Fallen Empires 40

• Current base rules
• Bans and restrictions
• Leagues and community
• Splash variants

Fallen Empires 40 is a constructed old-school variant “wedge” format that uses the Fallen Empires expansion as its base card pool. It is often referred to as “FE40” or “Fallen Empires 40 Traditional.”

Fallen Empires 40 originated on the playground during the ‘94-’95 school year and gained popularity in the Cleveland Ohio area old-school scene and beyond during 2021. FE40 emphasizes a “fun before finance” approach to old-school play and a unique constructed environment. An active online league began in 2022 with global participation.

Current base rules

• Modern MtG + deckbuilding rules, plus mana burn
• 40-card minimum deck
• 5-card sideboard
• London Mulligan rule
• First to 2 wins
• Basic lands are okay; snow-covered lands are okay if applicable to the splash theme
• Sleeves are optional
• Ante is highly encouraged for live games
• Real cards are encouraged; club promos and any reprints or legible proxies are always allowed

Bans and restrictions

• Hymn to Tourach: 0
• Dwarven Catapult: 2
• Hand of Justice: 2
• Icatian Javelineers: 2

Leagues and community

• Semi-monthly asynchronous league
• Discord community

Splash variants

As Fallen Empires has a limited card pool, several sets are often integrated into leagues and constructed tournaments. Nine cards from a different release can be included in decks, following regular deckbuilding rules and using Fallen Empires as the base set.

Effective splash sets include:

• The Dark (+9)
• Homelands (+9)
• Alliances (+9)
• Chronicles (+9)
• Sarpadian Scryings (+9)

For the splash rules and specific card restrictions, check the league documents and local tournament announcements before play.