Commander (also known as EDH) is a casual, multiplayer format for Magic: The Gathering built around a legendary creature that serves as the leader of your deck. It is widely considered the most popular way to play the game due to its high level of self-expression, political gameplay, and social focus. 📜 Core Rules of the Format
Deck Size: Exactly 100 cards, consisting of 1 Commander and 99 cards in the deck library.
Singleton Rule: You can only include one copy of any card by name, with the exception of basic lands.
Starting Life Total: Each player starts with 40 life instead of the usual 20.
Player Count: Typically played as a 4-player, free-for-all game. 👑 The Commander & The Command Zone
Legendary Leader: Your commander must be a Legendary Creature (or select Planeswalkers/Artifacts that explicitly state they can be your commander).
Color Identity: Every card in your deck must match the mana symbols present on your commander’s card. You cannot include cards outside of this color identity.
The Command Zone: Your commander starts the game face-up in a special area called the Command Zone. You can cast it from there any time you could normally play it.
Commander Tax: If your commander dies or is exiled, you can choose to return it to the Command Zone. However, it costs 2 more generic mana to cast for each time it has been sent back. ⚔️ Unique Ways to Win or Lose
Life Reduction: Reducing your opponents’ life totals from 40 to 0.
Commander Damage: If a single commander deals 21 points of combat damage to a player over the course of the game, that player loses immediately, regardless of their total life.
Infect: If a player accumulates 10 poison counters, they lose the game. 🎴 Standard Deckbuilding Framework
While players customize their builds heavily, a standard, reliable baseline for building a balanced 100-card deck includes: How to Play Magic The Gathering – Beginner’s Guide to MTG
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