Commander Guides
Practical guides for understanding, evaluating, and building better Commander decks.
A good place to start
Three reads for a stronger deck.
39 of 39 guides shown
Color combinations
11- 7 min read
Commander Color Identities: Which Two-Color Combination Should You Play?
Compare all ten two-color Commander identities, their playstyles and popular strategies. Find the colors that fit you and read each combination’s full guide.
7 min read - 7 min read
Rakdos Commander Guide: Chaos, Sacrifice and Making Things Die
Explore Rakdos Commander strategies, from sacrifice and reanimator to Treasures, discard and group slug, and choose a commander that fits your style.
7 min read - 8 min read
Selesnya Commander Guide: Tokens, Counters and Going Wide
Explore Selesnya Commander strategies: tokens, +1/+1 counters, enchantments and lifegain. Choose your commander and protect the board you build.
8 min read - 9 min read
Izzet Commander Guide: Spells, Card Draw and Explosive Turns
Explore Izzet Commander strategies: spellslinger, spell copies, storm, card draw, artifacts and Wizards. Build an engine that turns spells into wins.
9 min read - 9 min read
Golgari Commander Guide: Graveyards, Recursion and Getting Value From Death
Explore Golgari Commander strategies: graveyards, recursion, sacrifice, counters, lands and Elves. Build a resilient engine and plan for graveyard hate.
9 min read - 8 min read
Azorius Commander Guide: Control, Blink and Having an Answer
Explore Azorius Commander strategies: control, blink, flyers, artifacts, tokens and Voltron. Balance your answers, mana and card draw with a clear win plan.
8 min read - 8 min read
Gruul Commander Guide: Big Creatures, Big Mana and Hitting People
Explore Gruul Commander strategies: big creatures, ramp, landfall, counters and Dragons. Turn mana into combat pressure with haste, trample and a recovery plan.
8 min read - 9 min read
Dimir Commander Guide: Control, Graveyards and Knowing More Than Everyone Else
Explore Dimir Commander strategies: control, mill, graveyards, Zombies, theft and Rogues. Build a clear win plan with card advantage and reliable interaction.
9 min read - 9 min read
Orzhov Commander Guide: Lifegain, Sacrifice and Draining the Table
Explore Orzhov Commander strategies: aristocrats, lifegain, tokens, recursion and taxes. Balance sacrifice outlets, fodder and payoffs to drain the table.
9 min read - 9 min read
Boros Commander Guide: Combat, Equipment and Attacking Again
Explore Boros Commander strategies: Equipment, Voltron, tokens, extra combats and artifacts. Keep attacking with card advantage, protection and a recovery plan.
9 min read - 9 min read
Simic Commander Guide: Ramp, Card Draw and Too Much Value
Explore Simic Commander strategies: ramp, card draw, counters, landfall, tokens and copying. Turn your resources into a clear win plan with enough interaction.
9 min read
Deck essentials
7- 4 min read
How Many Lands Should a Commander Deck Run?
Use your curve, ramp, commander cost, and strategy to choose a reliable land count, with 37 lands as the default starting point.
4 min read - 5 min read
How Much Ramp Should a Commander Deck Have?
Use your commander cost, mana curve, colors, and game plan to choose a reliable ramp package, with 8 to 12 cards as the usual starting point.
5 min read - 4 min read
How Much Card Draw Should a Commander Deck Have?
Choose a reliable card draw package for your commander and strategy, with 8 to 12 dedicated sources as the usual starting point.
4 min read - 8 min read
How Many Win Conditions Should a Commander Deck Have?
Learn why 3 to 6 reliable ways to win is a good starting point for Commander, and how strategy, redundancy, and your commander change the count.
8 min read - 5 min read
How Much Removal Should a Commander Deck Have?
Build a balanced interaction package with 8 to 12 answers across single-target removal, board wipes, and flexible spells.
5 min read - 7 min read
How Much Interaction Should a Commander Deck Have?
