How to Play Commander - Magic the Gathering
Magic the Gathering is the first Trading Card Game ever created. Over the course of its 30 year existence, Magic the Gathering (or MTG) has gained an absolutely massive following and is played around the world in 10 different languages. With over 20,000 unique cards, it is fair to say that MTG is one of the most complex games in the world. With so much going on it is difficult to know how to start playing! We have compiled this guide to help new players with one of the most popular formats going - Commander!
If you're completely new to Magic the Gathering and Trading Card Games (TCGs) in general then make sure to read our MTG basics blog first! We have also compiled a handy guide on how to build your very own commander deck, but the pre-constructed decks are a great place to start for a beginner!
What is Commander
Originally known as Elder Dragon Highlander or EDH, Commander is a casual multiplayer format that supports 4 players with 100 card decks. Each player starts at 40 life, and each player's deck is headed by a legendary creature designated as that deck's Commander. The format has become very popular in recent years, with the release of official pre-con Commander decks and full Commander sets like Commander Legends.
Deck Construction
Deck construction is an important part in all formats, but especially in Commander. The format has some unique deck building rules to keep in mind!
Commander Each deck has a Commander, which gives the format its name! Your Commander is generally a Legendary Creature but there are a few exceptions to this general rule. You could also choose a non-creature permanent that can be a Commander, a duo of Legendary Creatures (or Planeswalkers) that have the Partner mechanic or a Legendary Creature with the Background feature alongside a Background Legendary Enchantment. This Commander starts the game in its zone, called the Command Zone.
Deck Size The Deck size must be exactly 100 cards, including the Commander, no more and no less.
Singleton Card Limit A player may have no more than 1 copy of a card in their Deck. There are some exceptions to this, such as Basic Lands (which are unlimited) or cards that specifically state that they can have more.
Colour Identity You can only include cards in your Deck that are included in your Commander's colour identity. So if you have a White Commander, you can only include White or Colourless cards in your deck. This isn't just restricted to the Commander's mana cost, as long as the colour appears on the card, such as in the rule text, then it is allowed. Hybrid mana allows both colours to be used.
Banned List
Although Commander is generally a casual format and doesn't technically have a banlist, a list maintained by MTGCommander.net is the most widely used and is also followed by Wizard's of the Coast when they are building their pre-constructed Commander decks.
- Ancestral Recall
- Balance
- Biorhythm
- Black Lotus
- Braids, Cabal Minion
- Channel
- Chaos Orb
- Coalition Victory
- Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
- Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
- Falling Star
- Fastbond
- Flash
- Gifts Ungiven
- Golos, Tireless Pilgrim
- Griselbrand
- Hullbreacher
- Iona, Shield of Emeria
- Karakas
- Leovold, Emissary of Trest
- Library of Alexandria
- Limited Resources
- Lutri, the Spellchaser
- Mox Emerald
- Mox Jet
- Mox Pearl
- Mox Ruby
- Mox Sapphire
- Panoptic Mirror
- Paradox Engine
- Primeval Titan
- Prophet of Kruphix
- Recurring Nightmare
- Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
- Shahrazad
- Sundering Titan
- Sway of the Stars
- Sylvan Primordial
- Time Vault
- Time Walk
- Tinker
- Tolarian Academy
- Trade Secrets
- Upheaval
- Yawgmoth's Bargain
Other Rules
Number of Players Unlike many formats of MTG, Commander is designed to be played with a total of 4 players. If a player loses then they are knocked out of the game and the game continues with the remaining players. As it is a casual format, it can also be played with 2 or 3 players.
Life Total To compensate for the increased number of players and larger deck size, each player starts off with 40 life instead of 20.
Command Zone At the beginning of the game, your Commander card starts in the Command Zone and not your Deck. You may cast your Commander directly from your Command Zone, just like you can from your Hand. Any time that your Commander would move zones, such as being sent to the Graveyard or your Hand, you may choose for it to return to the Command Zone instead.
Commander Damage If a player takes 21 or more damage from a single Commander during the course of a game, then that player loses.
Commander Tax Each additional time that you cast your Commander from the Command Zone after the first, the Commander costs 2 more Colourless mana to play.
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