Ready to play with some of Magic’s greatest hits from its biggest format? Commander Masters offers you the chance to do just that! With powerful reprints and new cards, this draft format will have you wishing you could draft it just one more time. But like all Masters style sets, this one’s limited in quantity and availability. So take a moment, familiarize yourself with the set and the way it’s drafted, then head over to our events page and preregister for one of our preview events today!

Commander Masters Events Overview

As a Masters style set, Commander Masters is going to get rolled out a little differently than most recent sets. For starters, we’re not going to be hosting prerelease sealed events. Instead, we’ll be holding 2 preview weekend drafts. Dates and times (and links for preregistration) are available below:

• Preview Flight 1: July 28, 6 PM (Player Cap 40)
• Preview Flight 2: July 29, 2 PM (Player Cap 32)

In addition to these two preview flights, we’ve also planned the following draft schedule for this set. Please note – as with most of our other drafts, tickets for these events go on sale the day before each event at 11 AM. Anyways, on with the schedule:

• August 4, 6 PM - Launch Weekend Draft (Player Cap 24)
• August 11, 6 PM - Friday Night Magic Draft (Player Cap 16)*
• August 18, 6 PM - Friday Night Magic Draft (Player Cap 16)*

* The two FNM Draft events will have a lower price and prize structure that uses standard set boosters as prizes instead of Commander Masters packs.

Drafting and Playing Commander Masters

With the word commander right in the title, you had to know there was more to Commander Masters than the usual draft format. Twenty cards in each pack and legendary creatures aplenty means there are special rules both for the draft and during play. So before you sign up for a preview flight, it’s probably best to take a moment to brush up on how the ‘commander draft’ format works! 

During the draft:

• Each player will get 2 picks per pack before passing.
• By the end of the draft, each player must have drafted a legendary creature to serve as their commander.

Deck Construction Rules:

• Each deck must be 59 cards + a commander.
• Each deck can only contain cards belonging to the color identity of the commander being used, colorless cards such as artifacts and non-basic lands, and basic lands.
• You are allowed to use any number of copies of cards that were drafted (there is no singleton rule during draft).

During Games:

• Each player begins with 40 life and a commander in the command zone.
• Each player gets a free mulligan.
• Player going first draws a card.
• Commander damage must be tracked, as well as regular damage (21 points of commander damage will eliminate a player regardless of life total).

Preview and Launch Weekend Draft Format:

• Each event will run for 2 rounds of multiplayer play after the draft (1 game multiplayer match).
• Each round will be 90 minutes long instead of 50 minutes. 
• Prize packs will be determined by order of elimination during each round (if multiple players are eliminated at the same time, the player eliminating them chooses the order they go out).

These rules cover basically everything we know about the Commander Masters draft format so far, and are based on the rulesets for the Commander Legends and Commander Legends Battle For Baldur’s Gate expansions. Once previews start, we’ll revisit these rules and add any pertinent information (such as the presence of Partner or Background style mechanics). We’re also investigating the possibility of running the last two FNM draft events as one on one standard matches.

Preview and Launch Weekend Prize Structures

Since the format’s multiplayer, the prize structure’s a little different too. As players are eliminated, they’ll be placed in rank order from 4th up to 1st place in each game (4th place = first person eliminated; 1st place = winner of the match). With that ranking system in place, prizes will work as follows (please note this model follows an 8 person prize structure):

• Each round, 1st and 2nd place will each get 1 Commander Masters Draft Booster Pack.
• 1st / 2nd place players from each pod will get paired up against one another.
• In the event of time being called, once the 3 extra turns are complete, any remaining players will be ranked in order of life total in order to determine prizing.

Commander Masters Preview and Launch Weekend FAQ

Here's a few commonly asked questions about prerelease events and in-store play events. If your question isn't on this list, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at the store or in the store’s discord server! We're happy to answer any questions you might have.

Q: How well do I have to know Magic to play at a preview or launch weekend event?

A: For this event, we suggest you have a working knowledge of Magic, the commander format, and drafting. You don't need to be a pro, but for this specific prerelease event, having a working knowledge of the game and those specific formats will really help you.

Q: What should I bring with me to the event?

A: Here's a short checklist of recommended items:

• A water bottle and energy bar or other dry snack just in case games go long
• Sleeves and a deck box (you also can buy these at the shop if you forget them)
• A playmat (it helps keep your cards / sleeves clean, and it can be good to have)
• Dice for counters and a life pad for tracking your life totals.

Q: Should I preregister for the event?

A:  If you're able to, yes absolutely! Preregistration locks in your spot at the event. The last thing you need or want is to show up on the day of and find out we sold out the night before (which sometimes happens).

Q: If I preregister and can't make the event, what happens?

A:  If you don’t show up to a draft, or are later than 5 minutes past the time the event is supposed to fire, we’ll automatically cancel your draft entry and refund you and give your spot to someone present at the event (in the event of a waitlist).

Q: Any other advice on getting ready for a prerelease?