Five Mics
Event Formats
Five Mics
Event Formats
Five Mics
Event Formats
◎Last Update: July 2026
Every Five Mics event falls into one of a few formats. Here's what each one is, and when you'll see it on TopDeck.
Every Five Mics event falls into one of a few formats. Here's what each one is, and when you'll see it on TopDeck.
Every Five Mics event falls into one of a few formats. Here's what each one is, and when you'll see it on TopDeck.
Kickback
Casual. Relaxed. No minimum players.
Think of a Kickback as a demo or a tutorial session — the on-ramp for anyone new to Five Mics. There's no competitive pressure, no ranking on the line, just teaching the game and getting reps in.
Kickbacks are how blocks grow. Bringing a new player to their first Kickback (and getting them registered on Five Mics Central) is one of the fastest ways to earn Block Points for Community Growth.
Run a Kickback on TopDeck when: You want an open, low-stakes hangout for your block — no structure required. You can even host Kickbacks outside of TopDeck — it's that informal.
Casual. Relaxed. No minimum players.
Think of a Kickback as a demo or a tutorial session — the on-ramp for anyone new to Five Mics. There's no competitive pressure, no ranking on the line, just teaching the game and getting reps in.
Kickbacks are how blocks grow. Bringing a new player to their first Kickback (and getting them registered on Five Mics Central) is one of the fastest ways to earn Block Points for Community Growth.
Run a Kickback on TopDeck when: You want an open, low-stakes hangout for your block — no structure required. You can even host Kickbacks outside of TopDeck — it's that informal.
Casual. Relaxed. No minimum players.
Think of a Kickback as a demo or a tutorial session — the on-ramp for anyone new to Five Mics. There's no competitive pressure, no ranking on the line, just teaching the game and getting reps in.
Kickbacks are how blocks grow. Bringing a new player to their first Kickback (and getting them registered on Five Mics Central) is one of the fastest ways to earn Block Points for Community Growth.
Run a Kickback on TopDeck when: You want an open, low-stakes hangout for your block — no structure required. You can even host Kickbacks outside of TopDeck — it's that informal.
Cypher
Structured. Competitive. Minimum 4 players.
A Cypher is regular, local competitive play for your block's engaged players. This is where matches actually count — every logged match earns Block Points (BP) for Competitive Engagement, and your results here feed your Player Leaderboard record.
Cyphers can be as small as 4 players or scale up much larger — some blocks run several cyphers a week to hit higher Weekly Cypher Size tiers.
Run a Cypher on TopDeck when: it's your block's regular weekly competitive session as part of the National Battle League.
Structured. Competitive. Minimum 4 players.
A Cypher is regular, local competitive play for your block's engaged players. This is where matches actually count — every logged match earns Block Points (BP) for Competitive Engagement, and your results here feed your Player Leaderboard record.
Cyphers can be as small as 4 players or scale up much larger — some blocks run several cyphers a week to hit higher Weekly Cypher Size tiers.
Run a Cypher on TopDeck when: it's your block's regular weekly competitive session as part of the National Battle League.
Structured. Competitive. Minimum 4 players.
A Cypher is regular, local competitive play for your block's engaged players. This is where matches actually count — every logged match earns Block Points (BP) for Competitive Engagement, and your results here feed your Player Leaderboard record.
Cyphers can be as small as 4 players or scale up much larger — some blocks run several cyphers a week to hit higher Weekly Cypher Size tiers.
Run a Cypher on TopDeck when: it's your block's regular weekly competitive session as part of the National Battle League.
Deck Format: Constructed vs. Sealed
Constructed Format
Bring your own pre-built deck and validate your winning strategy.
Showcase your creativity by bringing a customized deck unique to you.
Flaunt your rare collection while playing Five Mics.
Why play this format?
Cards: Each player must be using 30 Five Mics cards for their deck. This can be one of the 5 starter decks, or a custom deck.
Deck Construction: Must follow the rules as defined here:
Deck size is 30 cards exactly (no more, no less)
15 cards must be artists
The deck can NOT contain more than 4 cards with the same exact name.
Once the deck is created, a player must log the cards in their deck via Five Mics Central. Their deck cannot be changed.
Players should be given ~20-30 minutes to build their deck
Games can be played as Best of 3 or Best of 5.
Cards: Each player must be using 30 Five Mics cards for their deck. This can be one of the 5 starter decks, or a custom deck.
Deck Construction: Must follow the rules as defined here:
Deck size is 30 cards exactly (no more, no less)
15 cards must be artists
The deck can NOT contain more than 4 cards with the same exact name.
Once the deck is created, a player must log the cards in their deck via Five Mics Central. Their deck cannot be changed.
Players should be given ~20-30 minutes to build their deck
Games can be played as Best of 3 or Best of 5.
Cards: Each player must be using 30 Five Mics cards for their deck. This can be one of the 5 starter decks, or a custom deck.
Deck Construction: Must follow the rules as defined here:
Deck size is 30 cards exactly (no more, no less)
15 cards must be artists
The deck can NOT contain more than 4 cards with the same exact name.
Once the deck is created, a player must log the cards in their deck via Five Mics Central. Their deck cannot be changed.
Players should be given ~20-30 minutes to build their deck
Games can be played as Best of 3 or Best of 5.
Sealed Format
You don't need to bring your own pre-built deck.
Boost the size of your card collection while playing the game.
Test your deck building in the moment!
Why play this format?
Cards: Each player receives 6 sealed booster packs. All cards are opened at once (no drafting or passing involved).
All cards opened in players’ packs are considered to be in their personal pool. They do not share, pass or distribute.
Any card from a player’s pool can go into their deck.
Deck Construction: Players build a deck using only the cards from their opened packs. Deck rules are as normal:
Deck size is 30 cards exactly (no more, no less)
15 cards must be artists
The deck can NOT contain more than 4 cards with the same exact name.
Once the deck is created, a player must log the cards in their deck via Five Mics Central. Their deck cannot be changed.
Players should be given ~20-30 minutes to build their deck
Games can be played as Best of 3 or Best of 5.
Cards: Each player receives 6 sealed booster packs. All cards are opened at once (no drafting or passing involved).
All cards opened in players’ packs are considered to be in their personal pool. They do not share, pass or distribute.
Any card from a player’s pool can go into their deck.
Deck Construction: Players build a deck using only the cards from their opened packs. Deck rules are as normal:
Deck size is 30 cards exactly (no more, no less)
15 cards must be artists
The deck can NOT contain more than 4 cards with the same exact name.
Once the deck is created, a player must log the cards in their deck via Five Mics Central. Their deck cannot be changed.
Players should be given ~20-30 minutes to build their deck
Games can be played as Best of 3 or Best of 5.
Cards: Each player receives 6 sealed booster packs. All cards are opened at once (no drafting or passing involved).
All cards opened in players’ packs are considered to be in their personal pool. They do not share, pass or distribute.
Any card from a player’s pool can go into their deck.
Deck Construction: Players build a deck using only the cards from their opened packs. Deck rules are as normal:
Deck size is 30 cards exactly (no more, no less)
15 cards must be artists
The deck can NOT contain more than 4 cards with the same exact name.
Once the deck is created, a player must log the cards in their deck via Five Mics Central. Their deck cannot be changed.
Players should be given ~20-30 minutes to build their deck
Games can be played as Best of 3 or Best of 5.
