How to play the Commander format in Magic: The Gathering
Commander is one of the most fun ways to play Magic: The Gathering, and despite that, it often confuses newcomers to the game. There are minor differences between traditional MTG and the Commander format, but I’m here to help you tell the difference and get started in this wild format. It’s been around for years, and though it originally went under a different name, Commander’s here to stay.
Known initially as EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander), it’s a mode of Magic: The Gathering where each player has a deck of 100 cards and a legendary creature that acts as the deck commander. It might sound like a more complicated way to play, but once you’ve played a few matches with friends or locals in your game store, it will be like second nature.
What is the Commander format of Magic: The Gathering? It’s a more casual and fun way to play - though there are competitive decks. There are cEDH (Competitive Elder Dragon Highlander) decks, but Commander generally is a more casual way to approach the game.
Usually, you need at least 60 cards and can have four of each card (unlimited numbers of basic lands). However, the following are the main differences.
Normally, you can only have one of each card in your deck. However, some creatures overrule that. It’s worth knowing, even if you don’t plan on running that style of deck. Some creatures have rules that state you can have an unlimited number of them in your deck, Relentless Rats, for example. Rules on the card override rules of the format in all cases.
Whatever your deck leader’s color identity (colors used in casting the creature) are the only colors you can use in the deck. So if your deck is led by Child of Alara (5-color creature), you can use any color identity creature.
Building a Magic:
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