Mana Base Construction
Building a reliable mana foundation is the single most important part of any Commander deck. Get this right and every other card in your deck performs better.
How Many Lands?
The most common starting point is 37 lands in a 100-card Commander deck. This gives you roughly a 90% chance of hitting your first three land drops on curve. However, the right number depends on your deck's strategy and average mana value.
33-35 lands. These decks want to deploy threats fast and close out the game before opponents stabilize.
36-38 lands. The sweet spot for most Commander decks. You need consistent land drops through turns 4-5 to deploy your key pieces.
38-40 lands. Big spells need big mana. Missing a land drop when your hand is full of 6-drops is devastating.
40-45 lands. Decks built around Landfall triggers, land recursion, or commanders that want lands as a primary resource.
Mana rocks and ramp spells effectively act as additional mana sources. A deck with 37 lands and 10 ramp spells has 47 total mana sources. When counting your mana sources, include both lands and non-land acceleration to get an accurate picture of your deck's ability to cast spells on time.
Land Categories
Not all lands are created equal. Understanding the different categories helps you choose the right mix for your deck's needs and budget.
Command Tower
Goes in every multicolor Commander deck. It taps for any color in your commander's color identity with no downside. It enters untapped, costs nothing extra, and produces exactly the colors you need. There is no reason to exclude it from any deck with two or more colors.
Fetch Lands
Cards like , , and Search your library for a land with a specific basic land type. They fix your colors by finding dual lands (like shock lands) that have basic land types. They also trigger Landfall abilities, enable shuffle effects, and put cards into your graveyard for recursion strategies. Fetch lands are among the most powerful and versatile lands in the format.
Shock Lands
Dual lands that have two basic land types. They can enter the battlefield untapped if you pay 2 life. Having basic land types makes them searchable with fetch lands, which is what makes them so valuable. The 2 life cost is almost always worth the tempo advantage.
Check Lands
Also called buddy lands. They enter the battlefield untapped if you control a land with a matching basic land type. They pair well with shock lands and basic lands, making them reliable in two-color decks. In three-plus color decks, they become less consistent.
Pain Lands
Always enter the battlefield untapped. They tap for colorless mana for free, or for one of two colors, dealing 1 damage to you. The damage is minimal in Commander where you start at 40 life, making these among the most reliable budget dual lands available.
Utility Lands
Lands that provide effects beyond just producing mana. Include 3-5 utility lands, but be careful not to compromise your color fixing.
Basic Lands
Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest. They always enter the battlefield untapped and are immune to nonbasic land hate. They can be fetched by ramp spells. Never underestimate the reliability of basic lands, especially in one and two-color decks.
Color Ratio
Your land color distribution should roughly match the colored mana pips in your deck's spells. If 40% of your colored pips are green and 30% are white, your mana base should lean green-heavy with more green-producing sources than white.
Mono-color decks
Run mostly basic lands with a handful of utility lands. Color fixing is not a concern, so you can afford to include more lands with colorless-only mana production for their useful abilities.
Two-color decks
Need roughly a 60/40 or 50/50 split depending on your pip distribution. Include 8-12 dual lands and fill the rest with basics weighted toward your dominant color. Two-color mana bases are forgiving and rarely have consistency issues with a reasonable land base.
Three-plus color decks
Need significantly more dual lands and fewer basics. Prioritize lands that produce multiple colors and invest in fetch lands that can find the right colors on demand. Five-color decks may run very few basics, relying heavily on multicolor lands and color-fixing artifacts.
Mana Rocks
Non-land mana sources that accelerate your game plan. Getting ahead on mana in Commander is one of the strongest things you can do, since it lets you deploy threats and answers before your opponents. Typically run 8-12 mana rocks depending on your strategy and colors.
Sol Ring
The most played card in Commander. Costs 1 mana and taps for 2 colorless mana. It goes in virtually every Commander deck regardless of strategy.
Arcane Signet
Costs 2 mana and taps for any color in your commander's color identity. It is the best color-fixing mana rock in the format and belongs in every multicolor deck. Even mono-color decks benefit from the efficient ramp it provides.
Signets
Two-mana artifacts that cost one generic mana and a tap to produce two colored mana, netting you one extra mana while fixing your colors. They require mana to activate, so they don't produce mana on their own. Despite this, they are efficient color fixers and ramp pieces at a very low mana cost.
Talismans
Two-mana artifacts that tap for colorless mana for free, or for one of two colors, dealing 1 damage to you. Unlike Signets, Talismans can produce mana without additional input, making them slightly more flexible in the early game.
Fellwar Stone
Costs 2 mana and taps for any color of mana that a land an opponent controls could produce. In a four-player Commander game, this almost always taps for any color you need. It is one of the most underrated mana rocks in the format.
Common Mistakes
Even experienced deck builders make mana base mistakes. Here are the most frequent pitfalls and how to avoid them.
Too many lands that enter tapped
Taplands slow you down by a full turn every time you play one. Playing a tapped land on turn 3 means you functionally have only 2 mana that turn. Aim for no more than 5-6 taplands in your entire deck. Prioritize lands that enter untapped, even if they cost life or have other minor downsides.
Not enough basic lands
Cards that hate on nonbasic lands see regular play in Commander. Run at least 8-10 basics in a two-color deck to protect yourself against nonbasic land hate and to ensure your ramp spells have targets.
Ignoring color balance
A Simic deck with 15 Islands and 5 Forests will struggle to cast green spells consistently. Count the colored pips in your deck and match your land base accordingly. If your deck has twice as many green pips as blue, your green sources should outnumber your blue sources.
Cutting lands for more spells
Missing land drops in Commander is devastating. While you sit stuck on 3 mana, your opponents are casting 6-drops and pulling ahead. Don't go below 33 lands in any Commander deck. If you need more spell slots, cut a high-cost spell instead of a land.
Official Sources
For deeper reading on lands, mana bases, and the rules behind how lands work in Magic: The Gathering, refer to these resources.
- Land Card Typemtg.wiki
- Fetch Landsmtg.wiki
- Shock Landsmtg.wiki
- Mana Basemtg.wiki
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Get Started FreeRelated Guides
Mana Curve in Commander
Why mana curve matters in a 100-card format. How to distribute costs for consistent early, mid, and late game plays.
Commander Deck Building
The foundations of building a 100-card singleton deck. Card roles, the rule of eight, and how to balance your strategy.
EDH Deck Roles
The essential functional roles every Commander deck needs. Ramp, draw, removal, board wipes, counters, tutors, protection, recursion, and graveyard synergy.