The MTG Vintage format
Every card ever printed, the most broken cards limited to one copy, and games that can end on turn one. Here is how Vintage actually works - and how to build a list from the cards you own.
Fair warning: Vintage is the format where someone Ancestral Recalls you on turn one and apologizes about it. You'll love it or you'll flee. Both are correct.
Vintage deck construction rules
Vintage bans very little. Instead of removing the format's most powerful cards, it restricts them to a single copy - which is why the format is defined by one-of bombs rather than four-of consistency.
60-card minimum
Main decks are 60 cards or more. Practically every competitive list plays exactly 60.
15-card sideboard
Sideboards matter more here than anywhere else, since a single hate card can invalidate a whole archetype.
One copy if restricted
Four copies of anything legal, except cards on the Restricted List - those are limited to exactly one.
The Restricted List and the Power Nine
The Power Nine - Black LotusBlack Lotus, the five Moxen (PearlPearl, SapphireSapphire, JetJet, RubyRuby, EmeraldEmerald), Ancestral RecallAncestral Recall, Time WalkTime Walk, and TimetwisterTimetwister - are all legal in Vintage, and all restricted to one copy.
The list goes well beyond that: Sol RingSol Ring, Mana CryptMana Crypt, Mana VaultMana Vault, Demonic TutorDemonic Tutor, Vampiric TutorVampiric Tutor, TinkerTinker, Time VaultTime Vault, BrainstormBrainstorm, and more sit at one copy each. Wizards updates the list periodically, so check the current official announcement before a tournament.
What this means for deck building: your restricted cards are effectively tutor targets and topdecks, not a plan. The four-ofs in your deck - the cantrips, the interaction, the lock pieces - carry the strategy.
How many lands does a Vintage deck play?
14 to 22 lands
Fast mana replaces lands. Cantrip-heavy blue decks can operate on 14 to 16 lands plus Moxen, while Mishra's Workshop and Bazaar decks push toward 20 to 22 because their key lands are the engine.
Count your artifacts as mana
When you evaluate a curve in Vintage, count Moxen, Lotus, Crypt, and Vault as mana sources. A list with 16 lands and eight artifact sources has a functional mana base of 24.
Vintage archetypes
Vintage rewards commitment. Pick a lane and build every slot around it rather than assembling a pile of individually powerful cards.
Mishra's Workshop (Shops)
Prison-style aggro that uses Mishra's Workshop and the Moxen to deploy artifact lock pieces and taxing effects far ahead of curve, then wins with cheap artifact creatures.
Paradoxical Outcome Storm
A cantrip-and-artifact deck that chains free mana into Paradoxical Outcome, refills its hand, and wins with a large Tendrils of Agony or a tutored combo finish.
Blue Control (Xerox / Doomsday)
Light-land, cantrip-heavy blue decks that lean on restricted card selection, cheap interaction, and a small number of threats or a Doomsday pile to close the game.
Dredge and Oath
Graveyard and cheat-into-play strategies. Dredge uses Bazaar of Baghdad to bin its library on turn one; Oath of Druids trades board presence for an enormous free creature.
Vintage staples
Cards that define the format's opening turns
Black LotusBlack Lotus
Ancestral RecallAncestral Recall
Mox SapphireMox Sapphire
Mishra's WorkshopMishra's Workshop
Bazaar of BaghdadBazaar of Baghdad
Frequently Asked Questions
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