TLDR
Most Commander decks should start around 36 to 38 lands, then adjust based on curve, ramp, card draw, colors, and how badly the deck needs to hit early land drops.
A slower deck, expensive commander, landfall deck, or beginner-friendly build should usually be closer to 38 to 40 lands. A low-curve deck with cheap ramp and strong card selection can often play 34 to 36, but that comes with risk.
The cleanest rule: cut lands only when your deck has enough cheap mana sources and enough ways to recover from missing a land drop.
Intro
The question is simple. The answer is not.
How many lands should be in a Commander deck? For most players, the honest starting point is 36 to 38 lands. That range gives you enough mana to play the game without turning every late draw into another basic land you did not ask for.
But Commander decks are not all doing the same thing. A two-color enchantress deck, a five-color dragon pile, a one-mana commander tempo deck, and an Omnath landfall deck should not all use the same land count just because someone on the internet said “37” with confidence. Land count is not a moral position. It is a deckbuilding choice.
This guide gives you a practical way to choose your Commander land count, especially if your deck also plays ramp. The goal is not to memorize a number. The goal is to build a mana base that lets your deck actually do its thing.
The Short Answer: Start With 37 Lands
If you are building a normal casual Commander deck and do not know where to start, use 37 lands.
That is the boring answer. It is also a good answer.
A 37-land Commander deck gives you a reasonable chance to open with enough mana, hit early land drops, and still leave room for ramp, card draw, removal, synergy pieces, and win conditions. It is not perfect for every list, but it is a useful baseline.
From there, adjust:
- Start at 37 lands for most midrange Commander decks.
- Go to 38 or 39 if your commander costs five or more mana.
- Go to 40 if you are newer, your curve is high, or your deck really needs land drops.
- Drop to 35 or 36 only if your curve is low and your ramp is cheap.
- Drop below 35 only when you know exactly why the deck can handle it.
That last point matters. A lot of Commander decks cut lands because the last few cards are more exciting. Then the deck spends turn three saying, “land, go,” except without the land.
Not ideal.
Commander Deck Size Changes the Math
Commander decks use 100 cards total, including the commander. In a typical one-commander deck, that means your library starts at 99 cards because your commander begins in the command zone.
That makes your land ratio different from 60-card formats.
A 24-land, 60-card deck is 40% lands. The Commander version of that ratio is about 40 lands in a 99-card library. That does not mean every Commander deck should run 40 lands. It does mean that 37 lands is already a little lean compared to a classic 24-land Constructed deck.
Here is the practical difference in opening hands, assuming a 99-card Commander library and a seven-card opening hand:
| Lands in Deck | Chance of 2+ Lands in Opening Hand | Chance of 3+ Lands in Opening Hand |
|---|---|---|
| 34 | 76.5% | 45.3% |
| 36 | 79.9% | 50.1% |
| 37 | 81.4% | 52.5% |
| 38 | 82.9% | 54.8% |
| 40 | 85.6% | 59.4% |
That does not account for mulligans, ramp, draw, scrying, or card selection. It is just a clean baseline.
The takeaway: every land you cut makes your opening hands a little less stable. Sometimes that is worth it. Sometimes you are just making your deck more dramatic.
How Ramp Changes Your Land Count
Ramp can let you play fewer lands, but not all ramp replaces lands equally.
A two-mana mana rock like Arcane Signet helps you jump from two mana to four mana. A land ramp spell like Rampant Growth fixes colors and puts another land into play. A mana dork like Llanowar Elves gives early acceleration but dies to creature removal.
Those all count as ramp, but they do not solve the same problem.
A good rule:
For every 2 to 3 cheap ramp pieces beyond your first 8 to 10, you can consider cutting one land.
That does not mean you should automatically cut the land. It means the deck might be able to support it.
For example, a green deck with 37 lands and 10 ramp spells is probably stable if the curve is normal. If that deck has 13 or 14 ramp pieces, you might try 36 lands. If the deck has cheap card draw too, maybe 35 works.
But a deck with 35 lands and six ramp spells is asking for trouble unless the mana curve is very low.
Count Mana Sources, Not Just Lands
A useful Commander deckbuilding habit is to count total mana sources.
Your total mana package includes:
- lands
- mana rocks
- mana dorks
- land ramp spells
- cost reducers, when they are reliable
- treasure makers, if they are early and repeatable enough
For many casual Commander decks, a healthy mana package is around 46 to 50 total mana sources.
