Experience the original Magic: The Gathering with a dash of modern day sensibilities.


The card pool is the original Alpha/Beta/Unlimited base set, plus the first five expansions: Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, The Dark, and Fallen Empires. There is a not-so-typical banned and restricted list plus a few card balancing replacements (Brainstorm in place of Ancestral Recall for example).

You may play ANY printing of cards originally printed in these sets including Collector's Edition, International Edition, 30th Anniversary Edition, and World Championship Edition (provided the cards are sleeved such that they are indistinguishable from the rest of the cards in your deck.)

The result is an old school format that's fun and accessible without sacrificing original intent.


List of allowed sets:

  • Alpha/Beta/Unlimited
  • Arabian Nights
  • Antiquities
  • Legends
  • The Dark
  • Fallen Empires

Restricted (to one per deck):

  • Balance
  • Black Vise
  • Berserk
  • Candelabra of Tawnos
  • Channel
  • Dark Ritual
  • Demonic Tutor
  • Fork
  • Ivory Tower
  • Library of Alexandria
  • Mana Drain
  • Mana Vault
  • Maze of Ith
  • Mind Twist
  • Mishra's Workshop
  • Recall
  • Regrowth
  • Sol Ring
  • Time Vault
  • Time Walk
  • Timetwister
  • Wheel of Fortune

Banned cards:

  • All "ante" cards
  • Ancestral Recall (Replaced with Brainstorm)
  • Black Lotus (Replaced with Lotus Petal)
  • Choas Orb
  • Circle of Protection: Black
  • Circle of Protection: Blue
  • Circle of Protection: Green
  • Circle of Protection: Red
  • Circle of Protection: White
  • City in a Bottle
  • Conversion
  • Deathgrip
  • Falling Star
  • Gloom
  • Lifeforce
  • Mox Emerald (Replaced with Talisman of Unity)
  • Mox Jet (Replaced with Talisman of Indulgence)
  • Mox Pearl (Replaced with Talisman of Progress)
  • Mox Ruby (Replaced with Talisman of Impulse)
  • Mox Sapphire (Replaced with Talisman of Dominance)
  • Power Artifact
  • Shahrazad
  • Strip Mine (Replaced with Wasteland)

Additional cards allowed:

  • Arena (1994 book promo)
  • Brainstorm (Replaces Ancestral Recall)
  • Lotus Petal (Replaces Black Lotus)
  • Nalathni Dragon (1994 promo)
  • Sewers of Estark (1994 book promo)
  • Talisman of Dominance (Replaces Mox Sapphire)
  • Talisman of Impulse (Replaces Mox Ruby)
  • Talisman of Indulgence (Replaces Mox Jet)
  • Talisman of Progress (Replaces Mox Pearl)
  • Talisman of Unity (Replaces Mox Emerald)
  • Wasteland (Replaces Strip Mine)

Optional replacements:

Shocklands are added as OPTIONAL replacements for the Dual Lands. A player may run up to four in any combination of a Dual Land and its corresponding Shockland in their deck. (A deck may contain one Tundra and three Hallowed Fountains for example.)

  • Badlands/Blood Crypt
  • Bayou/Overgrown Tomb
  • Plateau/Sacred Foundry
  • Scrubland/Godless Shrine
  • Savannah/Temple Garden
  • Taiga/Stomping Ground
  • Tropical Island/Breeding Pool
  • Tundra/Hallowed Fountain
  • Underground Sea/Watery Grave
  • Volcanic Island/Steam Vents