Hello everyone, this is BoBoFraggles once again bringing you some great MTGO news! This time, I will be introducing the newly made and incredibly fun MTGO Classic format.
This fan-made format is the brainchild of MTGO users OldSchoolGrinder & PastaFazu. It came to be discovered by watching their games between friends in the Freeform tournament practice room, becoming interested and gaining new players. Eventually the Magic Online Society took notice, created an official discord and even a monthly tournament series! Below I will talk a bit about what this format it is and how you can join in on the great fun. It is important to say that this is an "Old School Format". The biggest distinction between Classic and Old School though, is that Classic is MTGO specific.
Old school has never ported over to MTGO well due inexistence of many of the key staples in that format. Cards such as Chaos Orb do not exist on MTGO, thus cannot be used. To combat this and still give an OS feel, we have expanded the available card pool to 1998, and allow the Tempest block.
Allowing these extra cards, ensures an OS feel, while breathing new life into many archetypes and introducing amazing and fun gameplay. In the FAQ below, I will discuss the key points of the format! Why this format?
Old School is an incredibly popular format, one that has difficulty porting over to MTGO due to the lack of very format defining cards. Some cards were never even created on MTGO, so the format does not work very well on the platform.
This does not mean players cannot play a fun and exciting format that has a classic feel on MTGO. By expanding the card pool until 1998 and allowing the tempest block, the format opens up greatly and a ton of decks are viable. There is a nice amount of combo / aggro / control / midrange strategies to choose from.
Is there a banned list?
This format does not have a banned list. Instead, there is a restricted list, the initial restricted list is very similar to that of the 1998 Type 1 Format, there are a few small changes. You can find that information within the discord, under the restriction channel. Additionally, if the card was never printed on MTGO, it cannot be used due to client restrictions.
Does this format have events?
Yes! Currently there is a monthly league of MTGO Classic that is played through The Magic Online Society. Players sign up through discord and Gatherling.com. Deck lists are collected through Gatherling.com and we will be publishing the deck lists every month, creating a database for players to sort through! There are prizes awarded for playing and the league is completely free for participating! 1st place receives 3 event tickets 2nd place receives 2 event tickets 3rd/4th each get 1 event ticket Overall, this format has been an absolute joy to play. We hope that you decide to give it a try. You can join the conversation by joining our discord link here: https://discord.gg/xndpMBHrup As always, thanks for reading! Viva la MTGO!! BoboFraggles