A good Commander mulligan is about a plan, not just lands
This commander mulligan guide starts with the practical rule: in normal multiplayer Commander, your first mulligan is free. Use that free look to find a hand that can participate by turn three, fix your colors, and advance your deck's actual plan. A seven-card hand with no direction is often worse than a six-card hand with mana, early action, and a clear first three turns.
Command Tower
Mana example
Command Tower is a simple but important opening-hand card: it turns abstract land count into usable colored mana. A two-land hand with Command Tower and Arcane Signet is very different from a two-land hand with Sol Ring and no colored source.
How the Commander mulligan works
Normal multiplayer Commander uses the multiplayer London mulligan. Each player draws seven cards. To take a mulligan, shuffle the cards in your hand into your library, draw seven, then put the appropriate number on the bottom of your library. Your first multiplayer mulligan is free, so bottom zero for that redraw. On each later mulligan, bottom one card for each mulligan beyond the free one. After that redraw and bottoming, the next round of keep-or-mulligan declarations begins. Once you choose not to mulligan, your remaining cards are your opening hand.
A compact example: your first seven is unkeepable, so you take the free multiplayer mulligan and draw seven again, bottoming zero. You can keep all seven or take another mulligan. That second mulligan draws seven and bottoms one, leaving six. If you choose to mulligan that six, shuffle it back in, draw seven, and bottom two. Decide whether to keep the resulting five in the next declaration round. The free first mulligan is the normal multiplayer rule, not an unlimited series of free redraws.
The free multiplayer mulligan is a rules distinction, not an unlimited redraw policy. In a normal two-player Commander game the ordinary London process charges a card for the first mulligan unless that variant or event explicitly supplies an exception. Brawl has its own free-mulligan exception, so do not use the number of players alone to describe every Magic format. Confirm which rules you are playing before comparing opening-hand advice.
The baseline keep: mana, action, and a route to your commander
The safest Commander keeps contain three ingredients: enough mana to function, something relevant to do early, and a realistic route toward casting or using your commander. That does not mean every hand needs three lands. It means the hand can operate if the next draw is average. For many casual and mid-power decks, two to four lands is the normal keep range. One-land hands need cheap setup and strong odds of finding more mana. Five-land hands need card flow, utility lands, or a commander that converts mana into pressure.
A good keep is contextual. A two-land hand with Command Tower, Forest, Arcane Signet, and a three-mana play is often excellent. A two-land hand with Ancient Tomb, Sol Ring, and five colored spells can still fail if it cannot cast the deck's actual cards. Likewise, three tapped lands may be technically stable but too slow if your first relevant play happens on turn four.
Use the first three turns as your opening-hand unit. You do not need to script the whole game, but you should know what turn one, turn two, and turn three might look like. You can check the probability side with the Mulligan Calculator, then test whether your list produces keepable hands often enough.
Opening hand keep ranges by common deck shape
| Deck shape | Typical keep | Be cautious when | Mulligan more aggressively for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-curve proactive deck | Two or three lands with early pressure or setup | The hand has only expensive payoffs | A turn-one or turn-two play plus correct colors |
| Midrange value deck | Three lands, ramp or card flow, and a turn-three plan | The hand is all answers and no development | Mana plus ongoing advantage |
| High-mana battlecruiser deck | Three or four lands plus ramp | The hand has big spells and no acceleration | Ramp and fixing before expensive threats |
| Combo-focused deck | Mana plus setup, tutor, selection, or protection | The hand does not advance toward the combo | A coherent path, not random powerful cards |
| Control deck | Lands, early interaction, and card selection or draw | The hand only reacts and never develops | Flexible answers and stable mana |
| Graveyard or synergy deck | Mana plus an enabler and payoff route | The hand has payoffs with no enabler | An enabler before the payoff |
When to keep seven
Keeping seven is correct when the hand has a credible early sequence and does not require the top of your deck to rescue it. In multiplayer Commander, remember that your first mulligan is free, so your first seven is not automatically sacred. Still, do not throw away a functional seven only because it is not perfect. A simple hand of three lands, Nature's Lore, Swords to Plowshares, a three-drop, and a later payoff is often exactly what you need.
