MTG List: The Perfect Format

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Creature (353)

Sorcery (82)

Instant (77)

Land (57)

Enchantment (34)

Artifact (21)

Planeswalker (15)

Description

We argue about what is fun, so here is an attempt to construct the perfect constructed format. Principles of this list are as follows:

1--Creatures aren't obsolete. Removal and Counterspells must be restricted enough that aggro, midrange, and control can have viable, good options for any matchup.

2--Deckbuilding choices matter. A well tuned, considered deck should have an advantage over more blunt decision making. This, however, does not negate that other factors matter and the more correct deck will not always win.

3--Gameplay decisions matter. Removal and combat are laid out with options that reward optimal decisions, sometimes prompt action, sometimes delayed response. Decks should not play themselves by only having one option each turn.

4--Both players should get to play and interact outside of mana greed. The format should not be constructed so that one player gets to play and control the game to the point that the other player gets to do nothing.

5--Mana bases should matter. If mana is too flexible, the format will become more homogenized as 5 color good stuff. Good mana should be available, but come with cost or consistency risks.

6--The format is deep, but approachable to less experienced players. This means that the number of mechanics must be limited, individual cards should be as intuitive as is feasible, and cards that overcomplicate the stack or boardstate should be avoided. Many of these cards are very fun, and mechanic soup is fun, a perfect format should be enjoyable for players of various levels of enfranchisement.

7--Cards of various time periods, representing diverse groups, and multiple planes should be present. The lore and flavor of magic matters. Nostalgia is a major point for many players. Many players directly love a certain tribe or plane. Players should be able to see people who look like them in a game that is expressive. While these options don't have to be stronger than other options, they should be available.

8--Colors should be relatively balanced in power level. This might mean some colors have less options but stronger singular cards. There should not be a huge disparity in color count, but some color disparity is reasonable.

9--Iconic cards and mechanics should be used when applicable, but a consideration of power should also be made. Many iconic cards are iconic for being strong enough to homogenize formats. Black Lotus is iconic and memorable, but far too strong for a tuneable format.

10--This list can be iterated on, but the reasons of iteration and date of these should be logged, to further inform the tug of war that is the pursuit of the perfect format.

The card pool emulates the number of cards that are playable in standard, which is a large but digestible number of cards. Each card can be played as 4 copies, with a minimum deck size of 60 cards. Gameplay is expected to be 2 players starting with 20 life, but the format of the list may allow for cubing or Brawl adjacent gameplay as well. Additionally, as an allowance, Hybrid Mana, Cycling, and Scrying are considered Evergreen for these sets. Hybrid mana is considered less of (Green White card) than (Green and/or White card), and should be considered for single colored decks.

The sets are based as as the following: Set 1-Board Establishment Push and Pull WUBRG-Energy, but little to no energy artifacts WUB-Foretell RG-Bloodrush Set 2-Card Types Matter+Cards make other types WUBR-Spellcraft WGR-Populate BRG-Food Tokens WUBG-Constellation Set 3-Graveyard Shards WUG-Flashback WUB-Embalm UBR-Madness BRG-Delirium WRG-Graveyard Land Synergies Set 4-Diverse Wedges WBG-Proliferate WUR-Cycling Matters WBR-Undying UBG-Delve URG-Kicker Set 5-Tribal/Core Set W-Cats, Lifegain U-Faeries, Flash B-Vampires, Life Loss R-Elementals, Land Count G-Elves, Untap