Game modes beyond standard EDH

Not every Commander night is a straight free-for-all. The host picks the mode in the lobby before the game starts, and any alternate mode shows a rules explainer the first time your table plays it. Once everyone knows the mode, you can switch that explainer off in settings.

Standard

Normal EDH, last player standing. This is the default, the Commander game you already know, with life, commander damage, and everything else synced live.

Standoff (3 players)

The game ends the moment the first player dies, and whoever has the most life left wins. That inverts the usual math. An early kill ends the game while your opponents are still healthy, and the healthiest one takes it. The host resolves ties, either as a joint win, sudden death, or an award to whoever dealt the last blow. Full rules: how to play Commander with 3 players.

Star (5 players)

Everyone sits on a radial wheel and can only attack the two players seated opposite them. The wheel dims every seat you cannot target, so legal targets stay obvious mid-combat. You win once both of your designated opponents are dead, and a surviving pair of allies wins together. Full rules: how to play Star format.

Kingdoms (5 to 6 players, hidden roles)

A hidden-role game layered onto Commander: a King on 50 life, a Knight, two Bandits, an Assassin, and an optional Usurper. Roles are dealt at random and kept hidden server-side. Full rules: how to play Kingdoms. Press and hold your own seat to peek at yours, the way you would flip a physical role card. The King's seat gets a crown and a gilded border, the Usurper can claim the throne if they are the one who killed the King, and win overlays are team-aware. When the game ends every role is revealed, on the win overlay and on the game's history card, so the table finally learns who was working for whom.

Modes and seating

Player count drives both the mode and the layout. Seating covers how the 3 to 4 player grids and 5 to 6 player wheels work, and commander damage is tracked the same way whichever mode you pick. To pick a mode for tonight's player count, see all Commander variants.