Players may use any Authorized Magic Game Cards from Magic: The Gathering expansions, core sets, special sets, supplements, and promotional printings. Authorized Game Cards must be regulation-sized, genuine Magic cards publicly released by Wizards of the Coast. Cards that are not Authorized Game Cards are prohibited in all sanctioned events.
This section of the MTR defines authorized cards. It used to spell out what cards were allowed, however Wizards has printed so many ‘whacky’ things in the last several years, that it has become easier to define what is not an Authorized Card, than what is. Essentially we start with the universe of ‘everything printed by Wizards’, and then define groups of “no, not these”.
Cards that, unaltered, feature gold borders on their front or back, and cards from the “Heroes of the Realm” and Theros block “Challenge Deck” series (usually denoted by a different card back), are not Authorized Game Cards.
Some collector edition cards feature gold borders on the front or back. Most ‘Heroes of the Realm’ cards do not have a standard Magic back, although one does.
Silver-bordered cards and cards with an acorn-shaped security stamp or acorn-shaped symbol may only be used in casual events and only when the format explicitly permits them.
Previously all un-cards were silver boarder. However in order to increase their perceived legitimacy in casual play, WoTC discontinued silver boards, and instead use an acorn symbol to indicate the cards nutty-ness. Occasionally WOTC will create exceptions to tournament play for Silver Bordered events.
Cards labeled “Not for constructed play,” “Playtest”, or featuring a playtest sticker or picture of a playtest sticker on another Magic card may not be used in Constructed events.
These are for some cards from Mystery Boosters, or the special event Gavin Verhey hosts at MagicCons, or random secret lair style inserts.
Wizards includes additional game material in packs, intended as game aids and not as traditional cards. Examples include tokens, title cards, dungeons, and art cards. These are not required for play and players are welcome to use any representation that is clear to both players when they are needed in the game.
While its fairly obvious that advertisements in packs are not cards, we do want to call out that tokens, dungeons, stickers, and The Ring Tempts You cards are not real cards. But the more relevant part of this rule is that a player does not actually need a physical Dungeon insert to Venture into the Dungeon. If both players are clear as to what is going on, any representation is fine. If you want to make your favorite dungeon into your playmat, go for it.
Players may use otherwise-legal non-English and/or misprinted cards provided they are not using them to create an advantage by using misleading text or pictures. Official promotional textless spells are allowed in sanctioned Magic tournaments in which they would otherwise be legal.
It is not required that players play with cards that are printed in the native language of the area in which the tournament is being run. If a player needs to know what a card does, either because it is in a language they cannot read, or it is a textless printing, they may call for a judge and ask for the Oracle text.
There are some famous misprints whose art is from a different card. For example, the German-language printing of Revised had a Forest (Wald) with Plains art. These cards, while an interesting curiosity, create an ambiguous and confusing game state and should not be used in tournament play.
Artistic modifications are acceptable in sanctioned tournaments, provided that the modifications do not make the card art unrecognizable, contain substantial strategic advice, or contain offensive images. Artistic modifications also may not obstruct or change the mana cost or name of the card.
While the Head Judge of an event may decide to allow or disallow any given altered card, it is important to keep the above guidelines in mind. If the art is still recognizable, the name and mana cost are not obstructed, and the card is not distinguishable from any other card in the deck while in a hidden zone (like the paint made it noticeably thicker), then it should be allowed. The potential offensiveness of an alter is a more subjective area and should likely have a more conservative approach. Another thing to note, is that the alter cannot contain substantial strategic advice. This means it can have non-substantial strategic advice. An example of an acceptable non-substantial strategic alter is writing “play me pre-combat” on a creature with haste. That alter does technically contain strategic advise, but you can’t make an argument that that advice is substantial, because…what else do you want to do with a hasty boi? In fact, the opposite, outlining the reasons/conditions you would NOT want to play a haste creature in pre-combat main would probably qualify as substantial strategic advice.
The Head Judge is the final authority on acceptable cards for a tournament.
To ensure consistency within any given tournament, the Head Judge is the sole arbiter of the legality of a card. It is good practice for players using altered cards to get approval from the Head Judge prior to the start of the tournament.
If a player is required to replace a card in their deck and is unable to find a replacement, the player may replace the card with a card named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, or Forest of their choice. This also applies to cards that are lost. and must be replaced to have a legal deck.
Never issue proxies for marked cards, unless it is a Limited format event and the cards were opened marked. Foils in humid environments are sometimes marked fresh out of the package. Note that lost sideboard cards are not required to be replaced with lands. The player may revert back to the original configuration if acceptable replacements are found later in the event. Please note that wastes and snow covered lands are not acceptable replacement lands!
The Head Judge of a tournament may issue a proxy (see section 3.4) for a card that has become worn or damaged during the tournament.
Further discussion of proxies may be found in MTR section 3.4, but it is important to note that a proxy may only be issued by the Head Judge of an event, and should only be issued for cards that are damaged during the course of the tournament, or from damaged or misprinted Limited product. The original, damaged card must be kept near the play area and will replace the proxy whenever that card is on the stack or the battlefield.
