Gameplay Rules:
- Starting Life Total: Each player starts with 40 life.
- Command Zone: Your commander begins the game in the command zone. You can cast your commander from the command zone, but it costs an additional two mana for each time it has been cast from the command zone previously.
- Commander Damage: If a player is dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander over the course of the game, they lose the game.
- Free-for-All Multiplayer: Commander is typically played in a free-for-all multiplayer format, but it can also be played one-on-one.
Additional Rules:
- Replacement Effects: If your commander would be put into your library, hand, graveyard, or exile, you may choose to return it to the command zone instead.
- Unique Abilities: Some cards have abilities that bring other cards from outside the game into the game. These abilities do not function in Commander.