How to build a Commander deck, step by step

Updated 1 November 2026

Commander decks look intimidating because they're big: one commander and 99 other cards, with no duplicates. In practice most good decks are built from the same handful of jobs. Get those right and the rest of the deck is where your commander's personality comes in.

1. Know the rules that shape the deck

• 100 cards exactly, counting your commander.
• Singleton: only one copy of each card, except basic lands.
• Colour identity: every card's mana symbols, including those in its rules text, must be within your commander's colours. A card with a blue symbol anywhere on it can't go in a mono-green deck, even if you'd never pay that cost.
• The banned list: a short list of cards isn't allowed at all. Checking every card by hand is tedious, so let a tool like Scryfall or Brewhall do it.

2. Pick a commander you want to see every game

Your commander sits in the command zone and can be cast every game, so it should be a card whose plan you enjoy. Read it and ask what it wants. Does it reward you for casting lots of spells, for attacking with creatures, or for sacrificing them? Does it make tokens, draw cards, or care about lands? That question becomes the theme of the deck.

If you can't choose, play a few random commanders in your favourite colours. Brewhall's Random button picks one by colour, guild or theme, which is a good way to find a commander you'd never have looked at.

3. Fill the jobs every deck needs

Most decks that feel good to play share a skeleton. The numbers below are a common starting point for a casual or mid-power deck, not a law. Many players start from something close to this and adjust.

Many cards do two jobs at once. A creature that draws a card when it enters is both card draw and a body for a creature theme. Those double-duty cards are how good decks fit everything in.

Ramp

Commander games start at 40 life with three opponents, so they run long, and the player with more mana usually does more. Cheap ramp you can play on turn two is the most valuable: Sol Ring and Arcane Signet in any deck, Rampant Growth or Nature's Lore in green, and two-mana rocks like Mind Stone or the Talismans and Signets that match your colours.

Card draw

One-shot draw spells are fine, but repeatable draw wins long games. Look for creatures or enchantments that draw whenever something your deck already does happens, such as a creature dying, a spell being cast or a token being made.

Removal

Prefer flexible, cheap answers. A spell that can hit any nonland permanent is worth more than one that only hits creatures. Board wipes are your reset button, so run a couple, especially if your deck isn't the one building a big board.

4. Watch the mana curve

Count how many spells you have at each mana value. If more than a handful cost six or more, the deck will feel slow. A healthy curve has plenty of two- and three-mana plays so you have something to do early. Our guide to building a Commander mana base goes into lands in more detail.

5. Play it, then cut the weakest cards

No deck is finished on paper. After a few games, note which cards sat in your hand doing nothing and which ones you always wished you'd drawn. Swap the first for more of the second. A useful habit is to change three to five cards at a time, so you can tell what made the difference.

6. Agree on power level before you play

Before a game, tell the table roughly how strong your deck is. Wizards' bracket system gives everyone a shared language for this. See Commander brackets explained for what each bracket means.