MTG Formats
Two-Headed Giant Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Two-Headed Giant (2HG) is a multiplayer variant where you team up with one other player. Each team acts as a single entity with a shared life total. In most cases, teams start at 30 life in constructed formats or 25 life in limited events. You take your turns together, drawing and attacking at the same...
Cube Draft Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Cube Draft isn’t a constructed format. Instead, it’s a type of Limited play where you build a custom set of cards, called a “Cube.” You curate this collection based on themes, power level, or personal favorites. Then, you gather friends and draft from the Cube. It’s like opening booster packs, except you know exactly which...
Canadian Highlander Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Canadian Highlander is a singleton format that uses a points list instead of a typical ban list. Each deck has 100 cards, and you can only include one copy of each card (besides basic lands). There’s no commander like in EDH. Instead, you just shuffle up and play with your entire deck. The twist is...
Alchemy Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Alchemy is another digital-only format on MTG Arena. It builds on Standard’s foundation but features rebalanced cards and exclusive digital cards that don’t appear in paper Magic. This approach lets Wizards of the Coast make quick changes. If a card is too strong, they can adjust its stats or abilities. Alchemy also introduces new mechanics...
Historic Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Historic is a digital-only format on MTG Arena. It started when Standard sets rotated out of Arena, but some players still wanted to use their older cards. Wizards of the Coast created Historic so people could keep playing with those cards. Over time, Historic expanded beyond just rotating sets. It now includes special digital releases...
Brawl Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Brawl is a format similar to Commander, but it uses only Standard-legal cards. You have a commander, which can be a legendary creature or planeswalker from Standard sets. You then build a 59-card deck around that commander, for a total of 60 cards. Like Commander, you can only use one copy of each card except...
Pauper Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Pauper is a format that uses only cards printed at common rarity. This can include older sets where a particular card was common, even if newer printings show it as an uncommon or rare. The idea is to restrict everyone to common cards, which often keeps deck costs low. But don’t be fooled: there are...
Commander (EDH) Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Commander, also known as EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander), is a popular multiplayer format. Each deck centers around a legendary creature or planeswalker that acts as your commander. You start with that commander in a special zone, and you can cast it any time you could normally cast it. Your deck contains 99 more cards, for...
Vintage Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Vintage is the most open format in Magic. It allows nearly all cards ever printed. Only a small group of cards are banned, typically for logistical reasons (like ante cards). Some extremely powerful cards are restricted, meaning you can only run one copy. This includes the famous “Power Nine,” such as Black Lotus and Ancestral...
Legacy Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Legacy is one of Magic’s oldest and most powerful formats. It includes nearly every card in Magic’s history, with only a few bans. Because of this, Legacy decks can be very fast and complex. You can see everything from first-turn combo kills to deep control strategies that lock the game. This wide range of playstyles...
Pioneer Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Pioneer starts with Return to Ravnica and includes every set printed after that. It doesn’t rotate. Because it excludes older sets like Mirrodin or Innistrad (original blocks), it has a smaller card pool than Modern. Many see Pioneer as a step up from Standard. You can use cards that have rotated out of Standard but...
Modern Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Modern is a non-rotating format that starts with the Eighth Edition core set and the Mirrodin expansion. Every set released after those is also included. This gives Modern a large card pool but not as big as Legacy or Vintage. Many players like Modern because it features diverse decks. You can find combo decks, aggro...
Standard Format MTG
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Standard is one of the most common formats in Magic: The Gathering. It focuses on the newest sets. This format rotates whenever Wizards of the Coast releases new sets. That means older sets leave the format, and newer ones join. Because of this rotation, Standard keeps evolving. New cards replace old strategies, and decks must...