In an unknown pod, balanced hands gain value. If you do not know whether the game will be fast, grindy, creature-heavy, or combo-heavy, keep hands that develop mana while leaving options. Narrow hands improve when you know the matchup; flexible hands are better when the table is a mystery.
When to go to six
In normal multiplayer Commander, 'going to six' means you already used the free mulligan and then took another mulligan. Draw seven and bottom one as part of that mulligan, then decide whether to keep the resulting six. The most common reason is a hand that fails the three-turn test: no early mana, wrong colors, no castable spells, or no connection to your deck's plan.
At six, prioritize function over maximum value. The card you bottom should usually be the card that does the least before turn four. Expensive finishers, redundant high-end cards, and narrow answers are frequent bottom choices. Do not bottom the only card that makes the hand work. If a two-land six depends on Farseek, keeping a splashy seven-drop over Farseek turns a functional keep back into a gamble.
A useful question after the free mulligan is: would I rather keep this seven-minus-one, or see another seven and risk going to five after bottoming two? Most Commander decks should not casually go lower if the six has lands, colors, and early action. But a nonfunctional six is not safer than a five-card hand with mana and direction.
When to go to five or lower
Five-card hands feel uncomfortable, but they are sometimes correct. In multiplayer Commander this usually means you used the free mulligan, then took two card-costing mulligans. On the latest redraw, draw seven and bottom two, then decide whether to keep the resulting five. A five with two lands, ramp, and a clear plan is often better than a seven-card hand that cannot cast anything.
Go to five when the alternative hand is fundamentally broken: zero lands, unusable colors, no castable spells, or every spell costing four or more. Be more willing to go lower with decks that require a specific early setup, but stop chasing perfection. At five, you want minimum function: mana, an early play, and a route to your strategy.
Land-count decisions: two, three, four, and the risky one-land keep
Three lands is the default comfortable keep for many decks, especially if the colors work. Two lands can be excellent with early plays and realistic odds of drawing more mana. Four lands can be strong if the spells are live. One land is where players lose the most games before they start.
A one-land hand needs several conditions. The land must cast your early setup. The hand should contain cheap card selection, cheap ramp, or an unusually high probability of hitting more lands. Keeping Breeding Pool, Sol Ring, Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, and three green-blue spells is not the same as keeping Wastes, Sol Ring, and colored cards you cannot cast.
Five-land hands are the opposite problem. Keep them only if the nonland cards are strong early, your commander uses mana well, or the lands have utility. If you frequently face awkward land-light or land-flooded openers, use the Mana Base Calculator and Commander Mana Curve Calculator together.
Color requirements matter more than total mana
A hand with three lands is not automatically keepable if it cannot cast the spells in it. Commander decks often stretch into three, four, or five colors, and opening hands expose weak color bases quickly. Ask whether your lands cast your first relevant spells on time.
Early double-color requirements make this harsher. A hand with Sol Ring, Commander's Sphere, and lands that do not cast your two-mana colored spell may look powerful but start late. A tapped land is fine on turn one; three tapped lands can make your whole deck a turn behind.
The fix is not always adding lands. Sometimes you need better fixing, fewer early double-color spells, more untapped sources, or a lower curve. Review the list in the Commander Deck Audit and look at early color needs, not just final color identity.
Adjusting mulligans by deck speed and archetype
Different Commander decks should mulligan differently. A proactive low-curve deck can keep leaner hands. A high-mana deck should mulligan for ramp and stable mana. A control deck can keep a slower hand if it has early interaction and card flow. A synergy deck needs enablers and payoffs in the right order.
