Universes
Contained
A low-power 60-card constructed format with no franchise-mixing.
Learn the Rules View the BanlistWhat is Universes Contained?
Universes Contained is a 60-card constructed format similar to Pioneer in general power level and card pool. However, it is unique in a number of ways:
- No Franchise Mixing (for example, you can't include Lord of the Rings cards in the same deck as cards from Ravnica sets).
- Expanded Card Pool (all Standard-legal cards going back to Tenth Edition, plus some extra stuff)
- Extensive Banlist (the format has a much longer banlist than any officially sanctioned format, resulting in a markedly lower power level)
- Low Cost (because sets' "chase" cards are often banned at this power level, in general competitive deck is much cheaper to build than in most formats)
- Balanced for Best-of-One (archetypes aren't safe from the banhammer just because they can be hosed in games 2 and 3)
Format Rules
Learn how to play, the rule on sideboards, and the defining 'one franchise' rule.
Legal Sets
Browse the complete list of all legal Universes Within sets chronologically.
Banned Cards
Search and sort the complete list of banned cards.
Universes Beyond
How Lord of the Rings, Final Fantasy, Marvel, and other franchises work.
Format Philosophy
Learn about why the rules are the way they are, and our goals for the format.
Metagame
Popular competitive archetypes and what makes them work.