Since you left
Back after years away? Pick the year you stopped and see what changed since, each change with its source.
Magic has changed its rules, card types, formats and the ways people play since the early 2000s. Every change below links the Wizards announcement it comes from, with that article's date and the day this page read it. If a change couldn't be checked against a source today, it isn't here.
What changed, year by year
2007
New card types
Planeswalkers arrive
Planeswalkers, a card type with loyalty you spend on their abilities, first appeared in Lorwyn (October 2007).
Source: Dominaria frame, template and rules changes, March 21, 2018, read October 22, 2026; Scryfall's set list, read October 22, 2026.
2009
Rules
Mana burn is gone
Unspent mana no longer costs you life, and mana now empties from your pool at the end of each step, not each phase (Magic 2010 rules, from July 11, 2009).
Source: Rules Changes (Magic 2010), June 10, 2009, read October 22, 2026.
Rules
Combat damage no longer uses the stack
Damage is dealt as soon as it is assigned: the last chance to cast a spell before damage is the declare blockers step.
Source: Rules Changes (Magic 2010), June 10, 2009, read October 22, 2026.
Rules
New words for old things
"In play" became the battlefield, "removed from the game" became exile, spells are cast and lands are played, and the end-of-turn step became the end step.
Source: Rules Changes (Magic 2010), June 10, 2009, read October 22, 2026.
Rules
Deathtouch and lifelink work as damage is dealt
Both became static abilities, and a token's owner became the player who controlled it as it came onto the battlefield.
Source: Rules Changes (Magic 2010), June 10, 2009, read October 22, 2026.
2011
Formats
Modern is created
Wizards created Modern in 2011, a nonrotating format of cards from Eighth Edition onward, between Standard and Legacy.
Source: Announcing the Pioneer Format, October 21, 2019, read October 23, 2026; Wizards' Modern page, read October 22, 2026.
Formats
Commander gets Wizards' own decks
Wizards' first Commander decks came out in June 2011; in February 2026 Wizards wrote that Commander had grown to become the largest format in Magic.
Source: Scryfall's set list, read October 22, 2026; Commander Brackets Beta Update, February 9, 2026, February 9, 2026, read October 22, 2026.
New card types
Double-faced cards
Cards with a face on each side and no Magic back arrived with Innistrad (September 2011); they transform from one face to the other.
Source: Double-Faced Card Rules, August 28, 2011, read October 22, 2026; Scryfall's set list, read October 22, 2026.
2013
Rules
The legend rule checks only your own cards
From Magic 2014, two players can each control a legend with the same name; you lose one only if you control two, and you choose which to keep.
Source: the legendary rule change (Magic 2014), May 23, 2013, read October 22, 2026; the Comprehensive Rules (rules 704.5j and 903.3), September 25, 2026, read October 23, 2026.
2016
New card types
Vehicles
Artifacts that become creatures when you crew them by tapping your creatures arrived with Kaladesh (September 2016).
Source: Kaladesh Mechanics, September 2, 2016, read October 22, 2026; Scryfall's set list, read October 22, 2026.
2017
Rules
Planeswalkers become legendary
With Ixalan, the planeswalker uniqueness rule was removed and every planeswalker got the legendary supertype, so they follow the legend rule.
Source: Ixalan Release Notes, September 15, 2017, read October 22, 2026.
2018
Rules
Burn spells say "any target"
With Dominaria, the rule that let you redirect damage from a player to their planeswalker was removed; cards that can hit a planeswalker say so, most often with "any target".
Source: Dominaria frame, template and rules changes, March 21, 2018, read October 22, 2026.
New card types
Sagas
Enchantments told in chapters, one chapter a turn, arrived with Dominaria (April 2018).
Source: Dominaria Mechanics, March 21, 2018, read October 22, 2026; Scryfall's set list, read October 22, 2026.
2019
Formats
Pauper comes to paper
Pauper, the commons-only format, became an official tabletop format that stores can run as sanctioned events.
Source: Pauper Comes to Paper, June 28, 2019, read October 22, 2026.
Rules
The London mulligan
From Core Set 2020, each mulligan draws a fresh seven, then you put one card on the bottom for each mulligan taken.
Source: The London Mulligan, June 3, 2019, read October 22, 2026.
Formats
Pioneer
A nonrotating format of cards from Return to Ravnica (2012) forward, announced October 21, 2019 and playable on Magic Online from October 23; it came to MTG Arena in May 2025.
Source: Announcing the Pioneer Format, October 21, 2019, read October 23, 2026; Announcing Pioneer (MTG Arena), May 5, 2025, read October 23, 2026.
2021
Rules
"Converted mana cost" becomes "mana value"
From Strixhaven the words changed and nothing else: over 600 cards got the new wording.
Source: Oracle changes (Strixhaven), April 20, 2021, read October 22, 2026.
Formats
Alchemy on MTG Arena
An Arena format of Standard sets with digital-only and rebalanced cards; Wizards is retiring it on February 2, 2027.
Source: Introducing Alchemy, December 3, 2021, read October 22, 2026; State of the Formats 2026, September 11, 2026, read October 22, 2026.
2023
New card types
Battles
A card type you attack to defeat, after which it transforms, arrived with March of the Machine (April 2023).
Source: March of the Machine Mechanics, March 29, 2023, read October 22, 2026; Scryfall's set list, read October 22, 2026.
Formats
Timeless on MTG Arena
MTG Arena's format where every card on Arena is legal.
Source: Introducing Timeless, December 4, 2023, read October 22, 2026.
2024
Products
Play Boosters
Starting with Murders at Karlov Manor, the Play Booster replaced both the Draft Booster and the Set Booster.
