How to Play MTG Commander
A layered, plain-Markdown guide to Magic: The Gathering Commander (also known as EDH), current to 2026. It reads on GitHub with no build step, uses only original diagrams, and references no copyrighted card art or logos.
Commander is the most popular way to play Magic: a multiplayer format built around a single legendary creature — your commander — a 100-card singleton deck, and a table of players negotiating, scheming, and occasionally getting along. This guide takes you from “I have never shuffled a deck” to “I know what bracket my deck is and how to have a good first game.”
⚠️ Unofficial fan content. Not produced, endorsed, or affiliated with Wizards of the Coast or Hasbro. See the copyright note.
How this guide is layered
Section titled “How this guide is layered”Every chapter is written for three readers at once, so you only read the document once and get the depth you need:
🆕 New players: plain-language help if you’re brand new to Magic. 🔁 Returning players: what’s changed and what trips up lapsed players. 🎯 Commander-specific: how Commander differs from 1-v-1 / 60-card Magic.
The body text of each chapter targets a smart beginner. The callouts (the blockquotes above) add depth without forking the document into separate guides.
Navigating the three layers
Section titled “Navigating the three layers”- Brand new to Magic? Read the body text top to bottom and lean on the 🆕 callouts. Start at Chapter 00.
- Played Magic years ago? Skim the body and watch for 🔁 callouts — they flag rule changes so you aren’t caught out by something that’s different in 2026.
- Know Magic, new to Commander? The 🎯 callouts are your shortcut to what makes this format its own thing.