Start with 36 to 38 lands
Most Commander decks should start with 36 to 38 lands. Start at 37 lands, then adjust up or down based on curve, ramp, commander mana value, card draw, colors, and how many lands enter tapped. Do not cut lands just because your deck has mana rocks. You still need early land drops to cast those rocks in the first place.
- Low-curve decks: 34 to 36 lands
- Normal casual decks: 36 to 38 lands
- Five-mana commander decks: 37 to 39 lands
- Six-plus-mana commander decks: 38 to 40 lands
- Battlecruiser decks: 38 to 42 lands
- Landfall decks: 40 to 44 lands
- Precon upgrades: usually keep 36 to 38 unless the curve changes
- cEDH or very high-power decks: varies heavily with fast mana and should be treated separately
Land count is not one universal rule. A low-curve two-color deck with ten cheap ramp pieces and strong card draw does not need the same mana base as a five-color deck, a seven-mana commander, or a landfall deck built around playing extra lands. Lands and ramp are also not the same thing. Ramp helps once you already have mana to spend, but lands are what let you cast the ramp in the first place.
Deckcipher land count formula
Start with a base number, then move it based on how your deck actually plays. This is the same logic the land count calculator below uses, just spelled out so you can do it by hand.
Land count adjustments
| Adjustment | When it applies |
|---|---|
| -1 to -2 lands | Average mana value is under 2.8 |
| +1 to +2 lands | Average mana value is 3.4 or higher |
| +1 land | Commander costs 5 or more mana |
| +2 lands | Commander costs 6 or more mana |
| -0 to -1 land, carefully | Deck plays 12 or more cheap ramp pieces |
| +1 land | Deck plays fewer than 10 ramp pieces |
| +1 land | Deck has weak card draw |
| +3 to +6 lands | Deck is landfall or lands-matter |
| No cut, fix speed instead | Deck plays many tapped lands |
| Count as partial lands | Deck plays many MDFCs or modal lands |
| Check colored sources first | Deck plays many colorless utility lands |
Why 36 to 38 lands is the Commander starting point
Commander decks are 100 cards and singleton, which changes the math compared to a 60-card deck. You cannot just scale a Standard or Modern land ratio up proportionally, because Commander games usually run longer, commanders often cost three to six mana on their own, and decks need to keep functioning after board wipes and paying commander tax on a recast.
- Commander decks are larger and singleton, so a straight percentage from a 60-card deck does not carry over cleanly.
- Early land drops matter more than most players expect, since missing turn two or three sets the whole game behind.
- Ramp cards still need lands to cast them, so a hand full of ramp and no lands does not actually ramp anything.
- Casual Commander decks often run higher curves than constructed decks, which asks for more mana sources, not fewer.
- Missing land drops makes even strong, powerful cards feel bad and unreliable.
- Cutting lands too aggressively is one of the most common Commander deckbuilding mistakes.
The default Commander land count
A normal casual Commander deck with a four-mana commander, a reasonable curve, and a mix of two to five mana spells should usually start around 37 lands, alongside 10 to 12 ramp pieces and 8 to 12 sources of card draw or card advantage. From there, adjust based on how often the deck misses land drops, how early it wants its commander on the battlefield, and whether it has enough cheap ramp and draw to lean on.
Recommended lands by deck profile
| Deck profile | Recommended lands | Ramp expectation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-curve aggressive deck | 34-36 | 8-10 cheap ramp pieces | Only works if the curve and card draw actually support it |
| Normal casual deck | 36-38 | 10-12 ramp pieces | The best starting point for most new lists |
| Five-mana commander deck | 37-39 | 11-13 ramp pieces | Needs consistent early development to hit the commander's cost |
| Six-plus-mana commander deck | 38-40 | 12-15 ramp pieces | Needs lands, ramp, and draw working together |
| Battlecruiser deck | 38-42 | 14-18 ramp pieces | Big spells need real mana behind them |
| Landfall deck | 40-44 | 10-14 ramp or extra land effects | Lands are engine pieces here, not just a resource |
| Precon upgrade | 36-38 | Upgrade the ramp package first | Do not cut lands too aggressively before fixing ramp |
| High-power, low-curve deck | 28-34 | Fast mana plus a very low curve | Not normal casual guidance, only for tuned lists |
Land count by commander mana value
Your commander's cost is one of the easiest signals to adjust land count around. If your deck depends on casting and recasting the commander, you need enough lands to support that plan, including paying the commander tax after it dies or gets bounced.
Land count by commander mana value
| Commander mana value | Typical land count | Goal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 mana | 33-36 | Develop quickly without flooding | Only works if the rest of the curve is genuinely low |
| 3 mana | 35-37 | Cast the commander early and keep playing spells | Still needs enough cheap ramp and draw |
| 4 mana | 36-38 | Standard Commander baseline | Most decks land in this range |
| 5 mana | 37-39 | Cast the commander on time | Two-mana ramp starts to matter a lot here |
| 6 mana | 38-40 | Reach commander mana consistently | Do not cut lands too low to fit more spells |
| 7+ mana | 39-42 | Support big mana and recasts | Needs ramp and card draw working alongside the lands |
Land count by mana curve
Average mana value is one of the strongest signals for land count, alongside commander cost. Expensive cards are not a mistake, but they need enough lands and ramp behind them to actually get cast on a reasonable turn.
