Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Leonardo, the Balance
“Turtle Power!” · Face commander
Shop this precon on TCGplayer →New to Commander
Commander Starter Kit: What to Buy First
What actually earns a spot in a first Commander purchase, in the order it matters, without over-spending on a format you haven't played yet. Everything past the precon itself is also a chance to make the kit look like yours: colors that match your deck, not just whatever's cheapest on the shelf.
Start With a Precon, Not a Build
A Commander precon is a complete, pre-tuned 100-card deck for around the price of a couple of booster boxes, and it's a far better first deck than anything built card-by-card from a binder. Four recent, single-strategy precons worth starting with:
Secrets of Strixhaven
Quintorius, History Chaser
Lorehold Spirit · Boros
Shop this precon on TCGplayer →Every precon TurnZero HQ has rated for strength and difficulty is searchable on /precons →, and Best MTG Commander Decks → covers how to judge one before you buy.
Sleeve It on Day One
A Commander deck gets shuffled more than a typical 60-card deck over its lifetime, so sleeving it before the first game (not after the first bent corner) is worth doing. You do not need to go expensive here: a 100-count matte pack in the $10-15 range is a fine choice for a deck you're still learning with. Ultra Pro Eclipse sleeves on Amazon → Compare sleeve brands in full →
A Case That Actually Fits the Sleeved Deck
The most common first purchase mistake in the category: a box sold as holding 100 cards will not hold 100 sleeved cards. Look for a case built for a sleeved Commander deck, not a bare one, with a magnetic or firmly latching lid rather than a friction fit. Ultimate Guard's Boulder line is a solid pick here: not the cheapest box on the shelf, but durable enough that it isn't a repeat purchase, and it comes in enough guild and color combinations that the case itself can match the deck living inside it rather than being the one generic gray box every other deck on the shelf also uses. Ultimate Guard Boulder 100+ on Amazon → How to pick a deck box, in full →
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A Few Dice for Counters
Commander runs on counters: +1/+1s, loyalty, poison, experience, all tracked at once with three or four other players doing the same. A small pack of d6 dice is a genuinely useful, genuinely cheap first buy for this, and there's a reasonable chance you already have enough lying around from a board game shelf.
Worth the Upgrade: The Commander Cube
Loose dice work, until they're spread across the table, mixed into someone else's pile, or left at home for the next game night. The Commander Cube is our own storage box, sized to match a standard deck box, built specifically for Commander upkeep: spring-loaded chambers for up to 30 +1/+1 dials, room for up to 72 status tokens, and a full set of dice, all in a removable organizer that lifts out clean between games. It's one purchase instead of a dice bag, a token tin and a case to hold them, which is usually where the money ends up going anyway once the mismatched pile becomes annoying enough to replace.
Shop the Commander Cube on EtsyThe Free App That Replaces a Life Pad
Whatever you use for the deck, dice and counters, you still need something to track life totals and Commander damage that won't get knocked over or lose count when the table gets loud. TurnZero HQ is free on iOS, Android and the web, tracks Commander damage separately from life loss for any pod size, and is worth having installed before your first game rather than after the third argument about who's at 14.
Make the Kit Yours
None of this needs to be generic. Which precon you start with should come down to which strategy actually sounds fun to you, not just which one this page lists first. Sleeves and a deck box are the easiest way to make the rest of the kit feel like it's actually yours: pick colors that match the deck's identity (a Boros deck in a Boros-colored box, a green deck in green sleeves) instead of whatever's cheapest and gray. It costs nothing extra and it's the difference between a kit that happens to hold your cards and one that looks like it's actually yours at a four-player table full of other people's black boxes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to buy anything besides a precon to start playing Commander?
No. A precon is a complete, balanced 100-card deck out of the box, so it's the only purchase that's required. Sleeves, a deck box, and dice all make the games you play with it smoother, but none of them are needed for your first night at the table.
How much should I spend on sleeves for a first Commander deck?
You don't need premium sleeves for a deck you're still learning with. A 100-count matte pack in the $10-15 range protects the cards and shuffles fine; save the pricier lines for a deck you know you're keeping built for years.
Which precon should a new player buy?
Any single-strategy precon built around a mechanic you find interesting rather than a pile of unrelated good cards. The four here are recent, on the easier end of the difficulty scale, and each does one clear thing. See best-mtg-commander-decks for how to judge any precon, and /precons for every one TurnZero HQ has rated.
Is the Commander Cube necessary for a new player?
No, a handful of loose d6 dice covers counters for a while. It's worth it once you notice you're digging through a bag mid-game or your dice keep ending up in someone else's pile: one storage box for dials, tokens and dice costs less than replacing lost dice, tokens and a playmat piecemeal.
Should my sleeves and deck box match my deck's colors?
It's not required, but it's a cheap way to make a starter kit feel like your own rather than an off-the-shelf bundle. Lines like Ultimate Guard's Boulder deck boxes ship in enough guild and color combinations that you can match the case to the deck living inside it instead of defaulting to plain black or gray.
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Life totals and Commander damage for any pod size, free on iOS, Android and the web.
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