A Quick Rundown of Popular MTG Formats

- Standard (Type 2):
Usable cards: Any card from the last core set and last 2 blocks (related groups of 3-4 expansion sets)
Cards "cycle out" when the first set of the new block is released, usually in September
Competitive Deck Price Range: $250-$700
How long can a deck realistically be played with minor card swaps?: About 6 months maximum
- Modern:
Usable cards: Any card that has been printed or reprinted in a core or expansion set from 8th Edition or newer (General rule of thumb is newer frame border cards)
Competetive Deck Price Range: $800-$3000
How long can a deck realistically be played with minor card swaps?: 1-2 years, meta-dependant
- Legacy (Type 1.5):
Usable cards: Any non-silver, non-fed border cards from the entirety of Magic, excluding a hefty banlist of the most broken cards
Competetive Deck Price Range: $1200-$6000
How long can a deck realistically be played with minor card swaps?: A couple years, the meta rarely completely shifts
- Vintage (Type 1):
Usable cards: All Legacy-legal cards with all cards on the Legacy banlist being able to have 1 copy of in a deck
Competetive Deck Price Range: $10,000+
How long can a deck realistically be played with minor card swaps?: Pretty much forever
- Block:
Usable cards: Any card that was printed in the particular block being played
Competetive Deck Price Range: Block-dependant, with older sets usually costing more
How long can a deck realistically be played with minor card swaps?: Pretty much forever
- Pauper:
Usable cards: Cards that we're printed as a common from any non-silver, non-red set
Competetive Deck Price Range: $20-$50
How long can a deck realistically be played with minor card swaps?: Somewhere between Modern and Legacy, depending on the meta
- Commander (EDH):
Basic Description: A multiplayer format where each player has a 100 card deck which no more than 1 copy of any card that is not a basic land. Each deck must have a Legendary Creature as its commander, and all nonland cards in the deck must not have a mana symbol of a color anywhere on it that the commander doesn't have anywhere on it
Usable cards: Any Legacy legal card with separate banlists for which cards cannot be a commander but can be played and which cards are banned outright
Competetive Deck Price Range: $500+
How long can a deck realistically be played with minor card swaps?: Forever if you are good at manipulating your opponents