There are, in fact, around 20 MTG formats spanning across the tabletop card game, the online versions and those specific to the physical TCG's digital counterpart Magic: The Gathering Arena. There are a lot of Magic: The Gathering formats. What are the different Magic: The Gathering formats? Read on to find out what you need to know about the MTG formats you should be playing. Lucky for you, that’s basically what this beginner’s guide is for, so you're in the right place. If, however, you’ve decided to step into the world of MTG organised play, then you’ll need to fully understand the differences between the most popular Magic: The Gathering formats. This is commonly referred to as ‘Kitchen Table Magic’, and it’s some of the most fun you can have with the game. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, no matter what anyone else tells you. If you’ve only recently started learning how to play Magic: The Gathering and are still properly getting to grips with how to build a Magic: The Gathering deck for this magnificent trading card game, then you’re probably just using whichever MTG cards you think are cool. The different Magic: The Gathering formats are both numerous and a little confusing.