Welcome, everyone, to the world's first deck built in the Noble Format . Read on for an explanation of this great and affordable format!

What is the Noble format?

At its core, it is a hybrid of the Peasant and the EDH/Commander formats. Contrary to its name, Noble is designed for less-than-affluent players who have great ideas but don't have the money to buy a deck loaded with top-tier cards. Rather, it is designed for people who have a few good 1-ofs, but don't have enough money to fund ridiculous $500 decks . The general idea is to build around a favorite card, a bright spot in your collection, or just a card that you have a great idea for. But the idea is also to let budget builders have a chance to shine.

Sounds interesting. How does it work?

Thank you for asking, disembodied voice. First of all, let's talk about...

Deck Construction

Noble decks may include:

One rare or mythic rare card. This is your Noble card . The Noble card must be rare or mythic rare. Up to four uncommon cards. These may be any combination of uncommons. For example you may run four 1-ofs, or you may run 4x Lightning Greaves The remaining cards must be common cards only.

Regarding rarity, each card's effective rarity is based on the lowest-rarity printing of that card. For example, Oblivion Ring is considered common even though it was printed as uncommon in the Magic 2012 Core Set. Furthermore, a card like Serra Angel that was printed as a rare at one time cannot be used as your Noble card because its lowest rarity printing was uncommon.

Noble is an eternal format, but it can exist in any of the non-eternal formats like Standard or Modern.

Beyond these rules, deck construction is the same as traditional deck construction. Specifically, there is a 60-card minimum, and this includes your 1 rare/mythic, up to 4 uncommons, and 55+ commons.

Sideboarding

Sideboarding is optional. You may choose to build a sideboard of up to 15 cards. Any cards contained in your sideboard count towards your overall rarity quotas. For example, if you choose to run 1x Path to Exile in your sideboard, you may only have up to 3 other uncommons anywhere in your deck. No rares or mythic rares are allowed in the sideboard, since only your Noble card is allowed to be rare or mythic rare.

Okay, now how do I play?

Separate your Noble card from the rest of your cards and set it aside. Much like the EDH format, your Noble card begins face down in the Command Zone, where it cannot be interacted with. You may look at your Noble card at any time, and you may cast your Noble card at any time allowed by the standard game rules.

Your Noble card may be cast from the Command Zone as though it were in your hand, and any abilities of your Noble card may be activated from the Command Zone as if the card were in your hand (for example: Suspend, Forecast, Ninjutsu).

Once your Noble card has been cast, it is treated as a normal card, and it cannot be returned to the Command Zone.

Beyond these rules, the game proceeds as any normal game of Magic would. You draw seven cards, mulligan, yadda yadda yadda.

I want a printable version of this information.

Good guy Crivaro made this wonderful PDF for your printing pleasure: Noble Rules v1.00

No no no, I want a printable version of the rules.

Wonderful dude mafteechr translated the rules of the format into a calculating and precise set of comprehensive rules designed as a supplement to the Official Comprehensive rules. Download the supplement here: Comprehensive Noble Rules

Noble Variant Comprehensive Rules:

100. Noble

100.1. In the Noble variant, each deck features a rare or mythic rare card as that deck's Noble card. The Noble variant uses all the normal rules for a Magic game, with the following additions.

100.2. Each deck has a card with the rare or mythic rare rarity designated as its Noble card. This designation is not a characteristic of the object represented by the card; rather, it is an attribute of the card itself.

100.3. Each Noble deck is subject to the following deck construction rules.

100.3a Each deck must contain a minimum of sixty cards, including its Noble card. There is no maximum deck size; however, you must be able to shuffle your deck with no assistance.

100.3b If a player wishes to use a sideboard, it must contain exactly fifteen cards.

100.3c With the exception of basic land cards, a player's combined deck and sideboard may not contain more than four of any individual card, counted by its English card title equivalent. All cards named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest are basic.

100.3d A player's combined deck and sideboard must contain exactly one card with either a rare or mythic rare rarity. This card is designated as the deck's Noble card.

100.3e A player's combined deck and sideboard may contain up to four cards with the uncommon rarity.

100.3f The remainder of a player's combined deck and sideboard must only contain cards with the common rarity and basic land cards.

100.4. At the start of the game, each player puts his or her Noble card from his or her deck face down into the command zone. Then each player shuffles the remaining cards of his or her deck so that the cards are in a random order. Those cards become the player's library.

100.5. A player may look at his or her Noble card at any time.

100.6. A player may cast his or her Noble card from the command zone whenever he or she would be able to normally cast their Noble card.

Example: A player's Noble card is Snapcaster Mage. That player may cast Snapcaster Mage from the command zone during his or her opponent's end step, since Snapcaster Mage has flash.

