How to Win a Commander Game

Article 1: How to Build a Commander Deck | Article 2: How to Choose Your Commander

Hello there, and welcome to the world of Commander, Magic: The Gathering's most popular format! My name is Brian, and I aim to be your guide for navigating this format that we at EDHREC know and love so much.

In this series, we're focused on helping out players new to the format get started. If you missed the previous articles, make sure to check out the links above.

Today we’re discussing how to win a game of commander. I’m not going to get into the various ways to reduce opposing life totals to zero, dealing 21 commander damage, milling the table, or Thassa’s Oracle.

Those are all deck specific. What I’m talking about is more general, and can be used for any deck, anywhere. We’ll cover some deck building elements, gameplay concepts, and the all important social aspect to maneuver your way to a win. Winning is not everything in this casual format, but it does feel good when you do!

Deckbuilding

Before you even sit down to play, the composition of your deck needs to consist of ways to finish the game. Check out Article 1 for more details, but this is the first thing I’m thinking about during the deckbuilding process. Most of the time, these cards will synergize directly with your commander.

For example, Teysa Karlov doubling up your death triggers means your wincons could be something like Vengeful Bloodwitch or Zulaport Cutthroat.

The rest of your deck should support using those cards to win the game. Work your way backwards as you build, asking yourself how the rest of your choices support using these cards to win the game.

In our example, Skullclamp could be considered one of your card velocity options, since it is extremely potent with Teysa to dig through your deck, along with helping to kill off your small creatures to trigger your win cons

Card Advantage

Another deckbuilding consideration that can help you win is including cards to help you achieve card advantage. You may have heard this term used to describe drawing cards, but I consider that card velocity.

To me, card advantage is how to leverage your cards to nullify as many of your opponents' cards as possible. Remember, you have 100 cards against your opponents' collective 300. So including cards that can even the score can also help you win.

A classic example is targeted removal versus wrath effects. Consider Swords to Plowshares versus Wrath of God. When you use Swords to remove an opposing creature, you’ve spent one card to remove one opponent’s card. But the other two opponents are now up a card on you, so you’ve created negative card advantage.

On the flip side, if each of your opponents have a creature on the battlefield and you use Wrath, you’ve spent one card to remove three, putting you neutral.

Anything more than that, and you're ahead! Don't get me wrong, Swords to Plowshares is an incredibly efficient removal spell, but I make sure I'm to including enough cards that can take out more than one threat at a time.

Mulligans & Turn Planning

One of my biggest level ups playing Commander was when I really started paying attention to mulligans and sequencing my first few turns. A mix of lands and spells is nice to see in those first seven cards, but it's important for those spells to be relevant in the early game.

Ask yourself when looking at that first seven, "what do my first three turns look like?"

If your cards don't do anything in the first couple turns, I'd consider pitching that hand and drawing a new hand. I'm always hoping for some mana acceleration (like Arcane Signet) and card velocity (like Reckless Impulse) so I can continue to have things to do after the first couple of turns. Don't forget, your commander counts as a card to play too!

On the other hand, I'll tend to throw back a hand that has a recursion spell (like Eternal Witness) since it probably won't be useful in the first couple of turns.

It may seem obvious, but I'll also put back hands with too many high mana value spells. It may be exciting to see your most powerful spells when you start the game, but if your opening hand is four lands, Terror of the Peaks, Crucible of Fire, and Ancient Copper Dragon, your first couple of turns might be pretty rough, especially if you don't draw another land.

Hand Dumping

The concept of "hand dumping" is still something I struggle with. The instinct to play out all your cards and use your mana every turn makes sense. Let's say you're playing Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait. If you play it as soon as have six mana, you'll give your opponents plenty of time to eliminate it before you can get any value from it.

On the other hand, if you can play Aesi and immediately follow it up with a land drop, you can guarantee that you'll at least draw a card before your opponents can do anything about it.

Another good example would be an Equipment deck, the most popular archetype in Boros () If you've got a Sword of Fire and Ice in your hand, maybe you want to hold on to it, even if you don't have something to do on turn three.

The reason? Well if you need a turn to play it, it could get destroyed before you can ever equip it. You might consider waiting until you can cast it and equip it in the same turn.

Finally, you may want to hold on to your cards if you know your opponent can deal with them. Let's say one opponent just used Mystical Tutor to find Wrath of God because they need a way to deal with your other opponent, who has a huge board of Goblin tokens thanks to Krenko, Mob Boss. Even if you can spend the mana, it certainly doesn't make sense to play your creatures knowing that they'll get swept away soon.

Threat Assessment

The other way that hand dumping can work against you is leaving you without any answers to opposing threats. Let's say I'm playing my Ratadrabik of Urborg deck, and I decide to use my Anguished Unmaking to nab my opponent's Sol Ring.

It's tempting after all, Sol Ring is a powerful card and has probably given them a big advantage already. But, on their next turn, another player casts the scourge of my existence, Rest in Peace. All of a sudden my deck is completely shut off, and I used my interaction on something that wasn't immediately threatening me.

It's important to understand what will be the biggest roadblocks stopping you from winning the game. It could be a card like Rest in Peace shutting off your graveyard deck, or your opponent's commander that will win them the game if untap with it. Another good question to ask yourself while playing: "what stops me from winning the game?"

The Social Aspect

Commander is a multiplayer game. That's an obvious statement, but it's important to remember that you're not the only one trying to win. However, you can use that to your advantage.

Deals and helping each other are commonplace in our game, and I'd argue one of the most essential skills to learn if you want to increase your win percentage.

Let's go back to the Ratadrabik example. When that Rest In Peace comes down, and I'm out of ways to get rid of it myself, I'll ask my other opponents to kill it for me. Why? Because if my deck doesn't work then maybe I can't deal with a threat that will end the game.

Another example that comes up all the time is a commander with "boots". Many decks will play Lightning Greaves and/or Swiftfoot Boots as ways to protect their commander. If that commander if becoming a big threat, but you only have a Pongify to deal with it, you can work with another player to use their Disenchant to kill the boots.

Here's the catch: In both examples, I was being socially proactive. No one is going to work with you if you don't ask. When you ask yourself "what stops me from winning the game?" but you can't deal with it, now ask "who else does it stop from winning the game?". Just like the rest of Magic, social interaction is something that takes practice, so give it a try during your next game!

Wrapping up

We covered a lot today, and hopefully that means you learned a lot! If you have any questions, be sure to ask down below in the comments. If you're a more experienced player and have some more tips of our newer friends, be sure to drop those down there too. Be on the lookout for more beginner articles from me, and you can also check out my budget deckbuilding series, Brew For Your Buck, right here on EDHREC. Until next time, happy playing!

Brian Cain

Brian played Magic intermittently between 2003 and 2017 when he fully embraced his love for Commander. Finding ways to maximize the value of each piece of cardboard in the deck is one of his favorite things to explore, especially if it involves putting lands in the graveyard! Outside of Magic, Brian works as a consultant in the marine industry, turning his passion for boats and ships into a career.