Can I build a deck together with friends on TCGSwap?

Yes. Every deck on TCGSwap has a Collaboration Space. You can invite up to 5 friends; they can suggest card changes, discuss ideas, and playtest proposals. You review and apply suggestions before anything changes in your deck.

How does deck collaboration work?

It works like a pull request for your deck. Collaborators open the deck editor, make their proposed changes, and submit a suggestion with a note. You get notified, open the comparison view to see exactly what they changed, and choose to apply all, cherry-pick individual cards, or decline. Nothing changes in your deck until you approve it.

Can collaborators chat and discuss the deck?

Yes. The Collaboration Space has a shared group discussion thread for the whole deck, plus a per-suggestion Q&A thread for each proposal. You can @mention teammates and link specific cards inline.

Is collaborative deck building free?

Yes, collaboration is free for all TCGSwap users during beta. You can invite up to 5 collaborators per deck.

Does TCGSwap work for MTG, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh and One Piece collaboration?

Yes. The Collaboration Space supports all four games — Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon TCG, Yu-Gi-Oh and One Piece. Format validation and card prices are included for each game.

All guides · 2026-09-28 · TCGSwap

Magic deck rules: 60-card formats, Commander and color identity

Constructed formats

Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Pauper share the same shape:

At least 60 cards in the main deck — there's no maximum.
An optional 15-card sideboard.
Up to 4 copies of any card by name, except basic lands, which are unlimited.

What changes between formats is the card pool: each format has its own list of legal sets and banned cards.

Commander

Commander is built differently:

Exactly 100 cards, including your commander.
Singleton — only one copy of any card, except basic lands.
A legendary creature as your commander.
Color identity — every other card may only use colors found in your commander's mana cost and rules text. A mono-green commander means no red, white, blue or black cards anywhere in the deck.

How TCGSwap checks it

In the deck builder, pick a format and each card is checked against that format's legality. For Commander, click the crown on a legendary creature to make it your commander: the deck is then locked to its color identity, and anything outside it is flagged. Validation is advisory — you can always save a deck that's still a work in progress.

Stats shows your mana curve, color distribution and card types, plus a mana-base analysis: a recommended land count using Frank Karsten's formulas, and the probability of hitting your land drops in your opening hand.

Land counts

As a rough guide, most 60-card decks run 22–26 lands and Commander decks 36–38. The Mana Analysis playtest simulates 10,000 opening hands to show how yours actually draws.

For the full rules, see Wizards of the Coast's Magic formats page and the Comprehensive Rules.