MTG Formats Explained
Magic has many ways to play. Understanding formats helps you find the right way to enjoy the game and build decks that are legal to play.
What Are Formats?
"What format do you play?" is the first question you'll get at any game store, and it's a genuinely useful one — a format is just an agreement about which cards are allowed, and picking the right one shapes what your decks cost, who you'll play against, and how long your cards stay playable. Here's the honest tour.
Popular Formats
Standard
60 cards • Up to 4 copies
The rotating format: only sets from roughly the last three years are legal (0 sets right now, with the next rotation on ). That churn is the feature — the metagame resets regularly, nobody's five-year-old deck dominates FNM, and the cards you need are in packs on shelves today. It's also the main format on MTG Arena, which makes it the cheapest place to actually learn.
Full guideModern
60 cards • Up to 4 copies
Everything from 8th Edition (2003) onward, no rotation, ever. Your deck stays legal for as long as you want to play it, which is why Modern players talk about their decks the way other people talk about old cars. It's fast, deep, and the mana bases are expensive — but a tuned budget deck can genuinely compete.
Full guideCommander/EDH
100 cards • Singleton
100 cards, no duplicates, a legendary creature in command, four players at the table. It's the most popular way to play Magic, and it's only sort of about winning — Commander is where your weird one-of cards finally get a home and where the table talk is half the game.
Full guidePioneer
60 cards • Up to 4 copies
Non-rotating, but starting from Return to Ravnica (2012) instead of 2003. Think of it as Modern's younger, cheaper sibling: your Standard decks retire into it instead of dying at rotation.
Legacy
60 cards • Up to 4 copies
Nearly every card ever printed, minus a ban list. Spectacular, skill-intensive Magic with a real cost problem: many staples sit on the Reserved List and will never be reprinted. Play it if you can borrow a deck; love it from a distance otherwise.
Vintage
60 cards • Up to 4 copies
The largest card pool in Magic. Almost nothing is banned - the most broken cards are restricted to one copy instead.
Learn more →Pauper
60 cards • Up to 4 copies
Commons only. It sounds like a gimmick and absolutely is not — Pauper is a real competitive format with decks that cost less than a single Modern land. The best money-to-fun ratio in Magic.
Every major format in detail
How each format is built, what it costs to enter, where people actually play it, and the kind of player it suits.
Standard
Standard is 60-card constructed with a 15-card sideboard and up to four copies of any non-basic card. The legal pool is only the most recent sets, currently including , and sets rotate out after roughly three years. Because the pool is small, a competitive deck is one of the cheapest in paper Magic, typically well under the cost of a Modern manabase, and the singles you need are still in print. Standard is the default format for Friday Night Magic at your local game store and the main constructed queue on MTG Arena. It suits newer players and anyone who enjoys a metagame that genuinely changes several times a year. The trade-off is rotation: some of your deck stops being legal each autumn. Read the full Standard guide.
Modern
Modern is also 60 cards with a 15-card sideboard and a four-copy limit, but the pool spans every Standard-legal set from 8th Edition (2003) onward plus Modern Horizons releases, minus a curated ban list. Nothing ever rotates, so a deck you build today stays legal indefinitely - which is the whole appeal. Entry cost is higher than Standard because the format's fetchlands and premium sideboard cards hold value, though budget lists exist in most colours. Modern is the backbone of weekend tournaments, RCQs and larger paper events, and it has a healthy online scene. It suits experienced players who want a deep card pool, fast games and a metagame they can learn once and keep exploiting. Read the full Modern guide.
Commander (EDH)
Commander is a 100-card singleton format: one copy of every card, a legendary creature as your commander, and every card in the deck restricted to that commander's colour identity. You start at 40 life and games are usually free-for-all with three or four players. Cost is whatever you want it to be, because precon decks play fine out of the box and most tables value fun over optimisation, though high-power lists get expensive fast. It is played everywhere: kitchen tables, dedicated Commander nights at game stores, and online. Commander suits social players who prefer long, swingy multiplayer games with room for politics and big spells rather than tight two-player racing. Read the full Commander guide.
Pioneer
Pioneer is 60 cards, a 15-card sideboard and four copies maximum, drawing on every standard set from Return to Ravnica (2012) forward. It excludes the original fetchlands and Modern Horizons cards, which keeps power level and prices lower than Modern while still offering a non-rotating home for decks you loved in Standard. Entry cost sits neatly between the two: a tier-one Pioneer deck usually costs less than the equivalent Modern list. It is supported at game stores, in Regional Championship Qualifiers and heavily online through Magic Online and Arena's Explorer queue. Pioneer suits players who have aged out of Standard, want their collection to stay legal, and prefer fair, interactive games.