Commander identity also matters. If your commander is cheap and central, a hand that casts it on time is attractive. If your commander costs six or more, your opener needs ramp, defense, or card flow to bridge the gap. Do not keep a hand merely because your commander will eventually solve everything.
Combo decks need a separate lens. A combo hand should assemble, find, protect, or accelerate toward the win condition. If it does none of those things, it may be a bad keep even with good mana.
Mulligan priorities by strategic plan
| Plan | Primary keep priority | Secondary keep priority | Common trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creature pressure | Early board presence | Mana that curves into the commander | Keeping expensive finishers without early creatures |
| Ramp into big spells | Ramp plus enough lands | A payoff or card draw | Keeping big spells because they look powerful |
| Aristocrats or sacrifice | An enabler plus fodder or payoff | Mana to deploy multiple small pieces | Keeping payoffs with no engine |
| Spellslinger | Colored mana and cheap spells | Card flow or a commander route | Keeping reactive spells with no way to reload |
| Control | Stable lands and early answers | Card advantage | Keeping answers that do not line up with unknown threats |
| Combo | Mana plus assembly path | Protection or selection | Keeping a hand that is powerful but directionless |
Worked examples: keep or mulligan
Example one, green ramp: your commander is Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma. Opening seven: Forest, Forest, Castle Garenbrig, Llanowar Elves, Nature's Lore, Beast Within, Apex Altisaur. Keep. Turn one Forest into Llanowar Elves, turn two Nature's Lore, turn three Goreclaw with Beast Within available soon after. Apex Altisaur is expensive, but the hand already ramps toward it. If this were a six after a paid mulligan, bottom Apex Altisaur because it matters least before turn four.
Example two, three-color aristocrats: Korvold, Fae-Cursed King is your commander. A first hand of Swamp, Blood Crypt, Sol Ring, Zulaport Cutthroat, Mayhem Devil, Skullclamp, and Pitiless Plunderer has castable early cards but no green source or expendable fodder. Using the free mulligan is reasonable if those are your deck's usual stumbling points, although it is not automatically wrong to keep when the list has abundant green sources and suitable draws. For a more balanced replacement, consider Command Tower, Stomping Ground, Swamp, Viscera Seer, Blood Artist, Arcane Signet, and Dockside Chef. Keep all seven after the free mulligan. Cast Viscera Seer on turn one. On turn two an untapped Stomping Ground lets your two lands cast Arcane Signet, which can then tap for black to cast Dockside Chef. On turn three Blood Artist helps establish the sacrifice engine. This sequence develops the board and fixes green; it does not claim to cast five-mana Korvold on three lands and one Signet.
Example three, mono-blue spellslinger: Talrand, Sky Summoner is your commander, and the seven after your free mulligan is Island, Island, Mystic Sanctuary, Sol Ring, Counterspell, Ponder, and Dig Through Time. Keeping is reasonable. The two Islands supply blue; Sol Ring's colorless mana pays Talrand's generic cost. One sequence is Island into Sol Ring on turn one, a second Island and Ponder on turn two, then tapped Mystic Sanctuary on turn three while the two Islands and Sol Ring cast Talrand. Counterspell can instead be held up when the table demands it. Dig Through Time is a later card, not a reason to discard an otherwise functional seven. If an earlier bad hand had already forced you to six, Dig Through Time would be a sensible card to bottom from this seven because it contributes least to the opening sequence.
Example four, risky two-land keep: your commander is Atraxa, Grand Unifier. Hand A is Command Tower, Breeding Pool, Arcane Signet, Farseek, Swords to Plowshares, Eternal Witness, Sunfall. Keep; it has colors, ramp, interaction, and a plan. Hand B is Ancient Tomb, Reliquary Tower, Sol Ring, Swords to Plowshares, Farseek, Atraxa's Fall, Sunfall. Mulligan; it has plenty of mana but no white or green source for the early spells.