Source: Introducing Play Boosters, October 16, 2023, read October 22, 2026; Scryfall's set list, read October 22, 2026.
Rules
Tribal is now kindred
The card type was renamed kindred with Modern Horizons 3; only the word changed.
Source: Modern Horizons 3 Mechanics, May 21, 2024, read October 22, 2026.
Formats
Wizards runs Commander
The Commander Rules Committee handed the format's management to Wizards of the Coast's game design team.
Source: On the Future of Commander, September 30, 2024, read October 22, 2026.
Rules
No more damage assignment order
From Foundations, an attacker blocked by several creatures divides its damage among them however its controller likes; blockers are no longer put in an order.
Source: Foundations Update Bulletin, November 14, 2024, read October 22, 2026.
2025
Formats
Universes Beyond sets join every format
Starting with 2025's sets, Wizards' Universes Beyond booster sets (other franchises' worlds) are legal in every Constructed format, like any other set; Wizards announced it on October 25, 2024.
Source: Aligning the Universes, October 25, 2024, read October 23, 2026.
Formats
Commander brackets and Game Changers
Five brackets (Exhibition, Core, Upgraded, Optimized, cEDH) help players match Commander decks of a similar intent, with a list of Game Changers each bracket limits.
Source: Introducing Commander Brackets Beta, February 11, 2025, read October 22, 2026; Wizards' Commander page, read October 22, 2026.
Formats
Explorer becomes Pioneer on MTG Arena
Arena's Explorer format was renamed Pioneer, with the tabletop Pioneer ban list.
Source: Announcing Pioneer (MTG Arena), May 5, 2025, read October 23, 2026.
Nothing on this list changed after that year. The sections below describe Magic as it is today.
How Standard rotates now
Standard keeps about three years of sets. From the first set of 2027, it holds the sets released in 2025, 2026 and 2027, and it rotates each year with the year's first set; there was no rotation in 2026. The next rotation is on MTG Arena on February 2, 2027, with Nauctis: The Sunken Realm. See Standard for the sets in it today.
Source: Aligning the Universes, October 25, 2024, read October 23, 2026; State of the Formats 2026, September 11, 2026, read October 22, 2026.
Commander today
Commander decks are 100 cards, one of each except basic lands, led by a legendary creature (or a legendary Vehicle or Spacecraft with power and toughness), usually for four players at 40 life. Before a game, players talk about what kind of game they want: Wizards' brackets give that talk words, from Bracket 1 (Exhibition) to Bracket 5 (cEDH). Brackets 1 and 2 leave out Game Changers, Bracket 3 allows up to three, and Brackets 4 and 5 any number. Commander's page has the banned list and the Game Changers.
Source: Wizards' Commander page, read October 22, 2026; Introducing Commander Brackets Beta, February 11, 2025, read October 22, 2026; the Comprehensive Rules (rules 704.5j and 903.3), September 25, 2026, read October 23, 2026.
Tournaments now
The road to the Pro Tour starts at stores. Regional Championship Qualifiers (RCQs) at stores in the Wizards Play Network send their top finishers to a Regional Championship, and top finishers there are invited to the Pro Tour; magic.gg's guide of January 2025 counts three Regional Championship cycles and three Pro Tours a year. The current round of RCQs runs from August 15 to November 29, 2026: store RCQs are Standard or Limited, and larger "destination" qualifiers may use other Constructed formats. At a store event you enter, see your pairings and report your results in Wizards' Magic: The Gathering Companion app, and Wizards' locator lists the events near you.
Source: Metagame Mentor: How to Qualify for the Pro Tour (magic.gg), January 2, 2025, read October 23, 2026; Play Update: 2026-27 Round 2 Regional Championship Promos and Qualifiers (magic.gg), May 26, 2026, read October 23, 2026; The Definitive Guide to Wizards EventLink (WPN), March 25, 2024, read October 23, 2026; Wizards' Store and Event Locator, read October 23, 2026.
Your next steps here
- Standard: the sets and the banned list in force today.
- Decks: paste a decklist from MTG Arena, Magic Online or anywhere, and see where it is legal.
- Meta Lens: the decks people are playing, from published results.
- Prep: get ready for an event: the field, matchups and what to test.
- Film Room: review the games you played.
How to play online now
MTG Arena
Free to download on PC, Mac and mobile; Standard, Pioneer, Historic, Timeless and Brawl among its formats, with best-of-one and best-of-three queues. As you play, you earn wildcards to redeem for cards.
Source: Wizards' MTG Arena page, read October 22, 2026; State of the Formats 2026, September 11, 2026, read October 22, 2026.
Magic Online
For Windows 10 and 11, with the paper formats (Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper and more), Leagues you play on your own schedule and Challenges on weekends.
Source: mtgo.com, read October 22, 2026; Magic Online Constructed Events, read October 23, 2026.
SpellTable
On Wizards' own site, built for playing paper Magic remotely: a webcam, or a phone held above your play area, shows your cards to the other players.
Source: SpellTable, read October 22, 2026.
Prices and the Reserved List
Wizards still keeps its Reserved List of older cards it has promised never to print again in a functionally identical form, and card prices are set by the people buying and selling them; this site shows each card's price from Scryfall with its date.
Source: Official Reprint Policy, May 4, 2016, read October 22, 2026.
Where these facts come from, and when they were read
Sources
The changes
Each change was read in the Wizards article it links (or on Wizards' own pages), on the day its source line gives (October 22, 2026, or October 23, 2026 for the ones read again). The date beside a change is the day it took effect where the article says so, or the release date of the set it came with from Scryfall's set list; a year alone means the source gives no day. A change that couldn't be confirmed in a source that day was left out.
What isn't here
Banned lists change too often for a timeline: each format's page keeps its own, dated and sourced, at Formats.