Introducing Premiere — a New Eternal Format
Premiere is a new eternal Magic: The Gathering (MTG) format. Like Legacy, it celebrates the entire history of MTG, but unlike Legacy, it excludes supplemental power creep of Modern Horizons (MH) and Commander products.
Only cards that have gone through a standard-legal (i.e. Premiere) set are legal in Premiere.*
*Portal, Starter, and Revised cards legal in Legacy are exceptions.
Why Premiere?
The goal of Premiere is a format that feels balanced and skill-testing; where the experience isn't distorted, commandeered, or soured by designs meant for four-player instead of one-versus-one (1v1).
Premiere is not intended as a Legacy replacement, but rather a Legacy alternative. The impetus to create Premiere is Wizards of the Coast's (WotC) continuing failure to effectively curate Legacy in the era of MH and Commander product power creep.
- Preserve Eternal 1v1 Play — Legacy is one of MTG's richest formats, but it has become increasingly shaped by Commander and MH designs. Premiere removes those distortions.
- Reward Skill and Mastery — By removing overpowered cards from supplemental products, we expect Premiere to have the breath for players to have more influence within it, both in-game and in deck building.
- A Balanced Eternal — Premiere doesn’t seek to reinvent the wheel; it’s Legacy without the baggage. We expect the revival of decks of Legacy's past as well as new strategies and archetypes that current Legacy does not allow for.
The Card Pool
Simply, if a card was ever legal in Standard, it is legal in Premiere. Cards that go through Standard are presumed to have been tested by WotC for 1v1 gameplay.
2010 Commander Line
- If a card was printed before 2010 in a Standard-legal set, a reprint set, or an introductory product (e.g., Portal, Starter, Revised), and was legal in Legacy, it is legal in Premiere.
Exclusions
- Cards printed in direct-to-Modern sets (e.g. MH) are not legal in Premiere.
- Cards printed in Commander products (e.g., Commander precons, Commander Legends, etc.) are not legal in Premiere.
Reprints and Exceptions
- Cards originally printed in supplemental or Commander products reprinted into a Standard-legal set are legal in Premiere.
- Gold-bordered World Championship decks and other casual variants follow the same legality rules as Legacy.
- Their inclusion in events is at the discretion of the tournament organizer (TO).
- Eternal Durdles encourages TOs to allow the use of high-quality proxies in Premiere events.
The Banned List
Premiere's initial banlist is Legacy’s banned list.
As the Format matures, we plan to use data and specific metrics to determine if decks or individual cards require action taken against them. We have seen how an important format curation is for the temperament of the format’s playerbase and desire to play the format.
Part of the Premiere experiment is to show that clarity of messaging and transparent decision-making can lead to healthier engagement. We expect stumbles along the way, but we will be honest with the community and thoughtful about those decisions.
Expect more on this. We believe it a novel approach to format curation. We hope it serves as an example for formats curated by WotC.
Format Philosophy
Premiere is not about nostalgia, as evidenced by the format’s inclusion of new Standard-legal sets. Premiere is about balance through restraint. By excluding Commander and rejecting supplemental premium sets, only cards WotC has actually tested and developed for 1v1 are included. As a result, the format gains:
- A defined identity separate from Legacy, Vintage, Modern, and Premodern.
- Continuity with for players who love eternal MTG but dislike Legacy's current card pool/power level and lack of effective curation by WotC.
- Clarity in banlist philosophy.
- Changes to Premiere will be made when data deems it’s necessary.
- That data will be available to the player base.
Get Started!
If you have a Legacy collection, you have a Premiere collection. Premiere offers eternal players a fresh-yet-familiar battleground of the MTG we all love. Think of the possibilities!
A community-driven format can only work if the will of the community strong enough to support it. If we all believe the experiement that is Premiere is a worthwhile endeavor, it will succeed. The thriving Premodern community is proof that it is possible.
Join the Premiere Discord!
Head to PremiereMTG.com
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Featured image: Renewed Faith by Dave Dorman