Ante

Ante
Keyword Action
Introduced	Alpha
Last used	Homelands
Reminder Text	No official reminder text
Scryfall Search
keyword:""for ante""

Ante refers to both an optional variation of Magic and the ante zone used only in such ante games. It is also an obsolete evergreen keyword action. Ante was designed by Richard Garfield and introduced in Alpha.

Description

If players agree to play for ante, the rule is that at the beginning of the game each player puts a random card from his or her library into an ante zone and then the winner of the game would get permanent ownership of all the cards in the zone. There were several 'ante cards' with the text "Remove [this card] from your deck before playing if you're not playing for ante." Some, such as Contract from Below, interacted in some way with the ante zone, in this case by giving a powerful effect in exchange for having to ante an extra card. Others, such as Bronze Tablet, could change a card's owner.

The idea behind ante was to introduce an element of gambling to Magic, but it proved unpopular as many players did not like having to bet valuable cards and so rarely played for ante. There were also concerns within Wizards of the Coast that playing for ante could cause official tournaments to be classed as gambling and would therefore have to adhere to the laws governing it (for example, tournament venues may have needed gambling licences.) As a result, playing for ante is now classed as an unofficial variant format, cards referring to it are no longer made and all older cards referencing ante have been banned in every sanctioned format. The last card to mention ante was in the 1995 Homelands expansion - Timmerian Fiends.

Ante is strictly forbidden in DCI-sanctioned play, and is only allowed in unsanctioned games where not forbidden by law.

Rules

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

• 407. Ante
  • 407.1. Earlier versions of the Magic rules included an ante rule as a way of playing “for keeps.” Playing Magic games for ante is now considered an optional variation on the game, and it’s allowed only where it’s not forbidden by law or by other rules. Playing for ante is strictly forbidden under the Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules (WPN.Wizards.com/en/resources/rules-documents).
  • 407.2. When playing for ante, each player puts one random card from their deck into the ante zone after determining which player goes first but before players draw any cards. Cards in the ante zone may be examined by any player at any time. At the end of the game, the winner becomes the owner of all the cards in the ante zone.
  • 407.3. A few cards have the text “Remove [this card] from your deck before playing if you’re not playing for ante.” These are the only cards that can add or remove cards from the ante zone or change a card’s owner. When not playing for ante, players can’t include these cards in their decks or sideboards, and these cards can’t be brought into the game from outside the game.
  • 407.4. To ante an object is to put that object into the ante zone from whichever zone it’s currently in. The owner of an object is the only person who can ante that object.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Ante

1. A zone used only when playing “for keeps.”

2. To put a card into the ante zone.

See rule 407, “Ante.”

List of ante cards

• Amulet of Quoz (Ice Age)
• Bronze Tablet (Antiquities, Fourth Edition)
• Contract from Below (Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Revised)
• Darkpact (Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Revised)
• Demonic Attorney (Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Revised)
• Jeweled Bird (Arabian Nights, Chronicles)
• Rebirth (Legends, Fourth Edition)
• Tempest Efreet (Legends, Fourth Edition)
• Timmerian Fiends (Homelands)