Magic: the Gathering in the UK
EDH Official Rules
As more people are taking an interest in EDH at the Games Club, I thought it would probably be a good idea to post the rules up on Demonic Tutor so they'd be easily accessible. I'm not mentioning the "banned" list as its too controversial and not covered by any official rules because EDH is a casual format. These are the official rules from the Comprehensive Rulebook - if you don't like them you'll have to take it up with Wizards:
903. EDH
903.1. In the EDH variant, each deck is led by a legendary creature designated as that deck’s general. The EDH variant uses all the normal rules for a Magic game, with the following additions.
903.2. An EDH game may be a two-player game or a multiplayer game. The default multiplayer setup is the Free-for-All variant with the attack multiple players option and without the limited range of influence option. See rule 805, “Free-for-All Variant.”
903.3. Each deck has a legendary creature card designated as its general. This designation is not a characteristic of the object represented by the card; rather, it is an attribute of the card itself. The card retains this designation even when it changes zones.
Example: A general that’s been turned face down (due to Ixidron’s effect, for example) is still a general. A general that’s copying another card (due to Cytoshape’s effect, for example) is still a general. A permanent that’s copying a general (such as a Body Double, for example, copying a general in a player’s graveyard) is not a general.
903.4. Each EDH deck is subject to the following deck construction rules.
903.4a Each deck must contain exactly 100 cards, including its general.
903.4b Other than basic lands, each card in an EDH deck must have a different English name.
903.4c A card may be included in an EDH deck only if each mana symbol contained within its mana cost or rules text is colorless or is a color or colors that’s in the general’s mana cost.
Example: A deck has a white-blue general. Each mana symbol in each card in that deck must be white, blue, white-blue hybrid, or colorless.
903.4d A basic land card may be included in an EDH deck only if it could produce a color of mana that’s in the general’s mana cost.
Example: A deck has a white-blue general. It may include basic Plains and basic Islands, but not basic Swamps, basic Mountains, or basic Forests.
903.5. At the start of the game, each player puts his or her general face up next to his or her library. The generals start the game in the command zone. Then each player shuffles the remaining 99 cards of his or her deck so that the cards are in a random order. Those cards become the player’s library.
903.6. Once the starting player has been determined, each player sets his or her life total to 40 and draws a hand of seven cards.
903.7. The EDH casual variant uses an alternate mulligan rule. Each time a player takes a mulligan, rather than shuffling his or her entire hand of cards into his or her library, that player exiles any number of cards from his or her hand. Then the player draws a number of cards equal to one less than the number of cards he or she exiled this way. Once a player keeps an opening hand, that player shuffles all cards he or she exiled this way into his or her library.
903.8. If a player would add mana to his or her mana pool of a color that isn’t in the mana cost of his or her deck’s general, that player adds colorless mana to his or her mana pool instead.
903.9. A player may cast a general he or she owns from the command zone. Doing so costs that player an additional {2} for each previous time he or she cast that general from the command zone that game.
903.10. If a general would be put into its owner’s graveyard from anywhere, that player may put it into the command zone instead.
903.11. If a general would be put into the exile zone from anywhere, its owner may put it into the command zone instead.
903.12. The EDH variant includes the following specification for winning and losing the game. All other rules for winning and losing the game also apply. (See rule 104.)
903.12a A player that’s been dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same general over the course of the game loses the game. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)
903. EDH
903.1. In the EDH variant, each deck is led by a legendary creature designated as that deck’s general. The EDH variant uses all the normal rules for a Magic game, with the following additions.
903.2. An EDH game may be a two-player game or a multiplayer game. The default multiplayer setup is the Free-for-All variant with the attack multiple players option and without the limited range of influence option. See rule 805, “Free-for-All Variant.”
903.3. Each deck has a legendary creature card designated as its general. This designation is not a characteristic of the object represented by the card; rather, it is an attribute of the card itself. The card retains this designation even when it changes zones.
Example: A general that’s been turned face down (due to Ixidron’s effect, for example) is still a general. A general that’s copying another card (due to Cytoshape’s effect, for example) is still a general. A permanent that’s copying a general (such as a Body Double, for example, copying a general in a player’s graveyard) is not a general.
903.4. Each EDH deck is subject to the following deck construction rules.
903.4a Each deck must contain exactly 100 cards, including its general.
903.4b Other than basic lands, each card in an EDH deck must have a different English name.
903.4c A card may be included in an EDH deck only if each mana symbol contained within its mana cost or rules text is colorless or is a color or colors that’s in the general’s mana cost.
Example: A deck has a white-blue general. Each mana symbol in each card in that deck must be white, blue, white-blue hybrid, or colorless.
903.4d A basic land card may be included in an EDH deck only if it could produce a color of mana that’s in the general’s mana cost.
Example: A deck has a white-blue general. It may include basic Plains and basic Islands, but not basic Swamps, basic Mountains, or basic Forests.
