Magic: The Gathering is finally officially acknowledging a longtime fan-made multiplayer format

A casual Magic: The Gathering multiplayer format has officially been recognized by Wizards of the Coast, expanding the card game and opening up design possibilities for the future. 

Casual unofficial formats have existed in MTG since the card game was first created. The Commander format, formerly known as Elder Dragon Highland and now Magic’s most popular format, started off as a local game store and kitchen table format among friends. Similar to WotC recognizing Commander, the organization has now made Oathbreaker an official casual format of MTG. 

There are 23 official MTG formats with the addition of Oathbreaker. The fan-made format has had its creation attributed to a group called Weirdcards Charitable Club, which has a charity program called Magikids. Similar to the Commander format, Oathbreaker uses a planeswalker and a signature spell in the command zone as opposed to any legendary creature. 

The Oathbreaker format also uses only 60 total cards in a deck instead of 100 and each player starts with 20 life points. There are also rules that align with the Commander format. 

• A deck can only include the MTG colors that are represented on the chosen planeswalker.
• Players can only have one copy of each card in the deck.
• Casting the planeswalker or signature spell from the command zone after the first time costs two additional mana for each previous time the spells were cast.
• A player’s planeswalker and signature spell return to the command zone after getting cast or removed from the battlefield. 
• A player can attack any other player regardless of position.
• Oathbreaker is played with three to five players.

Big changes are coming to MTG with the release of March of the Machine, from an extra Rare or Mythic Rare card in Draft boosters to how the Multiverse will look following the Phyrexian invasion. With several planeswalkers falling to glistening oil during Phyrexia: All Will Be One, it’s possible that planeswalker cards in Magic will have a new design or mechanic going forward. 

These types of changes could open up design opportunities for the Oathbreaker format, which at time of writing isn’t getting supported by any new products from Wizards of the Coast. 

Players can check out the Weirdcards website to learn more about the Oathbreaker format and donate unused cards to the Magikids program.