- Average mana value under 2.8: 34 to 36 lands
- Average mana value 2.8 to 3.3: 36 to 38 lands
- Average mana value 3.4 to 3.8: 37 to 39 lands
- Average mana value 3.9 and up: 38 to 41 lands
Average mana value is not a perfect measurement. X spells, MDFCs, free spells, adventure cards, split cards, and alternative costs can all skew the number without changing how the deck plays in practice. Treat it as a useful signal, not a strict formula, and sanity check it against how your deck actually feels to cast.
Land count by deck type
Archetype shapes land count too, sometimes even more than raw curve does. Two decks with a similar average mana value can still want different land counts depending on how they actually win.
Land count by archetype
| Deck type | Recommended lands | Why | Main warning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggro or low curve | 34-36 | Cheap spells lower the mana needed to function | Needs strong card draw so you do not run out of gas |
| Midrange | 36-38 | Wants balanced, steady development | Do not cut lands just to fit in flashier cards |
| Control | 37-39 | Needs mana up for answers and card draw at once | Missing land drops means your interaction goes offline |
| Voltron | 35-37 | Commander cost matters more here than almost anywhere | Protection spells still need mana too |
| Aristocrats | 35-38 | Curve is usually low to medium | Sacrifice engines still need colored mana to function |
| Tokens | 36-39 | Needs mana to rebuild after board wipes | Do not rely only on token-based ramp to fill this gap |
| Spellslinger | 34-37 | Lower curve and cantrips help smooth draws | Cost reducers help spells, they do not replace lands |
| Landfall | 40-44 | Lands are the engine, not just a resource | Do not cut lands to fit in more payoffs |
| Big mana or battlecruiser | 38-42 | Expensive spells need real mana support | Needs enough draw to actually use all that mana |
| Precon upgrade | 36-38 | Most precons already start in a normal range | Upgrade the ramp package before you touch land count |
Lands versus ramp: why they are not the same thing
Ramp is genuinely important, but it is not a clean replacement for lands. A hand with two mana rocks and only one land can still fail if you never draw a second land. Lands are the foundation of your mana base, and ramp accelerates from that foundation. It cannot substitute for it.
- Lands do not cost mana to play, ramp spells almost always do.
- Too many ramp spells with too few lands creates opening hands that look fine but do not actually function.
- A three-mana ramp spell does not fix a hand that already missed its second or third land drop.
- Mana rocks and creatures can be removed, lands are much harder to interact with.
- Land-based ramp is usually the most stable kind, but it mostly lives in green.
- Treasure is often temporary burst mana, not the same as permanent land development.
How many utility lands should you play?
Utility lands are powerful, but too many colorless or tapped utility lands can quietly break a mana base. Treat a utility land as a spell that happens to take up a land slot, not as a free include just because it does not cost a card.
Utility land guidance by color count
| Deck colors | Typical utility land range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mono-color | 4-8 | Can support more colorless utility since fixing is not a concern |
| Two-color | 3-6 | Balance utility lands against your color fixing needs |
| Three-color | 2-5 | Be selective, too many colorless lands strain the mana base |
| Four-color | 1-3 | Fixing matters more than almost any other consideration |
| Five-color | 0-2 | Utility lands need to be genuinely exceptional to earn a slot |
Some useful utility lands worth knowing: Bojuka Bog for cheap graveyard hate, Scavenger Grounds for a bigger graveyard answer, Rogue's Passage to push through a blocked attacker, Reliquary Tower only if your deck regularly holds a large hand, Myriad Landscape for a delayed two-for-one land drop, and Strip Mine, Ghost Quarter, or Field of Ruin depending on how much land destruction your table is comfortable with. Path of Ancestry is worth a mention too, since it fixes colors on a budget and occasionally scries in typal or tribal-focused Commander decks.
Do MDFCs and modal lands count as lands?
Modal double-faced cards are valuable because they reduce flood risk, but they should not always count as full lands in your planning. A card you usually cast as a spell should not be counted the same way as a card you almost always play as a land.
- If you play the card as a land in most games, count it close to a full land.
- If you cast it as a spell in most games, count it closer to a spell.
- If it enters tapped and does not fix your colors, be careful about leaning on it too heavily.
- If your deck runs many MDFCs, actually test whether your opening hands function, do not just assume they help.
- Do not use MDFCs as an excuse to cut real lands down to an uncomfortable number.
A simple way to weigh them: an always-play-as-land MDFC counts close to a full land, a flexible one that goes either way counts closer to half a land, a spell-first MDFC counts closer to a quarter land, and an expensive spell that happens to have a land back face should mostly be counted as the spell it is.
