The Worcester Accord
Alpha to Alliances Ante (AAA)
Our rule set is based on the original AAA rules put together by This Old Deck. We've made adjustments for our local community, but the foundation is theirs. Thank you for creating and sharing the format.
A note before you play
We play AAA for the love of the era, the brewing, and the wild games only this format can produce. We play at local game stores, bars, friends' restaurants, and on the sidewalk. We are here to have fun.
This is not a format for scumming each other or new players out of their cards. We expect everyone to bring that same respect to the table. If you don't, you'll be asked to leave. These rules are living and will change if our community decides something needs to be policed. If you disagree with how we run things, come talk to us.
Deck Construction
- Minimum 60 cards, no maximum (must be shuffleable)
- Maximum 4 copies of any individual card, except basic lands and Aurochs (unlimited copies allowed)
- No sideboard
- No proxies unless all players consent
- No minimum deck value. Play what you've got, read the room.
- Playing unsleeved is encouraged. These are old cards being shuffled and played the way they were meant to be. Embrace it.
Card Legality
Cards must have been printed in a set from Alpha through Alliances (June 1996). Reprints are allowed if they use the original frame and original art. This includes cards like Time Spiral timeshifted reprints, but not modern-border reprints. A Sixth Edition Brushland is not legal.
Not sure if a card or printing is legal? Use the AAA Legality Checker.
View legal sets
- Alpha
- Beta
- Unlimited
- Collector's Edition
- International Collector's Edition
- Arabian Nights
- Antiquities
- Revised
- Legends
- The Dark
- Fallen Empires
- Ice Age
- Homelands
- Alliances
Rules of Play
- Modern London Mulligan (draw 7, put back 1 for each mulligan taken)
- Mana burn is in effect. If you over-tap, you take the burn.
- Apocalypse pain lands are not generally played (Caves of Koilos, Llanowar Wastes, etc.). You may agree with your opponent before the game to allow them.
- Strip Mine, Mishra's Factory, Glacial Chasm, Maze of Ith, and Dark Ritual are restricted (max 1 copy). Playing multiples of any of these makes for miserable games.
- Always have a conversation with your opponent before the game to confirm which rules you're playing with. There are many variants of this format. Being on the same page matters.
Ante
- At the start of each game, present your deck for cut. Your opponent cuts, and you ante the top card face-down.
- The winner takes the loser's ante card.
- Always play what you're willing to lose. You can lose to a top-decked Lightning Bolt.
- Jeweled Bird: most of our players don't use it. Ante should feel real and fun. The Bird takes some of that away. Have a conversation with your opponent before the game.
- All ante cards are otherwise legal (Contract from Below, Demonic Attorney, etc.).
When You Lose a Card
- Sign it or alter it for the winner. Bring markers.
- No phallic drawings. Be more creative than that.
- Bring extras to replace what you lose. Come prepared.
Restricted List
Maximum 1 copy of each of the following cards per deck:
- Ancestral Recall
- Balance
- Black Lotus
- Braingeyser
- Chaos Orb
- Channel
- Demonic Consultation
- Demonic Tutor
- Jeweled Bird
- Library of Alexandria
- Mana Crypt
- 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
- Amulet of Quoz
- Bronze Tablet
- Contract from Below
- Darkpact
- Demonic Attorney
- Rebirth
- Tempest Efreet
- Timmerian Fiends
- Dark Ritual
- Glacial Chasm
- Maze of Ith
- Mishra's Factory
- Strip Mine