Casual

Casual refers to playing Magic: The Gathering without an attempt being made to have tournament-worthy decks or be really competitive. Casual players, making up a significant majority of the customer base for the game, are generally more concerned about having fun than winning. Casual games are often played with theme decks that possess a unifying idea, image, or motif, repeated or developed throughout. Listed here are a number of casual formats that range from somewhat goofy to completely crazy. With a few exceptions, there are no "official rules" for these formats.

As with sanctioned formats, most casual variants can be categorised into Constructed, Limited and Multiplayer formats. Some formatis only appear in Magic Online.

Variants

Category	Name	Description
Multiplayer	3-Card Blind	Forum-based, played with decks of three cards.
Multiplayer	4-Card Blind	Forum-based, played with decks of four cards.
Multiplayer	Auction	Players bid with life points and hand size for preconstructed decks.
Limited	Duplicate Sealed	Each player receives the exact same card pool.
Constructed	Highlander	Only one copy of each card in the deck, with the exception of basic lands. A deck must contain at least 100 cards. No Sideboard.
Multiplayer	Horde Magic	All players working cooperatively to defeat an automated deck.
Limited	Mental Magic	A card can be played as any card in the game with the same exact mana cost.
Constructed	Pauper Magic	Only allows common cards.
Constructed	Peasant Magic	No rares are allowed.
Multiplayer	Planechase	Normal decks are augmented with oversized plane and phenomenon cards.
Constructed	Rainbow Stairwell	Each deck contains exactly 60 cards, six cards from each of the five colors as well as six artifacts or colorless cards.
Limited	Rotisserie Draft	Every card of a subset of cards is legal and every card only appears once.
Multiplayer	Two-Headed Giant	Two Teams of two players each all play together in a single game.
Multiplayer	Type 4	Each player has access to unlimited quantities of mana, but is restricted to casting only one spell on each turn.
Multiplayer	Free-for-All	A group of players compete as individuals against each other.
Multiplayer	Grand Melee	Ten or more players. Multiple players to take turns at the same time.
Multiplayer	Team vs. Team	Teams play against each other. Resources are not shared.
Multiplayer	Emperor	Teams of three players. Each team has one emperor, who is protected by the other players.
Multiplayer	Alternating Teams	Players are seated so that no one is next to a teammate and each team is equally spaced out.
Constructed	Ancient	Only allows cards from the original border sets (Alpha through Onslaught).
Constructed	Tribal Wars	Emphasizes creature combat and tribal themes.
Constructed	Star	Five players each represent one of the five colors of Magic.
Constructed	Singleton	Only one copy of each card in the deck, with the exception of basic lands.
Constructed	Prismatic	Each deck must contain at least 250 cards, including at least 20 cards of each color.
Constructed	Freeform	Magic Online only. All sets and cards are allowed. Regular deckbuilding rules are relaxed.
Constructed	Classic	Magic Online only. All sets and cards are allowed. Normal deckbuilding rules do apply.
Constructed	Momir Basic	Magic Online only. Based on the “Momir Vig” Vanguard avatar.
Constructed	Vanguard	Normal decks are augmented with oversized cards that modify the rules.
Multiplayer	Conspiracy	Focuses on the drafting process and politics.
Constructed	Build Your Own Standard	Each player chooses a core set and two blocks to create their own Standard world..
Constructed	Build Your Own Block	Each player selects the first set from any block, the second set from any block and the third set from any block.
Constructed	Block Party	Each player uses cards from his favorite block.
Constructed	QL Magic	Only allows cards from the original border sets (Alpha through Onslaught). Uses Sixth Edition rules.
Limited	Mini-Master	Each player starts with a single booster pack and fifteen basic lands.
Limited	Solomon Draft	Drafting for two people.
Multiplayer	Four-player Solomon Draft	Drafting for four people.
Limited	Pick-a-Pack	Drafting with booster packs from many sets.
Limited	Winston Draft	Drafting with variable stacks of cards.
Limited	Winchester Draft	Drafting with variable stacks of cards.
Limited	Back Draft	Reverse Booster Draft. Players build their opponent's card pool.
Limited	Reject Rare Draft	Each player donates 45 reject rares to play with.
Limited	Continuous Draft	Each player has a constantly changing card pool.
Limited	Cube Draft	Players create a "cube", a specifically selected set of at least 360 different cards.
Multiplayer	Chaos	Players create a "Chaos Deck" that adds extra challenges for players.
Multiplayer	Assassin	Players are randomly assigned "targets" to defeat.
Multiplayer	Commander	100 card decks with specific rules centered around a legendary creature called General or Commander.
Multiplayer	Archenemy	One player versus many opponents
Multiplayer	Challenge decks	All players working cooperatively to defeat an automated deck.
Limited	Fat Stack	Players draft from two stacks: one with mana-producers, one with other cards.

External links

• Adam Styborski (January 03, 2012). "The Compendium of Casual Magic, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Adam Styborski (February 12, 2013). "The Compendium of Casual Magic, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.