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Commander is a multiplayer Magic: The Gathering format built around a designated commander, a 100-card singleton deck and political free-for-all combat. In the familiar four-player game, each player starts at 40 life, draws seven cards, takes turns clockwise and may attack any opponent. A player loses when one commander has dealt that player at least 21 combat damage over the course of the game.
The format page from Wizards of the Coast describes four players as the typical table, while its multiplayer rules apply to games with three or more players. Two-player Commander is a separate 1v1 format and should not be assumed to use every rule described here.
What “multiplayer Commander” means
Free-for-all games use three or more players
In the multiplayer version, every player is an opponent of every other player. There are no permanent teams. Players normally sit in a circle, choose seats randomly and take turns clockwise. A three-player game therefore follows the same free-for-all structure as the familiar four-player table; only the number of opponents changes.
Four players are customary, not a universal limit
Wizards of the Coast presents Commander as a four-player format in its overview material, but the accompanying multiplayer wording covers games with three or more people. It is clearest to call four players the standard table setup while treating three-player games as valid multiplayer Commander as well.
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Do not import the multiplayer setup into 1v1 Commander
There is an official Commander 1v1 format page. A two-player match has its own format context, so do not assume that the free-for-all attack, seating and turn-expectation rules below describe every 1v1 game.
Build the 100-card deck
The commander is included in the count
A Commander deck contains exactly 100 cards, including the designated commander. That leaves 99 cards in the library. Except for basic lands, the deck normally contains no duplicate English card names. “Singleton” describes this one-copy rule; it does not mean that every card must be a different type or mana value.
Color identity limits the deck
Every card must fit within the commander’s color identity. For the format overview’s purposes, color identity includes the colors and colored mana symbols appearing in a card’s mana cost or rules text. A card that introduces a color outside that identity is not legal in the deck even if its effect would be useful or its casting cost could technically be paid with the available lands.
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Check current legality separately
Deck construction and card legality are related but not identical questions. For tournament decisions, a current banned list or other official legality notice should be checked directly; a card that fits the singleton and color-identity rules can still be disallowed by a current format restriction. The official Commander overview and the current Comprehensive Rules are the appropriate authorities for unusual or disputed cases.
Set up a multiplayer game
Use this sequence before the first turn:
- Choose commanders and decks. Each player presents a Commander deck whose 100-card total includes its commander.
- Place commanders in the command zone. The commander begins face up there rather than in the library.
- Determine seats and turn order. For the free-for-all structure described by Wizards, players sit randomly in a circle and play clockwise.
- Set starting life. Each player begins the described multiplayer game at 40 life.
- Draw opening hands. Each player draws seven cards, then resolves any agreed-upon mulligan procedure before the first turn.
- Discuss the game you intend to play. If the group uses Commander brackets, use them as a conversation about expectations, not as an additional rules step.
The commander is visible in the command zone from the beginning. Other players can therefore know which color identity governs your deck and which commander-specific damage record may matter later.
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Turns, attacks and targets
Turns move clockwise
The active player takes a normal Magic turn, then the next player clockwise becomes active. The game is not a series of duels: while you are taking your turn, all other players remain opponents unless a card effect changes a relationship.
You may attack any opponent
When you declare attackers, you may send each attacking creature at any opponent, subject to the ordinary restrictions on attacking. You can divide attackers among several opponents in the same combat. For example, at a four-player table you could attack one opponent with two creatures and a different opponent with another creature.
Spells and abilities can choose any player unless restricted
A spell or ability that says it can target a player may generally target any player at the table. Its own text can narrow that choice, such as naming an opponent, a player who controls a particular permanent, or a player meeting another condition. Multiplayer does not create a general rule that makes the nearest, previous or attacking player the default target.
The command zone and casting your commander again
The commander tax increases with each command-zone cast
You may cast your commander from the command zone for its normal cost plus two mana for each previous time you cast it from the command zone during that game. The additional amount is cumulative. If you cast it from the command zone once, the next command-zone cast costs two more; after two such casts, the next one costs four more, and so on.
Choosing the command zone instead of another zone
If the commander would go to its owner’s library, hand, graveyard or exile, its owner may move it to the command zone instead under the current Commander overview’s description. This choice is made as the card would change zones. A player can also allow the card to go to the other zone when a strategy calls for it, then use the normal rules for that zone.
