Post by Maraxus of Keld on Nov 7, 2011 10:40:51 GMT -6
I found a list of a bunch of different Magic formats on Wikipedia. It doesn't contain full ban/restrict lists per format, though there might be links to such in the references section, I didn't check.
Of particular interest to me are the casual formats. In particular, I liked these:
Singleton
In the Singleton format, players are allowed to use only one of each card instead of the usual limit of four. This variation is also known as "Highlander" (named after the catchphrase "There can be only one" of the movies), "Legendary" (in Magic, there may only be one of any legend card in the game), or "Restricted" (tournament formats with a restricted list insist that decks have no more than one of those cards) Magic. Some players of this format require that the decks have a minimum of 100 cards, ban sideboards, and institute a special rule for mulligans with hands having either too many or too few lands.
Prismatic
In Prismatic or 5-Color, players must build very large decks (at least 250 cards) and accommodate a minimum number of cards of each color. This format was first developed by Kurt Hahn and several other players in the Milwaukee area. 5-Color is managed by the 5CRC which while not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast or the DCI, does organize tournaments, has its own list of banned and restricted cards and has a world championship held at Gen Con. It also supports ante cards, an initial component of the rules for Magic that has since been deprecated. When Magic Online was under development, this format was requested by many users, and it was added as "Prismatic" with slight differences, including the minimum number of cards of each color and no support for ante. An additional "big deck" mulligan is also standard online, allowing players to compensate for hands with too many or too few lands.
Pauper/Peasant
Pauper and Peasant are Magic variants in which card legality is based on in-game rarity. In Pauper only common cards are legal, whilst in Peasant a deck may contain up to 5 uncommon cards and the rest must be common. Peasant Magic was created by Rob Baranowski who felt that players with limited access to cards should still have an opportunity for competitive play. Tournaments for this format have taken place at Gen Con since 2001.
Rainbow Stairwell
In the Rainbow Stairwell format, players make a 60 card deck utilizing 6 of each basic land, or 2 of 10 different multiple color producing lands, along with six cards from each color and the artifacts. These six cards must have a converted mana cost ranging from one to six, with each card taking up one of six slots.
Tribal Wars
Tribal Wars is a constructed casual format in which one-third of every deck must be of a single creature type. Common tribes in Magic include elves, goblins and merfolk.
The format is designed to emphasize the creature combat element of the game. Banned cards in the Tribal Wars format are generally those that disincentivise or prevent the playing of creatures or engaging in creature combat (such as Circle of Solace or Engineered Plague).
Star
One variant is "Star" (also called "Pentagram," "Five-Point," "Rainbow" or "Five-Player Star") and involves exactly five players, each playing one of the colors of Magic and trying to defeat the two diametrically opposed players. Theoretically, the five decks should be equally balanced, so that the game is based more on skill than on deck strength. Another variant involves limited attacks, where the player can only attack the player on his left. This means that the players must eliminate all other players before the final two players can directly attack each other.
I also think Back Draft and Cube Draft sound kinda cool.
I have mentioned one or two of these formats before (I know I've brought up Highlander), because I think it would be cool to actually play one of these formats sometime, just among ourselves. My Legend deck is practically a Highlander deck already - it would just need to have a few more cards added to make the minimum deck size.
Would anybody be interested in trying one of these formats out with the group?
Of particular interest to me are the casual formats. In particular, I liked these:
Singleton
In the Singleton format, players are allowed to use only one of each card instead of the usual limit of four. This variation is also known as "Highlander" (named after the catchphrase "There can be only one" of the movies), "Legendary" (in Magic, there may only be one of any legend card in the game), or "Restricted" (tournament formats with a restricted list insist that decks have no more than one of those cards) Magic. Some players of this format require that the decks have a minimum of 100 cards, ban sideboards, and institute a special rule for mulligans with hands having either too many or too few lands.
Prismatic
In Prismatic or 5-Color, players must build very large decks (at least 250 cards) and accommodate a minimum number of cards of each color. This format was first developed by Kurt Hahn and several other players in the Milwaukee area. 5-Color is managed by the 5CRC which while not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast or the DCI, does organize tournaments, has its own list of banned and restricted cards and has a world championship held at Gen Con. It also supports ante cards, an initial component of the rules for Magic that has since been deprecated. When Magic Online was under development, this format was requested by many users, and it was added as "Prismatic" with slight differences, including the minimum number of cards of each color and no support for ante. An additional "big deck" mulligan is also standard online, allowing players to compensate for hands with too many or too few lands.
Pauper/Peasant
Pauper and Peasant are Magic variants in which card legality is based on in-game rarity. In Pauper only common cards are legal, whilst in Peasant a deck may contain up to 5 uncommon cards and the rest must be common. Peasant Magic was created by Rob Baranowski who felt that players with limited access to cards should still have an opportunity for competitive play. Tournaments for this format have taken place at Gen Con since 2001.
Rainbow Stairwell
In the Rainbow Stairwell format, players make a 60 card deck utilizing 6 of each basic land, or 2 of 10 different multiple color producing lands, along with six cards from each color and the artifacts. These six cards must have a converted mana cost ranging from one to six, with each card taking up one of six slots.
Tribal Wars
Tribal Wars is a constructed casual format in which one-third of every deck must be of a single creature type. Common tribes in Magic include elves, goblins and merfolk.
The format is designed to emphasize the creature combat element of the game. Banned cards in the Tribal Wars format are generally those that disincentivise or prevent the playing of creatures or engaging in creature combat (such as Circle of Solace or Engineered Plague).
Star
One variant is "Star" (also called "Pentagram," "Five-Point," "Rainbow" or "Five-Player Star") and involves exactly five players, each playing one of the colors of Magic and trying to defeat the two diametrically opposed players. Theoretically, the five decks should be equally balanced, so that the game is based more on skill than on deck strength. Another variant involves limited attacks, where the player can only attack the player on his left. This means that the players must eliminate all other players before the final two players can directly attack each other.
I also think Back Draft and Cube Draft sound kinda cool.
I have mentioned one or two of these formats before (I know I've brought up Highlander), because I think it would be cool to actually play one of these formats sometime, just among ourselves. My Legend deck is practically a Highlander deck already - it would just need to have a few more cards added to make the minimum deck size.
Would anybody be interested in trying one of these formats out with the group?