Build a balanced package of 10 to 15 interaction cards across removal, protection, counterspells, graveyard hate, and flexible answers.
7 min read - 12 min read
How Much Protection Should a Commander Deck Have?
Choose a reliable protection package for your commander and strategy, with 3 to 6 dedicated spells as the usual starting point.
12 min read
Mana & consistency
4- 15 min read
What Is the Ideal Mana Curve for Commander?
Shape a playable curve around your commander, ramp, archetype, and real casting costs instead of relying on average mana value alone.
15 min read - 21 min read
How to Build a Commander Mana Base
Build a reliable mana base around land count, color requirements, fixing, ramp, basics, tapped lands, and utility lands.
21 min read - 15 min read
What Makes a Good Commander Opening Hand?
Learn how lands, colors, ramp, card draw, interaction, mana curve, and your commander shape a functional opening seven.
15 min read - 4 min read
Why Your Commander Deck Feels Inconsistent (And How to Fix It)
Spot the structural issues behind inconsistency and learn the fixes that make decks feel reliable.
4 min read
Power & formats
5- 5 min read
How to Evaluate a Commander Deck (Beyond Power Level Numbers)
Learn how experienced players assess deck strength, consistency, and intent beyond simple power level numbers.
5 min read - 7 min read
Commander Brackets Explained
A shared language for intent and table expectations that makes Rule Zero easier.
7 min read - 22 min read
How to Build a Strong MTG Commander Bracket 3 Deck
Build an upgraded casual Commander deck with clear synergy, reliable mana, enough interaction, and fair table fit.
22 min read - 15 min read
How to Build a High-Performing MTG Commander Bracket 4 Deck
Build a real Bracket 4 Commander deck with stronger mana, cleaner curve, better interaction, and reliable win conditions.
15 min read - 11 min read
What Is Pauper Commander?
Learn PDH rules, why Pauper Commander is fun, and how to build your first deck with an uncommon commander and commons.
11 min read
MTG Master tools
11- 3 min read
What is MTG Master?
What MTG Master is, who it’s for, and how it helps Commander players build better decks.
3 min read - 9 min read
Play Commander Online with MTG Master Remote Table
Play Commander and EDH online with saved decks, built-in pod voice, private hands, synchronized battlefields, commander damage, tokens, counters, and a shared remote table.
9 min read - 4 min read
MTG Card Scanner Guide
How scanner recognition works, when to use set filters, and how to add cards manually with set code + collector number.
4 min read - 6 min read
MTG Card Search by Effect
Find Commander cards with natural phrases for removal, ramp, draw, protection, graveyard hate, Collection search, and Wishboard planning.
6 min read - 5 min read
Commander Deck Matchup Analyzer
Compare two Commander decks to understand estimated edge, pressure points, game phases, key cards, mulligans, and upgrades.
5 min read - 8 min read
MTG Master — Platform Features
Deck analysis, deckbuilding, collection awareness, pricing, and testing tools for Commander.
8 min read - 4 min read
Commander Profile Generator: What Your Decks Say About You
What Commander Profile Generator reads from your deck library, why more decks help, and how it turns your habits into a shareable player profile.
4 min read - 9 min read
Mana Base & Opening Hand Guide
Understand color pressure, mana benchmarks, opening-hand simulations, failure causes, and how the premium Fix Plan turns them into real upgrades.
9 min read - 7 min read
Commander Deck Builder Guide
How the AI Commander Deck Builder uses commander, archetype, bracket, budget, and collection settings to create playable EDH lists.
7 min read - 6 min read
Pauper Commander Deck Builder Guide
How to build Pauper Commander decks with AI using an uncommon commander, legal common-card shell, collection mode, and PDH-aware structure.
6 min read - 6 min read
Commander Deck Analysis Explained
What’s evaluated, how deck structure is analyzed, and what power results actually mean.
6 min read
Stories & playgroups
1Not sure where to start?
Analyze your Commander deck and MTG Master will show the most important issues first.