Modern
The deep, non-rotating format built on the modern card frame. Modern spans two decades of powerful cards, from 8th Edition forward, and rewards specialized, highly-tuned decks.
What is the Modern format?
Modern is a non-rotating constructed format that draws from every set with the modern card frame — beginning with 8th Edition in 2003 — and everything released since. Nothing rotates out, so Modern has grown into one of the deepest and most diverse competitive formats in the game, home to combo, control, aggro, midrange, and prison decks all at once. Its power level sits above Pioneer but below Legacy and Vintage: it includes fetchlands and powerful engines but not the Power Nine or original dual lands. Modern is a mainstay of competitive paper play and Magic Online, and dedicated supplemental products like the Modern Horizons sets are designed specifically to add cards directly to the format.
Card pool and cutoff
Modern’s card pool starts at 8th Edition (July 2003), the first set to use the modern border, and includes all standard-legal expansions since plus format-specific releases like the Modern Horizons series. Modern Horizons sets are notable because they inject powerful new cards straight into Modern without ever passing through Standard — Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and many other staples debuted this way. Because the pool never rotates and keeps expanding, Modern is constantly evolving as new sets and dedicated releases reshape the metagame. This breadth is the format’s signature: dozens of viable archetypes coexist across a card pool spanning more than twenty years.
Iconic and banned cards
Modern has an active banned list used to keep any single strategy from breaking the format. Historic bans include Splinter Twin, Birthing Pod, Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis, Oko, Thief of Crowns, and Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath, each removed after dominating the metagame. Iconic legal staples define Modern’s pillars — Ragavan, fetchland mana bases, efficient interaction, and resilient threats. Because Modern staples see heavy constructed demand and appear in premium Modern Horizons frames, they are among the more valuable non-vintage cards in the game. The banned list updates periodically, so verifying a card’s current legality is essential before locking in a deck.
How to check if a card is Modern legal
Scan any card with Tappr and the legality panel — sourced live from Scryfall — tells you instantly whether it is legal or banned in Modern. Since Modern legality hinges on whether a card has ever been printed in an 8th-Edition-or-later, modern-frame set, Tappr checks the exact printing you scanned and gives a clear answer alongside the current market price. That is especially useful for old cards that were later reprinted into Modern legality, since the reprint — not the original — can determine eligibility.
Common questions
01 What is the Modern card pool cutoff?
Modern includes every card from 8th Edition (2003) forward that uses the modern frame, plus dedicated releases like the Modern Horizons sets. Scan a card with Tappr to confirm whether one of its printings qualifies.
02 What are Modern Horizons sets?
Modern Horizons sets are supplemental releases designed to add cards directly to Modern without them ever being Standard legal. Many top staples, including Ragavan, first appeared in these sets.
03 Can a card be Modern legal from a reprint even if the original is not?
Yes. If an older card is reprinted into a Modern-legal set, it becomes Modern legal. Legality follows any qualifying printing, which is why scanning the exact card matters.
04 How do I check the Modern banned list?
Scan the card with Tappr for its Scryfall-sourced legality, which reflects the current Modern banned list rather than a snapshot that may be out of date.
Related Formats
The non-rotating format that starts at Return to Ravnica. Pioneer keeps modern-era decks alive without the fetchlands and dual-land power of older formats — a middle ground between Standard and Modern.
LegacyThe eternal format where nearly every card ever printed is legal. Legacy is powered by dual lands, Force of Will, and decades of the game’s most efficient spells.
PauperThe commons-only format that proves cheap doesn’t mean weak. Pauper builds decks entirely from cards printed at common rarity — accessible to build, but competitively deep.
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