Catfight: The Cat Has Nine Lives (And You'd Better Use Them All)

Magic is at its best when it's fast, scrappy, and unpredictable. Catfight is a fan-made format created by ReyaaDawnMTG that delivers exactly that. Low-cost spells, singleton deckbuilding, and a single creature that anchors every game: your Nine-Lives Familiar.

It's cheap to build, quick to play, and every game feels like it matters. Now you can play it on ManyTCG.

What is Catfight?

Catfight is a 1v1 format built around one core idea: protect your cat, kill theirs.

Each player starts at 9 life with a Nine-Lives Familiar on the battlefield carrying 8 revival counters. Your cat is your only creature. If it dies with no counters left, you lose. Simple as that.

The rest of your deck is built from non-creature spells with CMC 1 (with some exceptions) and lands. No expensive bombs, no creature-heavy boards, just tight, efficient spellcasting and a cat that refuses to stay dead.

The Full Ruleset

Here's everything you need to know:

Setup

• 1v1
• 9 starting life
• Non-combat damage dealt to you by your opponent is prevented (life loss is still allowed, and you can damage yourself)

Deckbuilding

• 40-card singleton minimum (excluding Nine-Lives Familiar)
• Only non-creature cards of CMC 1 and lands (no zero-cost spells, no Dryad Arbor)
• X spells, Kicker, Talent, and similar mechanics are allowed
• 9-card sideboard

The Cat

• Each player starts with a Nine-Lives Familiar on the battlefield with 8 revival counters
• The cat doesn't count toward your 40-card minimum
• It can attack on turn 1
• If your cat dies with no counters left, you lose the game

Cat-Specific Interactions (The Golden Rule)

You cannot make the cat do what the cat doesn't want to do.

In other words, you cannot stop the cat from coming back from the graveyard as designed and intended. Specifically, you cannot:

• Exile the cat from any zone
• Bounce the cat (it can't go into anyone's hand)
• Put the cat into a library from any zone
• Remove the cat's death trigger ability ("loses all abilities" effects will remove other abilities, but not the return-from-death trigger)
• Stifle or counter the cat's death trigger
• Make the cat leave either graveyard (or not leave) beyond its own trigger (no Reanimate, no Malakir Rebirth, no Grafdigger's Cage)
• Turn the cat face down, manifest it, or similar effects
• Permanently gain control of your opponent's cat (if you do, it returns at the end of turn)

Edge cases:

• If something would affect multiple cards and one of them is the cat, it resolves as normal except it doesn't affect the cat. (Example: Bojuka Bog exiles everything in a graveyard except the cat.)
• If something requires you to return, exile, or otherwise move a card and you have options other than the cat, you must choose the other card. (Example: Curfew is cast while you have a cat and a token in play. You must return the token.)

Why Catfight Works

The CMC 1 restriction and singleton rule mean every card matters. There are no dead draws, no waiting around for a big finisher. You're making meaningful decisions from turn one.

The format naturally stays budget-friendly since you're only playing cheap spells. And because non-combat damage from your opponent is prevented, the game revolves entirely around combat with your cat and strategic use of your 1-mana toolkit.

Games are fast. If you've ever wanted a format you can squeeze into a lunch break, Catfight is it.

How to Play Catfight on ManyTCG

Getting started is straightforward:

1. Create an account (if you haven't already -- Sign Up Here)
2. Build a Catfight deck -- select "Catfight" as your format when creating a new MTG deck. The deck validator will enforce all the rules for you.
3. Pick your Nine-Lives Familiar -- you'll be prompted to select it as a format extra, just like choosing a Commander.
4. Hit Playtest and invite your opponent.

When the game starts, your Nine-Lives Familiar will already be on the battlefield with its 8 revival counters. No setup needed.

Deckbuilding Tips

Since you're locked to CMC 1 non-creature spells, here are some directions to explore:

• Removal: Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Fatal Push -- the usual suspects all cost 1
• Pump spells: Giant Growth, Mutagenic Growth, Rancor -- making your cat hit harder is a real strategy
• Protection: Gods Willing, Snakeskin Veil, Tyvar's Stand -- keeping your cat alive is everything
• X spells: These are legal and scale into the late game. Fireball variants and flexible removal give you reach
• Cantrips: Brainstorm, Ponder, Opt -- consistency matters in singleton

The tension between going aggressive (attacking with your cat, pumping it) and playing defensive (holding up protection, managing counters) is what makes Catfight tick.

Credit Where It's Due

Catfight was created by ReyaaDawnMTG. You can check out the full format breakdown and see it in action on their YouTube channel.

Ready to Scrap?

Build a deck, hit Playtest, and see how far nine lives can take you. Catfight proves that Magic doesn't need big mana or complex board states to be thrilling. Sometimes all you need is a cat, a handful of cheap spells, and the nerve to swing first.

Good luck out there. Your cat is counting on you.