How does a Magic the Gathering Tournament Work?
Magic tournaments come in two basic styles, Constructed and Limited.
Constructed Tournaments
In Constructed tournaments, players bring their own cards in a pre-made deck. Decks must consist of no fewer than 60 cards, and no more than four of any one card. The basic land cards, however, may be used in any quantity.
A banned list of specific cards is maintained for each format. A list of banned cards can be found here.
In addition to the player’s 60+ card deck, a 15-card sideboard is permitted. Following the first game of a best-two-of-three match, each player is permitted to replace or add any number of cards from his or her sideboard or basic land cards. This allows players to modify their deck during a match to better deal with their opponent’s strategy.
- Standard uses cards from the most recent two blocks and the current core set. It currently uses Magic 2010, Shards of Alara, Conflux, Alara Reborn, Zendikar and WorldWake.
- Extended uses cards from the most recent seven blocks and the most recent three core sets. It currently uses cards from Ninth Edition, Mirrodin, and all subsequent sets.
- Block Constructed permits only cards from a single “block” of sets. Most Block Constructed tournaments use the most recent block, but organizers may sanction tournaments using any block.
- Vintage allows virtually every published Magic set. While ratings and rankings are maintained for this category, only Limited and Constructed format rankings are used for invitations to major tournaments, like Pro Tours or World Championships.
- Legacy uses the same sets as Vintage, but has no restricted list and a separate banned list. Like Vintage, ratings and rankings are maintained for this category, but are not used for invitations to major tournaments.
See below for more information on Blocks and Sets.
Limited
Limited tournaments are based on a pool of cards which the player receives at the time of the event. Any number of basic lands may also be added to the deck. The decks in limited tournaments need only be 40 cards minimum; all the unused cards function as the sideboard. There is no 4-of-a-kind limit per card as there is in Constructed decks.
There are three common types of limited tournaments.
- Sealed deck: Players each receive five or six booster packs of 15 cards. They play with these cards and cannot trade or exchange them.
- Booster draft: Players each receive three booster packs of 15 cards. After being seated around a table, each player simultaneously opens one booster pack, selects a single card, and then passes the rest to the next player over. After all players have drafted fifteen cards, they each open their second pack, and drafting continues. Players examine privately the cards they receive; direct communication between drafters is not allowed. Once players have built their decks, they compete against the other players in the draft.
- Rochester draft: Players each receive three booster packs of 15 cards. One player’s first pack is opened, the cards are placed upon a table for all to see, and the players take turns selecting one card at a time until the pack is exhausted. The next player’s pack is then opened, and drafting continues. A Rochester draft normally comprises eight players, but team Rochester uses two teams of three players each, who may communicate non-verbally during the draft.
What are Sets and Blocks?
Wizards of the Coast releases a new set of cards approximately every three months. There are Core sets and “named” sets. Named sets are grouped into Blocks of three, named after the first set in the block.
For example, the 9th Core Edition was followed by the Shards of Alara Block consisting of the sets Shards of Alara, Conflux and Alara Reborn.
Magic Chronology
Core Set – Limited Edition Alpha August 5, 1993
Core Set – Limited Edition Beta October 1993
Core Set – Unlimited December 1993
Arabian Nights December 1993
Antiquities March 1994
Core Set – Revised Edition April 1994
Legends June 1994
The Dark August 1994
Fallen Empires November 1994
Homelands[IX] October 1995
Core Set – Fourth Edition April 1995
Ice Age Cycle/Block
Ice Age June 1995
Alliances June 10, 1996
Coldsnap July 21, 2006
Mirage Block
Mirage October 8, 1996
Visions February 3, 1997
Weatherlight June 9, 1997
Core Set – Fifth Edition March 24, 1997
Tempest Block
Tempest October 14, 1997
Stronghold March 2, 1998
Exodus June 15, 1998
Urza Block
Urza’s Saga October 12, 1998
Urza’s Legacy February 15, 1999
Urza’s Destiny June 7, 1999
Core Set – Classic (Sixth Edition) April 28, 1999
Masques Block
Mercadian Masques October 4, 1999
Nemesis February 14, 2000
Prophecy June 5, 2000
Invasion Block
Invasion October 2, 2000
Planeshift February 5, 2001
Apocalypse June 4, 2001
Core Set – Seventh Edition April 11, 2001
Odyssey Block
Odyssey October 1, 2001
Torment February 4, 2002
Judgment May 27, 2002
Onslaught Block
Onslaught October 7, 2002
Legions February 3, 2003
Scourge May 26, 2003
Core Set – Eighth Edition July 28, 2003
Mirrodin Block
Mirrodin October 2, 2003
Darksteel February 6, 2004
Fifth Dawn June 4, 2004
Kamigawa Block
Champions of Kamigawa October 1, 2004
Betrayers of Kamigawa February 4, 2005
Saviors of Kamigawa June 3, 2005
Core Set – Ninth Edition July 29, 2005
Ravnica Cycle/Block
Ravnica: City of Guilds October 7, 2005
Guildpact February 3, 2006
Dissension May 5, 2006
Time Spiral Cycle/Block
Time Spiral October 6, 2006
Planar Chaos
Future Sight May 4, 2007
Lorwyn Block
Lorwyn October 12, 2007
Morningtide February 1, 2008
Shadowmoor Block
Shadowmoor May 2, 2008
Eventide July 25, 2008
Core Set – Tenth Edition July 14, 2007
Shards of Alara Block
Shards of Alara October 3, 2008
Conflux February 6, 2009
Alara Reborn April 30, 2009
Core Set – Magic 2010 July 17, 2009
Zendikar Block
Zendikar October 2, 2009
Worldwake February 5, 2010[78]
Rise of the Eldrazi April 23, 2010
