Magic: the Gathering: Playground Magic

Playground Magic

Remember playing magic in the playground as a kid (or perhaps you remember the early days of magic), when you played with unsleeved decks kept together by nothing more than a rubber band?

Playground Magic is a format that encourages players to use unsleeved and worn-out cards, just like they used to play when they were kids. It's a celebration of the nostalgia and character of old Magic cards, and it's a great way to experience the game in a more tactile and immersive way.

Why should you play?

You like the tactile feel of handling and shuffling actual cards
Espress yourself. All mint/near mint cards look the same but a played card has character; it has been loved and played, and that can be seen in the unique wear pattern.
As an added bonus, you get to traumatise most onlookers while shuffling :)

Deck Presentation

Decks must be:

Unsleeved
Held together by an elastic band

Heavy played unlimited cards are preferred; inevitably the card backs will be marked but no one card should stand out as exceptionally so.

It is traditional to give your deck to your opponent for a shuffle at the start of a game; we recommend a good riffle shuffle.

Deck Structure

A legal deck has the following:

A minimum of 60 cards
Optionally, a sideboard of up to 15 cards

With deck and sideboard combined you may have:

Any number of basic lands
No more than 1 copy of each restricted card
No more than 4 copies of any other legal card

Card Legality

Playground Magic follows the Swedish Old School rules with the English reprint policy. These are shown below for convenience.

As of 17th September 2023, the following sets are legal:

Alpha
Beta
Unlimited
Arabian Nights
Antiquities
Legends
The Dark

Ante cards are legal if and only if you are playing for Ante.

The following cards are restricted to one. If you have the cash to burn:

Ancestral Recall
Balance
Black Lotus
Braingeyser
Channel

Chaos Orb
Contract from Below (ante)
Darkpact (ante)
Demonic Tutor
Library of Alexandria

Mana Drain
Mind Twist
Mishra's Workshop
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet

Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Regrowth
Sol Ring

Strip Mine
Tempest Efreet (ante)
Time Walk
Timetwister
Wheel of Fortune

Reprint Policy

Reprints are legal if they are:

Old frame
Original art
Non foil
Have standard magic backs

The usual Revised and Summer Magic misprints (Serendib Efreet, Plateau, Hurricane, etc.) are also allowed.

Errata


Chaos Orb (2)

Artifact

1, Tap: Choose a nontoken permanent on the battlefield. If Chaos Orb is on the battlefield, flip Chaos Orb onto the battlefield from a height of at least one foot. If Chaos Orb turns over completely at least once during the flip, and touches the chosen permanent, destroy that permanent. Then destroy Chaos Orb.



Falling Star (2R)

Sorcery

Choose any number of non-overlapping creatures on the battlefield. Flip Falling Star from a height of at least one foot. If Falling Star turns over completely at least 360 degrees during the flip, it deals 3 damage to each chosen creature it lands on. Any creatures damaged by Falling Star that are not destroyed become tapped.

Note: For both dexterity cards, you are allowed a “fair flip”; i.e. you may move the card(s) you’re choosing to a different position on the playing area to get a good flip. If you are Forking a Falling Star, please note that the copy should not be disrupting the gamestate. Do not use a bowl of soup to represent the copy and flip over your opponents cards. Be reasonable.

Changelog

Date	Change
17th September 2023	Initial Creation