Commander Rules
Commander runs on the same core Magic rules as any other format, plus a handful of format-specific ones layered on top — deck construction, the command zone, and a couple of extra ways to win or lose. Here's the whole rule set in one place, with links to a full guide anywhere you want more depth.
A Commander deck is exactly 100 cards, including the commander. Outside of basic lands, it's singleton — no other card can appear more than once. Your commander is a legendary creature (or a card specifically templated to say it can be your commander) that starts the game in the command zone instead of your deck.
Every other card in the deck must fit your commander's color identity — its color plus any colored mana symbols anywhere in its rules text, not just its mana cost. A commander with a red activated ability restricts the whole deck to red-inclusive cards even if the commander's casting cost is colorless.
More on singleton and what it changes about deckbuilding →Players start at 40 life, not the 20 used in two-player constructed formats — multiplayer pods take more damage over a longer game. Your commander begins in the command zone, castable from there for its normal cost. Each time you cast it from the command zone already that game, add a cumulative {2} to its cost — that's commander tax, the price for being able to recast it instead of losing it permanently.
If your commander would go to the graveyard, exile, your hand, or your library, you may choose instead to move it to the command zone, ready to be recast (with the tax) whenever you can afford it.
Turn structure, combat, and the stack all work exactly as they do in any other constructed Magic format — Commander doesn't change any of that. If you're newer to these mechanics specifically, the beginner series below covers each one in depth.
On top of the usual "life total hits 0" and "draw from an empty library" rules, Commander adds one more way to lose: if a single commander deals you 21 or more combat damage over the course of the game, you lose immediately, regardless of your life total. It's tracked separately for each opponent's commander, not as one combined number.
Full breakdown: What Is Commander Damage? →Commander is built around three-to-five-player pods (though it plays fine at any count from two players up), and most groups play with a few unwritten table norms on top of the official rules: deals and truces made during a game aren't enforceable by the rules themselves, players can attack or target any opponent they choose, and most playgroups expect a player to be given a reasonable chance to respond before a game-ending play resolves. None of these are enforced by the rulebook — they're social conventions almost every pod follows anyway.
Commander has its own banned list, separate from other formats, maintained specifically because a card that's fine in a two-player format can warp a four-player pod differently. Beyond the banned list, most tables also informally sort decks by power level — how consistently a deck wins, how fast, and how resilient it is to disruption — since Commander is designed to be played casually across a wide range of deck strengths at the same table.
Full breakdown: What Is EDH Power Level? →Exactly 100, including the commander itself. Commander is a singleton format, so outside of basic lands, no other card can appear more than once in that 100.
40, not the 20 used in two-player constructed formats. The higher starting total reflects the multiplayer pod structure — games commonly run longer and involve damage coming from more than one opponent at once.
An additional generic mana cost of {2} added to your commander's cast cost for each time it's been cast from the command zone already that game, cumulative for each subsequent cast. It's the tradeoff for being able to recast your commander instead of losing it for good when it would go to the graveyard, exile, hand, or library.
Most legendary creatures qualify, plus a small set of other cards specifically templated to say they can be your commander. A card's color identity — its color plus any mana symbols in its rules text, not just its casting cost — sets the color restrictions for every other card in that deck.
Life totals, commander damage, and commander tax reminders — tracked automatically at every seat.
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