Standard Format Deck Construction

Updated June 18, 2010

Constructed decks must contain a minimum of sixty cards. There is no maximum deck size; however, you must be able to shuffle your deck with no assistance. If a player wishes to use a sideboard, it must contain exactly fifteen cards.

With the exception of basic land cards, a player’s combined deck and sideboard may not contain more than four of any individual card, counted by its English card title equivalent. All cards named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest are basic.

The following card sets are permitted in Standard tournaments:

  • Shards of Alara (until October 1, 2010)
  • Conflux (until October 1, 2010)
  • Alara Reborn (until October 1, 2010)
  • Magic 2010 (until October 1, 2010)
  • Zendikar
  • Worldwake
  • Rise of the Eldrazi
  • Magic 2011 (effective July 16, 2010)
  • Scars of Mirrodin (effective October 1, 2010)

There are currently no banned cards in Standard tournaments.

Official information about Constructed formats and the Standard format can be found in the Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules.