Will Commander ever arrive in MTG Arena? What we know

Commander is arguably the most popular format that Magic: The Gathering has, but can players actually play it in MTG Arena?

Commander introduced players to new ways of playing the game which involves politics and stretching a player’s deckbuilding capabilities. Because of this, it became a part of every playgroup or hobby store’s repertoire. With all of that added up, this also makes this format one of the most beloved, and occasionally the most controversial, in all of Magic.

With almost all Magic players loving Commander, it should be a no-brainer for Wizards of the Coast to include it in MTG Arena, right? Well, it’s kind of complicated.

Can you play Commander in MTG Arena?

Commander is not available as a MTG Arena game mode, but the game has a similar format called Brawl.

Unfortunately, Commander is not a playable format in MTG Arena. The game has something called Brawl which is similar to the format. However, depending on what the player likes about Commander, they might find the format not to be a suitable replacement.

The biggest difference between Commander and Brawl is the amount of players that can participate in the game. In Commander, it’s usually three to five players. In Brawl, it’s one-on-one. This takes away the politics of the game as the intricacies of a player convincing their opponents that they’re not a threat are removed from the game and replaced by a one-on-one.

Another difference is the cards that are legal in the format. In Commander, almost everything is available for use. But since MTG Arena doesn’t have every set in MTG, deckbuilding can be comparatively limited.

Other minor differences include the starting life. In Brawl, players start with a life total of 25. In Commander, each player starts with a life total of 40. The commander damage rule doesn’t apply, too.

Will Commander ever be added to MTG Arena?

Hasbro, the company that owns Wizards of the Coast, has shown interest in adding the format into the game.

Chris Cocks, the CEO of Hasbro, has shown interest in adding the format in MTG Arena according to a Q1 2024 earnings call. However, there’s no definite time for its arrival.

Players are also skeptical regarding whether the client could handle some of the things that happen in Commander. The game’s client can be laggy when infinite combos and a large number of tokens enter the battlefield. Commander is a format where weird combos and shenanigans can happen, so players are wondering if the client can even handle some specific, rare interactions.