Deck Construction Rules and Banned/Restricted Lists

Standard Formats Eternal Formats Other
Standard Legacy Modern
Standard Singleton Classic Block
Pauper Core Set Constructed
100 Card Singleton Kaleidoscope
Commander Momir Basic
Prismatic Freeform
Tribal Wars Extended

Standard Format Deck Construction

Updated June 20, 2012

Constructed decks must contain a minimum of sixty cards. There is no maximum deck size; however, you must be able to shuffle your deck with no assistance. If a player wishes to use a sideboard, it must contain exactly fifteen cards.

With the exception of basic land cards, a player’s combined deck and sideboard may not contain more than four of any individual card, counted by its English card title equivalent. All cards named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest are basic.

The following card sets are permitted in Standard tournaments:

  • Magic 2013
  • Return to Ravnica
  • Gatecrash (as of Feb. 6, 2013)
  • Innistrad
  • Dark Ascension
  • Avacyn Restored

The following cards are banned in Standard:

There are currently no banned cards in Standard

Official information about Constructed formats and the Standard format can be found in the Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules.

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Block Format Deck Construction

Updated June 20, 2012

Constructed decks must contain a minimum of sixty cards. There is no maximum deck size; however, you must be able to shuffle your deck with no assistance. If a player wishes to use a sideboard, it must contain exactly fifteen cards.

With the exception of basic land cards, a player’s combined deck and sideboard may not contain more than four of any individual card, counted by its English card title equivalent. All cards named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest are basic. (The five Ice Age snow-covered lands — Snow-Covered Plains, Snow-Covered Island, Snow-Covered Swamp, Snow-Covered Mountain, and Snow-Covered Forest — are also basic lands. Note that snow-covered lands are permitted only in formats that allow the Ice Age set to be used.)

The DCI sanctions the following Block Constructed formats:

  • Return to Ravnica Block (Return to Ravnica, Gatecrash upon release, Dragon’s Maze upon release)
  • Innistrad Block (Innistrad, Dark Ascension, Avacyn Restored)
  • Scars of Mirrodin Block (Scars of Mirrodin, Mirrodin Besieged, New Phyrexia)
  • Zendikar-Rise of the Eldrazi Block (Zendikar, Worldwake, Rise of the Eldrazi)
  • Shards of Alara Block (Shards of Alara, Conflux, Alara Reborn)
  • Lorwyn-Shadowmoor Block (Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor, Eventide)
  • Time Spiral Block (Time Spiral, Planar Chaos, Future Sight)
  • Ravnica Block (Ravnica: City of Guilds, Guildpact, Dissension)
  • Kamigawa Block (Champions of Kamigawa, Betrayers of Kamigawa, Saviors of Kamigawa)
  • Mirrodin Block (Mirrodin, Darksteel, Fifth Dawn)
  • Onslaught Block (Onslaught, Legions, Scourge)
  • Odyssey Block (Odyssey, Torment, Judgment)
  • Invasion Block (Invasion, Planeshift, Apocalypse)
  • Masques Block (Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, Prophecy)
  • Urza Block (Urza’s Saga, Urza’s Legacy, Urza’s Destiny)
  • Tempest Block (Tempest, Stronghold, Exodus)
  • Mirage Block (Mirage, Visions, Weatherlight)
  • Ice Age Block (Ice Age, Alliances, Coldsnap)

The following cards are banned in Block Constructed Tournaments:gorilla-tactics

Official information about Constructed formats and the Block Constructed format can be found in the Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules.

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Extended Deck Construction

Updated June 20, 2012

Constructed decks must contain a minimum of sixty cards. There is no maximum deck size; however, you must be able to shuffle your deck with no assistance. If a player wishes to use a sideboard, it must contain exactly fifteen cards.

With the exception of basic land cards, a player’s combined deck and sideboard may not contain more than four of any individual card, counted by its English card title equivalent. All cards named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest are basic.

The following card sets are permitted in Extended tournaments:

  • Magic 2011
  • Magic 2012
  • Magic 2013
  • Zendikar
  • Worldwake
  • Rise of the Eldrazi
  • Scars of Mirrodin
  • Mirrodin Besieged
  • New Phyrexia
  • Innistrad
  • Dark Ascension
  • Avacyn Restored
  • Return to Ravnica
  • Gatecrash as of Feb. 1 (6 online), 2013

Official information about Constructed formats and the Extended format can be found in the Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules.

