Standard
| Standard | |
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| DCI Sanctioned | |
| Paper |
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| Magic Online |
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| Magic Arena |
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| Rules | |
| Type | Constructed |
| Multiplayer |
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Standard, formerly known as Type 2, is a rotating constructed format.[1][2] It is the most widely sanctioned constructed format at all levels of organized play.[3]
Deck-building restrictions
Standard decks must contain a minimum of sixty cards. There is no maximum deck size; however, one must be able to shuffle one's deck without assistance.
Sideboards are optional and may contain up to fifteen cards. With the exception of basic land cards, a player's combined deck and sideboard may not contain more than four copies of any individual card, counted by the card's English title equivalent.[4]
Standard-legal sets
Cards from the following sets are currently legal in Standard, with the exception of banned cards:[4]
| Set | Legal until |
|---|---|
| Kaladesh | Autumn 2018 |
| Aether Revolt | |
| Welcome Deck 2017 | |
| Amonkhet | |
| Hour of Devastation | |
| Ixalan | Autumn 2019 |
| Rivals of Ixalan | |
| Dominaria | |
| Global Series: Jiang Yanggu & Mu Yanling *# | |
| Core Set 2019* | |
| Guilds of Ravnica* | Autumn 2020 |
| Ravnica Allegiance* | |
| Unnamed Ravnica set* | |
| Core Set 2020* |
^* Not released yet.
^# Only legal in Standard Events held in mainland China.[5][6]
Rotation
Once a year, with the release of the new fall set, the two oldest blocks still legal in Standard rotate out of the format. Because of this, no set is Standard-legal for more than two years. For example, When Ixalan set released in fall 2017, Battle for Zendikar, Oath of the Gatewatch, Shadows over Innistrad, Eldritch Moon ,and Welcome Deck 2016 (which counted as a part Shadows over Innistrad in rotation) rotated out of Standard.
With the introduction of Three-and-One Model, Since 2019 (or effectively in 2018), the four oldest expansion/core set in Standard, as well as any sets Standard-legal sets that released between those dates will rotate out of Standard instead in each rotation. For example, fall 2019 rotation will cause Ixalan, Rivals of Ixalan, Dominaria, and Core 2019 (as well as regional exclusive set Global Series: Jiang Yanggu & Mu Yanling) to rotate out.
Banned list
These following cards are banned in Standard tournaments.
- Aetherworks Marvel
- Attune with Aether
- Felidar Guardian
- Rampaging Ferocidon
- Ramunap Ruins
- Rogue Refiner
- Smuggler's Copter
Previously banned cards in Standard
- See also: Timeline of DCI bans and restrictions.
The following is a list of cards that have been banned at one point during their stay in the Standard environment.
Should a banned card be rotated out in standard, but reintroduced in later standard set, the ban will not carry over to that set. (The only example up to date is Darksteel Citadel, which was banned in Mirrodin Standard, but later reprinted in Magic 2015).
History
The current Standard allows all cards in the newest three to four story-based blocks (including the Welcome Deck and all exclusive cards Planeswalkers Decks/Deck Builder's Kit released in this period), save for cards on the Standard banned list. The release of first expansion of Autumn set will trigger a rotation, rotating out the oldest two blocks.[7]
The original Standard format allowed the recent two blocks, plus the most recent core set (two core sets between the last release and and the actual rotation). After Magic Origins, core sets were discontinued and blocks only contained two sets, usually one large and one small. A Standard with three blocks and two rotations (Spring and Autumn) was adopted between 2015 and 2016 (Khans of Tarkir and Fate Reforged, Dragons of Tarkir and Magic Origins counted as separated blocks in a transitional period). In this system the number of legal sets would vary less (always five or six, compared to the current five to eight).[8]. As the system received heavy criticism among players, Spring rotation was dropped in 2017, and reverted to format which the oldest 4 sets will be rotated out in each rotation in Autumn.
Since Kaladesh, the Standard Showdown is also introduced as a root-level competitive tournament, awarding special prize packs (notably foil rare cards from standard sets) to participants.
Former popular standard decks
- Angelfire
- Black Swarm
- Jaba Sligh
- Mind over Monolith
- Orbosition
- Standard Boros Deck Wins
- Standard Doran Rock deck
- Standard Elves deck
- Standard Mana Ramp deck
- Standard Red Deck Wins deck
- Standard Zoo Deck (RGW Aggro)
- Superweenie
- Abzan Aggro
- Hardened Scales