Official Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH) Rules¹

1. 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 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

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

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

2. Players must choose a legendary creature as the "General" for their deck. Details

   Players may choose any legendary creature as their general, although some choices may be met with disapproval by other players. Two players in the same game may choose the same General, and other players may include that card in their Deck even if it's not their General. Generals are subject to the Legend rule just like any other legendary creature; multiple copies of the same creature (whether General and non-General) will all be put into the graveyard (or command zone) as a state based effect.

   The General is the principle around which an EDH deck is built. It is more easily available than other cards in the deck, and EDH decks will ususally want to leverage their General's strengths in their plans. It is not, however, guarenteed to be available at every point in the game so EDH decks should be able to function without it for a time.

   As of 2009-09-10, this rule has changed. This rule supercedes the older (open play or league) rules for Generals in EDH games. Note that it is not identical to the Open play Rule.

3. The General's mana cost defines what colour of mana symbols may appear on cards in the deck. Details

   • Coloured mana symbols which may appear in an EDH deck are restricted to the colours appearing in the General's mana cost.
   • Lands whose type includes swamp, island, plains, forest and/or mountain (e.g.: basic lands, shocklands, dual lands, Shadowmoor special-basics, etc) DO contain the corresponding mana symbol(s) as per CR 305.6. As such, they may not appear in a deck unless the General is of the corresponding colour(s).
   • While Hybrid mana symbols may be played with either colour mana, they count as both colours. As such, they may only be played with a general which is ALL of the hybrid mana symbols' colours.
   • Basic land words (swamp, forest, etc) in the text box of a card do NOT represent a coloured mana symbol. They are not restricted to generals of the same colour.

   An Example of what cards are/aren't allowed in a three colour deck.

   A deck with Phelddagrif (Casting cost 1UWG) as the General may not contain any red or black mana symbols.

   • These cards would all be illegal in a Phelddagrif deck:
     • Goblin Piker (Its mana cost contains a red mana symbol)
     • Elves of Deep Shadow (Its ability contains a black mana symbol)
     • Talisman of Dominance (All sorts of verbotten mana symbols)
     • Life//Death (Three shall be the number of the colours)
     • Degavolver (... right out)
   • Our Phelddagrif couldn't use any of these lands:
     • Underground River (Obvious, see above)
     • Godless Shrine
     • Dual Lands
     • Leechridden Swamp, etc)
   • Phelddagrif may not call upon Boros Guildmage for help
   • Phelddagrif IS allowed to use:
     • Esper Panorama
     • Shard Convergence
4. A deck may not generate mana outside its colours. If an effect would generate mana of an illegal colour, it generates colourless mana instead.

5. An EDH deck must contain exactly 100 cards, including the General.

6. With the exception of basic lands, no two cards in the deck may have the same english name.

7. EDH is played with vintage legal cards, with two exceptions:
   • cards are legal as of their set's prerelease
   • Shahrazad is legal for play in EDH

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.

    This rule has changed effective 2009-09-10.

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.

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.