As a Commander player, one of the most important decisions you’ll make when building your deck is how many lands to include.
The right number of lands can make the difference between a smooth, consistent game and a frustrating experience where you’re unable to cast your spells.
But how do you determine the ideal land count for your deck?
Understanding the Commander format is key to determining your land count.
Unlike other Magic: The Gathering formats, Commander allows only one copy of each card in your deck, except for basic lands. This means that your deck will contain 100 unique cards, which can make it more challenging to draw the cards you need when you need them.
Additionally, the format is designed for multiplayer games, which means that games tend to last longer and require more resources to win.
Determining your land count requires balancing several factors.
These factors include your mana base composition, mana ramp and acceleration, artifact inclusion, commander-specific considerations, and innovative deck enhancements.
By considering these factors and experimenting with different land counts, you can find the right balance for your deck and increase your chances of success on the battlefield.
Key Takeaways – How Many Lands Should I Have
- Understanding the Commander format is key to determining your land count.
- Determining your land count requires balancing several factors.
- By experimenting with different land counts, you can find the right balance for your deck and increase your chances of success on the battlefield.
Understanding the Commander Format
The Role of Lands in Commander
As with any Magic: The Gathering format, lands are an essential part of a Commander deck.
In Commander, however, lands play an even more crucial role. Since the format is singleton, meaning you can only include one copy of each card in your deck, you need to rely on your lands to consistently provide the mana you need to cast your spells.
This is especially important since the Commander format typically features longer games with more players, so you need to have enough lands to ensure you can continue casting spells throughout the game.
Unique Aspects of Commander Deckbuilding
Building a Commander deck is a unique experience compared to other formats.
Since you have access to all cards in your Commander’s color identity, you have a much larger pool of cards to choose from. This can make deckbuilding both exciting and overwhelming at the same time.
When it comes to lands, there are a few unique aspects of Commander deckbuilding to keep in mind.
First, since you can only include one copy of each card, you need to make sure you have a good balance of lands in your deck.
While the number of lands you include in your deck will depend on your Commander and the strategy you’re using, most Commander decks run between 33 and 40 lands [1][3]. This gives you a good chance of drawing enough lands to cast your spells without flooding out and being unable to cast spells.
Second, since the Commander format is typically played with more players, you need to be prepared for longer games.
This means you should include more lands than you might in other formats to ensure you have enough mana to continue casting spells throughout the game [2][4].
Finally, since you have access to all cards in your Commander’s color identity, you can include powerful non-basic lands like [[Command Tower]] and [[Cabal Coffers]] that can help you generate more mana.
Just be careful not to include too many non-basic lands, as they can be vulnerable to cards like [[Blood Moon]] and [[Back to Basics]].
Determining Your Land Count
As a Commander player, one of the most important decisions you’ll make when building your deck is how many lands to include.
The right land count will help ensure that you have access to the mana you need to cast your spells and execute your strategy.
Here are some factors to consider when determining your land count.
Starting Points for Land Count
There are a few general starting points to consider when determining your land count.
One common rule of thumb is to include 40% lands in your deck. For example, if your deck has 100 cards, you would include 40 lands.
Another starting point is to include one land for every two to three mana value in your deck. For example, if your deck has an average mana value of three, you would include 33 to 50 lands.
However, these starting points are just that: starting points. The right land count for your deck will depend on your specific strategy and curve.
Adjusting Land Count Based on Strategy
Your deck’s strategy will play a big role in determining your land count.
If your strategy is aggressive and relies on playing low-cost spells early in the game, you may want to include fewer lands to ensure that you draw more spells.
On the other hand, if your strategy is more controlling and relies on playing high-cost spells later in the game, you may want to include more lands to ensure that you have enough mana to cast those spells.
Your deck’s curve is also an important consideration.
If your deck has a lot of high-cost spells, you may want to include more lands to ensure that you have enough mana to cast those spells.
Conversely, if your deck has a lot of low-cost spells, you may be able to get away with including fewer lands.
Mana Base Composition
As I discussed earlier, the number of lands in your Commander deck is an important factor in ensuring that you have a consistent mana base.
However, the composition of your lands is just as important as the number of lands you have. In this section, I will discuss how to balance colors in your mana base and how to incorporate utility lands to improve your deck’s performance.
Balancing Colors in Your Mana Base
When building a Commander deck, it is important to ensure that your mana base can consistently produce the colors of mana you need to cast your spells.
This means that you need to have a balance of lands that produce each color of mana you need. There are several ways to achieve this balance:
- Dual Lands: Dual lands are lands that produce two different colors of mana. These lands are essential for balancing your mana base because they allow you to produce two different colors of mana with a single land. Examples of dual lands include [[Command Tower]] and [[City of Brass]].
