Commander can look intimidating from the outside.
One hundred card decks. Four players around a table. Legendary creatures. Huge board states. People using cards printed years before you started playing.
The good news is that Commander is also one of the easiest ways to enjoy Magic casually with a group of friends.
You do not need to memorise thousands of cards.
You do not need an expensive custom deck.
And you definitely do not need to understand every unusual interaction before your first game.
A ready-to-play Commander deck and a basic understanding of the format are enough to get started. Sleeving all 100 cards consistently is a sensible next step, but you don’t need to buy an expensive accessory collection before game night. See our Dragon Shield sleeve comparison and budget card-protection guide when you’re ready to choose.
What is Commander?
Commander is Magic: The Gathering’s most popular multiplayer format.
A normal Commander deck contains 100 cards in total:
1 commander
99 cards in the main deck
Your commander sits in a special area called the command zone and acts as the central character around which your deck is built.
Commander is usually played casually with several people around one table. The official format is designed around multiplayer games, with four players being the familiar setup.
Each player normally begins with 40 life.
What does your commander do?
Your commander is usually a legendary creature, although some cards specifically allow other card types to serve as a commander.
At the beginning of the game, your commander starts face up in the command zone rather than being shuffled into your deck.
You can cast it from there.
If it returns to the command zone and you cast it again, it normally costs an additional two generic mana for each previous time you have cast it from the command zone during that game.
Your commander does more than give the deck a recognisable face.
It also determines something called your colour identity.
What is colour identity?
Every card in your Commander deck has to fit within the colour identity of your commander.
A commander’s colour identity includes the mana symbols in its casting cost and relevant mana symbols appearing in its rules text.
If your commander is only blue and red, for example, you cannot simply add a green card because you like it.
This restriction is part of what gives different Commander decks their identity.
It encourages you to build around the strengths, weaknesses and personality of your chosen commander.
Why does Commander use 100 cards?
Commander decks use 100 cards partly because the format is designed to create varied multiplayer games.
You are also normally allowed only one copy of each card.
This is called the singleton rule.
The main exception is basic lands.
So instead of building a deck with four copies each of your strongest cards, Commander encourages you to find many different cards that contribute to the same broader strategy.
That is one reason games can feel so different from one another.
What is the singleton rule?
The singleton rule is simple:
You can normally include only one copy of any particular card in your Commander deck.
Basic lands are the main exception.
So if you own one favourite legendary sword, one enormous creature and one strange old enchantment that somehow works with your commander, all three can find a home in the same deck.
Commander rewards creativity far more than perfect repetition.
How does multiplayer Commander work?
Commander is designed for multiplayer.
In a typical four player game, everybody begins at 40 life and takes turns around the table.
You can attack different players, make temporary deals, respond to threats and occasionally discover that the person promising not to attack you has a very flexible definition of “not attacking you”.
That social element is a large part of Commander’s appeal.
You are not simply playing your deck.
You are playing a table.
What is commander damage?
Commander also has a special loss condition.
If one commander deals 21 or more combat damage to the same player over the course of a game, that player loses, regardless of their remaining life total.
It does not happen in every game, but it makes commander creatures themselves important threats.
Do I need to build my own Commander deck?
No.
In fact, we usually recommend that a completely new Commander player does not begin by building a 100 card deck from scratch.
Preconstructed Commander decks, usually called precons, are designed to be playable straight from the box.
They give you:
a legal 100 card deck
a commander
a coherent strategy
lands
supporting cards
tokens where required
a sensible place from which to learn the format
Once you have played several games, you can decide what you like and begin changing cards.
That is much easier than trying to understand deck building before you understand how a Commander game feels.
Browse Bell & Barter’s Magic: The Gathering range
What do I actually need to play Commander?
At the absolute minimum:
One legal Commander deck
That is enough to play.
In practice, we recommend a few inexpensive extras.
Card sleeves
Commander decks are shuffled frequently and contain 100 cards.
Sleeves protect the cards from wear, fingerprints, table surfaces and the occasional drink that somebody placed far too close to the battlefield.
They also make a large deck easier to shuffle once you are used to them.
A deck box
A sleeved Commander deck is considerably larger than a normal pack of cards.
A proper deck box keeps the 100 cards together and makes transporting the deck much easier.
A playmat
A playmat is optional.
You can play directly on a clean table.
But a mat provides a softer surface for your cards, helps define your play area and makes picking sleeved cards up considerably easier.
Dice and counters
Many Commander decks create tokens, counters or temporary effects that need tracking.
A few dice are extremely useful.
You do not need a suitcase filled with accessories before your first game.
Start with the deck.
Add the things you actually find useful.
Browse Magic accessories at Bell & Barter
Do I need booster packs?
No.
Booster packs and Commander decks serve different purposes.
A preconstructed Commander deck already gives you a complete playable deck.
Boosters can be fun for collecting, Limited play and finding cards to use in future deck upgrades, but they are not required to begin Commander.
If your goal is simply:
I want to play Commander for the first time.
Buy a Commander deck before worrying about boosters.
How do I choose my first Commander deck?
Start with something you actually like.
That could mean:
a gameplay strategy
a particular colour
a franchise
a commander
a creature type
or simply artwork that made you pick the box up
Your first deck does not need to be the strongest deck in the room.
It needs to make you interested enough to learn how it works.
Preconstructed decks are particularly useful because their central strategy is already built for you.
You learn by playing.
Then you slowly make the deck yours.
What about upgrading a preconstructed deck?
Do not rush.
Play the deck first.
After several games, you will naturally start noticing things.
Cards that stay in your hand too long.
Cards you are always happy to draw.
Effects you wish you had more often.
Maybe the deck needs more card draw.
Maybe you want more removal.
Maybe you simply want to put a favourite character into the deck.
Those observations are far more useful than blindly following an upgrade list before you have played a single game.
Is Commander expensive?
It can be.
It does not have to be.
Commander has an enormous card pool, which means there are incredibly expensive cards available.
You do not need them to enjoy ordinary Commander.
A preconstructed deck is a complete starting point.
From there, upgrades can happen slowly and according to your own budget.
The best Commander table is not necessarily the one containing the most expensive decks.
It is usually the one where everybody has broadly similar expectations about the sort of game they are there to play.
Where does Bell & Barter fit in?
Bell & Barter stocks Magic: The Gathering products for players and collectors in South Africa, including sealed products, Commander decks, accessories and selected preorders.
Our goal with these guides is not to convince a new player that they need every possible accessory.
It is the opposite.
We want you to know what you are buying and why you might want it.
If Commander sounds like your kind of Magic, start here:
Shop Magic: The Gathering at Bell & Barter
And if Star Trek is what finally convinced you to try the format:
View the Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Commander Decks
One deck is enough to begin.
The other ninety-nine cards will take care of the rest.
