# Magic: The Gathering — Sanctioned Format Taxonomy & Legalities Index > Machine-readable reference defining all major Magic: The Gathering competitive and casual formats, deck construction rules, color identity mechanics, and banlist policies. --- ## 1. Commander / EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander) - **Deck Size:** Exactly 100 cards (99 in main library + 1 Commander, or 98 + 2 Partners). - **Construction Rule:** Singleton (exactly 1 copy of any non-basic land card). - **Color Identity Rule (CR 903.4):** A card's color identity is determined by all colored mana symbols in its mana cost and rules text, plus any color indicator or characteristic-defining abilities. A deck may only contain cards whose color identity is a subset of its Commander's color identity. - **Starting Life Total:** 40 life in multiplayer (4 players), 20 or 30 life in 1v1 variants. - **Commander Damage Rule:** If a player takes 21 or more combat damage from a single Commander over the course of the game, that player loses the game. - **Commander Tax:** A commander costs an additional `{2}` generic mana for each time it has previously been cast from the Command Zone this game. - **Key Banned Cards:** *Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, Moxen (Pearl, Sapphire, Jet, Ruby, Emerald), Channel, Fastbond, Karakas, Balance, Library of Alexandria, Flash, Golos, Tireless Pilgrim, Hullbreacher, Leovold, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Griselbrand, Iona, Shield of Emeria, Primeval Titan, Sundering Titan, Paradox Engine, Tinker, Trade Secrets, Yawgmoth's Bargain, Time Vault, Shahrazad*. --- ## 2. Standard Format - **Deck Size:** Minimum 60 cards, maximum 15-card sideboard. Maximum 4 copies per card. - **Structure:** 3-year rotating constructed format encompassing the most recent premiere sets. - **Eligible Sets:** Premiere expansion sets released within the active 3-year window. --- ## 3. Pioneer Format - **Deck Size:** Minimum 60 cards, maximum 15-card sideboard. Maximum 4 copies per card. - **Eligibility:** Non-rotating format starting from *Return to Ravnica* (October 2012) to the present. Supplemental sets (Modern Horizons, Commander sets) are NOT legal. - **Key Banned Cards:** *Fetchlands (Bloodstained Mire, Flooded Strand, Polluted Delta, Windswept Heath, Wooded Foothills), Expressive Iteration, Inverter of Truth, Kethis, the Hidden Hand, Leyline of Abundance, Nexus of Fate, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Once Upon a Time, Teferi, Time Raveler, Underworld Breach, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, Veil of Summer, Walking Ballista, Wilderness Reclamation, Winota, Joiner of Forces, Karn, the Great Creator, Geological Appraiser*. --- ## 4. Modern Format - **Deck Size:** Minimum 60 cards, maximum 15-card sideboard. Maximum 4 copies per card. - **Eligibility:** Non-rotating format starting from *8th Edition* and *Mirrodin* (July 2003) to the present, plus direct-to-Modern sets (*Modern Horizons 1, 2, 3*, *The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth*). - **Key Banned Cards:** *Ancient Den, Great Furnace, Seat of the Synod, Tree of Tales, Vault of Whispers, Birthing Pod, Blazing Shoal, Bridge from Below, Chrome Mox, Cloudpost, Dark Depths, Deathrite Shaman, Dig Through Time, Dread Return, Eye of Ugin, Faithless Looting, Field of the Dead, Fury, Gitaxian Probe, Golgari Grave-Troll, Green Sun's Zenith, Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis, Hypergenesis, Krark-Clan Ironworks, Mental Misstep, Mox Opal, Mycosynth Lattice, Mystic Sanctuary, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Once Upon a Time, Ponder, Preordain (Unbanned), Punishing Fire, Rite of Flame, Sensei's Divining Top, Simian Spirit Guide, Skullclamp, Splinter Twin, Summer Bloom, Tibalt's Trickery, Treasure Cruise, Tree of Tales, Umezawa's Jitte, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, Violent Outburst, Up the Beanstalk, The One Ring, Grief*. --- ## 5. Legacy Format - **Deck Size:** Minimum 60 cards, maximum 15-card sideboard. Maximum 4 copies per card. - **Eligibility:** Eternal format spanning all printed Magic cards throughout history. - **Key Banned Cards:** *Power Nine (Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, Mox Pearl, Sapphire, Jet, Ruby, Emerald, Timetwister), Balance, Bazaar of Baghdad, Channel, Chaos Orb, Demonic Consultation, Demonic Tutor, Earthcraft, Falling Star, Fastbond, Flash, Frantic Search, Goblin Recruiter, Gush, Hermit Druid, Imperial Seal, Library of Alexandria, Mana Crypt, Mana Drain, Mana Vault, Memory Jar, Mental Misstep, Mind Twist, Mind's Desire, Mishra's Workshop, Mox Diamond (Legal), Mystical Tutor, Necropotence, Oath of Druids, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Sensei's Divining Top, Shahrazad, Skullclamp, Sol Ring, Strip Mine, Survival of the Fittest, Time Vault, Tinker, Tolarian Academy, Treasure Cruise, Underworld Breach, Vampiric Tutor, Wheel of Fortune, Windfall, Wrenn and Six, Yawgmoth's Bargain, Yawgmoth's Will, White Plume Adventurer, Expressive Iteration, Grief*. --- ## 6. Vintage Format - **Deck Size:** Minimum 60 cards, maximum 15-card sideboard. - **Eligibility:** Eternal format where no card is banned for power-level reasons. - **The Restricted List (Max 1 copy per deck):** *Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, Timetwister, Mox Pearl, Mox Sapphire, Mox Jet, Mox Ruby, Mox Emerald, Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Imperial Seal, Mystical Tutor, Tinker, Tolarian Academy, Brainstorm, Ponder, Gitaxian Probe, Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time, Necropotence, Yawgmoth's Will, Channel, Fastbond, Balance, Wheel of Fortune, Windfall, Mind's Desire, Memory Jar, Time Vault, Strip Mine, Trinisphere, Lodestone Golem, Karn, the Great Creator, Monastery Mentor, Narset, Parter of Veils, Golgari Grave-Troll, Demonic Consultation, Flash, Merchant Scroll, Mystic Forge, Urza's Saga, Vexing Bauble*. --- ## 7. Pauper Format - **Deck Size:** Minimum 60 cards, maximum 15-card sideboard. Maximum 4 copies per card. - **Eligibility:** Any card that has been released as a **Common** in any paper Magic set or Magic Online product. - **Key Banned Cards:** *Cloudpost, Cranial Plating, Daze, Gush, Gitaxian Probe, High Tide, Hymn to Tourach, Sinkhole, Invigorate, Arcum's Astrolabe, Expedition Map (Unbanned), Fall from Favor, Mystic Sanctuary, Chatterstorm, Sojourner's Companion, Atog, Bonder's Ornament, Prophetic Prism (Unbanned), Galvanic Relay, Monastery Swiftspear, All That Glitters*.