Mana base quality matters as much as land count
A deck can play the exact right number of lands and still have a weak mana base if too many of those lands enter tapped, produce the wrong colors, or fail to support early plays. Colored source count matters, early plays need untapped mana, and utility lands are not free just because they are not spells. Green decks can lean on land ramp to help fix colors along the way, while non-green decks usually need to lean harder on artifact fixing instead.
Budget decks do not need to skip fixing entirely. Basics, signets, talismans, Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, and pain lands where the pricing still makes sense all do real work without needing a full set of shock lands or fetches. Newer dual land cycles built specifically with Commander in mind, like the surveil lands, have also become a strong fixing option worth checking for decks in the right colors.
Land slots worth knowing
Command Tower
Universal Commander fixing
Command Tower is one of the easiest lands to include in multicolor Commander decks because it taps for any color in your commander's color identity. It shows up in a huge share of multicolor decks for exactly that reason.
Path of Ancestry
Tapped fixing land
Path of Ancestry is slower because it always enters tapped, but it is reliable budget fixing and can occasionally scry in typal or tribal-focused Commander decks.
Bojuka Bog
Graveyard hate from a land slot
Bojuka Bog gives black decks graveyard interaction without spending a spell slot on it. It enters tapped and only fits decks whose color identity includes black.
Common Commander land count mistakes
- Cutting lands just because the deck also plays mana rocks.
- Playing 33 or 34 lands in a casual deck with a genuinely high curve.
- Counting Treasure makers as if they were full, permanent lands.
- Counting every MDFC as a full land no matter how it actually gets played.
- Playing too many colorless utility lands in a deck with real colored requirements.
- Playing too many tapped lands, then wondering why the deck feels slow.
- Cutting lands out of a precon before fixing its slow ramp package first.
- Ignoring commander tax when planning the mana base.
- Ignoring card draw as part of the land count decision.
- Copying a land count from a high-power deck that leans on fast mana you do not run.
- Keeping risky opening hands with one land and hoping a ramp spell fixes everything.
Final land count checklist
Before you finalize your deck, run through these questions.
- How much does my commander cost?
- How important is casting my commander on time?
- What is my average mana value?
- How many spells cost five or more mana?
- How many ramp pieces do I play?
- How many of those ramp pieces cost two mana or less?
- How much card draw do I actually have?
- How many lands enter tapped?
- How many utility lands only produce colorless mana?
- How many colors does my deck play?
- Am I counting my MDFCs honestly, based on how I actually play them?
- Do I miss land drops before turn four in test hands?
Start with 37 lands. Move down to 34 to 36 only if your deck has a low curve, cheap ramp, and strong card draw. Move up to 38 to 42 if your deck has expensive spells, a high-cost commander, landfall synergies, weak draw, or a slower budget mana base.
FAQ
How many lands should a Commander deck have?
Most casual Commander decks should start with 36 to 38 lands. A good default is 37 lands, then adjust based on curve, ramp, commander mana value, colors, card draw, and deck speed.
Is 35 lands enough in Commander?
Thirty five lands can be enough for low-curve decks with cheap ramp and strong card draw. It is usually too low for expensive commanders, battlecruiser decks, landfall decks, and casual decks with slower ramp.
Is 40 lands too many in Commander?
Forty lands is not too many for landfall decks, expensive commanders, battlecruiser decks, or decks that need to hit land drops every turn. For low-curve decks with plenty of ramp and draw, 40 may be more than necessary.
How many lands and ramp should a Commander deck run?
A common starting point is 36 to 38 lands and 10 to 12 ramp pieces. Higher-curve decks usually need more of both, while low-curve decks can play slightly less if they have enough draw and early mana.
Can I cut lands if I add more ramp?
Only carefully. Ramp usually requires lands to cast in the first place, so cutting too many lands can make your opening hands worse instead of better. If your deck misses early land drops, add lands or lower your curve before you add more ramp.
Do MDFCs count as lands in Commander?
MDFCs can count as partial lands, but it depends on how often you actually play them as lands. A spell-first MDFC should not count as a full land, while a land-first MDFC can count much closer to a real one.
How many utility lands should I play in Commander?
Mono-color decks can usually play more utility lands, often around 4 to 8. Two-color decks tend to fit around 3 to 6. Three-color and higher decks should be more selective, since colored mana fixing matters more the more colors you run.
How many lands should a landfall Commander deck play?
Many landfall Commander decks want around 40 to 44 lands, since lands are part of the engine rather than just a resource. They also tend to want extra land-drop effects, land-based ramp, and card draw that rewards playing lands.
How many lands should a precon have after upgrades?
Most upgraded precons should stay around 36 to 38 lands unless the curve changes a lot. It is usually better to upgrade slow ramp and tapped lands before you cut the land count further.
Conclusion
Most Commander decks should start around 36 to 38 lands, with 37 as the safest default. From there, adjust based on your commander's mana value, average mana value, ramp count, card draw, colors, utility lands, and MDFCs. Low-curve decks with strong draw can go lower, while landfall decks, expensive commanders, battlecruiser decks, and slower budget lists often need more. The best land count is not the lowest number you can get away with. It is the number that lets your deck cast its spells on time. When in doubt, build a few sample hands and see whether your deck actually hits its land drops.