Desert Twisters/Old School Motto: Beer, Orb flips, mana burn and playing for the love of the game.
Format Difference Summary
The following table provides a summary of the differences among the major Old School 93/94 formats:
Old School 93-94 decks may consist of cards from these sets printed in 1993-94:
Alpha
Beta
Unlimited
Collector’s Edition (CE)
International Collector’s Edition (IE)
Arabian Nights
Antiquities
Revised
Legends
The Dark
Fallen Empires
Additional Sets and Cards Allowed (ie. REPRINTS)
Tournaments hosted by the Desert Twisters also allow all non-foil cards from the sets above, that were reprinted IN ANY LANGUAGE with the original frame and original art. So for example, a Chronicles City of Brass, Fifth Edition Wrath of God, Time Spiral Psionic Blast, and Collector’s Edition Mox Ruby would all be legal (original frame + original art), while an Ice Age Swords to Plowshares or Arena 1996 Counterspell would not be legal (different art). The misprinted Revised Serendib Efreet (with Ifh-Biff Efreet’s art, and green border) is of course allowed, because it was printed in one of the original sets in 1994 (Revised). We always encourage you to seek out the oldest and coolest versions of cards you can find, but these can serve as your de facto substitutes for the cards printed in 93-94. Absolutely no proxies and fake cards allowed. Finally, the following promotional cards from 1994 are also legal: Arena, Sewers of Estark, and Nalathni Dragon.
Deck Construction
Constructed decks must contain a minimum of 60 cards (no maximum deck size; however, you must be able to shuffle your deck with no assistance). If a player wishes to use a sideboard, it can contain up to 15 cards. With the exception of basic land cards (Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, Forest), a player’s combined deck and sideboard may not contain more than 4 of any individual card, counted by its English card title equivalent.
The following cards are banned in 93-94 tournaments:
• Bronze Tablet
• Contract from Below
• Darkpact
• Demonic Attorney
• Jeweled Bird
• Rebirth
• Tempest Efreet
The following cards are restricted in 93-94 tournaments (maximum of 1 of each card per deck):
• Ancestral Recall
• Balance
• Black Lotus
• Braingeyser
• Chaos Orb
• Channel
• Demonic Tutor
• Library of Alexandria
• Mana Drain
• Mind Twist
• Mox Emerald
• Mox Jet
• Mox Pearl
• Mox Ruby
• Mox Sapphire
• Recall
• Regrowth
• Sol Ring
• Time Vault
• Time Walk
• Timetwister
• Wheel of Fortune
Notable Rules/Differences from Modern Era of Magic
– MANA BURN STILL HAPPENS (as in, players lose 1 point of life for each unused mana in the mana pool at the end of each phase)
– THE FOLLOWING CARDS WILL HAVE THE UPDATED ORACLE TEXT, AS SHOWN BELOW:
Chaos Orb - 2 - Artifact
1, Tap: Choose a nontoken permanent on the battlefield. If Chaos Orb is on the battlefield, flip Chaos Orb onto the battlefield from a height of at least one foot. If Chaos Orb turns over completely at least 360 degrees during the flip, and lands resting on the chosen permanent, destroy that permanent. Then destroy Chaos Orb.
(Note: because of how Chaos Orb is worded, with it being destroyed after a flip, it can still be Disenchanted or Shattered in response to the activation, which will nullify the ability to flip, since it is no longer on the battlefield. This is consistent with the wording of Chaos Orb not being sacrificed upon activation, as it probably would with modern templating. Also note that Chaos Orb chooses, but does not target.)
Falling Star - 2R - Sorcery
Choose any number of non-overlapping creatures on the battlefield. Flip Falling Star from at least a height of one foot. If Falling Star turns over completely at least 360 degrees during the flip, it deals 3 damage to each chosen creature it lands resting on. Any creatures damaged by Falling Star that are not destroyed become tapped.
(Note: Falling Star chooses upon resolution, but does not target.)
Ring of Ma’rûf - 5 - Artifact
5, Tap, Exile Ring of Ma’rûf: The next time you would draw a card this turn, instead choose a card you own from exile or from your sideboard, and put it into your hand.
No Draws
A match may not end in a draw, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
If a match is tied at the conclusion of a round, a tiebreaker shall be used to determine the winner for a match. Tournament Organizers may choose to use one of the two tiebreaker methods below for their tournament. The same method should be used throughout the tournament; players do not get to choose the method their prefer to resolve their match.
Chaos Orb Flips
A winner by sudden death may be determined by a Chaos Orb flipping contest. By mutual consent, players shall determine which of them shall flip first, or if such consent cannot be obtained, the first player to flip shall be determined randomly. Alternatively, by mutual consent, players may agree to flip simultaneously.
Players then begin performing Chaos Orb flips targeting a declared card of their choosing from their main deck or sideboard in a series of rounds. The first player who successfully completes a flip in the same round that their opponent fails their flip is declared the winner of the match.
In two-headed giant, each team nominates a single person to represent and perform Chaos Orb flips for their team.
A player may choose to use a substitute card in the event a Chaos Orb is not in the players deck or sideboard. This substitute card must be a card from the player’s deck (thus ensuring the card is a genuine Magic card of appropriate size and sleeved in the same manner as their other cards).