Magic: the Gathering has no shortage of formats, so you can always find one that appeals to you. One of Magic’s newest formats is Premodern. In this article I’m going to break down what this format is about and whether it might appeal to you, while also discussing the kinds of decks that are viable in this format.

THE BASICS OF PREMODERN

Premodern is a constructed format that will never have new cards added to it. This is because only cards from Fourth Edition to Scourge are legal. Using those sets in particular keeps the incredibly busted cards printed in 1993 and 1994 (like the Power 9) out of the format, while still allowing for lots of classic and iconic cards that are no longer playable in Legacy and Vintage to shine.  

One notable feature of Premodern is that both Brainstorm and Force of Will are banned.  Both of those powerful Blue cards are ubiquitous in Legacy and Vintage. That further cements Premodern’s unique identity.  As a result of this unique card pool, games in Premodern won’t feel like any other format out there.

The format does have a banlist beyond those cards, with many cards that were once banned in the Extended format also not being legal in Premodern. Most of these are centered around eliminating absurdly fast games that result from the presence of fast mana, super efficient tutors, and easily accessible combos.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PREMODERN

Premodern was created by former Magic pro Martin Berlin in 2012. He was inspired by Old School 93/94, another community-created format that features only Magic cards from those two years. In many ways, Premodern fills the gap between the Old School format and Modern. It gradually became more popular with time, to the point that there have been major national championships for the format since 2021.

Late last year, Premodern made its debut on Magic Online’s “Contraption” play lobby. This is a space that is used for experimental formats. Ultimately, it proved so popular that in February of this year, it became an official format on Magic Online. As such, there are now daily tournaments for Premodern on Magic Online, and this has pushed this format to new heights.

HOW DO I KNOW IF THIS FORMAT IS FOR ME?

If you are nostalgic for the days of Magic in the mid-2000s, this format is for you. Especially if you really enjoyed the now-defunct Extended format. Many Premodern decks greatly resemble some of the best decks from Extended in that era. That’s what appeals to me the most about the format, because I was the most into 60-card competitive Magic during that time, and in a lot of ways it’s as close as you can get to playing competitive decks from that time.

Alternatively, even if you aren’t old like me and don’t feel nostalgic for these cards, Premodern is a great way to get a feel for Magic’s earlier years without having to fork over a ton of cash for the Power 9 and other Legacy and Vintage staples.

THE TOP DECKS IN PREMODERN

Now that we’ve done a brief overview of the format, let’s get into the nitty gritty by looking at three really sweet decks that have performed quite well in the format.

ENCHANTRESS

Enchantress decks once dominated Extended, and even saw significant play in Legacy for a time. However, Legacy’s power level has since become too high for this style of deck to be very successful.

Unsurprisingly, Enchantress decks are all about Enchantments. Argothian Enchantress and Enchantress’s Presence both allow you to quickly rip through your deck as you cast cheap Green Enchantments that accelerate your mana. 

With Exploration and Wild Growth it’s easy to consistently have mana to cast all the cards that you draw, especially when you also have access to one of Magic’s most powerful lands of all time – Serra’s Sanctum. Eventually all of that mana and all of those Enchantments allow you to draw most of your deck, and your board is populated by a bunch of Enchantments.

At this point, you use Opalescence to animate your board full of Enchantments, and that’s often enough for you to swing for lethal. Especially with the help of Parallax Wave to clear out your opponent’s board.

PSYCHATOG

Once affectionately called “Dr. Teeth,” Psychatog ran roughshod over multiple formats in the early 2000s and quickly became the best control deck win condition we had ever seen. But these days, he doesn’t see play anywhere other than in Premodern.

 Psychatog Control decks look to stick their eponymous creature and then protect it while countering and removing everything the opponent tries to do. While Force of Will might not be legal in Premodern, there are some amazing counterspells that are. 

Foil is a free Counterspell that does an admirable imitation of the Force, and Circular Logic can counter almost anything in this deck. You can even discard it to Psychatog to cast for only a single Blue mana.

Eventually, this results in a full graveyard that often allows the ‘tog to swing for lethal in a single turn. This is made easier by powerful card draw spells like Fact or Fiction and Gush, both of which give you lots of fuel for Psychatog to be absolutely massive. Both of them are quite capable of giving Psychatog +5/+5 all on their own.

TERRAGEDDON

While many decks in Premodern are very similar to the powerful Extended decks of the early 2000s, there are also some brand new decks that were made possible by the format’s unique card pool. Terrageddon is one of those. Terravore and Armageddon were never legal in Standard or Extended at the same time, but they can be played together in Premodern! And they make for a frightening combo.

Terravore gets bigger the more lands there are in graveyards, and Armageddon destroys all lands. In other words, if you can get your Terravore on board ahead of an Armageddon, this Lhurgoyf is almost assuredly going to close out the game with its huge body.

In addition to this powerful resource denial gameplan, the deck can also function as a straightforward aggro deck. It uses super efficient and resilient creatures like Anurid Brushopper and Nimble Mongoose alongside the ‘vore. While neither of them are quite as impressive as Terravore, they are certainly scary for your opponent when they don’t have any lands.

END STEP

So, that’s an introduction to Premodern. It’s a cool format that is filled with nostalgia and interesting gameplay, so you should definitely give it a try. What’s your favorite Premodern deck? Let me know on X or Bluesky.