There following cards are banned in Extended:

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Classic

Classic is a Magic Online format that allows all sets and promotional cards. Normal deckbuilding rules do apply: decks must be a minimum of 60 cards and contain no more than 4 copies of any card, excluding basic land.

The following cards are restricted in Classic (meaning you can play no more than one copy each of these cards):

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Legacy

Updated June 20, 2012

Legacy is a Magic: the Gathering Eternal format that bans most of the restricted cards from Vintage but allows all sets and promotional cards. Normal deckbuilding rules do apply: decks must be a minimum of 60 cards and contain no more than 4 copies of any card, excluding basic land.

The following cards are banned in Legacy:

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Pauper Deck Construction

Pauper is a Magic Online format in which all cards used must have been printed at the common rarity in a Magic Online set or product. Other than that, the usual rules for Constructed decks apply (a minimum deck size of 60 cards in the main deck, an optional 15-card sideboard, and so on). If a common version of a particular card was ever released on Magic Online, any versions of that card printed at other rarities are also legal in this format.

Example: Counterspell was a common card in the Seventh Edition Core Set, which was released on Magic Online. Counterspell was reprinted in Masters Edition II with an uncommon expansion symbol. Both versions of the card can be used in the Pauper format.

Example: Hymn to Tourach, another uncommon from Masters Edition II, is not legal for use in the Magic Online Pauper format. Even though Hymn to Tourach was printed as a common in the Fallen Empires set, that set was never released on Magic Online.

The following cards are banned in Pauper:

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100 Card Singleton

100 Card Singleton is a specialty Magic Online format in which every card is effectively restricted; with the exception of basic land cards, a player’s deck may not contain more than one of any individual card.

Players’ decks must contain exactly 100 cards in the main deck, and an optional sideboard must contain exactly 15 cards if used.

100 Card Singleton is based on the Classic format. All sets and promotional cards are allowed

The following cards are banned in 100 Card Singleton:

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Standard Singleton

Standard Singleton is a specialty Magic Online format based on the Standard core format, except every card is effectively restricted; with the exception of basic land cards, a player’s deck may not contain more than one of any individual card.

Players’ decks must contain exactly 60 cards in the main deck, and and an optional sideboard must contain exactly 15 cards if used.

The following cards are banned in Standard:

There are no banned cards in Standard Singleton

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Core Set Constructed

Core Set Constructed is a specialty Magic Online format, which allows cards from every Core Set on Magic Online. Currently, this is:

  • Seventh Edition
  • Eighth Edition
  • Ninth Edition
  • Tenth Edition
  • Magic 2010
  • Magic 2011
  • Magic 2012
  • Magic 2013

As in most Constructed formats, a player’s deck may not contain more than four copies of any individual card. Players’ decks must contain a minimum of 60 cards in the main deck, and and an optional sideboard must contain exactly 15 cards if used.

There are no cards banned in Core Set Constructed.

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Prismatic

 

Prismatic is a casual Magic Online format for fans of big, fun, five-color decks.

Prismatic requires that your deck must be at least 250 cards, with at least 20 cards of each color. (Multicolor and split cards count as one of their colors.)

Prismatic is based on the Classic format. All sets and Promotional cards are allowed.

The following cards are banned in Prismatic:

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Tribal Wars Deck Construction

Tribal Wars is a casual Magic Online format that emphasizes creature combat: one-third of every deck must be of a single creature type.

Constructed decks must contain a minimum of sixty cards. All cards named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest are basic.

Classic Tribal Wars was renamed Legacy Tribal Wars, which will allow all cards in Legacy, except for those cards on the Legacy banned list. Standard Tribal Wars was also created and follows the

The following cards are banned in Legacy Tribal Wars games:

There are no cards banned in Standard Tribal Wars:

For more information and discussions about the Magic Online Tribal Wars format, please visit the Magic Online Tribal Wars discussion forum.

