Commander (also called EDH) is a way to play Magic: The Gathering with 3 to 4 players at once. Each player builds a 100-card deck led by one legendary creature, their commander, and starts at 40 life. On your turn you untap, draw, cast spells, and attack, and the last player standing wins. This guide walks you through it one step at a time, with no experience needed.
Download the free printable quick guide (PDF)
Two pages you can print and keep next to your cards while you learn.
Want the full official rules? Get the official Commander deck construction rules (mtgcommander.net).
Prefer to watch? Official how-to-play video
This short video from a Wizards of the Coast designer walks through a full game of Commander. Watch it before or after reading this guide.
Video: "Learn How to Play Commander in Under 5 Minutes! | Good Morning Magic | Zendikar Rising," Good Morning Magic.
What do you need to play?
- 1 deck of exactly 100 cards, led by a legendary creature: your commander.
- A way to track 40 life each (dice, paper, a life-counter app).
- Best with 3 to 4 players around a table.
Easiest way to start: pick up a preconstructed Commander deck. It's ready to play right out of the box, no deck building required.
What are the 7 zones?
Every card in the game is always in one of seven zones.
| Zone | What's there |
|---|---|
| Battlefield | Lands, creatures, and everything else in play. Public. |
| Hand | Cards you've drawn. Private to you. |
| Library | Your deck, face down. Nobody looks at its order. |
| Command Zone | Where your commander starts, and returns to if it leaves play. |
| Graveyard | Your discard pile, face up. Anyone can look through it. |
| Exile | Set aside, usually for good. |
| The Stack | Where spells and abilities wait before they resolve. |
What are the deck-building rules?
- Singleton: only 1 copy of each card, by name. Basic lands are the exception, you can run as many as you want.
- Color identity: your commander's colors set the deck's color identity. Every other card in the deck must match one of those colors, or be colorless.
The Commander Rules Committee also keeps a short banned card list. Playing at a store event? Ask us at the counter, or check the list yourself, it's updated a few times a year.
How do you set up a game?
- Shuffle your deck. Everyone starts at 40 life.
- Draw 7 cards. Don't like your hand? You may mulligan: shuffle it back in and draw 7 again, then put a card on the bottom of your library for each mulligan you've taken.
- Put your commander in the command zone, face up.
- Decide who goes first (a die roll, or however your group likes to settle it).
How do you win?
| Life hits 0 | The most common way. Everyone starts at 40. |
| 21 damage from 1 commander | Commander damage is tracked separately per commander, not added together. |
| Empty library | Would you draw with 0 cards left? You lose right away. |
With more than 2 players, a player who loses is out, and the game keeps going without them until one player remains.
What happens on your turn?
Every turn has 7 phases, always in the same order.
- Untap: untap everything you control.
- Upkeep: any "at the beginning of upkeep" triggers happen.
- Draw: draw 1 card.
- Main Phase 1: play a land, cast spells.
- Combat: attack.
- Main Phase 2: play more spells, or your land if you haven't yet.
- End Step: end-of-turn triggers, then cleanup.
You can only play 1 land per turn, in either main phase. Most creatures and sorceries are sorcery-speed: they can only be cast during your main phases, with the stack empty.
How do you pay mana costs?
A cost like 1UU means: pay 1 generic mana (any color you like), then 2 blue mana specifically. Tap that many lands to pay it, in whichever order you want.
Your commander and the commander tax
- Cast your commander from the command zone like any other spell.
- If it would die, get exiled, or go to your hand or library, you may put it back in the command zone instead. It's your choice, every time.
- Recasting it later costs +2 for every previous time you've cast it from the command zone this game, the commander tax.
How does combat work?
- Declare attackers: turn your attacking creatures sideways. Pick a target: any opponent, or a creature or planeswalker of theirs.
- Declare blockers: the defending player assigns any of their untapped creatures to block.
- Combat damage: attacker and blocker deal damage equal to their power, all at once.
- After: lethal damage destroys a creature. Unblocked damage hits the player (or their commander-damage total, if the attacker is a commander).
You can attack any opponent at the table, they don't have to be the player to your left.
What is the stack?
Spells and abilities don't happen the instant you play them, they go on the stack first. The most recently added one resolves first, like a stack of plates. Players get a chance to respond before anything on the stack resolves.
Common keywords
| Keyword | What it means |
|---|---|
| Flying | Can only be blocked by creatures with flying or reach. |
| Trample | Extra damage beyond lethal spills past a blocker. |
| Deathtouch | Any amount of damage from it is lethal. |
| First / Double Strike | Deals damage before other creatures, or twice. |
| Vigilance | Doesn't tap when it attacks. |
| Haste | Can attack the turn it enters the battlefield. |
| Menace | Needs 2 or more blockers. |
What are the best tips for your first game?
- Talk before you play. Agree on power level as a table so the game stays fun for everyone.
- 40 life is a lot. Commander games run longer than 1-on-1 Magic, be patient.
- You can attack anyone. Threats don't have to go to the player on your left.
- Read before you play a card you haven't seen, and ask the table if you're unsure what it does.
- Card text always wins if it ever differs from these basics.
Quick reference
| Deck | Exactly 100 cards, singleton, matching your commander's color identity |
| Start | 40 life, draw 7 (mulligans allowed), commander in the command zone |
| Your turn | Untap, upkeep, draw, main 1, combat, main 2, end step |
| Playing cards | 1 land per turn; tap lands to pay generic then colored mana |
| Combat | Declare attackers, declare blockers, deal damage at once |
| Win | Reduce all opponents to 0 life, deal 21 commander damage, or outlast an empty library |
Printable quick guide
Everything above fits on two printable pages. Print it double-sided and keep it at the table.
Download the printable guide (PDF)
Official Commander and Magic rules (free)
The Commander Rules Committee and Wizards of the Coast post the official rules for free.
- Deck Construction Rules: the full official deck-building rules for Commander.
- Banned List: cards not allowed in a Commander deck, updated a few times a year.
- The Philosophy of Commander: what makes the format different, social first.
- Comprehensive Rules: every Magic rule in full detail, for when a card does something tricky.
Where can you play Commander near Newport, TN?
Landfall Outpost hosts Commander games for players of all experience levels at 138 North St, Newport, TN 37821. New players are always welcome, we'll help you find a seat and a pod for your first game. Pick up singles, precon decks and supplies in our Magic: The Gathering collection, and check our events page for our current schedule. Free on-site parking.
Keep reading
- How to build an MTG Commander deck from scratch
- Understanding MTG Commander brackets: EDH power levels explained
- How to read a Magic: The Gathering card
- Magic: The Gathering terminology 101: the ultimate MTG glossary
- How to play the Gundam Card Game
- How to play the One Piece Card Game
- How to play Dragon Ball Super Fusion World