MAGIC THE GATHERING - TYPE-4

TYPE-4 or the Fourth Type. This a fan-made format (similar to commander, noble, etc.) and unique.

The name type-4 is a reference to old boomer Magic the Gathering when the official formats were Type 1 (all cards) and Type 2 (some cards).

• How to Play
• Example Stack
• Legacy
• Do Not Use
• Other Resources
• Upgrades
• Customize

Do not think of this as a pretentious list for drafting or some kind of limited format you may have tried....this is a beat up old cube of over-powered non-sense you can keep in a backpack for a 15-30 min game of multiplayer magic.

LOOK at that majestic loon.

HOW TO PLAY

How to Play Type-4.

YOU WILL NEED

• Type-4 stack (Only 1 player needs this. See Below)
• Minimum 2 players
• 200+ Penny Sleeves
• 1 acrylic 200 card case
• 5-35 Minutes per player
• Basic Understanding of the rules of Magic the Gathering
• Spin-down dice (at least 4)

Here are the penny sleeves I use (Beckett Shield Clear Soft Card Sleeves $10 amazon).

RULES

• Normal Magic the gathering rules e.g. Turns, Priority, Draw sequencing
• Singleton Format (only 1 of each card allowed)
• Each player starts game with 30 life
• Each player shares the same Library
• Each player shares the same Graveyard.
• Each player can ONLY play 1 spell per turn (inluding other players' turns)
• Each player has unlimited mana of every color at all times
• Land cards are allowed in a type-4 stack to use for their abilities instead of mana generation
• All cards legal (see deck building rules below though!)
• When the Library empties it flips
• Each player can win the game by bringing each other player's life total to 0
• Scales Up to 2-8 people

DECK BUILDING

Type-4 is a neat game idea for going through bulk and finding a lot of fun low cost but high mana value cards that would not neccesarily be played otherwise. Stuff Too expensive (mana value in-game) for Commander and worthless in IRL money.

There are deckbuilding constraints in the format to prevent the game from going sideways. A more obvious example of this is the classic mtg card Fireball which would be an OTK in type-4 and is avoided (few want to win or lose that way).

AVOID

• ❌ Spells that cost X or could go infinite
• ❌ Tutors
• ❌ Sorcery Spells
• ❌ Flashback
• ❌ Token generation

LOOK FOR

• ✅ High-cost instants
• ✅ Ways to make the game more fun multiplayer
• ✅ High Cost draw spells
• ✅ Removal that tucks or put Permanents on top of the library (lol)
• ✅ Cards that abuse converted mean cost down-sides
• ✅ Modal or utility instants
• ✅ A good mix of Removal and Counters versus Creatures and permanent spells

Good Mechanics

• ✅ Flash
• ✅ Suspend
• ✅ Bloodrush
• ✅ Cycling (does not count as a spell!)
• ✅ Monstrosity (MONSTERS hell yes!)
• ✅ Islandwalk (lol)
• ✅ Entwine
• ✅ Splice onto Arcane
• ✅ Upkeep downside

OPTIONAL CONSTRAINTS

• No Cards over $1 Dollar.
• Card picks to hit the player in the nostalgia e.g. rats, lightning bolt, etc.
• Unglued cards. Avoid Infinite combos though!
• Wheel Effects.
• Old Card Art.
• Bad cards or cards with missing upside (see the unicorn in my stack).
• Vanilla creatures with cool card art.
• No spells less than 6 mana.

So yeah, leave the good stuff for Modern, Historic, and EDH and bring your JANK to type-4. Enjoy!

EXAMPLE STACK

Here is my Current Type-4 Stack organized by card purpose. I've been attempting to optimize it for fast games for 2-4 people between games at a tournament.

CREATURES