CastHaven Guide & FAQ

What CastHaven is

CastHaven is a free, fan-made site that tracks competitive Magic: The Gathering tournament results and turns them into rankings, metagame breakdowns, and data-checked coverage. Every number traces back to real events and real decklists. The Methodology page explains exactly how each one is produced, and the Data sources page credits where it all comes from.

Do I need an account?

No, not for most of the site. Browsing results, rankings, articles, card and player pages, search, events, and deck comparisons are all open to everyone with no sign-in.

You only need a free account for the two personal tools: the Deck Builder and the Match Tracker. They save your decks and match history to your account so they are there next time.

Which formats are covered

Vintage, Legacy, Modern, Standard, Pauper, and Premodern, plus cEDH where noted. Pick a format from the Format menu in the top bar to jump to that format's hub: its metagame, top decks, archetypes, rankings, and coverage.

Where the data comes from

Tournament results sync nightly from community-maintained MTGO data, and card details sync nightly from Scryfall. Decklists that fail validation are flagged and left out of the statistics rather than silently dropped. The Data sources page lists every source, and the Methodology page covers the sample sizes and windows behind each figure.

How do I...

How do I find news and coverage for my format?

Open the Format menu in the top bar and pick your format.
On the format hub, scroll to Latest articles, or open the full articles archive for everything across formats.

How do I see which decks are winning right now?

Go to your format's hub from the Format menu.
Read the metagame donut for what is being played, the Power Index for what is performing, and Metagame movers for what is rising or falling week over week.
Every chart has a table toggle if you prefer numbers, and each archetype name links to its detail page.

How do I look up a card's legality, price, and where to buy it?

Use the site search and pick the card from the results.
The card page shows its printings, a dated price, format legality, and the decks it shows up in. Buy and rent links carry their disclosure right next to the price.

How do I find a player and see their results?

Search a player's name, or open the rankings and click a name.
A player page lists their finishes and ratings. Note that only MTGO-verified names link to a profile; names from other sources are shown but not linked.

How do I compare decks?

On a decklist, add decks to the compare tray, then open Compare to see them side by side.
Compare highlights shared cards and the differences between the lists.

How do I check upcoming and recent events?

Open Events for the schedule, shown in your local time.
Click any event to see its standings and decklists. Recent results also appear on each format hub.

How do I build a deck?

Sign in and open the Deck Builder. Name the deck, set its format and archetype, then add cards by name, by pasting a list, or by uploading a file.
For every control (the panels, the calculator, sharing, export), see the full Deck Builder reference above.

How do I log a match and read my win rate?

Sign in and open the Match Tracker. Make a new event, then add rounds and record each game's result and play or draw.
Your record and win rate are worked out for you. For every control, see the full Match Tracker reference above.

Where do my saved decks live?

Open the Deck Builder and use the My Decks switcher to see and open every deck you have saved.
A saved deck has its own page for you. That is different from a public share link, which only works while you have set the deck to Public.

How do I switch theme and format?

Use the Format menu in the top bar to change which format you are viewing.
Use the theme switch in the top bar to change between light, dark, and the other themes. Your choice is remembered on that device.

How do I search the site?

Open search and type at least two or three letters.
Results are grouped by type (cards, players, archetypes) and are keyboard-navigable.

What are the Daily brief, the Roundup, and a Banned and Restricted update?

The Daily brief is a short data-checked recap of a day's results. The Roundup is a cross-format summary. A Banned and Restricted update covers official rules-list changes when Wizards announces them.
You will find all three in the articles archive and on the format hubs.

Where does CastHaven's data come from?

Tournament results sync nightly from community MTGO data and card details from Scryfall. The Data sources page credits every source.
The Methodology page explains the sample sizes and windows behind each number.

Deck Builder

The Deck Builder is where you build, save, and share decks. It needs a free account so your decks are there next time. Here is every control, grouped by what you are doing.