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Zone changes do not erase previous command-zone casts
The extra cost is based on how many times the commander was cast from the command zone earlier in the game. Moving it to another zone and later returning it to the command zone does not reset that history. The same commander can therefore become progressively more expensive even when it has spent time in a graveyard, exile or hand.
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Track each commander separately
Commander damage is combat damage dealt by a commander. Keep a separate total for each commander against each player. If two different commanders deal 12 and 10 combat damage to you, those totals do not combine for the commander-damage rule; neither commander has reached the threshold on its own.
The threshold applies over the entire game
Wizards states: “A player that’s been dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander over the course of the game loses the game.” The damage can arrive in several attacks and need not be dealt during one turn. Once the same commander has dealt at least 21 combat damage to one player, that player loses even if their life total is otherwise high.
Only combat damage counts for this rule
Damage from a commander’s combat attack is the relevant category. Noncombat damage from an ability, spell or other effect does not add to the commander-damage total merely because the commander was the source. Use the card’s event and the normal damage rules to determine whether the damage was combat damage.
Keep the record when control or zones change
The tally follows the identity of the commander that dealt the damage. Changing control of that commander does not reset the record, and moving it between zones does not reset the record either. A practical tracking sheet should therefore have one line for every commander and one column for every opponent, rather than a single shared “commander damage” number.
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What happens when a player is eliminated
The game can continue
In a multiplayer game, one player’s loss does not automatically end the match. The remaining players continue taking turns until another result ends the game.
That player’s owned cards leave the game
When a player leaves, cards they own leave the game, including permanents they owned on the battlefield and cards they owned in other zones. Ownership and control are different: another player may have controlled a permanent that belonged to the eliminated player, but the permanent still leaves because of its ownership.
Waiting abilities and spell copies cease to exist
Abilities the eliminated player controlled that were waiting to resolve cease to exist, as do copies of spells they controlled. This prevents those pending objects from continuing to produce effects after their controller has left.
Control effects end
Control effects established by the departing player over permanents owned by other players end. If ending that effect does not give control to another player, the permanent is exiled. Complicated stack, control-change and replacement-effect situations should be checked against the Comprehensive Rules rather than resolved from this summary alone.
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Wizards describes five Commander brackets as optional matchmaking guidance. The lower brackets are intended for more socially focused games, while higher brackets accommodate stronger or competitive experiences. The framework is labeled beta.
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Brackets do not replace the baseline rules: they do not alter starting life, deck size, commander-damage tracking or the command zone. Their purpose is to help players agree on the kind of game they want before shuffling. A useful conversation covers expected speed, interaction, powerful combinations and whether a player is bringing a highly optimized list. If the group does not use brackets, a plain-language discussion serves the same social purpose.
A complete example of one combat cycle
Imagine four players seated in a circle. The active player declares three attackers: two at the player on their left and one at the player across the table. The two creatures aimed left are blocked or deal combat damage according to normal combat rules; the third creature interacts with the other opponent’s blockers. The active player may then cast a spell that targets any player allowed by that spell’s text, including the opponent who was not attacked.
Later, the same commander attacks one opponent again. The receiving player adds that combat damage to the earlier total from that commander, even if the commander changed controllers between attacks or spent time outside the command zone. If the accumulated combat damage reaches the stated threshold, that player loses immediately under the commander-damage rule.
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Common mistakes to avoid
- Counting the commander outside the 100 cards. The commander is part of the deck’s 100-card total.
- Mixing commander damage from different commanders. Each commander has a separate total against each player.
- Resetting the commander-damage counter after a zone change. Zone changes do not erase the record.
- Adding noncombat damage to the commander-damage total. The rule concerns combat damage.
- Assuming you can attack only the player to your left. Each attacker can be assigned to any legal opponent.
- Treating brackets as mandatory power ratings. They are optional, beta matchmaking guidance.
- Ending the table when one player loses. Multiplayer play normally continues with the remaining players.
- Using multiplayer assumptions for a two-player game. Confirm the rules and expectations for the official 1v1 format.
Where to verify an unusual ruling
The current Commander format overview is the best starting point for the baseline setup, deck construction, command-zone procedure, combat targeting and commander-damage rule. Wizards’ Commander Legends release notes explain the practical consequences of a player leaving a multiplayer game, and Commander Masters release notes provide additional explanations of commander damage, deck construction and departures. For an interaction involving several replacement effects, control changes, copies on the stack or a disputed legality question, consult the current Comprehensive Rules, the exact card text and the current official legality information.
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