MTG: All Formats Explained

[@bryanmullins8672]

For new players. If you really want to get into the game, but don't want to go into events just yet, or are socially awkward and nervous you'll annoy the other players, there are players like me that want you to learn AND have fun. I understand you're still fresh to the game, and I am completely okay with you taking your time and asking ALL the questions. Me and my playgroup are very diverse in experience. From new, to since 2014, since 2007, we've happily sat at the table and had fun discussing the rules down to their deepest level. I always say "There are so many rules to this game it's understandable on why it's considered the most complicated TCG next to YuGiOh. But, the good news is, you don't have to learn all of it. Only, what is in front of you in that moment." Play with any mildly experienced player, and know they're still learning just like you. If you have fun, and can play with friends who are also having fun, you'll learn everything you need to. Also, don't worry about doing something wrong. It takes time to make the game structure a habit. 😂

[@gavinremillard535]

im new to mtg i got 250 random cards on amazon some are from 2022 some are from the 90’s are these cards still playable when combined with one another?

[@DrifterXiii-0]

Thanks for that also I'm only really interested in magic so I can play a doctor who decks, my friend said it's fine to proxy a card when we play as I'm proxying the fourteenth doctor

[@vipreoptic4218]

Great video, thank you. Super clear, organized and efficient. I've heard multiple channels talk about how Commander is a great place to start however, my wife and I are fairly novice to magic and have only really played standard, constructed. We played our very first game of Commander together with 2 of the Lord of The Rings pre-cons last night, and I have to say we found it to be much more complicated and overwhelming than a normal standard game has been. Cards within those pre-cons seemed to have much more complicated text and abilities than our pre-constructed (Lord of The Rings) decks seemed to have, which we built from set boosters. 2 hours into our first game, we barely even got into the match as we spent so much time looking up and resolving complicated interactions and trying to keep track of which creature has what with counters and abilities. At the end of the 2 hours we found ourselves exhausted and having to step away. We couldn't imagine having to keep track of an additional 2 players on top of that which we had to deal with between just the 2 of us. I feel like, from our experience as relatively new players, that Standard play is the way to go when starting out. It's easier to learn the mechanics, build a deck and have more than .5 of a match on a work night.

[@thetrinketmage]

Thanks! I think that maybe arena might be the best way to start I wish I put more emphasis on it in the video… but I wish you the best on your commander adventures it can be overwhelming at first but it’s fun!

[@vipreoptic4218]

@thetrinketmage Thank you! Videos like yours are very helpful. We are loving our time with magic so far. Commander looks like a great time whenever we watch it but I just think we need a little more time in standard.

[@malicant123]

"I'm going to play MTG. Nothing could be as expensive as 40k....." :D

[@thetrinketmage]

When I got into 40K people told me about how expensive it is… but honestly mtg is way more expensive

[@malicant123]

@@thetrinketmage Eh, at least an MTG collection takes up less space.

[@justcausee]

Teach your kids to play magic...they won't have money for drugs.

[@Zarbon000]

@@justcauseethat’s what saved me!

[@dreddbolt]

pEDH Uncommon or lower rarity commander, with the 99/98 having a common printing, pauper adjacent.

[@ClamMimic]

the commander doesn't have to be legendary either.

[@joebaumgart1146]

Vintage is my favorite pauper is my second favorite and I love Emporer style. I'm also a paper only sort of guy.

[@SJOwens-sp1lo]

Great video! I appreciate the simple but detailed explanations! In the future, if you have the ability to do so, please do time stamps when combining so many topics into one video. You did great though! :)

[@thetrinketmage]

I should add chapters to this video!

[@blabberfest]

@@thetrinketmage when?

[@thetrinketmage]

@@blabberfest uhhhh... I'll do it today

[@thetrinketmage]

@@blabberfest Done! Thanks for reminding me!

