What Is Tiny Leaders In Magic: The Gathering?

What is Tiny Leaders in Magic: The Gathering? Other than being kind of an entertaining thing to say out loud – try it, it’s a lot of fun – Tiny Leaders is an offshoot of Commander that has players going smaller, rather than bigger.

This makes it a really good entry point for players who like the card selection of Commander over Brawl, but find the idea of shuffling 100 cards a little daunting. It’s also a little bit cheaper too, which is always a nice bonus.

What is Tiny Leaders in Magic: The Gathering?

Tiny Leaders is a lot like Commander. You have the same general idea, you choose a general to head up your deck and then build a deck in their colors, often around them as a theme, and it’s a singleton format as well.

However, it differs in two major areas. For starters, the decks have to be fifty cards instead of one hundred, which makes it a little easier to manage along with being less expensive, generally speaking. You also have a key difference when it comes to your card selection; you can only choose cards that cost three mana or less to cast.

This makes it all a little bit faster, but it’s no less absurd thanks to the number of cards you can choose from. It’s an interesting format to explore, and while it’s not as well-known as Commander, it can be just as much fun if you and your friends choose to get into it. You also start with twenty-five life, which helps the speed of the format greatly.

What cards are banned in Tiny Leaders?

Tiny Leaders is an odd one, because it states you can’t use Derevi, Empyrial Tactician, Erayo, Soratami Ascendant, or Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary as your commander, but you can have them in your deck.

Alongside that, there’s also a sizeable list of banned cards, which you can see here:

Ancestral Recall Ancestral Recall Target player draws three cards.
Balance
Black Lotus Black Lotus {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add three mana of any one color.
Black Vise Black Vise As this artifact enters, choose an opponent.
At the beginning of the chosen player's upkeep, this artifact deals X damage to that player, where X is the number of cards in their hand minus 4.
Channel
Chaos Orb
Contract From Below
Counterbalance
Darkpact
Demonic Attorney
Demonic Tutor Demonic Tutor Search your library for a card, put that card into your hand, then shuffle.
Earthcraft
Edric, Spymaster of Trest
Falling Star
Fastbond
Goblin Recruiter
Grindstone
Hermit Druid Hermit Druid {G}, {T}: Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a basic land card. Put that card into your hand and all other cards revealed this way into your graveyard.
High Tide
Imperial Seal
Jeweled Bird
Karakas Karakas {T}: Add {W}.
{T}: Return target legendary creature to its owner's hand.
Library of Alexandria
Mana Crypt Mana Crypt At the beginning of your upkeep, flip a coin. If you lose the flip, this artifact deals 3 damage to you.
{T}: Add {C}{C}.
Mana Drain
Mana Vault
Metalworker
Mind Twist
Mishra’s Workshop
Mox Emerald Mox Emerald {T}: Add {G}.
Mox Jet
Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby Mox Ruby {T}: Add {R}.
Mox Sapphire
Najeela, the Blade Blossom
Necropotence Necropotence Skip your draw step.
Whenever you discard a card, exile that card from your graveyard.
Pay 1 life: Exile the top card of your library face down. Put that card into your hand at the beginning of your next end step.
Shahrazad
Skullclamp
Sol Ring Sol Ring {T}: Add {C}{C}.
Strip Mine
Survival of the Fittest Survival of the Fittest {G}, Discard a creature card: Search your library for a creature card, reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
Sword of Body and Mind Sword of Body and Mind Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has protection from green and from blue.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, you create a 2/2 green Wolf creature token and that player mills ten cards.
Equip {2}
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale All creatures have "At the beginning of your upkeep, destroy this creature unless you pay {1}."
Time Vault Time Vault This artifact enters tapped.
This artifact doesn't untap during your untap step.
If you would begin your turn while this artifact is tapped, you may skip that turn instead. If you do, untap this artifact.
{T}: Take an extra turn after this one.
Time Walk Time Walk Take an extra turn after this one.
Timetwister Timetwister Each player shuffles their hand and graveyard into their library, then draws seven cards. (Then put Timetwister into its owner's graveyard.)
Timmerian Fiends
Tolarian Academy Tolarian Academy {T}: Add {U} for each artifact you control.
Umezawa’s Jitte Umezawa’s Jitte Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage, put two charge counters on Umezawa's Jitte.
Remove a charge counter from Umezawa's Jitte: Choose one —
• Equipped creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
• Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
• You gain 2 life.
Equip {2}
Vampiric Tutor Vampiric Tutor Search your library for a card, then shuffle and put that card on top. You lose 2 life.
Wheel of Fortune Wheel of Fortune Each player discards their hand, then draws seven cards.
Yawgmoth’s Will Yawgmoth’s Will Until end of turn, you may play lands and cast spells from your graveyard.
If a card would be put into your graveyard from anywhere this turn, exile that card instead.