Are MTG List Cards Legal?

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MTG list cards are legal in whatever formats the cards are already legal in, but being on “The List” does not make cards Standard-legal. The cards can be pulled from anywhere in Magic’s history, and they fall at the proper rate to one another, including commons, uncommons, rares, and mythic rares.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related to MTG List Cards and Their Legality

1. What is “The List” in MTG?: “The List” contains commons, uncommons, rares, and mythic rares which will fall at the proper rate to one another, and the cards can be pulled from anywhere in Magic’s history.
2. Are unsanctioned cards legal?: Unsanctioned cards are not legal in regular tournament play, as they feature silver-bordered cards that bend and challenge the rules of the game itself, including in-jokes, parody cards, and tons of wacky interactions.
3. How do I know if my MTG card is legal?: The best way to tell which card is legal and which isn’t is the holo-foil at the bottom of the Magic: The Gathering card, and with rare or mythic cards featuring the classic oval holo-foil stamp.
4. Why are some MTG cards not legal?: Cards are usually banned from play if they enable a deck or play style that heavily skews the play environment, meaning a competitive player either must be playing it, or must be specifically targeting it with his or her own strategies.
5. Are MTG card names copyrighted?: MTG cards are likely protected by both trademarks and copyrights, with WotC having trademark registration on several words, phrases, and symbols on MTG cards, including all of the mana symbols.
6. Are MTG proxies illegal?: Proxies aren’t legal in MTG, and depending on how they’re made, they sometimes skirt the line of legal in general, with counterfeit cards and proxy cards not being technically the same, but can be a bit of a grey area.
7. What names cannot be copyrighted?: You can’t copyright a name, but you can copyright written artistic works, like books, but not names or phrases.
8. What are fake MTG cards called?: Players sometimes call counterfeit Magic cards “proxies” since they’ll buy them as stand-ins for the cards they already have but don’t want to wear out.
9. Why are Mox cards banned in MTG?: The cause for this is the ability to play multiples in a single turn, giving an unbalanced, extremely powerful mana acceleration which led to them being restricted in Vintage and completely banned in every other format very early in the game’s history.
10. Are 40k cards legal in MTG?: There are 168 different cards printed in the Warhammer 40,000 Commander Decks, and these cards are legal for play in the Commander, Vintage, and Legacy formats, but aren’t legal for play in the Standard, Pioneer, or Modern formats.
11. Is it illegal to print MTG cards?: Legally, from the perspective of the law, yes, it is illegal to print MTG cards, as long as they aren’t being used in any sanctioned event or tournament, and using them at any sanctioned event, tournament, FNM, etc will automatically disqualify you from the tournament and get you kicked out of the venue you are playing at.
12. Is it illegal to sell fake MTG cards?: It’s not illegal to make proxies, however, it is illegal to sell them, since the cards are protected under copyright law.
13. Are D&D MTG cards legal?: Dungeon cards are legal in Commander, in a sense, as you don’t put them into your deck as you do with normal cards, but the venture mechanic works just like it would in another format.
14. Can MTG cards be fake?: The suspected fake should, if real, let through the same amount of light as a genuine MtG card, with the light cone being even and showing both sides of the card in it, and a lot of fakes being opaque and almost letting no light through.
15. Are 30th edition MTG cards legal?: Each display of 30th Anniversary Edition contains four booster packs with random content, and these collectible cards have a different card back and are therefore not legal in any sanctioned Magic event.