Open the Deck Builder

Decks and setup

New deck: Creates a fresh, blank deck and opens it. It shows as a button when you have no decks, and as a New deck row at the bottom of your My Decks list once you do.
My Decks (deck switcher): A dropdown in the top bar (a stacked-layers icon) that opens your whole deck library. Click it to switch decks, search, or manage them. It closes when you click away or press Escape.
Group decks by (Recent / Format / Archetype): A three-way switch at the top of the dropdown. Recent buckets decks into Today, This week, This month, and Older. Format and Archetype make one alphabetical group per value. Newest-edited decks come first inside each group.
Search decks: Filters your deck list live across name, format, and archetype. Matching groups open automatically so results are never hidden. An x clears the search.
Expand all / Collapse all: Open or close every group at once. Hidden while you are searching. On opening the dropdown, every group except the one with your current deck starts collapsed.
Deck row: Click any row to open that deck. The open deck shows a checkmark. Each row shows the name, a format tag, archetype, card count, and when it was last edited.
Duplicate (copy icon): On each deck row, makes a full copy of that deck and its cards, then opens the copy.
Delete (trash icon): On each deck row, removes the deck after an inline Delete or Keep confirmation. It is hidden when only one deck remains, so you can never delete your last deck.
Title: The deck name field in the top bar. Type a name and it saves automatically a moment after you stop typing. An empty title is flagged with a red border.
Format: Sets the deck's format, which powers the Core highlight, Similar decks, and Cards to consider. An existing custom format stays selectable even if it is not in the standard list. Saves on change.
Archetype: A type-or-pick field. Choose a tracked archetype to unlock the metagame features (Core highlight, Similar decks, Cards to consider), or type your own custom name. Saves on change.
Save indicator: A small status word at the end of the meta row: Saving, then Saved, or a Couldn't save retrying note if a save fails. Informational only, nothing to click.

States: With no decks you get a No decks yet screen and a Create your first deck button. The switcher shows No decks yet when empty, or No decks match when a search has no hits. Title saves are delayed about half a second; Format and Archetype save immediately. A failed setup save shows the retrying indicator plus a red error banner.

Adding cards

Add a card by name: The autosuggest box at the left of the add bar. Start typing (suggestions appear after 2 letters) and pick one or press Enter to add the typed name. It adds one copy to the Mainboard and clears for the next card. Re-adding the same card bumps its count. Custom or unrecognized names are allowed.
Paste: Opens a text box where you paste a decklist, one quantity-and-name per line. A line reading Sideboard splits the mainboard from the sideboard.
Import list: Submits the pasted text. Disabled until you have typed something. On success it shows a toast like Imported 12 cards.
Cancel (paste): Closes the paste box and clears it without importing.
Upload: Reads a decklist file (.txt or .dec) from your computer and imports it the same way as Paste. You can re-upload the same file.

States: The paste box hints Quantities and names, one per line. Import list stays disabled while empty. If nothing is recognized you get No cards found in that text. A success shows a toast; a server failure shows the red error banner. The parser understands common formats (4 Card, 4x Card, set codes, foil markers, Sideboard or SB headers) and merges duplicate lines.

Board management

Mainboard: Your main deck list. Cards added from the Add box land here by default. The header shows a card count and the grouping toggles.
Sideboard: Your sideboard list, shown below the Mainboard with its own count.
Considering: A parked pool for cards you are weighing. It is never counted in the main deck and is left out of Copy and Rent, but it is kept in a downloaded .txt so your full working list survives.
MV toggle: In the Mainboard header. When on, the Mainboard groups by mana value (MV 0 up to MV 7+, then unknown, then Lands) instead of by card type. MV and Color cannot both be on.
Color toggle: When on, the Mainboard groups by color identity (White, Blue, Black, Red, Green, Multicolor, Colorless, then Lands) instead of by card type.
Core (sparkle) toggle: On by default. When on, cards that appear in a high share of this archetype's tournament lists get a gold sparkle. It only appears when the deck's archetype is tracked, and its tooltip shows the threshold and sample size.
Card row menu (three dots): Each card has a three-dot menu with the controls below. Hovering or focusing a card name updates the preview.
Quantity stepper: Plus and minus buttons in the card menu that change a card's count. The minimum is 1 (minus disables at 1) and the maximum is 999 (plus disables at 999).
Move to mainboard / sideboard / considering: Moves the card to another board. Only the two boards it is not already on are offered. If the card already exists on the target board, the counts merge.
Exclude from / Include in mana curve: Toggles whether a card counts toward the mana curve and average mana value. Excluded cards get an off-curve tag. Hidden for lands, which never sit on the curve.
Remove from deck: Deletes the card from the deck entirely.
Card preview: A panel (right rail on desktop, the Preview tab on mobile) showing the full card image and price for whatever card you hover or focus. On desktop, clicking a card name opens its card page.