[@dat_guy2546]

​@@thetrinketmageawesome! Subscribing for sure

[@SlashAlot69]

Tiny leaders- small deck commander. This one was fun for me when I started bout 7 years ago. Same rules of commander except cards CMC I believe was 3 and less and it was a 60 card deck. I don't remember if it had commander damage but starting life was 25

[@blaze556922]

This is by far the best video I've seen on concisely giving a full rundown on each format. The last thing we need is more reprints though. Punishing players who already own cards, is one of the reasons wotc is getting thrashed by everyone and their grandmother

[@thetrinketmage]

What? There are comments on this video you are watching where people are talking about how they wish they could play a format but are priced out. We need way way way way way more reprints

[@blaze556922]

@@thetrinketmage That is hurting the game. No one is priced out of playing commander. You can build decks for less than 10 bucks that are very fun. Reprints only diminish what you've already paid good money for. So sad I have to explain that the more of something there is, the less value it holds. You should just print proxies and not bother collecting if you're ok with the excessive reprints we've gotten in the last several years. I don't know a single magic player who wants more reprints

[@thetrinketmage]

@@blaze556922 I didn’t realize all the MTG players you know are billionaires thats awesome! But almost every player would want some card they wish to buy to be cheaper. Even if it was $3 why would I not want it to be $1 so I can buy it for less? Also the whole game isn’t commander the fact that people are priced out of other formats is a problem

[@blaze556922]

@@thetrinketmage You think you're standing up for the little guy by wanting prices to plummet but in fact that has the opposite effect. Tcg's and other collectibles are one of the few things that maintain or increase in value over time. Your average person cannot afford to invest in classic cars, hedge funds, real estate, etc. You're buying into and supporting formats with arbitrary rotations that people shouldn't want to be a part of. Eternal formats are inherently cheaper so if price is your hill then you are supporting the wrong formats by your own admission champ. No one is forcing you to play any particular format. I'm far from a billionaire and wanting to punish people like myself who have spent decades building a magic collection is downright despicable. Make sure you share this with people in your area so they can see exactly how you feel about people who invest in the game you claim to love. Make sure you let them know how you think tcgs are a poor investment vehicle. Since you're such a finance expert. Using your analogy smart guy, if you bought a $3 card you shouldn't want it to be reprinted and go down to $1. If you bought the same card at a dollar you shouldn't want it to be reprinted again that year so it goes down to 25 cents. The fact that this concept goes so far over your head is very telling. Thought you had more intelligence than snark based on your videos. Just look how you speak to someone who has done nothing but be supportive of your content. I even started off with saying this was the best video I had seen on the subject but you just can't help but be insufferable. You're tact leaves a lot to be desired.

[@TheWackyWorkbench]

You missed Oathbreaker😢 but great video overall!

[@thetrinketmage]

I don’t really have faith that oathbreaker will take off. I’ve played it for years but generally people prefer edh

[@scizorzzz]

@@thetrinketmage lol even after it has been officially recognized by WotC it utterly failed.

[@mj-100]

I generally thought Yugioh in general was rather expensive, but man some these formats sound interesting but the price is what makes it a downer. Though I guess Commander and Pauper sound the coolest for their price ranges.

[@thetrinketmage]

Yea MTG is pretty pricy these days sadly

[@mj-100]

@@thetrinketmage Is it cuz Wizards don't reprint? Konami often reprint cards between 9-12months of initial release many times some longer, some less.

[@thetrinketmage]

@@mj-100 yes and no. Some cards are reserve list so they won’t ever reprint those. And the other reason is power creep. Print a busted card where the supply is low since it’s a new card. Everyone wants then later print a more busted card and reprint the old one which is now irrelevant

[@justcausee]

​@@mj-100 there are entire sets that are just reprints. It isn't that cards don't get reprints. It's more that the wrong cards are reprinted over and over or the fact that there are so many cards to reprint with limited reprint slots in regular set. Lore and mechanics also figure into reprintability of a card in any given set. The idea of a set normally is to explore a plane in the mtg universe, usually themed and sometimes spanning years of developing characters and mechanics. We go back to planes like Dominaria, Innistrad and Ravnica to expand on their happenings. So a mechanic, character or individual cards from a Ravnica set would be more likely to be reprinted or reworked in a new Ravnica set rather than an Innistrad set and so forth. Sets like the masters sets generally try to focus on the best of the best competitive cards for more competitive formats. So they are almost completely reprints, but that doesn't mean that the card you need will be reprinted.