Example five, control in an unknown pod: your commander is Tivit, Seller of Secrets. Opening seven: three lands, Swords to Plowshares, Anguished Unmaking, Counterspell, Toxic Deluge. This can be kept in a creature-heavy pod, but in an unknown game it is risky because it has no ramp or card selection. If you keep it after the free mulligan, your plan is purely defensive; know that a value engine from another opponent may slip past you.
Multiplayer changes the risk calculation
In ordinary free-for-all multiplayer Commander, even the starting player draws on the first turn. That gives everyone a normal first-turn draw, but it does not make a speculative opener safe. Evaluate whether any reasonable draw helps, or whether only a particular land or enabler rescues the hand. With two commanders the starting library normally has 98 cards rather than 99, which also matters when entering deck size into an opening-hand calculation.
Multiplayer Commander is not just 1v1 with more life. The free first mulligan makes it easier to reject nonfunctional first hands. Singleton construction makes opening hands more varied. Forty life makes some slower starts survivable. But three opponents create tempo pressure: if you miss your second land drop, three players may each develop mana, engines, or pressure before you recover.
That means your keep should have a role in the first rotation of turns. You can be the ramp player, the interaction player, the setup player, or the pressure player. You should not be the player doing nothing. A hand with one answer can be good; a hand with only answers may be poor because you cannot answer three opponents forever.
Compared with 1v1 formats, Commander mulligans are more about functional categories than exact card names: lands, colors, ramp, cheap interaction, card flow, and synergy access. The free mulligan helps you find those categories, but once you are paying cards, protect hands that actually play the game.
Power level and bracket expectations
Your mulligan standards should match the game you agreed to play. In a lower-power battlecruiser game, a hand that develops lands and casts a commander on turn five may be acceptable. In a faster pod, that same hand may be too slow.
Before the game, use a short pregame conversation or a tool like the Bracket Calculator to align expectations. Once expectations are clear, mulligans become easier: keep slower value hands in slower games, and mulligan more aggressively for mana, interaction, and speed in optimized games.
This also helps with social feel-bads. Some groups dislike repeated mulligans for high-powered starts in casual games. Others expect players to mulligan hard for functional hands. Match your hand standards to the table you actually joined.
Common Commander mulligan mistakes
- Forgetting that the first mulligan is free in normal multiplayer Commander.
- Keeping a hand because it has lands, even though the colors do not cast the spells.
- Keeping powerful late-game cards while doing nothing before turn four.
- Mulliganing a functional post-free-mulligan hand because it is not perfect.
- Keeping one-land hands without cheap selection, ramp, or a recovery path.
- Bottoming the card that makes a six-card hand function.
- Evaluating a hand without considering pod speed, turn order, and known threats.
- Keeping all interaction and no development, then falling behind three opponents.
The most important pattern is confusing potential with function. Many bad hands look like they could be great after two perfect draws. Good mulligan decisions ask what the hand does now, what it does next turn, and how many specific draws it needs to stop being awkward.
How to improve your deck so you mulligan less
If you mulligan often, track why hands go back. Are you missing lands? Missing colors? Drawing too many expensive cards? Seeing payoffs without enablers? Each reason points to a different fix. Adding lands does not fix early color imbalance; lowering the curve does not fix a deck with no enablers.
Draw ten opening hands as an initial diagnostic exercise, marking which fail the three-turn test and why. A small sample cannot establish a precise keep rate or a universal seven-out-of-ten pass mark. It can still reveal obvious patterns, such as nearly every hand needing an untapped green source or expensive cards appearing without enablers. Make a targeted adjustment and collect more hands and real games before concluding the deck is fixed.
Then repeat the test after changes. Singleton decks will always produce odd combinations. The goal is to make average hands functional, not perfect.
Build and save a more keepable Commander deck
Use Deckcipher's deck builder to tune your curve, mana, and early plays. Create a free account to save your list. Use the Mulligan Calculator separately for probability and opening-hand testing.
