Magic® Type B Rules



Preamble

Type B rules come in two categories: core rules and optional rules.  Core rules are always in effect during a Type B game or tournament.  They describe the composition of decks, errata specific to the environment, and other miscellaneous issues, such as an expanded mulligan.

Optional rules are not always in effect, and may be invoked on a case-by-case basis, specific to particular tournaments and playing environments.  The Type B committee is fully aware of the controversy surrounding some of the optional rules, which is why they are optional.

Like most Magic® environments, Type B sets standard limits on minimum deck sizes (60 cards), and allows a 15 card sideboard for tournament play.  Most of the standard rules governing decks and sideboards during play apply to Type B games and tournaments, except as modified by the rules outlined on this page.



Despite the controversial nature of some of the Type B optional rules, the committee feels that they are essential to maintaining the flexibility and broad appeal of the format, allowing its use in both testing (new expansion rule) and more traditional environments.  Furthermore, selective application of these rules (optional Portal rule) allows the inclusion of newer players who may only have access to Portal cards.

Note however, that the Type B environment is governed by the principle of "the players' choice", so most of the format is open to change by popular vote, including the rules detailed here.


Preamble | Core Rules | Optional Rules | Restricted List | Limit 2 List | Errata | Mulligan Rule



Core Rules

Core rules are always in effect in a Type B environment, although some or all may be overridden by optional rules: if there is any conflict between a core rule and an optional rule which has been invoked, the latter takes precedence.

I. Miscellaneous Core Rules
  1. The Type B Mulligan is expanded to include the case of only one land or one non-land.
  2. Channel, Chaos Orb and Falling Star have specific errata when used in a Type B environment.
  3. Card sleeves may be used so long as they are unmarked and do not prevent proper shuffling of a deck.  Decks which contain alpha cards, Magic® cards with non-standard backs, or cards which have been marked, must use opaque-backed sleeves.

The following core rules govern deck composition, by setting upper limits on the number of copies of a card which may appear in a deck + sideboard:

II. Basic Lands
(Forest, Island, Mountain, Plain, Swamp, and their snow-covered counterparts): no limit.

III. Dual Lands
(Badland, Bayou, Plateau, Savannah, Scrubland, Taiga, Tropical Island, Tundra, Underground Sea, Volcanic Island): limit four of each kind and eight total in a deck + sideboard combined.

IV. Banned Cards
Banned cards may not be included in a Type B deck or sideboard.
NOTE: some optional rules, when in effect, will override this rule in part, by allowing specific cards in a deck (the optional ante & Portal rules in particular).
The Banned list currently consists of:
  1. all cards involving ante;
  2. cards that appear in Portal but not in a basic or expansion set;
  3. the 1996 World Champion card.


V. Restricted List
Cards on the restricted list may appear only once in a deck and sideboard combined.  Furthermore, a deck + sideboard may not contain more than four restricted cards in total.
The restricted list is made up of cards that are extremely powerful in multiples or in combination with each other, but that do not merit banning.

VI. Limit Two List
The limit two list is designed to encourage variety in deck construction by limiting deck designs which are overly powerful, and specific cards which are overly useful.  No more than two copies of each limit two card may appear in a deck + sideboard combined.

VII. Other Cards
Any Magic® card not already covered by core rules II-VI given above, is limited to four copies in a deck + sideboard combined.

Preamble | Core Rules | Optional Rules | Restricted List | Limit 2 List | Errata | Mulligan Rule



Optional Rules

These rules are more controversial than the core rules outlined above, and involve modular additions to the Type B format which add to its flexibility.

There is no requirement that any of the optional rules must apply to a Type B environment (or tournament): it is up to the participants (or tournament director) to decide which, if any, of these optional rules should apply.

Note that some optional rules, when in effect, may override one or more of the core rules in whole or in part.

Optional Proxy Rule
If invoked, this rule allows each player to have up to six proxied cards in their play deck and sideboard combined.  The player does not need to own a copy of the card to use such a proxy.

In a tournament,
  1. proxied cards must be be created using a black ink permanent marker on any Magic® basic land card with a normal back.  The ink may not bleed through the card stock, and the proxy must not contain any "cross-out" corrections other than the blacking out of all text original to the basic land, whose name is to be replaced with the name of the proxied card.

  2. all proxies of different cards must be made with a different type of basic land card, and all proxies for the same card must be made with the same type of basic land.

  3. the player using the proxied card must provide a typed copy of the complete card text, type, and casting cost, which will be shown to the opponent upon declaring the casting of the spell.

  4. the use of an illegible or incomplete proxy or copy of card text will be taken as a declaration of forfeit.

  5. the tournament director must indicate that this optional rule will be used in all announcements for the tournament, by including the line "OPTIONAL 6-PROXY RULE IN EFFECT".  If this phrase is not included then proxy cards are banned.


Optional New Expansion Rule
New Magic® expansions are immediately legal after the official release date if the tournament announcements contain the phrase: "__________ ALLOWED", where the blank is the name of the expansion.  If no such mention is made, then the expansion does not become legal until one month after the expansion's official release date.

Optional Collector's Rule
If invoked, this rule allows each player to use Magic cards from sets produced by Wizards of the Coast that have non-standard backs, but which have legal equivalents with standard backs in print.  Such sets include the Collector's Edition and the Pro-Tour Collector sets.  All tournament announcements must contain the phrase: "OPTIONAL COLLECTOR'S RULE IN EFFECT".  If no such mention is made, the use of cards with non-standard backs is banned.

NOTE core rule I.3: decks which contain cards with non-standard backs must use opaque-backed sleeves.