States: An empty board shows No cards yet, add one above, paste a list, or upload a file. Cards whose details have not loaded sit in a temporary Resolving group; cards CastHaven does not recognize fall under Other with no color pips and are left out of the curve and color stats. A card mid-change has its menu controls disabled.

The stats panels

Stats: Opens the deck stats: a Colors pie (across all non-land spells), a Mana curve histogram (0 through 7+, with the average mana value beside the heading), and a Card types breakdown. Use it to sanity-check your color balance and curve.
Calculator (hypergeometric): Opens the draw-odds calculator. It reads your mainboard as the deck and shows your opening-hand land average, then four inputs and four odds. Use it to estimate how likely you are to draw what you need.
Calculator: Cards seen (hand + draws): How many cards you will have seen, at least 1 and up to your deck size. Defaults to 7.
Calculator: Copies in deck: How many copies of the target card are in your deck.
Calculator: Copies you want: How many copies you are hoping to see, up to the cards-seen number.
Calculator: Mulligans to take: How many mulligans, 0 to 6. The odds model this as that many plus one independent London draws, keeping the best hand. The tool notes it is a good estimate, not a perfect simulation.
Calculator: Quick set chips: Presets that fill the copies field: Any land sets it to your land count, A 4-of sets 4, A 1-of sets 1.
Similar decks: Recent top-8 tournament lists for your deck's archetype. Each row shows the finish (gold for a win), pilot, record, event, and date, with View and Compare buttons.
Cards to consider (Consider): The archetype staples you are not already running, sorted by how often they appear, up to 24. Each row shows the inclusion percentage, the card, the typical copies, and a plus to add it to your Mainboard. The sample size rides in the heading.
Compare (your deck vs a pilot): Reached from Similar decks. Shows shared copies, the number of differences, and your overlap percentage, then two columns: cards they run that you do not, and cards you run that they cut. A plus on each they-run card adds it to your Considering board. Identical cards hide behind a toggle.

States: With no archetype set, Similar decks and Consider ask you to set the format and archetype. With a tracked archetype but no results they say so plainly. Stats shows honest per-section empty copy. The Calculator works on any deck, falling back to a 60-card size when your mainboard is empty. Every panel closes with Escape, the x, or a backdrop click, and returns focus to the button that opened it.

On a phone, and the five states

Build tab: On narrow screens, the tab with the deck list, add bar, and boards. It is the landing tab.
Preview tab: On narrow screens, the tab with the card preview. The Stats, Calculator, Similar decks, and Consider buttons stay reachable as pop-ups from either tab.

States: Empty: a No decks yet screen. Loading: new cards sit in a Resolving group until their details load. Saving and Saved show in the meta row. Error: a Couldn't save retrying note plus a dismissible red banner. Off-mirror: unrecognized cards group under Other and are left out of stats. Toasts are short green confirmations that clear after a few seconds.

Match Tracker

The Match Tracker logs your matches, game by game, and works out your record and win rate for you. It needs a free account. Here is every control.

