SUPER MAGIC

A Multiversal Magic: The Gathering Format

SUPER Magic is a Magic: The Gathering format consisting of all cards printed outside of Magic's own IP. It takes its name from Nintendo's Super Smash Bros, which sees characters from various franchises fight it out. This is the Magic: The Gathering equivalent. Attack with Godzilla and block with Optimus Prime. Go off with Stranger Things' Mindflayer, and remove your opponent's Tyranid Hormagaunt Horde with your "Hadouken!". You've seen the meme; now play the meme.

SUPER MAGIC

  • Rule 1) SUPER Magic follows the usual game rules of a 1v1, best of three, 60-card format.

  • Rule 2) A card is legal if it exclusively depicts a non-Magic: The Gathering IP, and is otherwise a tournament legal Magic card.

  • Rule 3) The version of the card used MUST be the version that depicts the non-Magic IP. This includes basic lands.

  • Rule 4) Because many of these cards lack reprints, proxies are encouraged, so long as they do not alter the card's artwork.

  • Rule 5) Because the format encourages proxies, and is currently largely played online, officially spoiled cards that are not yet released are legal. (In the format's current state, having to wait for a card to officially release would feel unnecessary).

The full list of legal cards can be found on Scryfall here.To find specific SUPER legal cards, do a Scryfall advanced search, then copy in the parameters linked above. You will see all legal SUPER cards that fit within your search.

Some SUPER Magic Staples
Balin's Tomb (Lord of the Rings)
Dark Ritual (Warhammer 40K)
Hadoken (Street Fighter)
Imperial Recruiter (Romance of the Three Kingdoms)
Orcish Bowmasters (Lord of the Rings)
Path to Exile (Arcane)
Ponder (Doctor Who)
Preordain (Doctor Who)
Skullclamp (Warhammer 40K)
Swords to Plowshares (Lord of the Rings)
The One Ring (Lord of the Rings)
White Plume Adventurer (D&D)

SUPER MAGIC

Banlist
Sol Ring
Mana VaultWatchlist
Castle of Aaargh
Caves of Chaos Adventurer
Imperial Seal
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes
Seasoned Dungeoneer
Skullclamp
The One RingThis is an extremely small and new format without the access to a large amount of data. Playtesting is in very early stages. Suggestions for additions to the banlist are welcome via the format's Twitter.

SUPER MAGIC

SUPER EDH is a casual format that uses legality rules of SUPER Magic with the game and deckbuilding rules of Commander/EDH. The normal banlist of SUPER Magic does not apply. However, if a card is banned in Commander/EDH, it is also banned in SUPER EDH. A full list of legal cards is here.

SUPER MAGIC

Tournament Reports & Decklists

As a new format, there is no established meta of decks. Here are some suggestions:

  • Mono Black Artifacts (Vault of Whispers, Cranial Plating, Battle Bus, Balin's Tomb)

  • Gruul Midrange (Minsc & Boo, Atalan Jackal, Old One Eye, Max the Daredevil)

  • Rakdos Reanimator (Dark Ritual, Reanimate, Faithless Looting, Dread Return)

  • Goblins (Hobgoblin Bandit Lord, Moria Marauder)

  • Elves (Elvish Archdruid, Elvish Warmaster)

  • Humans (Rick, Steadfast Leader, Dr John Seward)

SUPER MAGIC

Why create this format?This format was created, strangely, out of mixed feelings toward Universes Beyond and Magic's foray into outside-IPs like D&D. I didn't like the idea of Magic's cool and original lore and flavour being mixed with completely different IPs, particularly ones that actively clashed with it. Like many, I watched in horror as the Fortnite Secret Lair was announced. I had recurring nightmares about my Thran-inspired Vorthos EDH deck going up against Rick from The Walking Dead.But, on the other hand, I enjoy D&D, Warhammer 40K, and Doctor Who. And fine, I'll admit it, I play Fortnite. The solution then was almost obvious: play the cool and weird cards printed from other IPs using the best rules-system in the world – Magic: The Gathering – but don't mix those IPs with Magic itself. And so you have Super Smash Bros, the Magic: The Gathering Format: SUPER Magic.How do I actually play the format?Since this is early days for SUPER, you can join our small Discord server and post you're looking for a game. Or just play casually with your own playgroup.For playing online, there are two options. First, Tabletop Simulator. You can use frogtown.me to import your cards into Tabletop Sim with the correct printings. Second, is untap.in. Magic Online and open source variants don't necessarily have every card or printing.Why not just make all Universes Beyond cards legal, and nothing else? Wouldn't that be simpler?This might seem like a simpler legality rule, but this would make for some unintuitive exclusions, including 'skinned' cards like the Godzilla and Dracula cards, and cards from D&D settings like Baldur's Gate.In the spirit of the format – where we want people to play with all their favourite non-MTG characters and create a Super Smash Bros feel – excluding Baldur's Gate 3 characters, for example, wouldn't make much sense and would be a feel-bad for new SUPER players.It would also include some Magic settings, such as Ravnica as depicted in the Universes Beyond product Ravnica: Clue Edition.Why is [x set/card] legal?Portal Three Kingdoms: Unlike Arabian Nights, Portal Three Kingdoms is not set within the Magic: The Gathering multiverse and inspired by real fiction. Rather, it is a direct depiction of events and characters of the famous historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. As such, it holds the same status as the Dracula cards and others. It is therefore legal in SUPER.Why isn't [x set/card] legal?Arabian Nights: When the first Magic expansion released in 1993, it was intended to depict the setting of the folklore collection One Thousand and One Nights. Had SUPER existed in 1993, Arabian Nights cards certainly would have been a part of the format. However, decades ago, the set was retconned to be part of the Magic: The Gathering setting, on the plane of Rabiah.Ravnica: Clue Edition: Though including Universes Beyond cards, and being based on the non-Magic IP Clue or Cluedo, cards from Ravnica: Clue Edition break Rule 2: they do not exclusively depict a non-Magic: The Gathering IP. The Clue characters, objects, and places it depicts are reimaginings set within the Magic: The Gathering plane of Ravnica. This is not within the intended spirit of the format.Presence of the Master: Cards like Presence of the Master and releases like Secret Lair x Post Malone: Backstage Pass that depict real-life settings or individuals, but not non-MTG IP settings or characters, are not legal. This is because they are assumed to be playful (if on-the-nose) references real-life individuals but still within the Magic IP. This is not the case where real-life individuals are depicted as non-Magic IP characters: David Tenant as the Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who or Hugh Grant as Forge from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Or where real-life historical figures are depicted as part of a non-Magic IP such as Assassin's Creed and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.