A practical mulligan routine before every game
Use the same routine every time. First, count lands and color access. Second, identify the first meaningful play. Third, identify the second meaningful play. Fourth, ask how the hand connects to your commander or main strategy. Fifth, ask what kind of pod you are in.
Before bottoming, decide which cards preserve the sequence you need. At six, preserve the first three turns. At five, preserve mana and the minimum plan. If you want to bottom a land, ask whether the hand still functions after missing one draw step. If you want to bottom the cheap spell, ask whether your first play becomes too late.
Finally, review your mulligans after games without being results-oriented. A kept two-land hand that missed land drops may still have been correct. A greedy one-land keep that got there may still have been bad. Judge the decision by the information you had.
Simple keep or mulligan checklist
| Question | Keep if yes | Mulligan if no |
|---|---|---|
| Can I cast spells in my opening colors? | The lands support the first plays | The hand needs a specific color immediately |
| Do I have a meaningful play by turn two or three? | The hand develops mana, board, cards, or interaction | The hand waits too long to affect the game |
| Does the hand connect to my deck's plan? | It ramps, pressures, controls, assembles, or enables | It contains random cards with no sequence |
| Can one normal draw improve the hand? | The hand is already functional and draws add strength | The hand needs multiple perfect draws |
| Does this match the pod's speed? | The hand can participate at the expected pace | The hand is too slow or too narrow for the game |
Concrete next steps
- Define your deck's ideal first three turns in one sentence.
- Draw ten sample hands and mark each as keep, close, or mulligan.
- For every mulligan, record the cause: lands, colors, curve, no action, or no plan.
- Use the Mulligan Calculator to test the probability behind hands you often debate.
- Fix the deck issue that appears most often before changing random cards.
- Repeat the ten-hand test after edits and compare the number of comfortable keeps.
FAQ
How does the Commander mulligan process work?
In normal multiplayer Commander, draw seven cards. To mulligan, shuffle your hand into the library, draw seven, and bottom the appropriate number as part of that mulligan. The first multiplayer mulligan is free and bottoms zero; the next bottoms one, then two on the following mulligan. After each redraw and bottoming, decide whether to keep in the next declaration round. Normal two-player Commander has no automatic free first mulligan; Brawl has a separate exception.
How many lands should I keep in Commander?
Most decks are happiest keeping two to four lands, but quality matters more than count. Three lands with correct colors is the default stable keep. Two lands needs early action or a good chance to draw more mana. One land requires a strong recovery tool and should be treated as risky.
Is it bad to mulligan to six in Commander?
No. After the free multiplayer mulligan, a paid mulligan to six can still be better than a weak seven. You draw seven before bottoming one, so the final six can have better mana, a cleaner curve, and a clearer plan.
When should I mulligan to five?
Go to five when your six still cannot play the game. Examples include no lands, unusable colors, no castable spells, or a hand that needs multiple perfect draws. At five, look for minimum function: mana, an early play, and some connection to your strategy.
Should I keep a hand with no early play if it has good late-game cards?
Usually not. Commander gives you time, but three opponents are developing while you wait. If the hand does nothing until turn four or later, it needs a strong reason to be kept, such as excellent mana, ramp, or a known slow pod.
How does Commander mulligan strategy differ from other formats?
Multiplayer Commander usually has a free first mulligan, singleton variance, 40 life, and three-opponent tempo pressure. The higher life total can make slower hands playable, but three opponents punish stumbles. 1v1 formats usually make the first mulligan cost a card, so functional sevens are more valuable.
Should I mulligan differently in casual and high-power games?
Yes. In slower casual games, stable development may be enough. In faster or more optimized games, prioritize early mana, interaction, and a faster route to your plan. Match your mulligan standards to the game your pod agreed to play.
What is the biggest Commander mulligan mistake?
The biggest mistake is keeping a hand that has potential but no function. If the hand needs two specific draws before it can participate, it is usually a mulligan, even if the cards look powerful.