That might look like:
- 37 lands
- 10 ramp cards
- 1 commander or synergy card that reliably makes mana
Or:
- 36 lands
- 12 ramp cards
- 2 cheap card selection spells that help find land drops
Or:
- 40 lands
- 8 ramp cards
- several mana sinks that make extra lands useful later
The exact mix depends on the deck. Lands are the most reliable because they are hard to interact with and do not cost mana to play. Ramp is more explosive, but it can be drawn at the wrong time or answered by removal.
You want enough of both.
When You Should Play More Lands
Some Commander decks should not try to get cute with a low land count.
Play 38 to 40 lands if your deck has a high curve. If you have lots of five-, six-, and seven-mana spells, you need to get there. Ramp helps, but it does not replace the first few land drops.
Play more lands if your commander is expensive. A six-mana commander that matters to your plan asks a different question than a two-mana commander that can be cast early and recast easily.
Play more lands if your deck has landfall cards. Landfall decks do not just need mana. They need land drops as part of the engine. A landfall deck with too few lands is like a spellslinger deck that forgot spells.
Play more lands if your deck has strong mana sinks. Extra lands are less painful when you can spend mana on activated abilities, X-spells, flashback costs, equipment, clue tokens, or repeatable card draw.
Play more lands if you are new to Commander. This is not an insult. It is just practical. You learn more from games where you cast your spells than games where you stare at a two-land hand and develop character.
When You Can Play Fewer Lands
You can move toward 34 to 36 lands when the deck has clear support for it.
A low curve helps. If most of your important spells cost one to three mana, missing the fifth land drop is not as painful. You still need mana, but you are not waiting all game to start.
Cheap ramp helps. Two-mana rocks, one-mana dorks, and efficient green ramp make lower land counts more realistic. A four-mana ramp spell does not help if you already missed your third land drop.
Card selection helps. Cantrips, looting, surveil effects, and cheap draw spells make it easier to keep sketchier hands and still find lands.
Your commander can help too. Some commanders draw cards, make treasures, reduce costs, or generate mana. If your commander is part of your mana engine and comes down early, that can support a slightly lower land count.
But be honest. “My commander fixes my mana” is only useful if you can actually cast the commander first.
Do Mana Rocks Replace Lands?
Not cleanly.
Mana rocks are good, but they usually do not replace lands one-for-one.
A land is free to play. A mana rock costs mana first. That means a two-mana rock is excellent if you already have two lands, but terrible if your opening hand has one land and the rock is stranded.
This is why “I have ten mana rocks” does not automatically justify 32 lands. You still need enough lands to cast those rocks.
A better approach:
- Use lands to make the deck function.
- Use ramp to make the deck faster.
- Use draw and selection to make the deck smoother.
If you cut too many lands, ramp stops being acceleration and starts being a desperate attempt to catch up.
Color Requirements Matter More Than Raw Land Count
A 37-land deck can still fail if the colors are wrong.
This is especially true in three-, four-, and five-color Commander decks. You might have enough lands in hand, but if those lands do not cast your early plays, the deck still stumbles.
Ask these questions while building your mana base:
- What color do I need on turn one or two?
- Do I have early double-pip spells like Counterspell, Sign in Blood, or Werewolf Pack Leader?
- Does my commander require three or more colors?
- How many lands enter tapped?
- Can my ramp find the colors I need?
- Am I counting colorless utility lands as if they fix my mana?
Colorless lands are useful, but they have a cost. Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, shock lands, triomes, pain lands, check lands, and basic lands all do different jobs. A utility land like Rogue’s Passage or Reliquary Tower may be good, but it does not cast your green ramp spell or your double-black removal spell.
If your deck has strict color requirements, fix colors before adding cute lands. Cute lands can come later. They know what they did.
A Simple Land Count Framework
Use this process when building a new Commander deck.
Step 1: Start at 37 Lands
This gives you a fair default.
If the deck is a precon upgrade or a normal mid-power casual list, 37 lands is usually a workable first draft.
Step 2: Check Your Commander’s Mana Value
Add one land if your commander costs five or more and is central to the deck.
Add two lands if your commander costs six or more and the deck does not function well without it.
Subtract one land only if your commander costs one to three mana and your curve is also low.
Step 3: Count Cheap Ramp
Look only at ramp that costs one or two mana first. That is the ramp that helps you get ahead early.
If you have 10 or more cheap ramp pieces, you may be able to cut one land.
If your ramp mostly costs three or more, be careful. That ramp does not fix bad opening hands as well.
Step 4: Look at the Curve
If your deck has lots of cards at four mana or above, do not shave lands casually.
