⚡ In a nutshell
- Every gaming table has rules that aren't written down anywhere — but that everyone expects.
- It’s all about respect: for the cards, for the time, and for each other.
- The most important conversation lasts thirty seconds and is called Rule 0.
- Don’t ask "what is your power level?" but "how does your deck win, and when?"
- The golden rule: ensure everyone at the table has a fun evening.
No one hands you a booklet of table manners when you first pull up a chair for a game of Magic. You learn them along the way — usually by accidentally breaking an unwritten rule once and catching a dirty look. A pity, because it’s not complicated at all. Here is the complete list, from one player to another, with a wink.
And then the conversation upon which everything stands or falls: Rule 0.
Respect for the cards
Not just to protect your own cards, but also because you shuffle each other's decks. An unsleeved, bent card makes everyone nervous. Sleeves are the cheapest insurance in the hobby.
Want to get a closer look at a card on the board? Just ask, or let the owner pick it up for you. Many players are (rightfully) protective of their collection.
Shuffling to prevent cheating is part of the game, but do it neatly. No bending cards, no aggressive bridge-shuffling on someone's expensive deck. A few gentle riffles and a cut are enough.
That cola? Not next to the cards. Greasy chip fingers? Wipe them off. And tidy up your own mess afterward. No one wants to find someone else’s crumbs between their tokens.
Respect for the time
Thinking is allowed; endless dawdling is not. Know your own deck, plan your turn while someone else is playing, and don't make the table wait ten minutes for one move. Analysis paralysis is a real game-killer.
Dice, tokens, a life counter (or the free Magic app), and enough sleeves. Don't assume someone else will bring them for you. And if you’ve agreed to meet at eight, be at the table at eight.
Respect for each other
Misremembering a rule happens to everyone. Resolve it sportingly and kindly rather than overruling someone with the Comprehensive Rules. At a tournament? Just call a judge — that’s what they’re for.
In Commander, you can make deals, bluff, and turn the table against the leader — that’s the fun of it. But play to win, don't just destroy someone out of frustration (kingmaking) because you’ve already lost.
No cheering in someone's face when you win, no rage-quitting or throwing cards when you lose. Sometimes a game goes against you — that's Magic. A "good game" does wonders for the atmosphere.
Everyone started once with trembling hands and a precon. Explain patiently, don't spoil an optimal move if they want to learn it themselves, and just be kind. That is how the community we all love grows.
And then the most important one: Rule 0
All the rules above are about how you behave at the table. Rule 0 is about something else: what game you are actually going to play with each other. It is the short chat before shuffling, and it prevents the vast majority of ruined evenings.
Because you know this: you sit down for a "fun game," keep a hand with three lands, and on turn four someone wipes the table with a combo they call "basically just a precon." No one did anything wrong. It’s just that four people signed up for four different types of evenings.
Why "what is your power level?" doesn't work
The classic opening — "What are we playing, a 7?" — sounds useful but says absolutely nothing. A 7 in one pod is a souped-up precon; in another, it’s a deck with fetchlands and a tutor package. Everyone has their own scale, and no one rates themselves highly. After that conversation, you have exactly as much information as you had before.
Two questions do work, and you can ask them in ten seconds:
🎯 "How does your deck win?" and "What turn can you do that by?"
Speed and win conditions say infinitely more than a number. "I attack with big creatures, usually around turn eight" is crystal clear. "A 7" is not.
Brackets as a common language
Since 2025, Wizards has an official system that makes this conversation a lot easier: the Commander Brackets, from 1 (Exhibition) to 5 (cEDH). Instead of a made-up number, you mention a bracket, and everyone knows roughly where you are. The full explanation of all five is in my Commander guide.
The most useful rule of thumb goes through the Game Changers — a list of 53 cards (updated February 2026) that can really skew a game, such as Rhystic Study, Cyclonic Rift, and Demonic Tutor:
| Game Changers in your deck | Where you are |
|---|---|
| 0 | Bracket 1 or 2 |
| 1 to 3 | Bracket 3 |
| 4 or more | Bracket 4 |
Additionally, three things push your deck to bracket 4 anyway, regardless of how many Game Changers are in it: mass land destruction (Armageddon and its like), chaining extra turns, and a two-card combo that can land before turn six.
💡 Good to know: the bracket system is officially still in beta. It was significantly revised in October 2025 — for instance, the hard limits on the number of tutors were scrapped. Use it as a conversation starter, not as a law book.
What pods often make agreements about
Rule 0 goes beyond just power level. These are the agreements you encounter most often in practice — some apply to one evening, others are set house rules for a group:
| Topic | How such an agreement sounds |
|---|---|
| Maximum bracket | "Nothing above bracket 3 tonight." |
| Number of Game Changers | "Max two per deck, keeps it interesting." |
| Combos | "Combos are okay, but not before turn eight." Or simply: "not tonight." |
| Budget | "Everything under fifty euros per deck." Popular for giving new players a fair chance. |
| Proxies | "Proxies are fine, as long as you're honest about what they are." |
| Mass land destruction | Almost universally unwelcome below bracket 4. Say so if you’re playing it. |
| Stax & resource denial | "No Winter Orb-like things, no one enjoys those." |
| Extra turns | "One is okay, but don't string them together." |
| Salt list | Some pods have a handful of cards they just don’t like. That's allowed. |
| Time | "The shop closes at eleven, so no more 45-minute games." |
| House rules | Free mulligan, a non-legendary commander, cards from Un-sets — all fine if everyone says yes. |
| Order of the evening | A good one: save the fastest decks for the last game. No one wants to face a turbo-deck at eleven o'clock. |
What such a conversation sounds like
In practice, it lasts thirty seconds. Something like this:
Done. No discussion, no awkwardness, and four people starting the same game. Note what player 3 does: they offer to switch themselves. That is exactly how it should be — switching decks is not an admission of guilt. It is simply the most convenient solution.
And if it doesn't match?
Sometimes you can't reach a consensus. That’s okay, as long as you resolve it politely. There are three exits, in this order:
- Someone switches decks. This is why bringing a second deck is so handy — one that just plays "normally."
- Adjust expectations. "Okay, then this will be a fast game" is also perfectly fine, as long as everyone knows.
- Find another pod. Thank the group kindly and find a seat somewhere else. That’s not an insult; that’s mature.
What you *don't* do: pressure someone until they give in. Rule 0 works on consent, not majority. If one person feels uncomfortable with it, the answer is no.
💡 Another tip: have the conversation afterward too. One question — "what did you enjoy, what didn't you?" — yields more than all the power levels combined. You then talk about what actually happened instead of a made-up number, and the next game immediately improves.
💡 The golden rule: all these points boil down to one thing — ensure everyone at the table has a fun evening, yourself included. If you do that, people will gladly forgive a forgotten trigger or a slow turn. After all, Magic is primarily an excuse to have fun together.
A good game starts with good sleeves.
Protect your collection (and that unwritten rule number 1) with sleeves and accessories from SpellArmory — shipped quickly from Maastricht; free pickup by appointment is also possible.
Also read:
- Commander (EDH) explained: the ultimate format for fun games
- MTG deck archetypes explained
- Protecting and storing cards
- The best MTG resources and creators
Written by Omèr Cremers
Owner of SpellArmory, social worker and full-time dad. Avid MTG player and collector from Maastricht — Commander is my favorite format. Questions about which product is right for you? Feel free to send me a message.