903.5. At the start of the game, each player puts his or her general face up next to his or her library. The generals start the game in the command zone. Then each player shuffles the remaining 99 cards of his or her deck so that the cards are in a random order. Those cards become the player’s library.
903.6. Once the starting player has been determined, each player sets his or her life total to 40 and draws a hand of seven cards.
903.7. The EDH casual variant uses an alternate mulligan rule. Each time a player takes a mulligan, rather than shuffling his or her entire hand of cards into his or her library, that player exiles any number of cards from his or her hand. Then the player draws a number of cards equal to one less than the number of cards he or she exiled this way. Once a player keeps an opening hand, that player shuffles all cards he or she exiled this way into his or her library.
903.8. If a player would add mana to his or her mana pool of a color that isn’t in the mana cost of his or her deck’s general, that player adds colorless mana to his or her mana pool instead.
903.9. A player may cast a general he or she owns from the command zone. Doing so costs that player an additional {2} for each previous time he or she cast that general from the command zone that game.
903.10. If a general would be put into its owner’s graveyard from anywhere, that player may put it into the command zone instead.
903.11. If a general would be put into the exile zone from anywhere, its owner may put it into the command zone instead.
903.12. The EDH variant includes the following specification for winning and losing the game. All other rules for winning and losing the game also apply. (See rule 104.)
903.12a A player that’s been dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same general over the course of the game loses the game. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by wv on
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Thanks Kieran - I didn't realise the 21 damage rule.
Also, this confirms that generals can be reanimated from the graveyard, as you 'may' put your general in the command zone instead of the graveyard - there has been some confusion about this.
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Permalink Reply by Dan Barrett on
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For the purposes of avoiding infinite arguments, shall we agree that the "suggested" banned list will be kept to?
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Which one?
That is the problem...
Dan Barrett said:For the purposes of avoiding infinite arguments, shall we agree that the "suggested" banned list will be kept to?
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If you want to enjoy the type of games you've heard associated with EDH, avoid cards like these:
* Ancestral Recall
* Balance
* Biorhythm
* Black Lotus
* Coalition Victory
* Fastbond
* Gifts Ungiven
* Grindstone
* Kokusho, the Evening Star
* Karakas
* Library of Alexandria
* Limited Resources
* Lion's Eye Diamond
* Metalworker
* Mox Sapphire, Ruby, Pearl, Emerald and Jet
* Panoptic Mirror
* Protean Hulk
* Recurring Nightmare
* Riftsweeper (Unbanned as of 2009-09-10)
* Sway of the Stars
* Time Vault
* Time Walk
* Tinker
* Upheaval
* Worldgorger Dragon
* Yawgmoth's Bargain
Additionally the following legends should not be used as a General:
* Braids, Cabal Minion (Effective 2009-06-20)
In other news, fuck Sheldon Menery.
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This is a fair list I think.
I'll be playing to this 'ban list'.
Dan Barrett said:If you want to enjoy the type of games you've heard associated with EDH, avoid cards like these:
* Ancestral Recall
* Balance
* Biorhythm
* Black Lotus
* Coalition Victory
* Fastbond
* Gifts Ungiven
* Grindstone
* Kokusho, the Evening Star
* Karakas
* Library of Alexandria
* Limited Resources
* Lion's Eye Diamond
* Metalworker
* Mox Sapphire, Ruby, Pearl, Emerald and Jet
* Panoptic Mirror
* Protean Hulk
* Recurring Nightmare
* Riftsweeper (Unbanned as of 2009-09-10)
* Sway of the Stars
* Time Vault
* Time Walk
* Tinker
* Upheaval
* Worldgorger Dragon
* Yawgmoth's Bargain
Additionally the following legends should not be used as a General:
* Braids, Cabal Minion (Effective 2009-06-20)
In other news, fuck Sheldon Menery.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Titmarsh on
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Despite not being in the official rules, this is also the banned list that is likely to be enforced by Wizards in the EDH side events at worlds.
Warren Vonk said:This is a fair list I think.
I'll be playing to this 'ban list'.
Dan Barrett said:If you want to enjoy the type of games you've heard associated with EDH, avoid cards like these:
* Ancestral Recall
* Balance
* Biorhythm
* Black Lotus
* Coalition Victory
* Fastbond
* Gifts Ungiven
* Grindstone
* Kokusho, the Evening Star
* Karakas
* Library of Alexandria
* Limited Resources
* Lion's Eye Diamond
* Metalworker
* Mox Sapphire, Ruby, Pearl, Emerald and Jet
* Panoptic Mirror
* Protean Hulk
* Recurring Nightmare
* Riftsweeper (Unbanned as of 2009-09-10)
* Sway of the Stars
* Time Vault
* Time Walk
* Tinker
* Upheaval
* Worldgorger Dragon
* Yawgmoth's Bargain
Additionally the following legends should not be used as a General:
* Braids, Cabal Minion (Effective 2009-06-20)
In other news, fuck Sheldon Menery.
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