Open the Match Tracker

Events

New event: Creates a fresh event and opens it. The new event copies the format from your most recent event (or defaults to Legacy), uses today's date, starts with one empty Round 1, and is Private until you share it.
Sidebar event list: The left panel listing all your events. It shows on tablet and desktop and is toggled by the panel button. On phones it is the first screen you see; tapping an event opens its editor.
Format groups: Events are grouped under a format heading (no format lands under Other). Each heading has a caret to collapse or expand and a count pill. Groups order by their most recent event, newest first inside each.
Event row (record badge): Each row shows the event name, date, your deck (or No deck set), and a round count. The colored badge shows your record: Up X-Y in green when ahead, Down X-Y in red when behind, Even X-Y in yellow when tied.
Event stats panel: At the bottom of the sidebar, the selected event's Win rate, Rounds, Games, On the play, On the draw, Starting hand size, and Mulligans. A dash appears wherever nothing is recorded yet.
Header session stats: Top-right of the header, your totals across every event: Matches (won-lost), Win rate, and Games (won-lost). Visible even on a phone.
Toggle sidebar (Hide / Show events): The panel button (desktop and tablet) hides or shows the event list to give the editor more room. Your choice is remembered on that device.

States: An empty sidebar shows No events yet, create your first to start logging. A win rate with no decided rounds shows a dash.

Event details

Event name: A type-anything box with suggestions (your past names plus presets like League, Challenge, Preliminary, Tournament, Friendly, Practice). Blank shows as Untitled event.
My deck: A type-anything box with suggestions from your past decks and CastHaven's archetype names. It labels the event and feeds deck suggestions elsewhere.
Format: A type-anything box with format suggestions, but any custom text is allowed. The value also decides which sidebar group the event sits in.
Date (required): A date picker. This field is required: if you clear it, the change is ignored so the event always keeps a valid date.
Location (optional): A type-anything box with suggestions MTGO, MTG Arena, and Local Game Store. Can be left blank.
Players (optional): A number box for the player count. Non-digits are stripped as you type.
Delete event: The red Delete event button removes the event and all its rounds after a confirmation. It cannot be undone.
Export: Downloads a CSV of just this event's matches. See Stats and CSV for the columns.

States: Optional fields show an (optional) hint. Text edits save automatically a moment after you stop typing; a failed save raises an error bar but keeps your typing on screen.

Rounds and games

Add round: Adds the next round and opens it. The round number is set by the server, so a double-click cannot create a duplicate.
Hide / Show mulligans: A toggle in the Rounds heading that collapses or shows every game's mulligan steppers and opening-hand boxes. A per-device preference.
Opponent name: A type-anything box (suggestions from past opponents) for who you played. Optional. This name is never shown on a shared public page.
Opponent's deck: A type-anything box for the opponent's deck. This one is shown publicly on a shared page.
Round caret: Expands or collapses the round card. The opponent boxes stay editable in the header even when collapsed. The card's left edge turns green when the round is won and red when lost.
Remove round (trash icon): Removes that single round after a confirmation.
Round notes: A multi-line box inside an expanded round for your private notes (sideboard plan, key turns). Never shown publicly.
Play / Draw toggle: For each game, whether you were on the play or the draw. Game 1 is your own choice. Games 2 and 3 fill in automatically from the previous result (the loser plays), shown as an Auto note; setting it yourself changes the note to Overridden and your choice sticks.
Win / Loss toggle: The game result. Win tints green, Loss tints red. The match result is worked out from the games, so you never enter it directly. Clicking the active button again clears it.
My / Opponent mulligan steppers: How many times each player mulliganed. Minimum 0 (minus disables at 0), maximum 7 (plus disables at 7). Lowering My mulligans trims any extra Put back cards to match.
Kept hand: A card-chip box for the hand you kept. Type at least two letters for suggestions, press Enter or comma to add a chip, Backspace on an empty box removes the last chip.
Put back: A card-chip box for cards put back on a mulligan. Disabled until you record at least one mulligan, with the hint take a mulligan first.
Game 3 lock: Game 3 is playable only when the match is tied 1-1. Before that it is disabled and shows a Decider lock note; once a player has taken both games it is disabled and shows a Not needed note. While disabled its body is hidden, and any result left in a no-longer-needed game 3 is ignored everywhere (stats, record, CSV).

States: A round with no games yet shows pending (gray edge). An empty Rounds section shows No rounds yet, add your first round to start logging games. Disabled game-3 cards dim and show their lock reason.

