How Many Creatures Should You Play in a Commander Deck?

The question of how many creatures to include in a Commander deck is a common one, and the answer, while seemingly simple, has a lot of nuance. There isn’t a single magic number that works for every deck; instead, the ideal number depends heavily on your chosen commander, strategy, and overall deck synergy. However, a general guideline to start with is around 25 to 40 creatures in your 99-card deck. This range provides a solid foundation for most strategies, allowing for board presence, interaction, and game-winning threats. The key is to strike a balance that best supports your overall plan.

Understanding the Creature Spectrum in Commander

Commander is a format known for its diverse playstyles, and your creature count needs to reflect this. Some decks will thrive with a minimal creature base, relying instead on spells and other permanents, while others will want to flood the board with hordes of synergistic creatures. Let’s explore these extremes:

Creature-Light Decks

These decks often feature strategies centered around controlling the board with spells, setting up intricate combos, or utilizing non-creature win conditions. You might find as few as 15-25 creatures in these lists. Some reasons to run a low creature count include:

• Control Archetypes: Decks focused on board wipes, counterspells, and disruption often prefer spells over creatures, using just a few high-impact threats to close out the game.
• Combo Decks: These decks are all about assembling specific card combinations to win, often utilizing non-creature artifacts, enchantments, or instants/sorceries, with creatures serving only a supporting role.
• Voltron Commanders: Strategies that rely on buffing up the commander with auras and equipment can also get away with a lower creature count, as the commander serves as the main threat.

Creature-Heavy Decks

On the flip side, some decks want to overwhelm opponents with a mass of creatures, often utilizing tribal synergies, token generation, or aggressive strategies. These lists may include 40 or more creatures:

• Aggro Decks: These decks aim to quickly reduce opponents’ life totals by swarming the board with powerful attackers. The goal is to win early, before other strategies can stabilize.
• Tribal Decks: Focusing on creatures of a specific type (like Elves, Goblins, or Zombies) often requires a high creature count to take advantage of tribe-specific buffs and synergies.
• Token-Based Strategies: These decks focus on generating large numbers of token creatures, which is a common path to victory. The more creatures you can produce, the better.

Finding Your Balance

Most Commander decks fall somewhere between these two extremes. Aiming for a moderate number of creatures around the 25-40 mark is a good starting point. To refine this further, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my commander’s role? Does your commander directly benefit from having more creatures on the field? Does it synergize with a specific creature type?
• What kind of interaction do I need? Will my creatures be used primarily for attacking, or do I need them to generate resources, provide utility, or control the board?
• How much mana ramp do I have? A high density of ramp might allow you to afford bigger, more impactful creatures without running too many smaller utility options.
• What are my removal options? If you have plenty of removal spells, you may be able to survive with fewer defensive creatures.

The Importance of Role and Utility

Don’t just think about the raw number of creatures; consider their roles in your deck. It’s vital to have a good mix of creature types that can serve various purposes. Aim to diversify your creature selection beyond just big beaters. Here’s what to aim for:

• Threats: Creatures that can deal significant damage and pressure your opponents.
• Utility Creatures: Creatures that have useful activated or triggered abilities that help you draw cards, ramp mana, control the board, or search for specific cards.
• Defensive Creatures: Creatures that provide protection and prevent damage. This can include creatures with vigilance, high toughness, or protection abilities.
• Synergistic Creatures: Creatures that specifically work with your overall strategy, such as those that generate tokens, help to build combo pieces, or buff other creatures in your deck.

Adjusting Your Creature Count Based on Playtesting

Theory is one thing, but playtesting is where you’ll truly understand your deck’s needs. After building your deck, take it through some games and pay attention to the following:

• Are you regularly getting mana screwed? If so, reduce your creature count slightly and add more lands or mana rocks.
• Are you drawing too many creatures or not enough? Adjust your creature count based on how often you’re getting dead draws. If you’re drawing too few creatures, you can increase your creature count, and if you are drawing too many, you should reduce it to find a better balance.
• Are your creatures performing as expected? Do you need more utility or more powerful threats?
• Is your deck able to handle other players’ strategies? Adjust your creature count and your creature roles if you are not well prepared for the rest of the field.

Conclusion

Determining the ideal number of creatures for your Commander deck is not a fixed rule. It requires careful consideration of your overall strategy, commander synergy, and personal preferences. Start with a base range of 25 to 40, and then refine this number as you play and learn what works best for your chosen deck. Remember, the key to success in Commander is a balanced approach that allows you to execute your game plan effectively.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many lands should I run alongside my creatures?

A good starting point is around 33-40 lands, plus ramp spells like mana rocks, which are generally recommended. Your mana base should always be balanced to consistently play your spells on time.

Is it okay to have more creatures than lands in my deck?

While possible, it’s generally not recommended. A balanced mana base is essential for casting spells consistently. The amount of creatures you should run depends entirely on the strategy of your commander deck.

What is a “mana rock,” and how does it affect my creature count?

A mana rock is an artifact that generates mana. If you have a lot of mana rocks, you can potentially run fewer lands, but also slightly fewer creatures. A lower mana curve might also let you get away with running fewer mana rocks or lands.

Should I include more removal spells or more creatures?

Balancing creatures and removal is crucial. You need enough creatures to advance your game plan, but also enough removal to disrupt your opponents. Consider the meta you are playing in and adjust accordingly.

Is there a limit to how many Legendary Creatures I can have in my deck?

No, you can have as many legendary creatures as you want, as long as they follow the singleton rule. Each card except basic lands must have a unique name.

Do Planeswalkers count towards my creature count?

No, Planeswalkers are separate card types from creatures. They interact with the board differently and are not counted in your creature number for deckbuilding.

What if my Commander is a creature?

Your Commander counts as one creature in your 100-card deck, but that does not change your creature to spell ratio. You should still aim to have around 25 to 40 other creatures in your 99 card deck depending on your strategy.

What is the Singleton rule, and how does it affect creature selection?

The Singleton rule means that you can only have one copy of each card with the exception of basic lands. You can not play more than one copy of any single creature outside of basic lands.

Can I use cards outside my Commander’s color identity for creature selection?

No. Every card in your deck has to be within your Commander’s color identity. This means creatures must be the same color as your commander.

How do I deal with a deck that has a very low creature count?

Target their control elements. If you know their deck is light on creatures, then target their enchantments and artifacts with removal to get ahead.

How do I choose what creatures to cut from my deck?

When cutting creatures, focus on choosing the ones that are underperforming or least synergistic with your commander or strategy. Prioritize versatility and card advantage when selecting creatures.

What are some common errors people make when picking creatures?

Common errors include not having enough removal, too many big threats, not having card draw, and not using utility creatures to their full advantage.

Can I have a commander deck that doesn’t run any creatures at all?

Yes, it is possible to build a creatureless Commander deck. This style of deck will focus on spells and other non-creature permanents to secure a win.

Should I have creatures that can remove threats?

Yes, having creatures that act as removal can be very beneficial, providing you with multiple ways to control the board while pushing your strategy forward.

What are the best creatures to include if I’m new to Commander?

Focus on creatures that provide card draw, mana ramp, or have simple abilities that can help stabilize you in games. Creatures with keywords like Trample, Vigilance, or Flying are always a solid foundation.