I am BRAND NEW to MTG and the store owner suggested my fiancé and I start with a Commander set. But both of us got very frustrated trying to figure out how to play last night. It seemed like this set was for OG players and we have NO BACKSTORY so…please, save us, ELI5!
In: 0
Commander is an advanced format designed mostly for free-for-all multiplayer, and is set up to be fun in that context. That gives it quite a few mechanics that are different from normal play:
* Large decks (100 rather than 60 cards) which don’t allow duplicates other than basic lands (normally you can have 4 of each card, and you usually want to) to encourage variability to make each game unique
* Larger life totals to make the game last longer
* A commander you can always cast to compensate for the variability of the deck
* Allowing cards from the entire history of MTG, both for nostalgia for older players and to allow some unique combinations of cards. This results in some cards with powerful but odd combinations being in play that are quite confusing for new or even moderately experienced players.
Commander is great fun, but I’d recommend starting with something simpler, especially since Commander is best played with 3+ players. Ideal would be either a set of Duel Decks or one of the theme decks from the current set.
Latest Answers