[@iLlamaNEG]

​​​@@mj-100 and reserve list is pre-modern only, so if you play modern or later you don't need to worry about it. But otherwise card cost is driven by demand-supply relations between how many cards are available and how often they're played in winning meta decks. Outside pre-modern, usually the cards that really drive up the cost of all but the most expensive decks are staples that most decks play in the format. For example, special lands. Most likely, the mana base is going to be the most expensive part of the deck, especially if you go slightly off meta where the rest of the deck will cost basically pennies. For example, I play modern merfolk and almost the whole deck is made out of sub 5 dollar card with many below 1 or 2 dollars, but there are staple lands which you must play in tribal decks or you are trolling which alone cost about 200 usd for all the copies. Add that one card that wasn't reprinted in ages and is 20 bucks a pop and suddenly the deck is in the 500usd range thanks to 4 or 5 staple cards which either everyone uses, or are in really short supply. Moreover, nearly everyone playing blue will have at least 3 force of negations and 3 subtleties in either main or side, these cards will be extremely expensive always, and if you want to have your fancy no-cost denials too to compete at the highest power level then be prepared to fork up some extra cash. If you can work around those kind of cards, you can have a deck really on the cheap even for modern, and be somewhat competitive (but you are giving up on power level). Sub 100usd decks that win aren't impossible in modern, you just have to work around the staples and underprinted cards. For example, if you don't play cavern of souls and few mutavaults, no otawara and no oboro/minamo, swap the lords of atlantis for merrow reejereys, and swap the force of negations for good ol counterspells, you get a modern merfolk deck which is cheap but still mostly competitive, and easily upgradeable. And stay away from any deck that requires 4x the one ring.

[@scizorzzz]

Pauper Pioneer Brawl Pioneer card pool, Brawl Play rules, up to 10 cards in your deck can be uncommon (including the commander), the rest must be common (Based on printings anywhere) This has been an outstanding and incredibly cheap format.

[@samwayne8961]

my advice as to a new player: get a pre constructed deck for commander for like 30 bucks or less on TCG player or Card Kingdom, dont pay more than that. dont forget a pack of sleeves and a pack of dice and maybe a playmat look up game stores in the area, they usally have websites or IG/facebook/twitter pages where they post their events schedule. see which one is running commander/EDH and when just go and pay the fee and find players who are willing to teach you while not running their competitive or high cost decks an alternative is to have a friend that plays teach you in a 1v1

[@thetrinketmage]

Can you find precons for $30 or less these days? All of them are like $50 or more

[@samwayne8961]

@@thetrinketmage tcg player

[@lloydbradly]

I used to play modern mill, mardu pyromancers, ect but sold all my decks but might get back into it; used to man Muldrotha, Nekuzar and Myeal along with others.

[@NathanielNow]

My friends and I play basically a super novice Modern, but as a 4 player free-for-all. We recently put some rules in place to help keep all the decks at roughly the same power level, to allow us to just make silly decks without having one player always dominate.

[@oscarguzman3017]

I agree. Playing constructed decks in a free for all is so dang fun. 👍

[@dwaynemontgomery1851]

i like your videos, and i like your style, but thats not why im subscribing, im subscribing because your icon is a little Skitarius dude!

[@cipher2956]

i really want to get into magic but damn its expensive .

[@thetrinketmage]

Yea it’s pretty rough… the cost of this game is getting pretty high try pauper if you can

[@justcausee]

Try DanDân. 20 life. 80 cards (usually focusing one 1 mechanic or creature). Shared library and graveyard. I've got a DanDân list that uses "x" spells and locket of yesterdays (artifact that makes spells cost less for having spells of the same name in graveyard). The format can be really really cheap and you don't have to worry about not knowing a card or power level of your opponents deck. My list is like 35$ and it has done very well at my lgs. I'll be happy to post the list if you're interested

[@Jeremia-ek3jd]

Chill. Yugioh right now is worse trust me 💀

[@djhev2787]

thank you for this clearly explained video - what format would be best for a non-competitive beginner? I have invested ina standard and commander deck but not sure if I've bought well etc - any help/advice appreciated :)

[@thetrinketmage]

What I would recommend is playing some standard and maybe draft (good for starting a collection) to learn the basics. Then you will probably want to settle down with commander

[@justcausee]

Pauper commander is much cheaper than regular commander. Check it out.