- Fetch Lands: Fetch lands are lands that allow you to search your library for a land of a specific type. These lands are useful for ensuring that you have the colors of mana you need because they allow you to search your library for a specific dual land or basic land. Examples of fetch lands include [[Flooded Strand]] and [[Polluted Delta]].
- Mana Rocks: Mana rocks are artifacts that produce mana. While not technically lands, mana rocks are useful for ensuring that you have the colors of mana you need because they can produce any color of mana. Examples of mana rocks include [[Sol Ring]] and [[Chromatic Lantern]].
Incorporating Utility Lands
In addition to lands that produce mana, it is also important to include utility lands in your Commander deck. Utility lands are lands that provide additional benefits beyond producing mana. Examples of utility lands include:
- Reliquary Tower: Reliquary Tower allows you to have no maximum hand size, which can be useful if you have a lot of cards in your hand.
- Maze of Ith: Maze of Ith allows you to untap a creature and remove it from combat, which can be useful for defending yourself against attacking creatures.
- Bojuka Bog: Bojuka Bog allows you to exile a player’s graveyard, which can be useful for disrupting graveyard-based strategies.
Mana Ramp and Acceleration
As a Commander player, it’s essential to have a solid mana base to ensure that you can cast your spells on time.
That’s why including ramp and acceleration cards in your deck is crucial. In this section, I’ll discuss the different types of ramp cards, the importance of mana rocks, and utilizing elves and other creatures to ramp up your mana.
Types of Ramp Cards
Ramp cards are spells that allow you to generate additional mana beyond your land drops. These are essential in Commander because you’re playing with a larger deck size, and you need to ensure that you can cast your spells on time. Here are some common types of ramp cards:
- Cultivate: This card allows you to search your library for two basic lands and put them onto the battlefield tapped. It also lets you shuffle your library afterward, which can be useful in case you need to draw a specific card later on.
- Kodama’s Reach: Similar to Cultivate, Kodama’s Reach allows you to search your library for two basic lands and put them onto the battlefield tapped. However, it lets you put one onto the battlefield and the other into your hand.
- Sakura-Tribe Elder: This creature allows you to sacrifice it to search your library for a basic land and put it onto the battlefield tapped. It’s a great early-game play that can help you ramp up your mana and fix your colors.
The Importance of Mana Rocks
Mana rocks are artifacts that produce mana. They’re essential in Commander because they can help you ramp up your mana quickly, especially if you don’t have access to green ramp spells.
Here are some common mana rocks:
- Sol Ring: This is a staple in Commander decks. It costs one mana to play and produces two colorless mana. It’s an excellent early-game play that can help you get ahead of your opponents.
- Commander’s Sphere: This artifact costs three mana to play and produces one mana of any color. It also has the added benefit of letting you draw a card when it enters the battlefield.
- Fellwar Stone: This artifact costs two mana to play and produces one mana of any color that a land an opponent controls could produce. This means that you can potentially tap it for any color of mana, depending on what your opponents are playing.
Utilizing Elves and Other Creatures
Elves and other creatures that produce mana are another way to ramp up your mana in Commander. Here are some common creatures that can help you ramp:
- Elvish Mystic: This creature costs one mana to play and produces one green mana. It’s a great early-game play that can help you ramp up your mana quickly.
- Birds of Paradise: This creature costs one mana to play and can produce one mana of any color. It also has the added benefit of being able to tap for flying, which can be useful in certain situations.
- Cryptolith Rite: This enchantment allows you to tap any creature you control for any color of mana. This can be a powerful effect, especially if you have a lot of creatures on the battlefield.
Artifact Inclusion in Commander Decks
As I build my Commander deck, I always consider including artifacts that can provide synergy and utility. Artifacts can be a great addition to a Commander deck, as they can help fill gaps in the deck’s strategy and provide additional support for the commander.
Choosing Artifacts for Synergy and Utility
When choosing artifacts for a Commander deck, I focus on finding ones that provide synergy with my commander or other cards in my deck.
For example, if my commander has an ability that triggers when I cast a certain type of spell, I may include artifacts that help me cast more of those spells.
I also look for artifacts that provide utility, such as ones that can ramp up my mana, draw me cards, or protect my creatures.
For example, Sol Ring is a popular artifact in Commander decks because it can provide two colorless mana, which can be a huge boost early in the game.
Commander-Specific Considerations
When building a Commander deck, it is important to consider the specific needs and requirements of your Commander. This can have a significant impact on the number of lands you should include in your deck.
Building Around Your Commander
One of the key considerations when building a Commander deck is the abilities and requirements of your Commander.
For example, if you are building a deck around Jodah, Archmage Eternal, who has a high mana cost and the ability to reduce the cost of spells of any color, you may need to include more lands and mana sources to ensure that you can play your spells consistently.