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Kaleidoscope Deck Construction

Kaleidoscope is a casual Magic Online format for fans of multi-color decks: every non-land in your deck must be a multicolor card. This includes split and hybrid cards that are more than one color. Constructed decks must contain a minimum of sixty cards, with an optional 15 card sideboard.

Kaleidoscope is based on the Legacy format. All sets and Promotional cards are allowed.

The following cards are banned in Kaleidoscope games:

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Momir Basic Deck Construction

Momir BASIC is a casual Magic Online format that is based on the ‘Momir Vig’ Vanguard avatar.

Momir Basic decks consist of the following:

  • exactly 60 Basic Lands (Swamp, Island, Forest, Mountain, Plains; these lands cannot be Snow-Covered).
  • exactly 1 ‘Momir Vig’ Vanguard card.

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Freeform

Freeform is a casual Magic Online format that allows all sets and cards. Regular deckbuilding rules are relaxed; decks can contain any number of copies of a card; multiple Vanguard cards may be included. The only restriction is a 40-card minimum deck.

There are no cards banned in Freeform. You can even play the promotional Gleemox card (despite it saying that it’s banned)!

Note: This is the format that you should select if you want to test Sealed Deck or Draft decks (as they are below the 60 cards).

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Commander

Commander FFA is a rule set for Magic Online players, much like Two-Headed Giant or Emperor. It is based on the offline Elder Dragon Highlander rule set. Commander FFA is a variant of multiplayer free-for-all.

In Commander rules, each player has a starting life total of 40 rather than the usual 20. A player chooses a legendary creature, called a commander, and builds a deck including his or her commander. Only colorless cards and cards of the commander’s color(s) identity may be included in the deck. Note that split cards and hybrid cards count as all of their colors. Commander decks consist of 99 cards and one commander placed in the sideboard. Aside from these deckbuilding restrictions, your commander works differently from other cards in-game as identified below.

Before the game begins, each player removes his or her commander from the game. If a player’s commander would go to the graveyard from anywhere, he or she may choose to remove it from the game instead. A player may play his or her commander from the removed from the game zone for its normal costs plus an additional 2 mana for each previous time it has been played this way. If a player would add mana to his or her mana pool that’s a color his or her commander is not, colorless mana is added instead. In addition to the normal Magic loss conditions, if a player is dealt 21 or more points of combat damage from a single commander over the course of the game, that player loses the game. (The commander is tracked across zone-changes for the purpose of this rule.)

The current banned list for Commander is as follows:

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Modern

Updated April 22, 2013

Constructed decks must contain a minimum of sixty cards. There is no maximum deck size; however, you must be able to shuffle your deck with no assistance. If a player wishes to use a sideboard, it must contain exactly fifteen cards.

With the exception of basic land cards, a player’s combined deck and sideboard may not contain more than four of any individual card, counted by its English card title equivalent. All cards named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest are basic. (The five Ice Age Block snow-covered lands — Snow-Covered Plains, Snow-Covered Island, Snow-Covered Swamp, Snow-Covered Mountain, and Snow-Covered Forest — are also basic lands. Note that snow-covered lands are permitted only in formats that allow expansions from the Ice Age Block to be used.)

The following card sets are permitted in Modern tournaments:

  • Eighth Edition
  • Mirrodin
  • Darksteel
  • Fifth Dawn
  • Champions of Kamigawa
  • Betrayers of Kamigawa
  • Saviors of Kamigawa
  • Ninth Edition
  • Ravnica: City of Guilds
  • Guildpact
  • Dissension
  • Coldsnap
  • Time Spiral
  • Planar Chaos
  • Future Sight
  • Tenth Edition
  • Lorwyn
  • Morningtide
  • Shadowmoor
  • Eventide
  • Shards of Alara
  • Conflux
  • Alara Reborn
  • Magic 2010
  • Zendikar
  • Worldwake
  • Rise of the Eldrazi
  • Magic 2011
  • Scars of Mirrodin
  • Mirrodin Besieged
  • New Phyrexia
  • Magic 2012
  • Innistrad
  • Dark Ascension
  • Avacyn Restored
  • Magic 2013
  • Return to Ravnica
  • Gatecrash as of Feb. 1st (or 6th online), 2013

The current banned list for Modern is as follows:

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*All card images are are taken from http://www.yawgatog.com/cards/

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