Game Info

Standard is the most popular format, and is the format that is played every Friday night at Friday Night Magic (FNM). Sets that are legal for play in Standard are sets that have been out for at most 13-24 months. Every October, all of the sets which were released two years ago all rotate out together.

For a list of which sets are currently legal to play in Standard, as well as what cards (if any) are banned in the format, see the official Wizard's page for Standard.

Extended is very similar to Standard, except the sets from which cards are allowed go back about 4 years instead of 2. Extended rotates every October, just like Standard.

For a list of which sets are currently legal to play in Extended, as well as what cards (if any) are banned in the format, see the official Wizard's page for Extended.

Legacy is also known as an "Eternal" format, because there is no yearly rotation of sets. All sets are legal for play in Legacy. Only a handful of cards are banned in Legacy, mostly cards that are extremely overpowered, expensive, and difficult to find.

For a list of what cards are banned in Legacy, see the official Wizard's page for Legacy.

Vintage is also an "Eternal" format, but unlike Legacy, it has almost no banned cards. Some of the most powerful cards are "restricted" in Vintage, which means that you can only use 1 copy of it in your deck instead of the normal 4.

For a list of what cards are banned and restricted in Vintage, see the official Wizard's page for Vintage.

EDH, now officially known as Commander, is a gentlemen's casual format. EDH decks must be exactly 99 cards, with no more than 1 copy of any card. You also have a special "General" card (for a total of 100 cards) that is not part of your deck. All sets are legal for play in EDH, but you can only put cards in your deck which are in the colors defined by your General.

For more information about the EDH / Commander format, see the official MTG:Commander page.

With the Booster Draft format, each player start with 3 unopened packs of MTG cards. All players open one pack, select one card for their pool, and pass the rest of the pack to their left. This continues until all cards are gone. For the second pack, cards are passed to the right. For the third pack, cards are passed to the left again.

After all cards are passed around from all packs, the deck building process begins. Each player must build a deck of at least 40 cards from their pool. Since 16-18 of these cards will be basic land, you really only need to use 22-24 cards from your pool of more than 40.

For more information about the Booster Draft format, see the official Wizard's page for Limited formats.

In the Sealed Deck format, each player opens 6 packs of MTG cards and builds their deck from that pool. There is no trading or passing of cards. You still only need to select 22-24 cards for your deck. Your pool is over 80 cards big, but you will have cards from every color, making the selection process require you to make a choice of which 2 or 3 colors in your pool have the best cards.

Every few months, when a new set is released, there is a Sealed Deck prerelease event, where you can be the first to get your hands on the newest cards.

For more information about the Sealed Deck format, see the official Wizard's page for Limited formats.

In Two-Headed Giant games, players play 2v2 on teams with a friend. Your life total is shared, and starts at 30 instead of 20, but otherwise you each have your own deck and make your own play decisions. Both players on the same team take their turn together and can consult eachother before each play.

In Constructed Two-Headed Giant formats, the 4 card limit applies to the combination of the two decks on your team. You can have 2 copies in each of your decks, or 4 copies of a card in one deck and none in the other, but you cannot have 5 or more copies of the same card (other than basic land) between your two decks.

For more information about Two-Headed Giant format, see the official Wizard's page for Two-Headed Giant. For a list of banned cards, see the official Two-Headed Giant Constructed page.

Emperor is format for 6 players, with 2 teams of 3 players. The player on your team in the center is the Emperor, and the other two are Generals. Each team takes their turn together, but nothing is shared between players. Each player still has 20 life, but can only attack the nearest player. This means that at the start of the game, the Emperor can't attack anybody (since he can't attack his teammates). Once a General is eliminated, the surviving General can begin attacking the Emperor. If the Emperor is defeated, that team loses.