Now, with the advent of Arena, there are formats using cards that are only accessible in these digital formats. In addition, some formats like Commander now change the core rules by changing the life totals, mulligan rules, deck size, and introducing new zones. Each format has its own banlist, like in Yu-Gi-Oh, but each format ALSO has sets from a certain release period like Pokemon TCG. The formats in Magic are designed to create unique play environments, and differences in format can change gamerules entirely.įor newer players, this can be confusing- especially if they come from another TCG environment. Yu-Gi-Oh has a lot of formats, but only on technicality, as each ‘format’ is different iterations of a global ban and restricted list. For Pokemon TCG, you’re either playing Standard or Expanded, with Legacy not being supported in any official capacity.
Fast forward twenty years or so, and Magic has delineated play into a dozen formats across multiple platforms, while other TCGs on the market haven't. Almost everything was Kitchen Table, and even at premiere events for Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Magic: The Gathering, you were usually either playing draft / limited, or… not that. When card games in the 90s were just forming, there wasn’t really a concept of different types of play.
