Play rules

8. The start of game procedure for EDH is as follows:
   
   1. Players announce their choice of General and move that card
      to the command zone.
      
   2. Players may then sideboard if the optional
      rules for sideboards are being used.
      
   3. Each player draws a hand of seven cards.
      
   4. Players may mulligan, using the modified "Partial
      Paris" method.
      
      
      Partial Paris Mulligan rule
      
      Because EDH games are long and usually not played in
      multigame matches, EDH uses a modified mulligan rule designed to
      aleviate mana-light hands without significantly increasing the odds of
      finding individual cards. This is also known as the "Brittany" mulligan
      rule.
      
      

      1. In turn order, players may exile (face down) some or all
         of the cards in their hand.
         
      2. Each player then draws one less card from their
         deck than the number they exiled.
         
      3. Players who exiled at least one card may return to
         step 1 and repeat the process, drawing one less card each time.
         
      4. Players shuffle all exiled cards into their deck.
         

      It is worth noting that even with this form of mulligan,
      decks playing an insufficient number of mana sources will routinely draw
      poor hands or insufficient mana as the game progresses.
      
      
      
      
9. Being a General is not a characteristic[MTG CR109.3],
   it is a property of the card. As such, "Generalness" cannot be copied or
   overwritten by continuous effects, and does not change with control of
   the card. Examples
   
   
   
   Examples: A Body Double copying a General in a graveyard
   is not a General. A General which is affected by Cytoshape, or is face
   down, is still a General.
   
   
   
   
   
10. If a player has been dealt 21 points of combat damage
    by a particular General during the game, that player loses a game.
    Details
    
    
    • This is an additional state based effect.
      
    • General Damage is cummulative throughout the game; nothing
      can reduce the amount of damage a General has previously done to a
      player.
      
    • Because it is a property of the card and not a characteristic
      of the game object, a card is still the same General even if it leaves
      the field and returns.
      
    • While effects can raise a player's life total, it doesn't
      reduce the amount of damage previously taken from a General. (eg: Beacon
      of Immortality)
      
    • Conversely, combat damage can be reduced, prevented, or
      replaced as it is taken, in which case it was never dealt and
      doesn't count towards the total taken from that General. (eg: Fog or
      Captain's Maneuver)
      
    • General Damage is specific to each General/Player pairing,
      not combined across all Generals.
      
    • A player can lose if he or she is dealt 21 points of
      combat damage by his or her own General (ie: under someone else's
      control).
      
    
    
11. While a General is in the command zone, it may be cast.
    As an additional cost to cast a General from the command zone, its
    owner must pay {2} for each time it was previously cast from the command
    zone. (ie: it costs 6WW to cast for the third time.) Details
    
    
    • A General is still subject to the normal timing restrictions
      for casting creatures (unless it has Flash or some other affect allows
      it to be played at another time, such as Vedalken Orrery)
      
    
    
12. If a General would be put into a graveyard or exile from
    anywhere, its owner may choose to move it to the command zone instead.
    Details
    
    
    • This is a replacement effect; the creature never goes to the
      graveyard and will not trigger such abilities.
      
    • Generals will move to the library or hand as normal; only
      transitions to Exile or the Graveyard may be replaced.
      
    
    
13. Players begin the game with 40 life.
    
    
    
14. Generals are subject to the Legend rule; they
    will be put into the graveyard or command zone at the same time as any
    other Legendary creatures with the same name.
    
    
    
15. New: Abilities which
    refer to other cards owned outside the game (Wishes, Spawnsire,
    Research, Ring of Ma'ruf) do not function in EDH unless the optional
    sideboard rule is in use. If sideboards are used, wishes and similar
    cards may retrieve sideboard cards.
    

EDH is designed to promote social interaction.

It is founded (and dependant) on a social contract,
otherwise
known as a gentleman's agreement. Unsporting conduct (whether
extreme
or simply "being a jerk") should not be tolerated by players.
Refusing
to play with antisocial persons is the fastest way to better EDH
community.


However, because players have varied opinions of what
constitutes fair and/or fun play, a recommended banned list is
maintained to help guide players towards a good social
experience.
House rules or "fair play" exceptions are always encouraged
if they result in more fun for the local community.


If you want to enjoy the type of games you've heard
associated
with EDH, avoid cards like these:

Ancestral Recall Balance Biorhythm Black Lotus Coalition Victory Fastbond Gifts Ungiven Grindstone (Unbanned as of 2009-12-01) Kokusho, the Evening Star Karakas Library of Alexandria Limited Resources Lion's Eye Diamond

Metalworker Mox Sapphire, Ruby, Pearl, Emerald and Jet Panoptic Mirror Protean Hulk Recurring Nightmare Riftsweeper (Unbanned as of 2009-09-10) Sway of the Stars Time Vault Time Walk Tinker Upheaval Worldgorger Dragon Yawgmoth's Bargain Painter's Servant

Additionally
the following legends should not be used as a General:

Braids,
Cabal Minion (Effective 2009-06-20)

EDH is designed first and foremost for social players. It cannot
be all things to all people.


