Game modes beyond standard EDH

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

Standard

Normal EDH: last player standing wins. 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 the highest-life survivor wins. That flips the usual math: an early kill doesn't clear the way for the killer, it hands the win to whichever remaining opponent is healthiest. The host resolves ties, whether as a joint win, sudden death, or an award to whoever dealt the last blow.

Star (5 players)

Everyone sits on a radial wheel and may only attack the two players seated opposite them. The wheel dims every seat you can't target, so legal targets are clear mid-combat. The first player whose two designated opponents are both dead wins.

Kingdoms (5 to 6 players, hidden roles)

A hidden-role game layered onto Commander: a King (50 life), a Knight, two Bandits, an Assassin, and an optional Usurper. Roles are dealt at random and hidden server-side. Press and hold your own seat to peek at your role, like flipping a physical card in a hidden-role board game. The King's seat gets a crown and a gilded border, the Usurper can claim the throne, and win overlays are team-aware. When the game ends, every player's role is revealed — on the win overlay and on the game's history card — so the table can see who was working for whom.

Modes and seating

Player count drives both mode and layout. See seating for how 3 to 4 player grids and 5 to 6 player wheels work, and commander damage for how combat tracking stays consistent across modes.