Ever wondered what the standard MTG card size is? It’s not a question that plagues Magic: The Gathering fans often, but it can be very helpful to know in a few crucial situations. Whether you’re a top-level player looking to swot up or simply a lover of Wizards of the Coast trivia, we can tell you all there is to know about MTG card dimensions below.
Before we answer those burning questions, though, here are a few other handy guides for the avid trading card games fan. All the latest news can be found in the MTG 2023 release schedule, and we’re constantly updating our guides to the best MTG Arena decks and MTG Arena codes.
But back to size – and why it matters.
Why does MTG card size matter?
Competitive play
An MTG card’s dimensions are particularly important for competitive players, as cards with a uniform size help to prevent cheating. According to tournament rules, any card that is markedly different from the others in an MTG deck is considered an illegal, marked card. And though it isn’t one of the specific examples listed by Magic judges, card size differences could be considered a form of marking.
The best thing to do is to sleeve your cards. Any card could differ from standard sizing due to printing errors, so sleeves help keep everything uniform.
Spotting fakes
The most expensive MTG cards can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, so it helps to know what the real ones look like. Sizing is just one of many factors that might be considered when checking if a card is real or counterfeit.
Here the size of everything on the card counts. This doesn’t just include the general dimensions – understanding the size and spacing of font, art, and borders can all help identify a legitimate card, too. One or two mistakes could be a misprint, but several may indicate something suspicious.
With that out of the way, let’s answer the biggest MTG dimensions questions:
How big is an MTG card?
According to the official Magic: The Gathering rules, a ‘traditional’ MTG card size is 2.5 inches (6.3cm) by 3.5 inches (8.8cm). Non-foil cards are roughly 0.012 inches (0.305mm) thick, and foil cards are fractionally thicker.
Printing errors aside, there are some exceptions. These come under the category of ‘non-traditional cards’ in the official Magic rules. One example includes cards from the 1997 Vanguard MTG set, which were three inches by five inches.
What does an MTG card weigh?
The standard Magic card weight is somewhere between 1.7 and 1.8 grams. There will of course be some variation (printing isn’t perfect), but this is the rough ballpark any authentic MTG card will be in.
MTG playmat size
There’s no official MTG playmat size according to the comprehensive Magic: The Gathering rules. However, if you’re still curious, the average size is 24 inches by 14 inches (61.0 cm by 35.6 cm)
MTG deck size
An MTG deck size depends on which of the MTG formats you’re playing. Constructed formats like Standard and MTG Modern require a minimum of 60 cards, but there’s no maximum deck size. If you have a sideboard, this can include up to 15 cards.
In a limited format like an MTG draft, the standard deck size is 40 cards at the minimum. Again, there’s no maximum deck size. And this time, there’s also no size restrictions for your sideboard.
MTG maximum hand size
The maximum hand size in a Magic: The Gathering game is usually seven cards. If you have more than seven cards in your hand during the cleanup step, you must discard down to seven. There are exceptions – certain cards can alter your hand size during play.
If you need more scholarly sources, here are all the MTG card types explained. Plus, we can tell you all the essentials about the MTG banlist and MTG reserved list.