Canadian Highlander is one of the unique formats available inMagic: The Gathering. While Canadian Highlander is not an officially supported format by Wizards of the Coast, it is the most popular singleton format outside of traditional Commander.
If you are fond of the idea of a singleton format (meaning you can only play one of any non-basic land in your deck), but are not into the multiplayer aspect of Commander, Canadian Highlander is a format worth looking into. It’s a unique format with a ton of fan support that can be quite entertaining.
What Is Canadian Highlander?
Canadian Highlander is a format wheredecks consist of no less than 100 cards, with no duplicates (except basic lands). The format is a1-on-1 format, with no sideboardsincluded in decks.
you may play more than 100 cardsif you want, but it is generally advised to stick to just 100. Since sideboards do not exist in Canadian Highlander,companions cannot be used as companions(but can be played in the main deck).
If a card says you can play multiple copies of a card like Persistent Petitioners or Hare Apparent, you can play multiple in your Canadian Highlander deck.
Canadian Highlander uses the same banlist as Vintage. So,if a card is banned in Vintage, it is banned in Canadian Highlander. Vintage does not usually ban cards and instead restricts them, something Canadian Highlander does naturally since you may only play one of each card anyway.
Canadian Highlandernever bans cards for power-level reasons, and the only cards that get banned are the ones banned in every Magic format.
To help keep the format balanced,Canadian Highlander utilizes a points system. Themost powerful cards in the format are given a set point number on a scale from 1-8. A deckcan’t exceed ten points. A deck may also not utilize any of the cards that have point values if desired.
Banlist And Points
The Canadian Highlander points system is what keeps the format in check.If a card is proving to be too dominant in the format, it will be put on the points listto make it more restrictive and take away the ability to play it along with other powerful cards. T
he more egregiously powerful cards are put on the higher end, while weaker, but still problematic cards are given lower point values.
Wishclaw Talisman: 1 Point
Wrenn and Six: 1 Point
You canonly have a total of ten points.For example, If you put Ancestral Recall in your deck (eight points), you cannot also play Mox Emerald (three Points) since that would exceed ten. You could play Ancestral Recall with Psychic Frog (one point) and Treasure Cruise (one point) though, which add up to exactly ten.
In addition to the limitation put on cards on the points list,these cards are completely bannedand cannot be played at all:
Any cards that use the sticker or attraction mechanic.
Shahrazad
How To Build A Canadian Highlander Deck
If you are new to Canadian Highlander, a piece of advice givenis tolook at the Legacy formatfor help finding a baseline archetype. Although Legacy is a format that lets you play four copies of a card,Legacy is more in line with the power level of Canadian Highlander(despite sharing a banlist with Vintage which often veers more toward combo decks).
Apart from checking Legacy archetypes, it’salso good to look at builds throughout historyfor that archetype to find cards to fill in the gaps left by only having a singleton decklist.
It is also advised tolook at decks that are performing well in Canadian Highlander itself. you may give your own spins on a deck, but looking at the metagame of Canadian Highlander will help you wrap your head, and understand what kind of decks work and what will lead to better decks.
It’s worthlooking at cards banned in other formats, as those cards were banned for a reason and can often find a home in Canadian Highlander.
Unlike Commander,Canadian Highlander is a competitive formatas opposed to a social one. As such, you want to be building your decks optimally if possible. You may need budget options in some cases, but your aim should be building a deck that can compete that you also enjoy.
