Gameplay Rules


Introduction

A game of Explorer is different in some ways from a normal Magic game. The most important change is the introduction of Zones.

What is a Zone?
In regular Magic there is little to no thought in how you place your permanents on the battlefield. We have a couple of "gentlemen's agreements" set in place like creatures in front of lands or auras and equipments next to the permanents they refer to. But these are mostly arbitrary and don't change the way the game is played.

In a game of Explorer the battlefield is divided into six different Zones like so:

Player 1
Player 2

Main Deck

Your main deck is built much the same way you build a regular Magic deck: you choose what cards to put in it (including lands) and there are no color or type restrictions.

But there are two exceptions:

Exception 1: Creatures and Artifacts must obey the Singleton rule.
This means you can only have one copy of each creature or artifact you put in your deck. This rule doesn't apply to cards that explicitly state otherwise (example: Relentless Rats).

Exception 2: You can only use basic lands.
When adding the lands you need to cast your spells, you can only choose from the 6 basic lands: Plains, Island, Swamp, Forest, Mountain or Wastes. The non-basic lands go into the Explorer Deck (see below).

Explorer Deck

The Explorer Deck serves a simple function: whenever you move your creatures into an unoccupied zone for the first time, you draw a card from the Explorer Deck and place it face-up in that zone. These cards represent the new terrain your creatures discover, explore and claim. But you can also use their abilities so build your Explorer Deck carefully.

Your Explorer Deck can only have 10 non-basic lands. This is the only rule.