Gladiator: Arena Singleton

- What is Gladiator?

Gladiator (occasionally formatted as Gladiator: Arena Singleton, or GAS) is a one-hundred card singleton format, designed with MTG Arena in mind. Gladiator decks must have a minimum of 100 cards, allow for only a single copy of each individual card (with the exception of Basic Lands and those ignoring deck-building rules), and draw from the card pool of any card available on MTG Arena (including promotional event cards, and those exclusively available via MTGA New Player Experience). Gladiator does not utilize sideboards, commanders, companions or "outside the game" effects, though you may still include cards under those qualifications (ie: Mastermind's Acquisition, Lutri the Spellchaser, etc) in your deck. Although the card pool for Gladiator covers everything available on Arena, it does feature a banned list:

As of April 27th, 2021

Field of the Dead (Core Set 2020)
Natural Order (Mystical Archive)
Nexus of Fate (Core Set 2019)
Oko, Thief of Crowns (Throne of Eldraine)
Teferi, Time Raveler (War of the Spark)



- How to play Gladiator?

In addition to the format rules listed above, matches of Gladiator follow a set-up familiar to those with tournament Magic experience:

(Tournament) Matches are played Best of Three
The matches are 1 v 1
Starting life total is 20
Gladiator uses the London Mulligan.
Deck creation should be formatted as "Direct Game".
Direct challenges should be formatted as "Challenge Match; 60 Card; Best of X; Coin Flip"

Thankfully, MTG Arena handles all of this for you, and any additional rules or tournament stipulations are decided by the tournament organizer.


- Why play Gladiator?

For starters, the format is GAS! (hold for applause) GAS as in Gladiator: Arena Singleton, the format in which you are currently reading up on. God I'm so sorry.

Gladiator provides archetype diversity, brewing potential and competitive nostalgia, while also hitting a key feature missing from most singleton variants: Accessibility. MTG Arena being the primary platform for play allows for a wider audience and an overall smoother introduction into the format. While acquiring gold/gems and time investment are still factors in cultivating an all-encompassing collection, doing so is neither a requirement for participation nor is it as limiting as Gladiator's paper counterparts.

Ultimately, Gladiator is a community driven format, and the thrill of finding like-minded passionate players from all walks of life at any hour of the clock cannot be understated.

Also the game-play is phenomenal, but I don't need to tell you that, you can just try it out yourself!


- Where to play Gladiator?

Linked below will be the official Gladiator discord. In addition to finding spaces for discussion and sharing ideas, you'll be able to find opponents ready to fight via direct challenge. Any hour of the day (or night), there will be available opponents, and the more players that join the more available for jamming matches!

Beyond pick-up matches, community organized tournaments can be found through the various tournament discussions and event announcement channels.

Come on down, and join the community!

Discord: https://discord.gg/akpgb2W