So you’ve got your new Commander product, and you’ve played a few games, but now you want to take some of those cards and play them in a tournament. But then you realized that you don’t know what format they’re legal in. They’re certainly not standard-legal, but they have modern borders, so does that mean you can use them in a Modern tournament?

Special sets (like Commander 2013 or the duel decks) don’t affect the legality of a card. Just because a card like Sol Ring was printed in Commander 2013 does not mean that Sol Ring is legal in Modern, since Sol Ring is not printed in a Modern-legal set. But you could use a card that is printed in a Modern-legal set (like Wrath of God), since Wrath of God was printed in a set legal in Modern.

What about the new cards that were printed? What kind of tournaments can I use cards like Unexpectantly Absent or Bane of Progress in? You can use them in Legacy or Vintage tournaments. Vintage and Legacy are what we call “Eternal formats”, meaning that, unless the card is banned or restricted, you can pretty much use a card from any Magic set. This includes special sets like Commander 2013. And while the cards may have a modern-frame border, that’s not what the Modern format is looking for (it’s just a handy guide). So the new cards that were printed in Commander 2013 are not legal in Modern (or Standard).

So, in short, unless you’re playing Legacy or Vintange, Commander 2013 didn’t actually add any new cards to the format, but it may have given you a new place to acquire some of the cards. Have fun!

Today’s Tournament Tip written by Nathan Long