⚡ In brief
Commander (EDH) is the most popular Magic format: you build a 100-card deck around one legendary commander, and usually play with four people. Casual, social, and endlessly variable. The easiest start? A ready-made precon.
If you have to choose one Magic format to start with, it's Commander. It's by far the most popular format, it's played at almost every table, and it's exactly where Magic is at its most enjoyable: four players, a table full of cards, and games that can go in all directions. It's also my personal favorite — nothing beats sitting at a table with your pod in the evening and seeing what crazy combo someone has come up with again.
In this guide, I'll explain what Commander is, how it works, and — more importantly — how to get started yourself without feeling overwhelmed. This is the basics; in later articles, I'll delve deeper into topics like deckbuilding, the brackets, and specific commanders.
What is Commander (EDH)?
Commander (formerly Elder Dragon Highlander, hence the abbreviation EDH) is a multiplayer format centered around one key card: your commander. This is usually a legendary creature that defines your entire deck. While in other formats you can play four copies of a card, Commander is a singleton format: apart from basic lands, each card appears only once in your deck. This makes every game different — you never draw the same opening hand twice.
The rules at a glance
Commander has a few specific rules that distinguish it from, for example, Standard or Modern:
| Rule | How it works |
|---|---|
| Deck construction | Exactly 100 cards, including your commander. Each card only once (singleton), except for basic lands. |
| Your commander | One legendary creature (or a card that explicitly allows it). Starts in a separate zone: the command zone. |
| Life points | You start with 40 instead of 20 — games last longer. |
| Color identity | Your commander's colors determine which cards are allowed in your deck. Red-white commander? Then no blue, black, or green. |
| Command zone & tax | Does your commander die? Return it to the command zone and cast it again. Each time it costs 2 mana extra (the "commander tax"). |
| Commander damage | 21 or more damage from one and the same commander = that player is out, even with life points remaining. |
How do you play Commander?
Commander is usually played with four people in a so-called pod: everyone against everyone (free-for-all). This makes it a social and political game — you make temporary deals, you leave the player with the scariest board alone for a bit, and you choose your moments. Games last longer than in other formats and are as much about camaraderie as they are about winning. That's also why it's such a great entry-level format: there's always something happening, even if it's not your turn to clear the board.
Start with a precon
The best thing about Commander: you don't have to gather 100 individual cards first. You start with a preconstructed deck (a "precon") — a ready-to-play Commander deck of 100 cards that's playable right out of the box. Your commander is included, the deck is balanced, and you can jump right into a game. New precons are released for almost every new set, in all sorts of themes and colors.
💡 SpellArmory Tip: Choose a precon whose theme or colors appeal to you — it's by far the cheapest and easiest way to start. View Commander precons in the shop →
Power levels: the Brackets & Rule 0
Not every Commander deck is equally strong, and nothing is more annoying than a casual deck facing an ultra-fast combo machine. That's why Wizards of the Coast (together with the Commander Format Panel) has introduced a system to indicate a deck's power level: the Brackets. There are five:
🎚️ The 5 Brackets
- Bracket 1 – Exhibition: the lightest, thematic decks, purely for fun.
- Bracket 2 – Core: casual and balanced. Many precons are around this level.
- Bracket 3 – Upgraded: a precon or self-built deck that has been significantly boosted (some modern precons already fall here).
- Bracket 4 – Optimized: strong, sharp decks without budget limits.
- Bracket 5 – cEDH: competitive Commander, decks that can sometimes win within a few turns.
Additionally, there is a list called Game Changers: a kind of soft ban list of cards that can significantly unbalance a game (this list is updated every few months). The higher your bracket, the more of these are allowed.
But the most important rule remains Rule 0: the quick chat before the game where you and your fellow players agree on what kind of game you want to play. If you are honest about your deck, everyone will have a fun evening. In a later article, I will delve deeper into the brackets.
Upgrading your deck
Have you played with your precon for a while and want to customize it? Then the real fun begins: upgrading. You don't have to change everything at once — usually, you start by removing a handful of cards that aren't performing well, and replacing them with stronger or more fitting cards. Step by step, you make the deck more and more your own.
- Initially, primarily replace the weakest cards, not your entire mana base right away.
- Choose cards that have synergy with your commander — cards that enhance its strengths.
- Keep your target bracket in mind, so your deck remains enjoyable to play against.
💡 SpellArmory Tip: A Commander deck that you shuffle often should be in good sleeves. View card sleeves →
Two tools to make your life easier
For discovering and building your deck, there are two websites that almost every Commander player uses:
- EDHREC — the go-to place to discover commanders. EDHREC collects thousands of real decklists and shows for each commander which cards are played most often, which work well together (synergy), and which themes are popular.
- Moxfield — the best deckbuilder for constructing, maintaining, and testing your list. You enter your cards, and Moxfield neatly keeps track of your mana curve, price, and colors.
One caveat: such tools give you direction, but a "perfect" score doesn't exist — ultimately, you know best what your deck wants to do. Use them as a guide, not as law.
Ready to start?
In summary: Commander is the ideal entry-level format — social, endlessly varied, and you simply start with a precon. After that, you upgrade at your own pace, with EDHREC and Moxfield as helpful tools. And this is just the beginning of the series: in future guides, I'll dive deeper into deckbuilding, the brackets, and other formats.
Ready to play your first Commander deck?
Check out the ready-made precons in the shop.
Also read: Building a Commander deck from scratch and Booster Types Explained.
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.