[@darkbreaker9767]

Jump Start. The answer is always jumpstart.

[@gabrielalbrechtfitarelli5938]

Would be good to hear about Brawl!

[@thetrinketmage]

I should’ve mentioned it or something for sure, I don’t really use Arena much so brawl slipped my mind

[@somefishhere]

cube and type 4 and type 2 and star and minimasters and penny dreadful and pai tow and brawl and Netrunner are fun.

[@dvancebum]

Big Deck and Horde are my favorite

[@thetrinketmage]

What is big deck?

[@dvancebum]

@@thetrinketmage m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZmTh2mpnauZjq8

[@justcausee]

Horde is so much fun.

[@battra7998]

Not really an official format, but I've heard Premodern is fun.

[@thetrinketmage]

I’ve never played it but the decks look interesting

[@liljundy413]

Okay, but what about Tiny Leaders? Yeah, Wizards threw this format but still, it is good. A lot if interactions, legacy-ish plays...

[@thetrinketmage]

Most of these aren’t legal in tiny leaders… honestly I don’t know enough about the format to comment

[@mushythemushroomwizard7712]

I have a shoebox of cards from my uncle, I wish to play but dont have extra money to use. I cant recognise all the set symbols, but somewhere around ravnica to 2019-2020?

[@thetrinketmage]

I’d recommend commander then, or maybe pauper if you find a group for it

[@HAYDS510]

How about this: you walk into your LGS, you usually play commander, but there's only one other person in the building. What constructed format would that person be mostly likely to accept a game of? I'd like to have something on me for 1v1 scenarios in more of a 60 card, up to 4 copies of each sort of deal, but with more freedom to brew and less time-gating than standard. Oh and while i'm building my wishlist here, if i could play my filthy sliver cards? (this one is negotiable)

[@thetrinketmage]

So for this I recommend DanDan since you only need one deck to play between the 2 players. There is a video on my channel about it

[@fernandob2275]

Wish you covered 5 color magic or later named prismatic. Can’t find videos anywhere for it

[@blaze556922]

That is the old way to cube and is still fun but it's just a curated draft. Have you played king cube?

[@thetrinketmage]

No what is king cube?

[@blaze556922]

@@thetrinketmage Instead of a draftable cube of 360-720 or more you deal cards like a standard playing card deck. So everyone has access to the same cards and you drop cards face down as mana instead of including lands. Those cards can be cast later if they are permanents like they are morphed. It's very fun and can be made into all kinds of experiences from using only one color, one block, one plane, only your pet cards, whatever.

[@0011peace]

pris,atic was my favorite when it qas available

[@TunableFall662]

So my gf just got me into magic & I'm not gonna lie this is still confusing. Like the video is great but I guess I'm still just not understanding what formats can use what cards. The way my gf/her family & I have been playing is our commander sets only get used in commander & all non commander stuff can just be used in our casual games. I hope that made sense & sorry but I'm such a noob

[@thetrinketmage]

So if your just playing whatever card with friends this is usually called “kitchen table magic” or “casual play” you really only need to adhere to restrictions for tournaments or if you are going to a game store. That’s mostly just so everyone is on the same page!

[@TunableFall662]

@@thetrinketmage ah okay. Video was still helpful bc my gf wants to go to events & stuff to play so I guess I've gotta learn lol

[@thetrinketmage]

@@TunableFall662 good luck!

[@DTreatz]

Pauper sounds best for new players, because price. Then Modern comes next. Then commander. then Standard if you're already established with decks and want something frequently refreshed.

[@thetrinketmage]

Pauper is excellent for new players! I just wish it was more popular

[@TheLoraxWithMjolnir]

archenemy is fun

[@thetrinketmage]

That’s a good one! I might need to make a separate video about archenemy and Planechase and other commander variants

[@hyperspacejester7377]

Proxy Laughter is the best format. Here's how it works... proxy what you and your friends wanna play with, and laugh your ass off at anyone who thinks you should spend thousands on 100 cards or less, before you can enjoy the game. 😆

[@obeyourfatheryah]

I have maybe a naïve question. Is there anything at all stopping a person from writing the card titles and info on index cards, spreading them out on his bed, and then slowly buying the official cards over the long-term while biding time with limited events in the meanwhile? Also, do card shops usually have regulations from WOTC barring similar practices?

