2007 article about how game theory can be applied to mtg, with examples focused on bluffing and metagame

Standard

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Pioneer

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Modern

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Legacy

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Vintage

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Pauper

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Alchemy

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Historic

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Timeless

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Brawl

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Competitive Brawl

Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow is banned as a commander. Spider-Man 2099 is banned as a commander. Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice is banned as a commander. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah is now only banned as a commander. Nadu, Winged Wisdom is now only banned as a commander. Oko, Thief of Crowns is now only banned as a commander. Old Stickfingers is now only banned as a commander. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is now only banned as a commander. Rusko, Clockmaker is now only banned as a commander. Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student is now only banned as a commander. Wrenn and Six is now only banned as a commander. Tajic, Legion's Valor is now only banned as a commander. Nashi, Illusion Gadgeteer is rebalanced.

Changes effective as of October 12, 2026. View the list of all banned and restricted cards by format.

Next announcement: November 30, 2026

Finally got to test the list IRL, went 3-0 😊 I'll have to get better sleeves for the deck, the ones I used were a bit difficult to shuffle, and it really adds up over a tournament with the amount of shuffling the deck requires 😅

ROUND 1 // 2-0 vs Gruul Ponza Favorable matchup according to my opponent, basically their only interaction against spy is destroying my swamp so I cannot start the combo, and there are 7 other sources of black mana in the deck. Sided in another swamp just to be sure, and comboed them twice.

ROUND 2 // 2-1 vs MonoRed Rally Favorable matchup again, I lost the second game because of a bad mulligan decision. I kept a hand of 6 with Forest, Quirion Ranger and a bunch of two drops, not thinking that my ranger could get bolted 🤡 Won the other two games through combo.

ROUND 3 // 2-0 vs Orzhov Blade Oppo had lots of grave hate, so I could not really go for the combo game 1. Fortunately I had both Winding Way and Lead the Stampede in my opening hand, and eventually overwhelmed them with ents and big hydras. On game 2 oppo mulliganed to 5, and they did not have enough resources to answer hydras and protect from the combo at the same time.

The deck felt good to play. In my early testing I found it to be a bit too reliant on the top of the deck, but I now see that I just wasn't mulliganing well. It is not enough to simply have mana, you also need card advantage or threats to play the game.

I'm still tinkering with the sideboard, I will probably swap the 3 Healer of the Glade (1 mana gain 3 life) with 3 Nylea's Disciple (4 mana gain life equal to your devotion to green). The life from the healers did not feel relevant in the Rally matchup, I guess I have enough time to wait for the disciple and really put myself out of range 🤔

I went 2-1-0 with blue delver in a tournament in one of my city's bar. We were 22 players, which was a bigger tournout than expected, and a nice surprise 🥳 Decklist is here.

ROUND 1 : mono white hare apparent, 2-1 My oppo was playing a brew, 20 hares 20 lands and an assortement of blink spells, mass pump spells, thraben charms and Leonardos. The one loss was from the match where I could not counter the first rabbit, which means I could not stop the deck from snowballing. Also I got my delver mana tithe'd on turn 1, and it hurt 🥲

ROUND 2 : blue white familiar, 2-0 Oppo was playing the foil version of the deck, and it seems like it was too slow against my deck. I got two flipped delvers with dispel backup on turn 3 in the second round, and that was enough pressure to just play counterspells until I won.

ROUND 3 : mono red madness, 1-2 This one was against a friend that I introduced to the game a few years ago, we were both 2-0, the stakes could not have been higher 😁 I lost the pre side match, then won the second one, and lost the third. I think my mistake was blasting the wrong spell, on turn 4 I had a serpent on board, oppo had only two lands, I blasted their plotted highway robbery to keep them from finding a third land, but then they blasted my serpent and I could not find any other threat 😵 I probably sideboarded wrong too, the mystics I brought in felt too slow for the matchup.

It was a great night, I am glad that there is an active pauper community in my city 🥳

Cool website I discovered yesterday. It is a searchable list of magic articles, including archived versions of articles from dead sites.

Full announcements article

Bracket 1: Exhibition

Players expect:

• Decks to prioritize a goal, theme, or idea over power
• Rules around card legality or viable commanders to have some flexibility depending on the pod
• Win conditions to be highly thematic or substandard
• Gameplay to be an opportunity to show off your creations

Generally, you should expect to be able to play at least nine turns before you win or lose. Most importantly, given this bracket's emphasis on theme, players should feel like they have the time to showcase their decks.

Bracket 2: Core

Players expect:

• Decks to be unoptimized and straightforward, with some cards chosen to maximize creativity and/or entertainment
• Win conditions to be incremental, telegraphed on the board, and disruptable
• Gameplay to be low pressure with an emphasis on social interaction
• Gameplay to be proactive and considerate, letting each deck showcase its plan

Generally, you should expect to be able to play at least eight turns before you win or lose.

Bracket 3: Upgraded

Players expect:

• Decks to be powered up with strong synergy and high card quality; they can effectively disrupt opponents
• Game Changers that are likely to be value engines and game-ending spells
• Win conditions that can be deployed in one big turn from hand, usually because of steadily accrued resources
• Gameplay to feature many proactive and reactive plays

Generally, you should expect to be able to play at least six turns before you win or lose.

Bracket 4: Optimized

Players expect:

• Decks not to adhere to the cEDH metagame reserved for Bracket 5
• Decks to be lethal, consistent, and fast, designed to take people down as fast as possible
• Game Changers that are likely to be fast mana, snowballing resource engines, free disruption, and tutors
• Win conditions to vary but be efficient and instantaneous
• Gameplay to be explosive and powerful, featuring huge threats and efficient disruption to match

Generally, you should expect to be able to play at least four turns before you win or lose.

Bracket 5: cEDH

Players expect:

• Decks that are meticulously designed to battle in the cEDH metagame, with the ability to win quickly or generate overwhelming resources; often built using existing cEDH knowledge, tools, and/or decklists
• Win conditions to be optimized for efficiency and consistency
• Gameplay to be intricate and advanced, with razor-thin margins for error; players prioritize victory over all else

These games could end on any turn.