Hey gang!
So if you're brand new to MTG, someone may ask you which format you're getting in to! There are many different formats: Pauper, Modern, Brawl, Legacy and more! But for this articles purposes we're going to cover the top two. So which format is the right choice? Well that depends on you.
We'll start with what is currently MTG's most popular, and the one we find is most played at our store: Commander. A commander deck, is made up of 100 cards, all of them (with the exception basic lands) different. This is called a "singleton" format, as you can't have two copies of the same card. The basic idea is to pick one main card to build your deck around, and keep separate from your main deck. This is called your commander, and you can cast them anytime. Be cautious when picking them however, as your deck can only contain the same colours as your commander, and if they die, they will cost 2 extra mana to recast. This format lends itself very well to casual play, as it's typically played in pods of 4, and it is an eternal format, meaning cards don't leave or rotate out. There is a ban list, but it rarely gets updated and only the most busted cards tend to get added. People enjoy this format because it is more laid back, and you see more "fun" decks with less of an emphasis on competitiveness than other formats. That's doesn't mean no competitive scene, but we'll cover that another time
The other major format, is Standard. Standard is a 60-card format, allowing you to have up to four copies of a card in your deck (Again with the exception of basic lands). This format is typically played one-on-one, as opposed to with a larger group of people, and lends itself very well to competitive play. If you have played the popular game MTG Arena, it was most likely this format. Cards rotate out after 3 years (with a few exceptions) and bans happen much more frequently to keep it balanced and fair. There are no colour restrictions like there are in commander, and what decks are considered "strong" change consistently. The reason people gravitate toward playing standard, is the fact it's one-on-one and generally, there are no politics or outside factors that decide games. Truly it is the best player who wins.
So that is the difference between the two! MTG offers per-constructed decks for both formats, so you can jump right in to either one. Thanks for reading and feel free to ask us any questions you may have.
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