than a Mythic card, making sure that you board out the appropriate Rarity of the Sideboards you will be putting in. For example, If you would put in Naturalize, you must board out a common card in its stead. Same with Rares and Uncommon, if you would board in a Rare card like Abrupt Decay or Wrath of God, you must remove a Rare card from your Mainboard.
Banned Cards:
Banning cards is a weakness of any format so the only thing banned are Ante related cards to simplify the game.
*** A Masters set is not allowed. You can use Masters cards to substitute where the cards originally came from, but you cannot use any Masters as your Set. Their Original Rarity applies, not the Masters Rarity. You can also use Masterpieces, Promo Cards, DCI cards, etc. as substitute for normal cards.
*** CONSIDERATION: Lots of people have been asking to put Black Lotus as a Mythic. You can always do so. I myself have not played with them so I can only imagine the power level it creates. As much as I'd like to see 2 Lotus in a deck, cards like those are under heavy scrutiny so a Mythic List for old cards are in consideration. Thanks for all the feedback!
All your cards are from a single expansion, and your opponent can play a different expansion.
* Only 2 cards of the same name can be used, other than basic lands.
** Mythic cards are in the Command Zone.
*** Unlike Commander, your deck can have multiple colors and your Mythic is another color.
PLANAR FORMAT
A format designed to put a balance on Magic formats, span the different generations of sets, and where old and new players, and experienced ones, can have a fun and competitive game. Planar Magic can expose new players to the different sets, and veterans can have the advantage of making well-crafted decks without the high price tags. A format that emphasizes on balance, creativity and collectibility!
Planar Format is a Block Format with a Commander style build around but with several twists. It is you, as a Planewalker, starting out in your home Plane. Where you travel to different Planes and in the process, dueling with different Mages when you travel to their worlds. To keep the flavor and the design that the developers of Magic intended, all of your cards must be from the same Expansion sets. All spells and lands must be limited to the Expansion of your choice. As you battle with other Planar Decks, you will see how the developers of those sets worked very hard to capture the look and feel of the Plane that they created. It will be a battle of Game Mechanics! Will Cascade triumph over Affinity? Will Zendikar's Eldrazi and Landfall defeat Theros' Gods and Enchantments? Or will Alpha prevail above all?
Planar Magic is a 41 card deck made up entirely from a single Expansion set, a Core set or a Duel Deck. All cards must have the same symbol, or symbols belonging to that Expansion Set. For example you are playing Scars of Mirrodin Block, you can also use Mirrodin Besieged and New Phyrexia. You can not use Mirrodin, Darksteel and Fifth Dawn cards. Let's say you are using Disperse in your build, you must use the Disperse card from Scars of Mirrodin, not the Morningtide version or any other. The only exception from this is if there are DCI and Masters version available. Even basic lands should be from the same set. This is to keep the flavor of the artworks from your Plane intact. (e.g. Zendikar, Worldwake, and Rise of the Eldrazi cards only, or Ravnica, Guildpact, and Dissension only, or Return to Ravnica, Gatecrash, and Dragon's Maze only)
If you want a more diverse spells that span multiple Planes but want more than a Core set can give, try the Commander Decks and Duel Decks! As long as the Duel Deck has the same symbol, you can use it! Let's say you merge the Jace vs. Vraska decks, you can play a Sultai Deck with Remands and Nekrataals!
Rarity Count:
All experienced Magic Players can attest that the more Rares, the more powerful the deck. Which also limits what you can build. Sooner or later you'll be stuffing it with Rare Bombs and that's that. So to have a more creative aspect to the deck building, Planar Magic will have a Rarity Count. Only 4 Rares are allowed in the Deck at a time and only 6 Uncommon cards, which leaves 30 Common cards for the rest. This is where experience will play along as every card you put in must have a synergy with the entire Deck. So no more 8 Fetch Lands in a Deck!
Pairs as Playset:
Now to add more twist to the Format, we won't be using 4 cards of the same name or just 1 like in Commander. Being able to use 4 cards of the same thing is already 10% of the deck, and just the 1 in Commander means card like Squadron Hawk are rendered useless. In this Format, a Pair of cards of the same name is balanced. Other than basic lands, cards can have 2 copies in the deck. 2 Black Lotus? Sure!
The Mythic Rule:
Like Commander, its fun to have a card where your strategy is based upon. In Planar Magic, we'll be using Mythic cards! You can only have 1 Mythic card in your entire build.
All Mythic cards are automatically in the Command Zone in the start of the game. You may cast your Mythic card as if it were in your hand. All Mythic cards can only be in the Mythic Zone, Stack, or in the Battlefield. Whenever it leaves the Battlefield or when the Sorcery or Instant leaves the Stack, it goes back to the Command Zone. Whenever you recast your Mythic, its Mana cost gets +2 generic mana for each time you recast it.
You can use Planeswalker or a Creature for your Mythic, and also you can use any other Mythic cards like Lands, Artifacts, Enchantments, Instants or Sorceries! Try a Sphinx's Revelation deck or a Rakdos' Return Deck!
Older Sets don't have Mythic Rarity, they can use any Planeswalker from any expansion with 6 or more casting cost for their Mythic.
Some Mythic cards have certain effects when in Exile. For example, Misthollow Griffin from Avacyn Restored says "You may cast Misthollow Griffin from exile", this can override the Mythic Rule because you can just keep on casting it for its original cost over and over. Another example is Obzedat, Ghost Council from Gatecrash which says "At the beginning of your end step, you may exile Obzedat. If you do, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of your next upkeep", Obzedat goes back into the battlefield as normal since it has a statement that makes it able to go back into play. Other cards that exiles like Oblivion Ring will remove your Mythic from the battlefield as normal, you can have your Mythic go back by recasting it or by destroying the Oblivion Ring, since the O-Ring has "When Oblivion Ring leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to to the battlefield under its owner's control".
Sideboard Cards:
Up to 9 cards can be used for the sideboards. You can put any Rarity in your sideboard other than a Mythic card, making sure that you board out the appropriate Rarity of the Sideboards you will be putting in. For example, If you would put in Naturalize, you must board out a common card in its stead. Same with Rares and Uncommon, if you would board in a Rare card like Abrupt Decay or Wrath of God, you must remove a Rare card from your Mainboard.
Banned Cards:
Banning cards is a weakness of any format so the only thing banned are Ante related cards to simplify the game.
*** A Masters set is not allowed. You can use Masters cards to substitute where the cards originally came from, but you cannot use any Masters as your Set. Their Original Rarity applies, not the Masters Rarity. You can also use Masterpieces, Promo Cards, DCI cards, etc. as substitute for normal cards.
Planar Format:
- 1 Mythic
- 4 Rare
- 6 Uncommons
- 30 Commons
* 9 Sideboards
*** CONSIDERATION: Lots of people have been asking to put Black Lotus as a Mythic. You can always do so. I myself have not played with them so I can only imagine the power level it creates. As much as I'd like to see 2 Lotus in a deck, cards like those are under heavy scrutiny so a Mythic List for old cards are in consideration. Thanks for all the feedback!
Planar Format - Inter-Block Constructed Format
Played like Regular Magic, 1v1 in most cases, except it has a Commander Style System and Build limitations.
- 1 Mythic (Your Commander)
- 4 Rare
- 6 Uncommons
- 30 Commons
All your cards are from a single expansion, and your opponent can play a different expansion.
* Only 2 cards of the same name can be used, other than basic lands.
** Mythic cards are in the Command Zone.
*** Unlike Commander, your deck can have multiple colors and your Mythic is another color.