100.6a If a Noble card has the keyword Suspend, then that player may suspend the card from the command zone.

There has to be a Banned List, right?

That's right. Any healthy format requires a banned list, and being an Eternal format with insane combo potential, the list is a bit long. The following cards are in this format:

This list will be updated as new sets release and as cards are "broken". Top decks in this format are expected to win around turn 4. Broken decks that win consistently before turn 4 may demand a ban. If you have reason to disagree with a ban decision, please leave a post below with your reasoning and we will consider updating the list.

What about these questions that I have that may or may not be Frequent?

Q: Do I have to build my deck based on the color identity of my Noble card ?

A: No, you may build your deck using any colors.

Q: Why use the Command Zone? Why not just shuffle the Noble card into your library and draw it normally?

A: It wouldn't be much fun to lose if your opponent got their super-powered Noble card in their opening hand while yours waited on the bottom of your library. To take some of the luck out of the equation, the card is available for use from the beginning of the game.

Q: Why doesn't the Noble card go back to the Command Zone if it is destroyed/exiled?

A: Rares and Mythic rares typically have a much higher power level than commons, which make up the bulk of a Noble Deck . Instead of leading to attrition wars based on who has their Noble on the field the most, we felt that it was appropriate to let the Noble card act normally if destroyed or exiled. This allows for graveyard strategies to exist, and doesn't neuter your Disentomb s. It also incentivises you to think about this interaction and include graveyard hate like Relic of Progenitus as necessary.

Q: Why is it called the "Noble" format?

A: Well, there's Pauper, which is the lowest of the socioeconomic classes. Then there is Peasant, which is the next step up. A Peasant was a person who worked the land, usually as a farmer. The peasant rented the land from the owner, the Noble, which is sort of the next socioeconomic class up. Now, a Noble is not technically the next socioeconomic class above Peasant, "Yeoman" is. A Yeoman is basically a free Peasant, one who owns their own land. Clearly, "Yeoman" is a terrible name for a format, so "Noble" is the choice!

Q: Does Command Tower produce mana of the color(s) of my Noble Card?

A: While Command Tower is legal in this format, since there is no "Commander", the land does not produce any mana when tapped.

Q: Is there a Noble website yet?

A: It is in the works. Keep an eye on http://www.noblemtg.com over the coming weeks.

Q: How can I find other Noble decks?

A: Use TappedOut's advanced search feature. Noble decks sorted by date updated. Or, Noble decks sorted by score.

Q: Anything else I need to know?

A: Yeah. Make a deck, and leave it in the comments below!

Big thanks to these guys who helped get the format started: Minousmancer, Crivaro, KorApprentice

Revision History

- 1.11 04/23/2012: Added Crivaro's summary PDF, added mafteechr's comprehensive rules PDF. Updated FAQ.

- 1.10 04/14/2012: Changed format from "5-turn-win" to "4-turn-win".

- 1.04 04/11/2012: Removed Mana Drain and Worldgorger Dragon from the banned list. Added Fluctuator and Glimpse of Nature to the banned list. Edited rules to allow abilities on the Noble Card (eg Suspend, Ninjutsu, Forecast) to be played as if it were in your hand.

- 1.03 04/09/2012: Added Phyrexian Dreadnought and Pyromancer Ascension to the banned list.

- 1.02 04/08/2012: Removed Bloodchief Ascension from banned list. Added Mindcrank to banned list.

- 1.01 04/07/2012: Added Bloodchief Ascension, Ad Nauseam, Splinter Twin, Elemental Mastery, and Strip Mine to the banned list. Updated rules to allow cards with "Suspend" to be cast from the Command Zone. Updated rules to remove references to "Noble Zone", using the Command Zone instead.

- 1.00 04/04/2012: Original rules written, original banned list in place.

The world's first Noble Deck : Noble Avenger

Rare:

Gideon's Avenger



A cheap dude who we can build around, and who can finish off opponents who aren't careful.

Uncommons:

Alluring Siren

Your opponent has an annoying dude? Force feed him to the Avenger.

Loxodon Warhammer

A good way to gain a million life when you attack with the Avenger.

Infiltration Lens

Once the Avenger gets big, let's face it, they want to block him. Get the advantage!

Swiftfoot Boots

Obvious protection for the Avenger.

Commons: Lots of tapping power to make the avenger huge. First strikers for defense or offensive evasion. Haunted Fengraf to return the Avenger if he dies. Blue in the side to bring control to the second and third matches.

$6.70 + $2.59 shipping = $9.29 Total Cost (@ TCGPlayer after cart optimization)

Okay, so I admit this decklist might be pretty bad, but I hope it shows a bit of the flavor possible in this new format! Most of all, thank you for taking the time to read this and for making TappedOut the best MtG community!