Legacy and Vintage
Legacy is 60 cards with a four-copy limit and nearly every card ever printed legal, governed by a ban list. Vintage goes one step further: almost nothing is banned, and the most broken cards are instead restricted to a single copy. Both are the most expensive formats to enter because Reserved List cards such as the original dual lands and Power Nine are never reprinted, so most people play them online or with proxies at friendly events. Paper Legacy lives at dedicated weekend events and long-running local groups. These formats suit deeply experienced players who love enormous card pools, fast broken starts, and knowing every deck in the room. Read the full Vintage guide.
Pauper
Pauper is 60-card constructed where every card must have been printed at common somewhere in Magic's history, with a 15-card sideboard and the usual four-copy limit. That single restriction makes it by far the cheapest competitive format: complete decks often cost less than a single Modern land, and most of the cards are already sitting in your bulk boxes. Despite the price, the format is genuinely deep, with established aggro, control, combo and value archetypes and its own ban list to keep things honest. It is played mostly online and at game stores that run dedicated Pauper nights. Pauper suits budget-conscious players who want real competitive gameplay without a collection arms race.
MTG formats compared
| Format | Deck size | Rotates? | Relative cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 60 + 15 sideboard | Yes, annually | Low | New players and FNM regulars |
| Pioneer | 60 + 15 sideboard | No | Medium | Ex-Standard players who want decks to last |
| Modern | 60 + 15 sideboard | No | Medium to high | Experienced players and weekend tournaments |
| Commander (EDH) | 100 singleton | No | Low to high, your choice | Casual multiplayer and long social games |
| Legacy | 60 + 15 sideboard | No | High | Veterans who want the full card pool |
| Vintage | 60 + 15 sideboard | No | Very high | Format specialists and online play |
| Pauper | 60 + 15 sideboard | No | Very low | Budget players who still want depth |
- Deck size
- 60 + 15 sideboard
- Rotates?
- Yes, annually
- Relative cost
- Low
- Best for
- New players and FNM regulars
Pioneer
- Deck size
- 60 + 15 sideboard
- Rotates?
- No
- Relative cost
- Medium
- Best for
- Ex-Standard players who want decks to last
- Deck size
- 60 + 15 sideboard
- Rotates?
- No
- Relative cost
- Medium to high
- Best for
- Experienced players and weekend tournaments
- Deck size
- 100 singleton
- Rotates?
- No
- Relative cost
- Low to high, your choice
- Best for
- Casual multiplayer and long social games
Legacy
- Deck size
- 60 + 15 sideboard
- Rotates?
- No
- Relative cost
- High
- Best for
- Veterans who want the full card pool
- Deck size
- 60 + 15 sideboard
- Rotates?
- No
- Relative cost
- Very high
- Best for
- Format specialists and online play
Pauper
- Deck size
- 60 + 15 sideboard
- Rotates?
- No
- Relative cost
- Very low
- Best for
- Budget players who still want depth
Which Format Should You Play?
New to Magic?
Start with Standard. The smaller card pool makes it easier to learn, and starter decks are readily available.
Playing with Friends?
Commander is perfect for casual multiplayer games. It's social, varied, and you can use almost any cards you own.
Want Competitive Play?
Modern or Pioneer offer deep gameplay without rotation. Your deck stays legal forever.
On a Budget?
Pauper uses only common cards, making it very affordable while still offering competitive gameplay.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Standard and Modern?
Rotation. Standard only allows roughly the last three years of sets and loses the oldest ones every year; Modern allows everything back to 2003 and never rotates. Standard is cheaper to enter and easier to learn; Modern is a long-term investment with a much deeper card pool.
Which MTG format is the most popular?
Commander, and it isn't close — it's the default way to play casually in most stores. Among competitive 1v1 formats, Standard (especially on Arena) and Modern lead.
What is a rotating format?
One where old sets regularly leave the format. In Standard, the oldest sets rotate out once a year — next on January 1, 2027 — so the card pool stays fresh and newcomers are never years behind.
Which MTG format is cheapest to start?
Pauper is the cheapest constructed format because every card must have been printed at common, so complete competitive decks often cost less than a single premium Modern land. After Pauper, Standard is the most affordable format with a real tournament scene, since the card pool is small and everything in it is still in print. Commander can also be very cheap if you start from a preconstructed deck and upgrade it slowly with cards you already own. Legacy and Vintage are the most expensive, mainly because Reserved List cards are never reprinted.
What is Pauper?
Pauper is a 60-card constructed format in which every card in your deck must have been printed at common rarity at some point in Magic's history. It uses the normal four-copy limit and a 15-card sideboard, and it has its own ban list. The restriction keeps prices extremely low while still producing a deep metagame with aggro, control, combo and value decks. Pauper is played mostly online and at game stores that run dedicated events, and it is the best option if you want serious competitive games without spending much money.