[@thetrinketmage]

Excellent question! If you were to play in a sanctioned tournament you could not use proxy cards! But in casual formats like commander and especially cEDH (competitive commander) proxies are generally welcome. I’d say if you are looking to get into something like modern where decks are pretty expensive maybe get a few friends together and proxy decks to try out and see if you like it first!

[@michakoodziej5741]

PAUPER RULES

[@thetrinketmage]

It does! Been playing some mono blue fairies lately and it’s a blast

[@justcausee]

Always has in my opinion. Unlike other eternal or noneternal formats pauper stays relatively cheap yet just as complex and competitive as vintage.

[@sandbeard-wg6jy]

Why would legacy be so expensive, if you can use literally any card ever. I have multiple custom-made legacy decks composed of stuff from just booster packs and game night

[@itskairos1684]

I built a standard deck years ago pre Covid and want to play it again. How do I know if all the cards are legal for modern? It’s unlikely any are illegal but how do I check?

[@Lhamb]

Bit late, but an easy ish way I’ve found to find out legality for decks is using Archidekt and porting over a deck for a format. You can write down the list, go to “create new” and select the format you want it to be for. It’s how I found out one of my decks is only legacy legal now :p

[@BobbyJuno]

I'm a Fallout fan and never played MTG. Are the UB cards meant to play with other MTG cards or just the cards from the same IP?

[@thetrinketmage]

Yes you can play UB cards with any other card

[@oscarguzman3017]

What song was that at the end of the video? I swear to god i recognize that shit, and I need to know. 😫

[@chrispbacon3130]

“Comander is a casual format” 8:44 😂

[@Mattball82]

Dandan 😁

[@justcausee]

Was hoping someone would mention this gem. My favorite format to build in tbh. Want to see my x spells DanDân list?

[@stedfastt]

They need to chill with so many formats. Simplify

[@NateBullock-ow6on]

We don't need any more stupid reprints 💯

[@thetrinketmage]

You don’t want Zetalpa reprint number 3672?

[@NateBullock-ow6on]

Sorry modern horizons definitely needs some reprints😁

[@kenshi4296]

Where is brawl?

[@thetrinketmage]

I forgor 💀

[@Ratstail91]

I've been playing pokemon for a while now - I stopped playing Magic because it was just too damn expensive. A top-tier pokemon deck is $50 at most... you people are NUTS.

[@thetrinketmage]

Yea it’s really lame how expensive the game is these days that’s why almost nobody plays legacy or vintage anymore. And even modern and standard are losing popularity

[@WarrenPostma]

Elephant in the room time; What is up with $1000, $2000, $3000, $4000 card decks? These things cost $8-$10 to be designed and printed. Is the point of this game to make WotC rich? Oh, yeah, yeah, that IS the point of this game.

[@justcausee]

Wotc, though I dislike the direction they're heading, are not asking that much money. Those are generally for decks in eternal formats with older cards that are no longer in print.

[@nothingsallowed]

The cards aren't being purchased new for those prices. We can blame WotC for a lot, but we can't blame them for people for putting cards on eBay for crazy money.

[@TopMostFlavor]

Hey COMMIE some people want to make a few bucks in this life.

[@bigskygemsmontana9464]

Depends how much you make. My girlfriend is a radiologist and I work in HVAC. I started collecting in the beginning when I was 10. I own 3 power 9's etc, but I buy set booster boxes weekly. Cost nothing to me. Cost tons to others. All that being said, I'm the poor one in my group. Hit garage sales big time amd ask people running them.

[@asperbergers7136]

Welcome to the world of collectibles bud.

[@AFel-pp1hp]

Terrible choice of music and volume. My ears are bleeding

[@thetrinketmage]

Turn down the volume on your computer

[@dragongamerx1686]

This is why yugioh is better

[@thetrinketmage]

As someone who has played a lot of YuGiOh the lack of different formats is way worse. Magics variants is part of why it’s better

[@HAYDS510]

Yugioh is busted, draw your hand and then decide the winner right there.