Formats
What each format allows, as of the game's last ban list (effective 2018-05-07), before the official servers shut down (2020-12-31). Source: hextcg.com/watch-and-ban-list (archived 2020-10-22): "Effective 5/07/18".
Constructed
Standard
The rotating format: the five most recent sets (Herofall to Doombringer) and their core commons, plus the 20 Standard gems.
Banned: Lazgar's Vengeance
Watch list: Exalted Pathfinder, Bride of the Damned, Wax Sacrament, Eternal Seeker, Rowdy Piper, Scribe of the Flayed Man
Immortal
Every PvP set ever released. PvE cards are not allowed.
Banned: Hideous Conversion, Lazgar's Vengeance, Major Ruby of Destruction
Watch list: Titania's Majesty, Cyclone Shaper, Minor Wild Orb of Conservation, Minor Sapphire of Mischief, Rutherford Banks
Rock
Standard, but commons and uncommons only.
Only common and uncommon rarity.
Banned: Choir of Lumos, Lazgar's Vengeance
How Standard rotated
From 29 Jul 2016 the rule was: “Set legality will update with each even numbered set, while gems will be updated on odd numbered sets.” So a new even-numbered set moved the two oldest sets out of Standard, and an odd-numbered one changed its gems; Immortal began when the first sets left. The History page shows what each release changed. Source: hextcg.com/set-and-gem-rotation (archived 2020-11-08).
Chapters
Five smaller formats, each two sets back to back: the game's own chapters (its code names Chapter 1 to 5; the Hex Compendium lists the same pairs).
- Chapter 1† — Shards of Fate + Shattered Destiny.
- Chapter 2† — Armies of Myth + Primal Dawn.
- Chapter 3† — Herofall + Scars of War.
- Chapter 4† — Frostheart + Dead of Winter (+ core commons).
- Chapter 5† — Doombringer (+ core commons).
† No official ban list for these was found; none is known to be needed, but this is less certain than the others.
Tournament keywords
Extra rules an event could add on top of its format (Standard unless it said otherwise), not formats of their own: every rule of the base format still applied. The game’s deck builder listed the ones a deck met under “Additional Properties”, as the site’s Deck Builder does; only an event that used a keyword required it.
Factioned
At least 1/3rd troops of the same faction and no troops of an opposing faction.
Neither the game’s texts nor the tournament archive record an event with it.
Singleton
No more than 1 card of each name and any number of standard resources.
Singles Night was Standard + Singleton (the game’s own event text): the archive holds 224 of its events, from 5 Dec 2017 to 2 Apr 2020, and every one of its 1,249 decks is Singleton.
Chapter
All cards belong to a particular chapter in Hex's history.
As the game’s code counts it: one set, or two sets of the same chapter, the champion’s set included. Neither the game’s texts nor the tournament archive record an event with it.
Janklander
150 or more cards, with up to 1 copy of any non-standard resource. Can include up to 4 Jank Bot.
Neither the game’s texts nor the tournament archive record an event with it. It most likely ran on Immortal, since Jank Bot is legal in Immortal but not in Standard.
Recent
All cards belong to the most recent chapter of card sets.
In the game’s code the most recent chapter is always Chapter 4 (Frostheart and Dead of Winter): it was never moved on to Doombringer. Neither the game’s texts nor the tournament archive record an event with it.
Rock was a tournament keyword too (“No rare or legendary cards. (Choir of Lumos is banned.)”): Fight Night was Standard + Rock, 486 events and 12,638 decks in the archive, from 2 Nov 2017 to 31 Mar 2020. It had its own ban list, so it is listed with the constructed formats above. The game’s code also knows three rules with no text of their own: EDH (100 or more cards, one of each name; the game’s texts name one event with it, “Dingleton”), every card costing 2 or less, and every card costing 4 or more. The events’ decks are in Legacy Tournaments.
PvE
Campaign & Frost Ring Arena
PvE: every PvP and PvE card is allowed, and every gem except the PvE class gems.
Banned: Closed Coffins, Curse of Oblivion, Subtle Striker, Brink of Madness
Gems: the official ban page said Standard gems only, but the game itself allowed every gem except the class gems in these decks, and so does the Deck Builder’s Frost Ring Arena tab.
Siege Defense
The decks that defend your fortress: every PvP and PvE card and every gem except the PvE class gems. Siege games are best of one, with no reserves; a full defense is 3 decks with 3 different champions.
Banned: Spectral Acorn
A few more formats and rules
- Siege (attacker): Standard-legal cards, gems and champions. The defending decks are their own format, Siege Defense.
- Limited (sealed / draft): any cards from your pool; minimum 40 cards (the older game code says 30), no copy limit, no reserve limit.
- Card legality goes by name: a card is legal if any printing with the same name is in a legal set (game code: GetOtherVersionsOf). Reprints and alternate art follow their card.