How many lands should you run in commander? I think this is one of the most useful MTG deckbuilding questions because it looks simple, but it decides whether your deck actually gets to play the game. You can have the sweetest commander, the cleanest synergy package, and a pile of cards you love. If you miss early land drops, none of that matters.
And Commander makes the question trickier than it looks. You are building a 100-card singleton deck. You always have access to your commander, but you do not always have access to enough mana to cast it on time. That gap is where a lot of bad deck performance starts. People blame variance, but a lot of the time the real problem is just shaving one land too many because the list looked cooler at 35.
My honest starting point is easy: for most Commander decks, start at 37 lands. Not 34 because your deck has a few mana rocks. Not 33 because your curve looks “fine.” Start at 37, goldfish a bunch of hands, and then move one land at a time if your deck gives you a clear reason.
Why Commander Land Count Feels Different
Commander does not work like a normal 60-card deck. You only get one copy of most cards, your deck is much larger, and your mana has to support not only your opening hand but also your commander, your utility spells, and whatever splashy nonsense you put at the top of the curve.
That last part is where people get themselves in trouble.
A lot of Commander decks are secretly built like this:
- Cheap setup cards
- A few ramp pieces
- A lot of four-, five-, and six-mana spells
- One commander you really want to cast on curve
That kind of list usually cannot get away with a low land count. If your deck wants to hit land drops through turn four, five, or six, you need enough lands to do it consistently. The fact that you also run Sol Ring or Arcane Signet does not magically erase that.
In my opinion, the biggest trap is confusing “my deck has ramp” with “my deck can cut lands.” Ramp helps. Lands are still the base layer.
My Real Answer To How Many Lands Should You Run In Commander
For most midrange Commander decks, 36 to 38 lands is the sweet spot.
That is the range where your deck usually gets to:
- Keep more reasonable opening hands
- Cast two- and three-mana setup spells on time
- Hit your commander without begging the top of your deck for help
- Recover better after wipes and removal
- Avoid those miserable games where you are stuck on three mana while everyone else is actually playing
If you want one number, use 37.
I like 37 because it is forgiving. It gives you room to test the rest of your list honestly. Once the deck proves it can function smoothly, then you can decide whether 36 makes sense. Starting too low makes the whole test messy because now every weak draw tells you nothing except that your mana may be bad.
A few quick baselines:
- Start at 37 if your commander costs 4 to 6 mana and you are not sure yet.
- Start at 36 if your curve is low, your deck has solid ramp, and your commander is not too color-hungry.
- Start at 38 if your commander is expensive, your deck wants repeated land drops, or your curve starts creeping upward.
That is the practical version. Fancy math is great, but most players do better with a solid default and honest testing.
When 34 To 35 Lands Is Actually Fine
Can you go lower? Sure. But the deck has to earn it.
I usually only like 34 or 35 lands when most of these are true:
- The average mana value is genuinely low
- The deck has lots of one- and two-mana plays
- Ramp comes down early and often
- Card draw is cheap and steady
- The commander is cheap or not essential on curve
- The mana base is efficient enough that tapped lands are not slowing everything down
This is where fast, lean, well-tuned lists live. Spell-heavy decks with a low curve can sometimes live here. Certain aggressive or tempo-oriented builds can too. But if your deck still has a pile of six-drops and cute pet cards at the top, 34 lands is not brave. It is just optimistic.
And optimism does not cast your commander.
When 38 To 40 Lands Is Correct
A higher land count is not a failure. Sometimes it is the most honest thing you can do.
I like going up to 38, 39, or even 40 lands when the deck wants one or more of these things:
- Big-mana plays
- Landfall payoffs
- Extra land drop effects
- Expensive commanders
- Recasting the commander multiple times
- Greedy color requirements
- Utility lands that do not fix cleanly
A lot of newer Commander players resist this because they hate drawing lands late. I get it. Flood feels bad. But not playing Magic at all feels worse.
Also, many higher-land decks have built-in ways to use extra mana. Maybe your commander is a mana sink. Maybe you run activated abilities, cycling lands, or cards that turn spare mana into cards, tokens, or damage. In those decks, extra lands are not dead. They are fuel.
Ramp Helps, But Ramp Is Not Lands
This is the part people fight about, so i’ll say it plainly.
Ramp is not the same as lands.
Mana rocks get blown up. Mana dorks die to every wipe. Treasure is temporary. Cost reduction helps, but it does not fix everything. Lands are still the most reliable mana source in most Commander games, and they are the thing your deck needs before the rest of your acceleration matters.
That does not mean ramp is secondary. It is still crucial. It just means you should treat ramp as support, not a replacement, unless your entire deck is built to work that way.
If you run ten ramp spells, that does not automatically mean you cut three lands. Sometimes it means your deck is finally allowed to function the way you wanted it to.
A good rule of thumb is this: if your deck falls apart when an early mana rock dies, you probably trimmed too many lands.
Other Things That Change Your Commander Land Count
This is where tuning gets real.
Card Draw
Cheap, repeatable draw lets you get a little leaner because you see more cards. A deck that keeps cards flowing can recover from light mana hands better than a deck that topdecks one card a turn and hopes for the best.
Mana Curve
This matters more than people want to admit. If your four-slot is crowded and your five-slot is worse, your deck wants lands. You can call it value if you want. The deck still needs mana.
Color Demands
A two-color deck with lots of single-pip cards is easier to support than a three-color deck full of double- and triple-pip spells. More colors and harder casting costs usually push me toward a safer land count.
Enter-Tapped Lands
A mana base full of tapped lands can make 37 feel like 35. If your lands slow you down, the raw count is not the only issue. Your speed is too.
MDFCs, Cycling, And Utility
Some decks can cheat a little because a few cards flex between spell and land roles. That helps. But i still would not get reckless. Those cards smooth draws. They do not erase bad deckbuilding.
The Best Way To Tune Your Final Number
Here is the simple test i trust most.
Goldfish ten opening hands. Then play out the first five turns by yourself. Do it honestly. No miracle topdecks. No pretending your Signet always lives. No pretending a tapped land entered untapped because you “would have sequenced it differently.”
Ask these questions:
- Did i keep too many shaky two-land hands?
- Did i miss my third or fourth land drop often?
- Did my hand clog with expensive cards?
- Was i constantly relying on one specific ramp piece?
- Did i flood in a way that felt frequent, not just memorable?
If the deck stumbles early again and again, add a land.
If the deck plays smoothly across many test hands and late-game flooding feels real, cut one land and test again.
One land at a time. That part matters. Commander players love giant overreactions after two bad games. Resist that urge.
Final Thoughts
So, how many lands should you run in commander? For most decks, 37 is the cleanest starting point. From there, go down only if the deck is lean, fast, and full of cheap support. Go up if the deck is slower, greedier, more color-intensive, or built to make land drops matter.
That answer is not flashy. But it wins more games than pretending your mana base is “close enough.”
If your deck feels clunky, do not start by blaming the top end, the removal suite, or the pet cards you really want to keep. Start with the land count. A surprising number of Commander problems are just mana problems wearing a fake mustache.