ManaPalHow many lands should a Commander deck run?
Short answer: most Commander decks run 36 to 38 lands plus about 10 ramp pieces. Go toward the low end (or slightly below) if your curve is cheap and you run lots of ramp and draw; go toward 38–40 if you have many expensive spells or your deck rewards playing lands. Then check the numbers by drawing opening hands.
Adjust the baseline to your deck
| Your deck | Rule of thumb |
|---|---|
| Low curve (average mana value under about 2.5), lots of cheap ramp | 33–35 lands |
| Typical deck (average around 3) | 36–37 lands |
| Expensive spells (average above about 3.5) | 38 lands |
| Landfall or lands-matter theme | 38–40+ lands |
These are starting points, not laws. Count cheap card draw and land-search spells too: they smooth your draws as much as an extra land does.
What a good opening hand looks like
In a 7-card opening hand you usually want 2 to 4 lands. With 38 lands in 99 cards, you average about 2.7 lands per opening hand and roughly three hands out of four have 2–4 lands. Fewer lands means more mulligans; in multiplayer Commander the first mulligan is free, but you still don't want to rely on it.
Step by step: tuning your land count
- Count your real mana sources: lands, plus cheap ramp (2 mana or less), plus about half a land for each modal double-faced card.
- Check your average mana value and the shape of your curve: a pile of 6-drops needs more lands than a few.
- Pick a number from the table above as your starting point.
- Check colors: in two or more colors, count sources for each color, not just total lands.
- Draw ten sample hands and note how many are keepable.
- Play, then adjust: if you often miss your third or fourth land drop, add a land; if you often flood, swap one for card draw.
Signs your mana is off
- Too few lands: you mulligan often, miss land drops by turn 4, cards rot in your hand.
- Too many lands: you top-deck lands late, run out of things to do, your hand is empty by turn 6.
- Wrong colors: you have enough lands but can't cast your spells: add dual lands or fix your basic split.
How to do it with ManaPal
- Open your deck and tap Statistics.
- Read your land count, average mana cost and mana curve at a glance.
- Check Opening hand: the chance of drawing 2–4 lands in 7 cards, plus the risk of 0–1 or 5+ lands.
- Tap Try it to draw sample hands and playtest the first turns.
- Ask for an AI analysis: Mote points out mana problems and suggests swaps with cards you already own.
FAQ
Do modal double-faced cards count as lands?
Partly. A spell that can be played as a land on its back face helps against mana screw, so many players count each one as about half a land.
Do mana rocks replace lands?
Only cheap ones, and only in part. Two-mana rocks and land-search spells let you trim one or two lands, but they can be destroyed and you still need lands to cast them.
How many lands in a 60-card deck?
Most 60-card constructed decks play between 22 and 26 lands, depending on the curve. Commander needs a different count because it has 99 cards plus the commander.