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A Magic format by TheCardRamp · v0.1 draft

Rampage

Ramp fast. Slam giants.

Rampage is about doing the most fun thing in Magic — ramping into enormous monsters — every single game. Three promises: you will hit your land drops, you will cast your giants, and the game will be decided by monsters brawling — not by a combo you watch from the sidelines. If you own a Commander deck, you already know 90% of the rules.

The rules on one screen

Players
3–4 free-for-all (1v1 works too)
Life
40 (1v1: 30)
Deck
100 cards, singleton: 1 anchor + a 99-card library
Anchor
Any creature with printed power 6+, starts face-up in the Lair
Opening hand
7 cards, normal mulligan (first one free)
Turn-one surge
Draw one extra card during your first draw step
Land drops
Up to two lands per turn
The rampage clause
Your 99 must include 8+ cards with printed mana value 6 or more
Winning
Last player standing (no 21-damage rule)

How it works

Building your deck

100 cards total: your anchor plus a 99-card singleton library (basic lands excepted). Every card must fit within your anchor's color identity, exactly like Commander. And the rampage clause: at least 8 of your 99 must have printed mana value 6 or greater (X counts as zero; the anchor doesn't count — it's a bonus giant). The clause makes sure everyone shows up with monsters; well-built decks naturally run 12–20. Our catalog has 2,384 creatures at mana value 6+ to choose from — eight is a floor, not a challenge.

The anchor and the Lair

Your anchor is any creature with printed power 6 or greater — it does not have to be legendary. Any dragon, wurm, kraken, or demon big enough to matter can lead your deck. It starts the game face-up in the Lair, a zone beside your library that works exactly like Commander's command zone: cast it whenever you could normally cast it, paying the ramp tax — an additional {2}for each time you've already cast it from the Lair. If it would go anywhere other than the battlefield, you may return it to the Lair instead. Your monster can be answered, never deleted. It counts as your commander for card text, so Command Tower and Arcane Signet work.

Playing the game

Everyone starts at 40 life (30 in 1v1) with 7 cards; the first mulligan is free. During your first draw step, draw one extra card — the turn-one surge (in 1v1 the player going first skips their first draw as normal and gets no bonus). And the signature rule: on each of your turns you may play up to two lands. It's a ceiling, not a requirement, and effects that grant extra land plays add on top.

Winning — and the spirit

Last player standing. There is no 21-commander-damage rule — at 40 life with giants everywhere, single-creature kill rules would make games swing on one unblocked hit. Damage is damage. Two spirit rules: no infinite loops (if your win requires demonstrating a loop, it isn't a Rampage win), and rule zero — your table can tweak anything. The banned list is a floor, not a ceiling.

Yes, Sol Ring is banned

That's the point. In Rampage the ramp is the game — everyone climbs together, nobody skips the mountain. Everything on the official Commander banned list is banned here too, plus three Rampage-specific groups:

Fast mana

  • Sol Ring
  • Mana Vault
  • Grim Monolith
  • Ancient Tomb
  • Lotus Petal
  • Chrome Mox
  • Mox Diamond
  • Mox Opal
  • Mox Amber

Land destruction & locks

  • Armageddon
  • Ravages of War
  • Catastrophe
  • Decree of Annihilation
  • Jokulhaups
  • Obliterate
  • Sunder
  • Winter Orb
  • Static Orb
  • Stasis
  • Blood Moon
  • Back to Basics
  • Contamination

Combo kills & table wipes

  • Thassa's Oracle
  • Demonic Consultation
  • Tainted Pact
  • Triumph of the Hordes
  • Expropriate

Dark Ritual stays legal: mana in exchange for a card, in a color that wants it, is ramp with a cost. A free artifact every deck would play is not.

Three starter decks

One per playstyle: go tall, rule the seas, or make a deal you'll regret. Every card is in our catalog — click any name to compare printings and buy.

Ghalta, Primal Hunger

Stampede

Green · whole deck about $59

Anchor: Ghalta, Primal Hunger — $0.75 · Elves into ramp into a turn-four 12/12.

The purest expression of the format. Ghalta costs twelve minus the power of your creatures — with a couple of fatties out, your anchor costs almost nothing. Rampaging Brontodon's power equals your land count, which in the double-land-drop format gets silly fast. Win by going wide AND tall, then Overrun.

Total is the cheapest printing of each card in our catalog, refreshed daily; basic lands excluded (pennies each). Click any card to compare printings and buy.

Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle

The Deep

Green-Blue · whole deck about $37

Anchor: Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle — $0.77 · Your anchor enters as a land — then wakes up as a 12/12.

Sea monsters, in the format about playing lands — and your anchor literally enters as one. Tatyova turns every land drop into a card and a life; two drops a turn makes that an engine, and Wayward Swordtooth gives you a third. Counter what matters, then send krakens over the top while Whelming Wave resets everyone else.

Total is the cheapest printing of each card in our catalog, refreshed daily; basic lands excluded (pennies each). Click any card to compare printings and buy.

Rune-Scarred Demon

The Pact

Black · whole deck about $50

Anchor: Rune-Scarred Demon — $0.74 · Every recast from the Lair tutors another card.

Your anchor fetches any card when it arrives — every recast from the Lair is another wish. Rituals power out demons early; when they die, drag them back with Victimize and Living Death. Gray Merchant drains the table, Mutilate wipes it, and Liliana's Contract offers the deck's namesake: four differently named Demons and you simply win.

Total is the cheapest printing of each card in our catalog, refreshed daily; basic lands excluded (pennies each). Click any card to compare printings and buy.

Questions

Isn't this just Commander?
Proudly adjacent. Same deck size, singleton rule, and command-zone machinery — on purpose, so your existing collection and instincts carry over. What's different is the identity: double land drops, any big creature can lead, mandatory giants, 40 life that actually gets dealt with, and no fast-mana lottery on turn one.
Why doesn't the anchor get shuffled into my deck?
It lives in the Lair, a separate face-up zone — so you are guaranteed to cast your monster every game. No luck involved. That's the format's promise.
Why is Sol Ring banned?
Rampage's whole identity is that the ramp is the game — a free rock that lets one player skip turns one through three breaks the promise. Dark Ritual stays legal: mana in exchange for a card, in a color that wants it, is ramp with a cost. A free artifact every deck would play is not.
Can my anchor be legendary?
Yes — it just doesn't have to be. Ghalta and a no-name 6/6 are equally legal.
What's "mana value"?
The total cost printed in a card's top corner. A card costing {4}{G}{G} has mana value 6. Bigger number = bigger card, cast later. For the rampage clause, X counts as zero.

Rampage is v0.1 — numbers may move with playtesting. Tried it? Tell us how it went at hello@thecardramp.com.