The Game
Canadian Highlander is a 100 card singleton, 1 v 1 competitive MTG format that utilizes a points list alongside the vintage banned list. There are no sideboards.
Each deck must contain minimum 100 cards, and contain no more than one of any given card. The exceptions to this rule are basic lands and cards that explicitly state that any number may be played (e.g. Relentless Rats).
Each deck may contain no more than 10 points, you can find the Points List here
The following cards are banned:
In addition, the following cards are banned from Canadian Highlander:
– Ante cards
– Conspiracy cards
– Cards depicting racism and cultural insensitivity
– Cards containing stickers or attractions
– Dexterity cards
– Acorn cards
– Silver-bordered cards
– Sub-game cards
Effectively, Canadian Highlander shares a banned list with Vintage
The History
Give or take, this format is 20+ years old (and It’s changed quite a bit over the years). Some would say that It started on Vancouver Island in a little city called Victoria in 1999. Victoria is old school when it comes to Magic The Gathering, and there’s always been a large community of eternal players here. Originally, it was just a very small crew of people wanting to play pet cards, and cards that weren’t good enough for extended. People left Victoria, and it struggled to catch on, but as people returned and a couple of players spread the gospel, its seeds took root. The next set of challenges were getting a scene that could start to hold tournaments, and balancing the ever feared Tinker/Darksteel combo. Strong decks shifted the blossoming format, but in 2007 the first tournament was held at Yellowjacket Comic and Toys. About a year later, the format started to address powerful cards with a ban list. This ban list eventually morphed into the points list we know today. The rest, as they say, is a turn one sol ring.
As the community has developed, we’ve become more aware of the German and Aussie Highlander scenes (even going so far as to lovingly copy the initial Aussie points list). While excellent in their own right, we direct ourselves a bit differently. One of the major aspects of Canadian Highlander is the fact that you can play any card in Magic. That’s really important. It’s why we exist, and for that reason, it’s integral to the scene taking a hard stance on not banning cards.
Many thanks to the following individuals for their help starting this great format:
Robin Sorensen, Aaron Patten, Sean Tambo, Dylan Cross, Mike Harrison, Tyler Roberts, Nelson Salahub, Allison Macrae, Nick Picard, and Others (sorry).
Logo Usage
Wish to use the logos to promote Canadian Highlander? click here!