Historic Pauper
Historic Pauper is an unofficial MTG Arena constructed format which can be encountered during special events. It uses the same rules as Historic format, but only common cards are allowed. Thus this format is suitable for beginners who can easily create decks with their wildcards. Due to actual limitations of MTG Arena extensions (starting with Ixalan), Historic Pauper hasn't the whole cards list of the official MTG classic Pauper format. There's no way to play online Historic Pauper games and there's no ladder for this format. However, nothing stops you from playing Historic Pauper games with a friend by choosing "Historic" and restricting yourself to non-banned common cards.
Rules
Rules detailed here are specific to MTG Arena specific event. For official Pauper rules, see on MTG Wiki.
- Your deck must be composed of at least 60 cards, and a maximum of 250 (MTG Arena limitation).
- You must only use common cards in MTGA Arena. If a card exists in a set as a common on Arena, then this card is legal even if it's possible to find it in a higher rarity in another set.
- Alchemy cards are legal.
- You can't use the original version of a card if a rebalanced version exists.
- Cards are limited to 4 copies except basic lands and specific cards like "Rat Colony".
- There's no sideboard in MTG Arena Pauper events as they're limited to BO1.
Banned cards
As of 19/08/2025, the following cards are banned in Historic Pauper on MTG Arena:
FAQs
I don't see "Kuldotha Rebirth" or "Deadly Dispute" in the list of banned cards in Historic Pauper! Why?
"Kuldotha Rebirth" and "Deadly Dispute" are banned in MTG Classic Pauper format, but they are not banned in Historic Pauper. Enjoy!
"Grapeshot" and "Monastery Swiftspear" aren't on the banned list, so can I play them?
"Grapeshot" et "Monastery Swiftspear" are not banned from the Historic Pauper format, but for now they only exist in "rare" or "uncommon" versions in MTG Arena, so they are automatically banned.