2HG Commander rules

Wizards' event page puts it in one line: “You can use any legal Commander deck at these events.” Each deck is checked on its own for singleton, color identity and the normal Commander banned list. Nothing compares one teammate's list against the other's.

So both players can run Sol Ring, Cyclonic Rift or the same commander. The cross-deck rule people remember belongs to 2HG Constructed, a different format entirely.

Power level is the store's call. Wizards suggests the Commander Brackets for matching decks, but no event page requires them.

A Commander player starts at 40, so two of them would bring 80 to the table. A 2HG team brings 60, in one pool that both opponents are hitting.

Every “each opponent” clause widens that gap. Damage and life loss happen to each player and land on the same total, so Gray Merchant of Asphodel drains the team twice. Doubling a number is not the same as halving the game, but it does reorder which cards are worth a slot.

Wizards' 2HG format page says “A team loses when they take 21 or more damage from a single commander.” Read that way, damage from one commander adds up across both players on the team.

The Comprehensive Rules don't settle it. They count commander damage per player, and they have no rule for 2HG Commander at all. Under that reading one player has to take all 21. Ask your store which count it uses before the first game.

Partner commanders are counted separately either way. Damage from each of the two adds to its own total.

The command zone, commander tax and the commander itself stay with the player who owns them. Casting your commander a third time costs four more mana, whatever your teammate has cast.

You can't cast your teammate's commander. Teammates may show each other their hands and plan together, but they can't handle each other's cards.

The team untaps, draws and attacks together. Each player draws in the team's draw step and may play a land. Either player can cast spells whenever the team has priority, and the team passes only when neither wants to act.

The team that goes first skips its first draw, both players. Mulligans are declared player by player, teammates may consult, and the first mulligan is free, as in any multiplayer game.

Each attacking creature attacks one specific opponent, planeswalker or battle. The defending team blocks as one, with either player's creatures. The damage comes off the shared total, but it was still dealt to one player.

That detail decides the monarch and the initiative. Both belong to a single player, not to the team, and only combat damage to that player takes them.

Wizards has run 2HG Commander as a monthly WPN event since Edge of Eternities in 2025, scheduled set by set. Rules enforcement is Casual, and each participant receives a Commander promo.

You don't need to bring a teammate. The store can pair you with another player, and a preconstructed deck is a legal Commander deck. Rounds and timing are up to the store.