Optional Portal Rule
If invoked, makes Portal 1, 2 & Portal 3 Kingdoms legal in Type B play.  All tournament announcements must contain the phrase: "PORTAL ALLOWED".  If no such mention is made, all Portal cards are banned.

Optional Ante Rule
If invoked, cards involving ante are legal in Type B play, and ante is played as originally written.  All tournament announcements must contain the phrase: "ANTE ALLOWED".  If no such mention is made, all cards involving ante are banned.

Preamble | Core Rules | Optional Rules | Restricted List | Limit 2 List | Errata | Mulligan Rule



Restricted List

 A  B  C  D  F  L
Ancestral Recall Balance Channel Demonic Tutor Fastbond Library of Alexandria
  Berserk Chaos Orb Divine Intervention    
  Black Lotus        

 M  R  S  T  W  X - Z
Memory Jar Regrowth Shahrazad Time Walk Wheel of Fortune Yawgmoth's Bargain
Mind Twist   Sol Ring Timetwister   Yawgmoth's Will
Mox Emerald     Tolarian Academy   Zuran Orb
Mox Jet          
Mox Pearl          
Mox Ruby          
Mox Sapphire          

Preamble | Core Rules | Optional Rules | Restricted List | Limit 2 List | Errata | Mulligan Rule



Limit Two List

 A  B  C  D  E  F
Abyss Bad Moon Candelabra of Tawnos Dissipate Earthcraft Feldon's Cane
Arcane Denial Ball Lighting Capsize Doomsday Empyrial Armor Fluctuator
Arcane Laboratory Black Vise Cataclysm Dream Halls Erhnam Djinn Forbid
Armageddon Bottomless Pit Chain Lightning     Force of Will
  Braingeyser Copy Artifact     Fork
    Counterspell      
    Crusade      
    Cursed Scroll      

 G  H  I  J  K  L
Gauntlet of Might Hatred Icy Manipulator Jester's Cap   Land Tax
Gerrard's Wisdom High Tide Ivory Tower Jihad   Lightning Bolt
Goblin Grenade Hurkyl's Recall   Juggernaut    
Grim Monolith Hymn to Tourach   Juzam Djinn    
  Hypnotic Spectre        

 M  N  O  P  Q  R
Mana Crypt Nether Void   Palinchron   Recall
Mana Drain     Propaganda   Recurring Nightmare
Mana Leak          
Mana Vault          
Masticore          
Maze of Ith          
Mind Over Matter          
Mirror Universe          
Mishra's Workshop          
Moat          
Morphling          

 S  T  U  V  W  X - Z
Serendib Efreet Thawing Glaciers Underworld Dreams Vampiric Turor Windfall  
Sinkhole Time Spiral   Voltaic Key Winter Orb  
Sneak Attack Tradewind Rider     Wrath of God  
Strip Mine          
Stroke of Genius          
Swords to Plowshares          

Preamble | Core Rules | Optional Rules | Restricted List | Limit 2 List | Errata | Mulligan Rule



Errata Specific to Type B

Preliminary Note

The expression "player's side of the table", used in the errata below, is defined as: the creatures, artifact creatures, artifacts, lands, and global enchantments controlled by that player, as well as local enchantments targeting creatures, artifact creatures, artifacts, lands, and global enchantments controlled by that player.


Channel

Channel should read as follows:

"Remove Channel from the game: Until end of turn you may add colourless mana to your mana pool at a cost of 1 life per one mana.  Effects that prevent or redirect damage cannot be used to counter this loss of life.  You may spend no more than 5 life in this way."


Chaos Orb

Chaos Orb should read as follows:

"<1T>: Choose a target player and roll a 10-sided dice.

On a roll of:
 0: Target player re-rolls as though they were the controller, they may choose a new target player;
 1: No Effect;
 2-7: Chaos Orb touches up to one card;
 8: Chaos Orb touches up to two cards;
 9: Chaos Orb touches up to 3 cards.

Touched cards are of controller's choice on target player's side of the table.  Chaos Orb does not target the cards which it touches.

Destroy Chaos Orb and all cards touched by it."


Falling Star

Falling Star should read as follows:

"Choose a target player and roll a 10-sided dice.

On a roll of:
 0: Target player re-rolls as though they were the controller, they may choose a new target player;
 1: No Effect;
 2-7: Falling Star touches up to one creature;
 8: Falling Star touches up to two creatures;
 9: Falling Star touches up to 3 creatures.

Touched creatures are of controller's choice on target player's side of the table.  Falling Star does not target the creatures which it touches.

Falling star does three damage to each creature that it touches.  Any creatures damaged by falling star that are not destroyed become tapped."


Preamble | Core Rules | Optional Rules | Restricted List | Limit 2 List | Errata | Mulligan Rule



Type B Mulligan Rule

Once all starting hands have been drawn at the beginning of a Type B game, and the play order (the order in which players will take turns) has been determined, it must be decided if any mulligans will be taken before play begins.  This is done as follows:

  1. The option of calling a mulligan falls to the first player in the play order.
  2. Once this option has been accepted or declined, the option of calling another mulligan passes to the next player in the play order.
  3. A player with the option of calling a mulligan may do so if, both: they have not already called a mulligan this game, and their hand contains 0, 1, 6, or 7 land cards.
  4. If a mulligan has been called, all other players have the option of taking the mulligan.  That is, shuffling their hand and deck together, allowing their opponent to recut, and then drawing a new hand.
  5. Once all players have declined to call a mulligan in succession, play begins.

Note: this means each player may call only one mulligan, but may take up more than one of them.


Preamble | Core Rules | Optional Rules | Restricted List | Limit 2 List | Errata | Mulligan Rule

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