Your First Game
Hosting a game from start to first turn.
Before you start#
You need an account and at least one deck in your library. If you're short a deck, the Precons section of the Decks page has every Commander precon ready to copy.
Creating a table#
Open Games from the top nav and click Create Table.
Give it a name and pick a format. Everything else has a sensible default, but here's what the options do:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Visibility | Public tables are listed for anyone. Friends tables show only to your friends. Private tables need the invite code. Playgroup tables are for a group you've set up. |
| Game Mode | Relaxed lets people bring any deck. Strict rejects decks that fail the format's rules. Practice games don't count toward anyone's stats. |
| Table Size | 1v1 or 4 players. 6 and 8 seats are a supporter perk. |
| Bracket Range | Commander only. Advertises the power band you want, so people bring the right deck. |
| Mulligan | London or Vancouver. |
| Match Type | Best of 1 or best of 3. |
| Timeouts | Idle timeout flags anyone who hasn't acted for a while (15 minutes by default) so the others can remove them. Mulligan timeout is how long each player gets to keep or mulligan before the game keeps their hand for them. |
| Voice Chat | Off, TC Voice (in the browser), or a Discord voice channel. |
| Vote to Kick | Lets the other players vote out someone who's gone missing. Off by default. |
Getting people in#
The table page shows a six character Invite Code near the top. Send it to your group. They open Games, click Join by Code, and type it in.
If the table is public it also shows in the lobby list, and anyone can sit down.
Waiting for players#
Each seat shows who's sitting there and whether they've picked a deck. The lobby chat works before the game starts, which is a good time to agree house rules or confirm power levels.
As host you can kick anyone from a seat before the game starts, and shuffle the seating order if you want it random.
Picking a deck and readying up#
Each player clicks Pick a Deck on their own seat, chooses from their library, then clicks Ready Up. You can swap decks until you're ready. A deck that fails the format's rules gets a red Illegal pill on its seat, and clicking it shows the reasons, so nobody has to take anyone's word for it. The host's Start button lights up once at least two people are seated and everyone is ready.
Starting#
Host clicks Start. Decks are shuffled and everyone gets an opening hand.
Before the first turn there's a short mulligan window. Keep Hand or Mulligan as you would at a real table. With London mulligans you'll be asked which cards to put on the bottom. There's a timer on this so one person stepping away doesn't hold the table up. If it runs out, your current hand is kept for you.
During the game#
Head to Game Controls for moving cards, tapping, life totals and the rest.