Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is this forum for?
A: This forum is for discussion of the current Type 2 (Standard) format. You can discuss T2 Rotation, new sets in this forum. Card strategys, standard philosophy, events, players, and the metagame.

Q: How do I Autocard?
A: Example: Damnation (Damnation).

Q: What is Type 2/Standard?
A: Standard and Type 2 are the same thing; a format consisting of the latest two blocks and the latest core set. The format is one of the most competitive and the most common tournament format. Whenever a new block enters the format, another block leaves, which keeps the format fresh, but it's also sad sometimes, because you often see good sets leave the format. This is partly the reason many prefer “Eternal” formats, like Vintage, which never shift. However, no matter how much you have against this format, it's fun and is still the most popular Magic format.

The card sets currently allowed in Standard are the following:


    * Magic Core Set 2011
    * Zendikar
    * Worldwake   
    * Rise of the Eldrazi
    * Scars of Mirrodin
   

Q: Are any cards banned in Type 2?
A: No; there are no cards banned in Type 2 at the moment. Note that there aren’t any restricted cards, either: the only format that has restricted cards is Vintage.

Cards are usually banned when they are is too powerful, and every deck runs the card or builds around it. An example of this is Skullclamp, which was banned because it was so overpowered.

Q: Is there a limit to the number of copies of a card I can use in my deck?
A: Yes. In any constructed tournament, Standard or otherwise, you can only have four copies of any one card in your deck, with the sole exception of basic lands. (Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, Forest, Snow-Covered Plains, Snow-Covered Island, Snow-Covered Swamp, Snow-Covered Mountain and Snow-Covered Forest.)

Q: What are the Tiers?
A: The tiers are a leveled system to show the popularity of a given deck. Tier 1 indicates the most popular decks, tier 2 refers to decks that often see tournament play, and so on. Note that, it is this poster's opinion that ranking each deck with clear set tier numbers (some people go as far as ranking with decimals, like tier 1,5) is a wasteful discussion, and given that metas are always mutating, that people should instead focus on testing a variety of decks nevertheless, regardless of their "tier" numbers.

Q: Can I use an old card if it is the same as a card printed in a standard-legal set?
A: Yes. You can use any tournament-legal cards in a Type 2 deck as long as it has been reprinted in a Standard-legal set. (You can see a list of those sets further up on this page.)

Q: I have some cards that have gold borders and a black card back. Are these cards legal for Type 2 play?
A: No. These cards come from the "World Championship" decks that Wizards of the Coast releases after every World Championship event. (Once a year.) Cards with borders that aren’t black or white, or cards with irregular card backs are not allowed in tournaments of any sort.

Q: What is a "Rogue" deck?
A: A rogue deck is a deck that is not listed on the tier system, for example, a deck based on Yawgmoth's Will . A rogue deck often catches the metagame by surprise and can often win large tournaments simply by being rogue, as they are not listed on the tiers, so other decks are not prepared for them. Rogue decks have to be made perfectly and tested a lot, because a bad rogue deck will most likely lose to the best decks in the format. Whether a deck is rogue or not does not matter if it's not very good.

Q: What is a "netdeck"?
A: A "netdeck" is a deck that is taken right off of the internet. Many players heavily dislike this, because they like to be creative, but netdecking is, despite its bad press, a good way to get a grasp on the format and know which cards are good and which are not. Netdecking often helps new players more than making their own deck, even if making your own deck is more fun; it’s also quite an advantage for those who make rogue decks, since they can accurately predict a large portion of the field, and therefore make a deck that is even better against the metagame.

Q: What is this I hear about "aggro", "control" and "combo", and can I get a description of these concepts?
Aggro, or aggressive decks, like to play fast, with lots of cheap creatures to overwhelm an opponent before they get the chance to gain control of the game. Aggro needs plenty of utility cards to help them in the long run, though, because after turn 6 or 7, they don't have much pressure left on the opponent. Typical aggro cards are Tarmogoyf, Goldmeadow Stalwart and Mogg Fanatic.

Control decks like to play slow and not let their opponents make his or her own decisions by being able to counter their most dangerous spells and keep control of the board with cards like Wrath of God. Control has some problems with fast aggro decks though, because they often rely on countering spells and not on playing early blockers to sabotage the aggro decks.

Combo decks are decks that rely on a particular combination of cards that, when used together, handily win the combo player the game. A combo deck usually has cards that can tutor for the combo pieces they need to win. Most combo decks are rogue, and have great problems with control decks that run countermagic. On the other hand, they can trounce aggro decks, because aggressive decks usually have no way to stop the combo player from "going off" and winning the game with his combo.

Dec 16, 2010 -- 1:52PM, Mono789 wrote:

Also note this in the contacts section:
My AIM is xMono789.
Royk's AIM is roykillany, though he isn't on there very often.

Well you were not around when I posted this, was gonna ask if you wanted additional contact infromation.

The information from Advice for New Posters should probably be merged into the FAQ.

Dec 9, 2012 -- 6:18PM, Jman22 wrote:

Dec 9, 2012 -- 1:59PM, bubba0077 wrote:

The information from Advice for New Posters should probably be merged into the FAQ.

You say that like any of the information in this thread is accurate anymore. For example, this has obviously not been changed since Scars of Mirrodin came out.

As far as I know, Mono isn't even a VCL, and I think I've seen COP post like twice in the past 5 months.

What we need is to just have a new thread be made and sticky that one instead of this one.

There's a lot of things that need to be changed on this forum, anyway.

I'm aware of that. The link is as much a reminder when that new FAQ is made as anything else, and in the meantime at least it is there for new posters to read.