mtg-archetypes

Magic: The Gathering deck archetype classifier

cat ur-delver.txt | mtg-archetypes legacy
# Izzet Delver

---

Overview

mtg-archetypes is a rule-based deck archetype classifier for MTG across competitive formats focusing on MTGO (Legacy, Vintage, Modern, Pioneer, Pauper, Premodern, Standard). It was built as the classifier to MODOMeta.

• Declarative: One YAML file per archetype with archetype defining card constraints
• Board scope awareness: Enforce cards in mainboard (in: "main"), sideboard (in: "side"), or anywhere in the 75
• Exact card quantities: Enforce minimum copy counts (e.g. min: 3 Mishra's Workshop -> "Shops")
• Multi-group signature logic: Require combinations across multiple card pools (signature_groups)
• Deterministic: A deck either matches a defined archetype or goes unclassified
• CLI & Library: Use the standalone command line tool or use it as a Python module

Coverage

Of MTGO league + challenge decks, this module currently classifies (see this):

• Vintage: 99%+ (thanks IamActuallyLvL1)
• Legacy: 95%+
• Modern: 82%
• Premodern: 95%+
• Pauper: 92%
• Pioneer: 0%
• Standard: 0%

Get involved by adding known archetypes!

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Installation

pip install mtg-archetypes

Or if you have uv installed, you can use mtg-archetypes directly:

cat ur-delver.txt | uvx mtg-archetypes legacy

---

Quickstart

CLI Usage

Pipe any decklist directly into mtg-archetypes:

cat delver.txt | mtg-archetypes legacy
# Izzet Delver

Or pass a file argument:

mtg-archetypes vintage jewel_shops.txt
# Jewel Shops

Silent on No Match

When a deck does not match any rules in the format, the CLI outputs nothing at all:

echo "60 Plains" | mtg-archetypes legacy
# (outputs nothing, exit code 0)

Verbose Output (--verbose)

Pass --verbose to inspect priorities, categories, or see "Archetype: Unclassified":

cat delver.txt | mtg-archetypes legacy --verbose

Archetype: Izzet Delver
Priority:  100
Category:  Tempo

echo "60 Plains" | mtg-archetypes legacy --verbose

Archetype: Unclassified

JSON Output (--json)

cat delver.txt | mtg-archetypes legacy --json

{
  "matched": true,
  "name": "Izzet Delver",
  "slug": "izzet-delver",
  "priority": 100,
  "category": "Tempo",
  "matched_rule": "Izzet Delver"
}

If unclassified:

{
  "matched": false,
  "name": null,
  "slug": null,
  "priority": 0,
  "category": null,
  "matched_rule": null
}

---

Python Library Usage

from mtg_archetypes import ArchetypeClassifier

classifier = ArchetypeClassifier()

# Or use:
# decklist = "4 Delver of Secrets\n..."
# mtg_archetypes.parse_decklist_text(decklist)
mainboard = [
    "4 Delver of Secrets",
    "4 Daze",
    "4 Force of Will",
    "4 Lightning Bolt",
    "4 Volcanic Island",
    "4 Brainstorm",
]
sideboard = [
    "2 Pyroblast",
    "1 Meltdown",
    "2 Grafdigger's Cage",
]

result = classifier.classify(mainboard, sideboard, format="legacy")

if result.matched:
    print(f"Archetype: {result.name} (Priority {result.priority})")
else:
    print("Unclassified deck")

---

Archetype YAML Schema

Each archetype is defined in its own file under archetypes/<format>/<slug>.yaml.

Example: Vintage Jewel Shops

# archetypes/vintage/jewel-shops.yaml
name: "Jewel Shops"
category: "Shops"
priority: 95
min_signatures: 2

# At least 3 Mishra's Workshop copies required in mainboard
# At least one Coveted Jewel
mandatory:
  - card: "Mishra's Workshop"
    min: 3
    in: "main"
  - card: "Coveted Jewel"
    in: "main"

signatures:
  - "Tinker"
  - "Trinisphere"
  - "The One Ring"
  - "Phyrexian Metamorph"

anti_signatures:
  # Sphere of Resistance can be in sideboard, but not mainboard!
  # Otherwise, it is "Sphere Shops"
  - card: "Sphere of Resistance"
    in: "main"
  - "Doomsday"

Example: Vintage CounterVine

Demonstrating multi-group condition logic (signature_groups):

# archetypes/vintage/countervine.yaml
name: "CounterVine"
category: "Aggro"
priority: 85

mandatory:
  - card: "Bazaar of Baghdad"
    min: 3
    in: "main"

# Multiple signature pools evaluated with AND logic
signature_groups:
  # At least one of either Rootwalla must be in the maindeck
  # "min: 2" would mean *both* Rootwallas
  - min: 1
    in: "main"
    cards:
      - "Basking Rootwalla"
      - "Blazing Rootwalla"

Priority System & Conventions

• Priority >= 50: Specific variants should have higher priority than their broader counterparts (eg. Red Prison vs Red Stompy).
• Priority < 50: Broad "fallback" or "good stuff" archetypes (e.g. generic Control, Midrange, or Stompy catch-alls).
• The highest priority archetype where all the "mandatory", "signature_groups", and none of the "anti_signature" rules match will be selected. In the event a deck matches two archetypes of equal priority, the archetype with more rules be selected.

Supported Directives

Directive	Description
name	Required. Display name of the archetype.
priority	Required. Integer (0-200) for tie-breaking when a deck matches multiple candidate rules. Higher wins.
category	Optional. Format specific strategy categorization (e.g. "Tempo", "Combo", "Aggro", "Control").
mandatory	Optional. List of cards that must be present. Accepts card strings or mappings: { card: "...", min: N, in: "main" | "side" | "any" }.
signatures	Optional. List of signature cards evaluated against min_signatures.
min_signatures	Optional. Minimum count of signature cards required to match (defaults to 1).
signature_groups	Optional. List of group mappings { cards: [...], min: N, in: "main" | "side" | "any" }. All groups must pass.
anti_signatures	Optional. Cards that disqualify the deck if present. Accepts card strings or mappings: { card: "...", in: "main" | "side" | "any" }.

---

Validation & Card Name Checking

The repository includes a validation script that verifies all YAML files against the schema and can optionally validate card names against the official Scryfall card catalog:

# Validate YAML syntax, required fields, and rules schema
uv run python scripts/validate_archetypes.py

# Also validate every card name against Scryfall catalog
uv run python scripts/validate_archetypes.py --check-cards

---

Development & Testing

# Run test suite
uv run pytest

# Run linter and formatter
uv run ruff check .
uv run ruff format --check .

# Always check all archetype files before submitting a PR
uv run python scripts/validate_archetypes.py --check-cards

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Acknowledgments & Prior Art

This project was heavily inspired by Badaro/MTGOFormatData.