Import a deck

Create a Deckonomicon deck from a pasted list or uploaded file, then review the imported cards before publishing a version.

Last updated September 15, 2026

Before you start

Use deck import when you already have a list from another tool, a tournament report, or your own notes. The import creates a deck record that you can edit in Brewing.

Choose the deck name, format, and visibility before importing. Visibility controls who can see the deck record; publishing a version is a separate step after the deck exists.

Supported formats

Deckonomicon can import pasted text or uploaded files. File upload accepts .txt, .dek, .dck, .dckn, .yaml, and .yml files.

Plain text uses one card per line with a quantity and card name. MTGO uses the same core line format and may include a SIDEBOARD: header. MTG Arena uses section headers such as Commander, Deck, and Sideboard. Deckonomicon format is YAML and can carry deck metadata, zones, and selected printings.

Custom has no fixed layout: you describe one line of your own list, using the same line format that Export a deck uses. Pick it when your list comes from a tool nothing else matches, or when you are reading back a custom export.

Plain text

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Monastery Swiftspear
18 Mountain

2 Abrade
2 Tormod's Crypt

MTGO

// Mono-Red Aggro
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Monastery Swiftspear
18 Mountain

SIDEBOARD:
2 Abrade
2 Tormod's Crypt

MTG Arena

Commander
1 Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm

Deck
1 Sol Ring
1 Arcane Signet
1 Command Tower

Deckonomicon YAML

name: Molten Archive
format: commander
cards:
  maindeck: |
    1 Sol Ring
    1 Arcane Signet
    1 Command Tower
  commander: Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm

Custom, with the line format `${quantity} ${name} (${set}) ${collector_number} ${zone}`

1 Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm (CLB) 655 command_zone
1 Sol Ring (LTC) 279 maindeck
2 Abrade (HOU) 83 sideboard

Custom line format

Use braces to mark the end of a token: ${quantity}x ${name} reads or writes 4x Lightning Bolt. Prefixes such as x${quantity} work too. Short aliases such as ${q} and legacy formats such as $q $n and optional $set? still work; $quantityx is an unknown token.

Put ? inside braces for an optional field, such as ${set?}. ${name}? instead adds a literal question mark. Use $$ for one literal dollar sign and $${name} for the literal text ${name}. Unknown names and malformed placeholders are rejected.

For imports, separate variable-length values with spaces or punctuation. Braces delimit the tokens in the format, not the values in the file. Quantity and name are required for imports; exports may select fewer fields. Neither quantity nor name can be optional when included.

A custom line format describes one line of your list. Write it with the same tokens Export a deck uses, combined with whatever punctuation and spacing your list already has. ${quantity} and ${name} are always required.

Put ? inside the braces of an optional token to let lines omit it. When an optional token follows the card name, put a literal separator around it — for example ${quantity} ${name} [${role?}] — so a card whose name starts with a role word is still read in full.

Blank lines and lines starting with # or // are skipped. Line position carries no meaning: a line without ${zone} or ${role} is a maindeck card wherever it appears.

Custom import line format tokens
Field	Supported tokens	Values
Quantity	`${q}` `${quantity}`	Required. A whole number of copies.
Card name	`${n}` `${name}`	Required. The printed card name.
Set code	`${s}` `${set}`	For example `LTC`.
Set name	`${sn}` `${set_name}`	For example `Magic 2010`.
Collector number	`${cn}` `${collector_number}`	For example `279`.
Language	`${l}` `${language}`	For example `en`.
Finish	`${f}` `${foil}`	`nonfoil`, `F`, or `etched`.
Deck zone	`${z}` `${zone}`	`maindeck`, `sideboard`, `command_zone`, or `companion`.
Slot role	`${r}` `${role}`	`commander`, `companion`, `oathbreaker`, or `signature_spell`.

How zone and role settle a card

Both present: used as written. An impossible pair, such as sideboard with commander, is reported on that line.
Zone only: command_zone becomes a commander, companion becomes a companion, and Oathbreaker decks keep the role empty so you can name it yourself.
Role only: the zone is derived from it. Commanders, oathbreakers, and signature spells go to the command zone; companions go to the companion zone.
Neither: the card goes to the maindeck.

Import the list

Follow the import flow from Brewing. Keep one action per field.

Open Brewing.
Select Import.
Set the deck name, format, and visibility.
Choose the Text format that matches your list.
If you chose Custom, enter the line format that matches your list.
Choose Paste list or File.
Paste the list into List, or choose a supported deck file.
Select Import.

Result

Deckonomicon creates the deck and resolves the card names it can identify. Review the deck before you rely on it for matches, especially if the source list used nicknames, unusual punctuation, or old card names.

Importing does not publish a deck version. Publish after the list is accurate and ready to be used as a stable record for match tracking.

Lines that cannot be read are listed with their line numbers, and nothing is imported until they are fixed: an import replaces the whole working deck, so it either applies in full or not at all.

FAQs

19 searchable answers

Frequently asked questions about using Deckonomicon.

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