If your deck is packed with one-, two-, and three-mana plays, you have more room to experiment.
A tool like the MTG Deck Builder helps here because the curve makes the problem visible. A deck can feel fine in your head and look very different once the mana values are stacked in front of you.
Step 5: Test Opening Hands
Draw ten opening hands.
Do not goldfish only the good ones. Write down the awkward ones.
Track:
- how often you have two or fewer lands
- how often you have the wrong colors
- how often you can cast ramp on turn two
- how often your first real play happens on turn four
- how often you keep a hand only because you want it to work
Then adjust. One or two lands can change how the deck feels.
Sample Land Counts by Deck Type
These are starting points, not laws.
A normal midrange Commander deck usually wants 36 to 38 lands with 8 to 12 ramp cards.
A high-curve battlecruiser deck usually wants 38 to 40 lands with 10 to 12 ramp cards.
A landfall deck often wants 40 or more lands, plus ramp and land recursion.
A low-curve aristocrats deck might run 35 to 37 lands if it has cheap draw and enough early plays.
A spellslinger deck might run 34 to 36 lands if it has cheap cantrips, rituals, treasures, and a low curve.
A five-color deck often wants 37 to 39 lands, but the bigger issue is color quality, not just land quantity.
A cEDH-style deck can go lower, but that is a different ecosystem. Those decks often rely on fast mana, tutors, low curves, and tight card selection. Do not copy the land count without copying the whole structure.
Common Commander Land Count Mistakes
The first mistake is cutting lands for “more fun cards.” Everyone does it once. Many people do it forever. The problem is that fun cards are only fun when you cast them.
The second mistake is counting every ramp spell equally. Sol Ring, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Cultivate, Smothering Tithe, and a six-mana mana doubler do not belong in the same bucket. They all help with mana, but they do it on different turns.
The third mistake is ignoring tapped lands. A deck with 38 lands can still be slow if half of them enter tapped. Tapped lands are playable, especially on a budget, but they create tempo costs. Too many of them make early turns clunky.
The fourth mistake is changing the deck after one bad game. Mana screw happens. Mana flood happens. Test several games before making a big adjustment.
The fifth mistake is forgetting what the deck is trying to do. A deck that wants to cast its commander on turn three should be built differently from a deck that plans to stabilize on turn six.
My Practical Recommendation
For most Commander decks, I would start here:
37 lands, 10 ramp cards, 10 draw or selection cards, and a curve that does not pretend every game starts on turn five.
Then test.
If the deck misses early land drops, go to 38. If the deck floods often but has plenty of cheap ramp and draw, try 36. If the deck is five colors and awkward, fix the color sources before changing the land count. If the deck has an expensive commander and keeps doing nothing early, add lands or lower the curve.
That is the real answer to how many lands should be in a Commander deck. Start with a stable number, then let the deck prove it deserves anything different.
FAQs
Is 36 lands enough in Commander?
Yes, 36 lands can be enough in Commander if your deck has cheap ramp, a low curve, and enough card draw or selection. For a normal casual deck without strong support, 36 can be a little lean.
Is 40 lands too many in Commander?
No. 40 lands is reasonable for beginner decks, expensive commanders, landfall decks, high-curve decks, and decks with good mana sinks. The cost is that you have fewer nonland slots.
How many ramp spells should a Commander deck have?
Most casual Commander decks should start with 8 to 12 ramp spells. Decks with expensive commanders or higher curves may want more. Low-curve decks can sometimes use fewer, but they still need a clear mana plan.
Do mana rocks count as lands?
Mana rocks are mana sources, but they do not count exactly like lands. You usually need lands first to cast the rocks. They help you accelerate, but they do not fully replace land drops.
How many lands should a five-color Commander deck run?
Many five-color Commander decks work around 37 to 39 lands, but color fixing matters more than the raw number. The deck needs enough sources of each color to cast its early spells and commander reliably.
Should I cut a land if I add Sol Ring?
Usually no. Sol Ring is powerful, but it is only one card in a 99-card library. It makes your best starts better, but it does not make your land count stable by itself.
Conclusion
Commander land count is a tradeoff between consistency and card slots. More lands make your deck cast spells more reliably. Fewer lands give you more room for action, but they also make your deck stumble more often.
Start with 37 lands. Add lands if your deck is expensive, color-hungry, land-focused, or newer-player friendly. Cut lands only when your curve, ramp, and card draw can support it.
The best Commander mana base is not the one with the cleverest number. It is the one that lets your deck play real games.