Nevertheless, many people like to play EDH for prizes or
other non-social incentives. Those incentives can help build
communities and playgroups, but they can also undermine the
social
contract which keeps EDH balanced.


When running a competitive EDH event, the recommended list of
cards
to avoid (under the primary, "social" rules) is one place to
start.
It is not however, nor is it intended to be, comprehensive. It
still
allows for a very high level of power, in part because there are
many,
many two card instant wins in the history of Magic. Additional
structure is required to keep degeneracy
¹
in check. To that
end, a selection of optional rules are provided here for
prospective TOs or players who find their playgroup can't find a
balance.



Optional rules for EDH

1. EDH
   Sideboards
   
   
   Rather than filling every deck with banal responses, it is
   preferable to allow some flexibility in the composition
   of a deck.
   
   
   
   

   • Players may bring a 10 card sideboard in addition to their
     99 cards and 1 General.
     
   • After generals are announced, players have 3
     minutes to make 1-for-1 substitutions to their deck.
     
   • Any cards not played as part of the deck may be
     retrieved by "wishes".
     

   Reasoning:
   
   Highly tuned threats piloted by skilled opponents mandate
   efficient answers. The minimum number of response cards
   required to ensure they are available in the early turns can
   easily overwhelm the majority of an EDH deck's building space.
   
   Sideboards allow players to respond to the "best"
   strategies in a timely fashion . They should be strongly
   considered as a necessary defense against brokenness and
   degeneracy in an EDH environment where no gentlemans agreement
   on style of play exists.
   
   
   
   
2. Victory Points
   
   
   
   Instead of a "last man standing" win condition, organizers are
   encouraged to use additional or alternate ways
   to win. Prizes can be awarded for things like:
   
   

   • most combat damage dealt in a single turn
     
   • biggest mana pool
     
   • General Damage kills
     
   • Most mana paid for a General
     
   • etc
     

   
   By encouraging players to play for disparate, interesting
   goals everyone has a more rewarding, social experience.
   
   An extensive example can be found here
   
   
   
   
3. Democratic Victory
   
   
   An organizer who desires a tournament which better
   approximates normal EDH games should reward players
   for some balance of winning and social play. One way to achieve
   this is
   
   
   

   1. When the game is over, each player votes for an
      opponent whose play they enjoyed most.
      
   2. Award two points for being the last player alive,
      and one point for each vote
      
   3. Prizes can be given out by points awarded.
      

   
   
   
   
   

In addition, some commonly used but more fun-oriented optional
rules are presented here for players to consider.

4. The League Rule
   
   
   An EDH "League" consists of a regular group of
   players who frequently play together using the same decks. No two
   players in a league game may have the same General. Within a given
   league, Generals are allocated first-come, first-serve and are preserved
   between meetings/games. No player may have, in his or her deck, the
   General of any other player in the game; it should be replaced with some
   other card before the game begins.
   The Roll Call forum provides a tool for organizing
   and publicizing EDH leagues and reserved Generals.
   
   
   
   

Play rules

8. The start of game procedure for EDH is as follows:
   
   1. Players announce their choice of General and move that card
      to the command zone.
      
   2. Players may then sideboard if the optional
      rules for sideboards are being used.
      
   3. Each player draws a hand of seven cards.
      
   4. Players may mulligan, using the modified "Partial
      Paris" method.
      
      
      Partial Paris Mulligan rule
      
      Because EDH games are long and usually not played in
      multigame matches, EDH uses a modified mulligan rule designed to
      aleviate mana-light hands without significantly increasing the odds of
      finding individual cards. This is also known as the "Brittany" mulligan
      rule.
      
      

      1. In turn order, players may exile (face down) some or all
         of the cards in their hand.
         
      2. Each player then draws one less card from their
         deck than the number they exiled.
         
      3. Players who exiled at least one card may return to
         step 1 and repeat the process, drawing one less card each time.
         
      4. Players shuffle all exiled cards into their deck.
         

      It is worth noting that even with this form of mulligan,
      decks playing an insufficient number of mana sources will routinely draw
      poor hands or insufficient mana as the game progresses.
      
      
      
      
9. Being a General is not a characteristic[MTG CR109.3],
   it is a property of the card. As such, "Generalness" cannot be copied or
   overwritten by continuous effects, and does not change with control of
   the card. Examples
   
   
   
   Examples: A Body Double copying a General in a graveyard
   is not a General. A General which is affected by Cytoshape, or is face
   down, is still a General.
   
   
   
   
   
10. If a player has been dealt 21 points of combat damage
    by a particular General during the game, that player loses a game.
    Details
    
    
    • This is an additional state based effect.
      
    • General Damage is cummulative throughout the game; nothing
      can reduce the amount of damage a General has previously done to a
      player.
      