On the other hand, if your Commander has a lower mana cost and a more straightforward ability, you may be able to include fewer lands and focus more on other types of cards, such as creatures, spells, or artifacts.
Commander’s Influence on Land Count
In addition to the specific abilities of your Commander, there are other factors that can influence the number of lands you should include in your deck.
For example, if your deck has a high average mana cost, you may need to include more lands to ensure that you can consistently play your spells.
Conversely, if your deck has a lower average mana cost, you may be able to include fewer lands and focus more on other types of cards.
It is important to strike a balance between lands and other types of cards, as having too many or too few lands can both be detrimental to your deck’s performance.
Innovative Deck Enhancements
As a Commander player, I am always on the lookout for innovative ways to enhance my deck. In this section, I will discuss two strategies that have proven to be effective in my experience.
Inclusion of Quicksilver Amulet
One card that has become a staple in my Commander decks is the Quicksilver Amulet. This artifact allows me to cheat out high-cost creatures from my hand, bypassing their mana cost.
This can be especially useful in situations where my mana base is limited or when I need to quickly establish board presence.
The Quicksilver Amulet also has the added benefit of being an excellent tool for bluffing.
Opponents may be hesitant to attack or use removal spells when they see the Quicksilver Amulet on the board, fearing that I may have a powerful creature waiting to be played.
Adapting to Control Strategies
Another way to enhance your Commander deck is to adapt to control strategies.
Control decks aim to disrupt your game plan and prevent you from executing your strategy.
One way to counter this is to include cards that allow you to draw additional cards or generate more mana.
Cards like Rhystic Study and Smothering Tithe can help you draw extra cards or generate additional mana, respectively.
These cards can help you stay ahead of your opponents, even in the face of their control strategies.
In addition, it is important to include a diverse range of threats in your deck.
This can make it more difficult for your opponents to disrupt your game plan.
For example, if your deck relies heavily on creatures, consider including some non-creature threats like planeswalkers or enchantments.
Frequently Asked Questions – How Many Lands Should I Have
What is the ideal number of lands for a 100-card Commander deck?
The ideal number of lands for a 100-card Commander deck is a topic of debate among players.
According to Draftsim, the typical number of mana sources you should run in your EDH deck is 43 to 55, with your land base being between 33 to 40 lands and your mana rocks between 10 to 15.
However, Wikihow suggests that 36 lands is the equivalent of 14.5 lands in a 40-card deck and 21.8 lands in a 60-card deck.
With 36 lands, you have a 90.6% chance to draw 2 (or more) lands in your first 9 cards.
How does the color diversity of a Commander deck affect the number of lands needed?
The color diversity of a Commander deck affects the number of lands needed.
If your deck has a higher number of colored spells, you may need to include more lands of the corresponding colors to ensure that you have enough mana to cast your spells.
According to Channel Fireball, the ideal curve depends on your Commander.
If your Commander costs N mana, then the optimal deck in their simplified model contains zero N-drops. This makes sense: you already start the game with a free spell of that mana value, which results in a far lower need to fill that spot in your deck’s mana curve.
What is the recommended land-to-spell ratio for a balanced Commander deck?
The recommended land-to-spell ratio for a balanced Commander deck is dependent on the deck’s overall strategy and the mana curve of the spells being used.
According to TCGPlayer, a good formula for the number of lands in your 60-card deck, counting MDFCs partially in this fashion, is: 19.59 + 1.90 * average mana value of your spells – 0.28 * number of cheap card draw or mana ramp spells.
This means that if your average mana value is three, which is fairly typical, then you should start with 24 lands and adjust accordingly.
Are there guidelines for the amount of lands to include in a two-color versus a five-color Commander deck?
There are no hard and fast rules for the amount of lands to include in a two-color versus a five-color Commander deck.
However, it is generally recommended to have a higher number of lands in a five-color deck due to the increased color requirements. Draftsim suggests having a land base between 33 to 40 lands, regardless of the number of colors in your deck.
How can mana rocks and other mana sources influence the land count in a Commander deck?
Mana rocks and other mana sources can influence the land count in a Commander deck. These cards can provide additional sources of mana, allowing you to decrease the number of lands in your deck.
However, it is important to note that relying too heavily on mana rocks can leave you vulnerable to artifact removal spells. Draftsim recommends having between 10 to 15 mana rocks in your deck.
What factors should be considered when determining the land base for a three-color Commander deck?
When determining the land base for a three-color Commander deck, several factors should be considered. These include the color requirements of the spells being used, the mana curve of the deck, and the presence of mana rocks and other sources of mana.
According to Channel Fireball, the ideal curve depends on your Commander. If your Commander costs N mana, then the optimal deck in their simplified model contains zero N-drops. This makes sense: you already start the game with a free spell of that mana value, which results in a far lower need to fill that spot in your deck’s mana curve.
