Commander Night Checklist
turnzerohq.com
Before Everyone Arrives
- Decide what kind of night this is — a regular pod at home vs. a big LGS night needs a bracket, check-in, and a rules judge.
- Pick a night the group can actually make — recurring beats scheduling fresh every time.
- Settle on a target pod size (1v1, 3-player, classic 4-player FFA, 5/6-player, or Two-Headed Giant).
- If power level is ever a point of friction, agree on it before pods are built.
- Agree on starting life if it's not always 40.
- Charge whatever you're using to track life totals.
Make It a Format Night (Optional)
- Consider a shared theme: all-typal, best graveyard recursion, spellslinger-only.
- Or try: bring 3 decks, retire whichever deck wins a game for the rest of the night.
- Agree on the theme before anyone builds around it.
Setting Up the Table
- Seat players so everyone can see the board and reach across it.
- Confirm house rules out loud: starting life, extra turns, turn timer.
- Get everyone's pod and deck locked into the app before game one.
Decide What Winning the Night Means
- Agree on what wins the night — most games won, or something else.
- If playing for prizes, settle the payout and tiebreaker rules up front.
- Decide tiebreakers: head-to-head, damage dealt, average turn length, etc.
- TurnZero HQ tracks all of this automatically if you want the app to settle it.
During Each Game
- Let the app track life totals and Commander damage — no mid-combat math.
- Make sure every table has enough tokens/counters (a Commander Cube helps).
- Log a moment in the app for anything memorable — 5+ minute turns or 10+ damage swings are a good bar.
Between Games
- Give the table a real break between games.
- Decide whether pods stay the same or shuffle for the next game.
- Read the AI recap from the last game out loud.
- Grab chips and a fresh drink — but keep the drink off the table.
Wrapping Up the Night
- Record final standings — wins, decks, standout plays.
- Review the night's moments and how your deck performed.
- Lock in the next night's date before people leave.
- Look back at the night's recap later.