    • Because it is a property of the card and not a characteristic
      of the game object, a card is still the same General even if it leaves
      the field and returns.
      
    • While effects can raise a player's life total, it doesn't
      reduce the amount of damage previously taken from a General. (eg: Beacon
      of Immortality)
      
    • Conversely, combat damage can be reduced, prevented, or
      replaced as it is taken, in which case it was never dealt and
      doesn't count towards the total taken from that General. (eg: Fog or
      Captain's Maneuver)
      
    • General Damage is specific to each General/Player pairing,
      not combined across all Generals.
      
    • A player can lose if he or she is dealt 21 points of
      combat damage by his or her own General (ie: under someone else's
      control).
      
    
    
11. While a General is in the command zone, it may be cast.
    As an additional cost to cast a General from the command zone, its
    owner must pay {2} for each time it was previously cast from the command
    zone. (ie: it costs 6WW to cast for the third time.) Details
    
    
    • A General is still subject to the normal timing restrictions
      for casting creatures (unless it has Flash or some other affect allows
      it to be played at another time, such as Vedalken Orrery)
      
    
    
12. If a General would be put into a graveyard or exile from
    anywhere, its owner may choose to move it to the command zone instead.
    Details
    
    
    • This is a replacement effect; the creature never goes to the
      graveyard and will not trigger such abilities.
      
    • Generals will move to the library or hand as normal; only
      transitions to Exile or the Graveyard may be replaced.
      
    
    
13. Players begin the game with 40 life.
    
    
    
14. Generals are subject to the Legend rule; they
    will be put into the graveyard or command zone at the same time as any
    other Legendary creatures with the same name.
    
    
    
15. New: Abilities which
    refer to other cards owned outside the game (Wishes, Spawnsire,
    Research, Ring of Ma'ruf) do not function in EDH unless the optional
    sideboard rule is in use. If sideboards are used, wishes and similar
    cards may retrieve sideboard cards.
    
    
    

EDH is designed first and foremost for social players. It cannot
be all things to all people.


Nevertheless, many people like to play EDH for prizes or
other non-social incentives. Those incentives can help build
communities and playgroups, but they can also undermine the
social
contract which keeps EDH balanced.


When running a competitive EDH event, the recommended list of
cards
to avoid (under the primary, "social" rules) is one place to
start.
It is not however, nor is it intended to be, comprehensive. It
still
allows for a very high level of power, in part because there are
many,
many two card instant wins in the history of Magic. Additional
structure is required to keep degeneracy
¹
in check. To that
end, a selection of optional rules are provided here for
prospective TOs or players who find their playgroup can't find a
balance.



Optional rules for EDH

1. EDH
   Sideboards
   
   
   Rather than filling every deck with banal responses, it is
   preferable to allow some flexibility in the composition
   of a deck.
   
   
   
   

   • Players may bring a 10 card sideboard in addition to their
     99 cards and 1 General.
     
   • After generals are announced, players have 3
     minutes to make 1-for-1 substitutions to their deck.
     
   • Any cards not played as part of the deck may be
     retrieved by "wishes".
     

   Reasoning:
   
   Highly tuned threats piloted by skilled opponents mandate
   efficient answers. The minimum number of response cards
   required to ensure they are available in the early turns can
   easily overwhelm the majority of an EDH deck's building space.
   
   Sideboards allow players to respond to the "best"
   strategies in a timely fashion . They should be strongly
   considered as a necessary defense against brokenness and
   degeneracy in an EDH environment where no gentlemans agreement
   on style of play exists.
   
   
   
   
2. Victory Points
   
   
   
   Instead of a "last man standing" win condition, organizers are
   encouraged to use additional or alternate ways
   to win. Prizes can be awarded for things like:
   
   

   • most combat damage dealt in a single turn
     
   • biggest mana pool
     
   • General Damage kills
     
   • Most mana paid for a General
     
   • etc
     

   
   By encouraging players to play for disparate, interesting
   goals everyone has a more rewarding, social experience.
   
   An extensive example can be found here
   
   
   
   
3. Democratic Victory
   
   
   An organizer who desires a tournament which better
   approximates normal EDH games should reward players
   for some balance of winning and social play. One way to achieve
   this is
   
   
   

   1. When the game is over, each player votes for an
      opponent whose play they enjoyed most.
      
   2. Award two points for being the last player alive,
      and one point for each vote
      
   3. Prizes can be given out by points awarded.
      

   
   
   
   
   

In addition, some commonly used but more fun-oriented optional
rules are presented here for players to consider.

4. The League Rule
   
   
   An EDH "League" consists of a regular group of
   players who frequently play together using the same decks. No two
   players in a league game may have the same General. Within a given
   league, Generals are allocated first-come, first-serve and are preserved
   between meetings/games. No player may have, in his or her deck, the
   General of any other player in the game; it should be replaced with some
   other card before the game begins.
   The Roll Call forum provides a tool for organizing
   and publicizing EDH leagues and reserved Generals.