Stats and CSV

Win rate: Your match wins divided by your decided rounds (settled 2-0, 2-1, or 0-2), rounded to a whole percent. A dash with no decided rounds. Only games that count toward the match are used.
Match record (Rounds): A round counts as a win when you took 2 games, a loss when you dropped 2. Unfinished rounds count toward neither.
Game record (Games): Total game wins and losses across all counted games. A game 3 that was never needed (a 2-0 round) is not counted.
On the play / On the draw split: Each recorded game is bucketed by whether you were on the play or the draw, then split into wins and losses. Only games with a result that count toward the match are included.
Average opening-hand size: Computed as 7 minus your average mulligans per counted game (London mulligan math). The sidebar shows two decimals; the public summary shows one. A dash with no recorded games.
CSV columns: In order: Event, Format, Date, My Deck, Round, Opponent, Opp Deck, Round Result, Game, Game Result, Play/Draw, My Mulls, Opp Mulls. The CSV does include the opponent name and mulligan counts, but not kept or put-back card names and not your notes.
CSV row rules: One row per played game. A game 3 that was never genuinely played is skipped, matching the on-screen stats. A round with no played games still emits one row with blank game columns. The file is named match-results-DATE.csv and opens cleanly in Excel.

States: Every stat shows a dash when nothing is recorded. Export works even with empty rounds.

The five states

States: Empty: No events yet in the sidebar, a No event selected panel in the editor, and dashes until something is recorded. Loading and saving: the New event and Add round buttons spin while they work; text saves about half a second after you stop typing, toggles save right away, and edits flush if you switch tabs. Error: a failed save shows a red bar with a dismiss button and keeps your edit; destructive actions confirm first. Edge cases: a cleared date is ignored, Put back is locked until a mulligan is recorded, and a stale game-3 result is ignored. Service: if accounts are not configured or the database is down, the page shows a friendly unavailable message rather than crashing.

Account & access

Do I need an account to use CastHaven?

Only for the two personal tools. Browsing, rankings, articles, search, events, and the deck compare tool are all open with no sign-in. The Deck Builder and Match Tracker need a free account so your work saves.

Is CastHaven official or fan-made?

Fan-made. CastHaven is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. It is not approved or endorsed by Wizards.

Does CastHaven cost anything?

No. The site is free to use. Some buy and rent links may earn a commission, and that is disclosed right next to the link.

Data & accuracy

How often is the data updated?

Tournament results and card data sync nightly. The Methodology page explains the windows and what is still being backfilled.

Why does a stat say "Insufficient data"?

Because it sits below the minimum sample size (currently 20 results), so a win rate would be misleading. CastHaven shows the sample size rather than a shaky percentage. A weak number is worse than no number. See the Methodology page.

What are the Power Index, CastHaven Points, and the Glicko rating?

They are three different measures. The Power Index ranks archetypes by how well their pilots actually finish. CastHaven Points rank players by recent finishes. The Glicko rating is a results-based form number from head-to-head pairings. Each is defined in full on the Methodology page.

Why are some player names not clickable?

Only MTGO-verified identities link to a player profile. Names from other sources are shown but not linked, because identities are never merged across platforms.

Are card prices paywalled?

Never. Prices are daily Scryfall snapshots, always shown with the date they were checked. If there is no price we trust, the page says so instead of guessing.

Tools

Can I export a decklist?

Yes. The Deck Builder copies your list in MTGO format and downloads it as a .txt file. The Match Tracker exports an event's match log as a CSV.

Why did my shared link stop working?

You set the deck or event back to private, so the link now shows a not-found page. The link itself stays the same, so flipping it public again makes the original link work once more.

Why is game 3 grayed out in the Match Tracker?

Because the match is already decided two games to zero, or the first two games are not yet split one to one. Game 3 unlocks only when the match is tied 1-1.

Newsletter & email

How do I unsubscribe from emails?

Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link in its footer, and it takes effect immediately. You can also manage your subscription from the newsletter page.

Privacy & legal

Does CastHaven sell my data?

No. What CastHaven collects and how it is handled is laid out in the Privacy Policy.