Play Formats (Ideal Magic)

Shared Constructed Specifications

• Deck size: 60+ cards (no maximum)
• Sideboard: Up to 15 cards
• Starting life: 20
• Players: 2 (primary competitive mode)
• Mulligan: London Mulligan
• Matches: Best-of-three (typical round ~45 minutes)
• Legality: The Ideal Magic banlist & policy apply across all formats (Day/Night, Companion, Cipher, Venture/Dungeons, Cumulative Upkeep, Storm, Dredge, and “free-engine” loops are not legal.)

Constructed Formats

Ideal Constructed (Default)

• Card pool: All Magic: The Gathering cards that are legal in Ideal Magic format and comply with the banlist/policy.
• Rotation: None. Build and refine indefinitely.
• Design intent: Healthy metagame where the “glue suite” (Kicker, Cycling, Flashback, Foretell, Adventure, Landfall, Sagas, Investigate) plus Rebound/Surge/Raid drive agency and interaction.
• Governance: Central updates may add or remove cards from legality to preserve format health; Buyback/Emerge appear only under policy constraints.

Eternal (Open)

• Card pool: Same as Ideal Constructed plus any sanctioned cameo reprints/supplementals tagged “Eternal-legal.”
• Rotation: None.
• Intent: Broader sandbox for enfranchised players without violating paper clarity.
• Note: No restricted list by default; if a specific card proves format-warping, it may be banned rather than restricted.

Budget (Commons+)

• Card pool: Organizer-defined rarity cutoff (e.g., commons-only or common+uncommon from Ideal sets).
• Intent: Low-cost entry with the same core rules and banlist.
• Tip: Favor mechanics with clean paper tracking (Clues/Scry/Cycling/Landfall) at lower rarities.

Limited Formats

All Limited formats use 40+ card decks, 20 life, and the London Mulligan.

Draft

• Players: 6–8 ideal (4+ works).
• Product: Ideal Magic boosters (set-specific).
• Build: Draft, then construct a 40+ card deck from your pool; basic lands as needed.
• Design notes: Each set features 2–3 “glue suite” mechanics plus a signature (e.g., Raid/Surge) for clear archetypes and low bookkeeping.

Sealed

• Players: Any number.
• Product: 6 boosters per player (recommended baseline).
• Build: Construct a 40+ card deck from your pool; basic lands as needed.
• Experience: Midrange-friendly with ample smoothing (Scry/Clues/Cycling).

Cube (Ideal)

• Players: 2–8.

• Pool: Custom, curated pool using Ideal-legal cards (and organizer-approved cameos).

• Guidelines:

  • Keep tracking visible (counters/tokens on permanents).
  • Prioritize the glue suite and clean interaction (Ward over hexproof; broad removal).
  • Use Buyback/Emerge sparingly and at conservative rates.

Casual & Multiplayer

• House Rules: Encourage local twists that keep tracking on-board.

• Multiplayer Free-for-All (3–6 players):

  • 20 life baseline (organizers may set 30 for longer games).
  • Turn order clockwise; attack any opponent; last player standing wins.
  • Politics welcome, bookkeeping not—favor Clues/Sagas/Landfall over off-board mini-games.

• Singleton / Highlander: 1 copy of each card (basics excepted), Ideal banlist applies.

• Learn-to-Play Packs / Jumpstart-style: Prebuilt half-decks using the glue suite for fast onboarding.

Organizer Options (recommended defaults)

• Match structure: Best-of-three, 45-minute rounds, 5-minute sideboarding.
• Tiebreakers: Standard extra turns (Turn 0–5), then life total if needed.
• Tokens & counters: Provide Clue tokens and generic counters at the table.
• Legality sheet: Post the current banlist/policy summary at registration.
• Local Additions: If testing cameo cards/mechanics, clearly mark the event as Eternal (Open).

Quick Reference

• Constructed: 60+ deck, up to 15 sideboard, 20 life, London Mulligan, Ideal banlist.
• Limited: 40+ deck, 20 life; Draft (6–8) or Sealed (6 packs).
• Core mechanics you’ll see: Kicker, Cycling, Flashback, Foretell, Adventure, Landfall, Sagas, Investigate; plus Rebound/Surge/Raid (Buyback/Emerge in conservative doses).
• Not in this format: Day/Night, Companion, Cipher, Venture/Dungeons, Cumulative Upkeep, Storm, Dredge, “free-engine” loops.