Last updated on March 14, 2024

Liliana, Untouched by Death - Illustration by Bastien L. Deharme

Liliana, Untouched by Death | Illustration by Bastien L. Deharme

The new Starter Commander decks are definitely emblematic of Wizards continuing its push of the Commander format. These decks are designed to help new players get into the format at a low entry price. They’re a good product to get new friends into Magic, or for veteran players to just mix things up with a cheap precon battle.

I think it’s important to consider how well the decks play since these are intended as an introductory product. Trying to get your friends into the game with precons that aren’t any fun is more likely to turn them off Magic. It’s also important to see if these decks are really worth it for playgroups that are already established.

So let’s take a look at Starter Commander and see if it’s really worth grabbing, or if it’s a product you should skip. Ready? Let’s get started!

All About Starter Commander

What Is Starter Commander?

Curse of Disturbance - Illustration Kieran Yanner

Curse of Disturbance | Illustration by Kieran Yanner

Starter Commander is a set of five preconstructed Commander decks with a release date of December 2, 2022. They’re an easy entry point for new players, or a good way for existing players to introduce their friends and family to the game.

How Does Starter Commander Compare to Other Commander Products?

Starter Commander is a little different than typical Commander precons in a few ways.

The first is that there are no new cards introduced in this set. This was definitely a smart move on Wizards’ part because cards unique to a certain product can drive the price through the roof, like what Dockside Extortionist did with Commander 2019’s Mystic Intellect precon. The commanders here also aren’t new cards but some existing legendary creatures.

The other difference is that Wizards says they’re putting emphasis on “practical” cards for these precons. That means the strategies are pretty straightforward and are easy to pick up even for new players.

Should I Buy Starter Commander?

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Most Fun
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Top Pick
Most Valuable
Most Competitive
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – First Flight (White-Blue) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Grave Danger (Blue-Black) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Chaos Incarnate (Black-Red) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Draconic Destruction (Red-Green) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Token Triumph (Green-White) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – First Flight (White-Blue) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Grave Danger (Blue-Black) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Chaos Incarnate (Black-Red) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Draconic Destruction (Red-Green) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Token Triumph (Green-White) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$24.94
$34.95
$49.95
$59.75
$25.00
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime
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Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – First Flight (White-Blue) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – First Flight (White-Blue) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$24.94
Amazon Prime
Most Fun
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Grave Danger (Blue-Black) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Grave Danger (Blue-Black) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$34.95
Amazon Prime
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Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Chaos Incarnate (Black-Red) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Chaos Incarnate (Black-Red) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$49.95
Amazon Prime
Top Pick
Most Valuable
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Draconic Destruction (Red-Green) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Draconic Destruction (Red-Green) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$59.75
Amazon Prime
Most Competitive
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Token Triumph (Green-White) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Token Triumph (Green-White) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$25.00
Amazon Prime

I think Starter Commander is a great product to introduce players to Magic or Commander. Even the Starter Commander deck with the lowest overall card value would cost double their price to put together with singles, so it’s definitely a good deal.

Most of the commanders crack the top 500 most popular on EDHRec, meaning that these decks are good jumping-off points for players who want to continue their Magic journey. On the flip side, this isn’t really the product for you if you’ve been playing for a while and are looking for some good value. Most cards in the decks are worth less than $3, and the most expensive card in the entire set is just over $10.

Starter Commander definitely gets my recommendation as a good introductory product. For established players, I’d say you should only buy this if you’re planning to introduce new players to the game or just want to grab some new decks at a low cost to play out of the box with your playgroup.

And if you’re searching for value, skip this one. Even though the card totals are much higher than the asking price, there aren’t enough individually valuable cards that these decks would ever be worth it as an investment for collectors.

First Flight

First Flight EDH precon

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Isperia, Supreme Judge - Illustration by Maxime Minard

Isperia, Supreme Judge | Illustration by Maxime Minard

The commander for First Flight is Isperia, Supreme Judge, may she rest in peace, and the is flying creatures. All these decks have very simple strategies similar to the old planeswalker decks since they’re meant to introduce players to the game.

Your goal here is to get flying creatures out and buff them with cards like Gravitational Shift and Favorable Winds. Isperia provides decent card draw once it’s out and there are also cards like Staggering Insight that help with this. There are some counterspells and removal that give this deck a bit of a control subtheme, but it doesn’t lean too heavily on it.

There are several cards in the deck that players can use to try and get their opponents to attack them, like Angler Turtle and Bident of Thassa. This is helpful with Isperia, Supreme Judge on the board because it can draw you a good number of cards.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

The most expensive cards in the deck are Gravitational Shift and Talisman of Progress. The Talisman plus dual lands like Port Town and Prairie Stream are nice inclusions as good inclusions for any Azorius () mana base.

The Verdict

First Flight’s strategy is definitely nice and simple for new players. I think it’ll perform well against most of the Starter Commander decks since they aren’t all super well-equipped to deal with flying creatures.

That said I can’t really get too excited about this one. It’s a little too simple for my taste, and Isperia, Supreme Judge’s effect is good card draw but there aren’t enough specific payoffs to make it feel like the essential commander for this deck.

Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – First Flight (White-Blue) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
  • READY-TO-PLAY COMMANDER DECK FOR NEWCOMERS AND FANS: Join friends in epic battles! This Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck, First Flight (White-Blue), is ready to play straight out of the box
  • INTRO TO MAGIC’S MOST POPULAR FORMAT: Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic! Learn how to play with your own deck, easy-to-follow rules, strategy tips, and reference card
  • 100 CARD WHITE-BLUE DECK: With the First Flight deck, take wing with the sphinx Isperia, Supreme Judge, and overwhelm foes with a squadron of flying friends
  • FOIL-ETCHED LEGENDARY CREATURE CARD: Includes 1 legendary creature card with gorgeous art and a foil-etched treatment. This card serves as your "commander" with unique abilities that make plays even more powerful
  • INCLUDES ACCESSORIES AND DECK BOX: Also comes with 10 two-sided tokens, a deck box for storage, and punchout counters to keep track of creature buffs

Grave Danger

Grave Danger EDH precon

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Gisa and Geralf - Illustration by Karla Ortiz

Gisa and Geralf | Illustration by Karla Ortiz

The commander for Grave Danger is Gisa and Geralf, Innistrad’s zombie-loving brother-sister duo. This is a zombie tribal deck with a reanimation theme.

Grave Danger’s strategy largely revolves around filling your own graveyard with good zombie creatures and then reanimating them. Gisa and Geralf’s abilities clearly signal to players what this deck is meant to do making it an easy strategy to pick up on, if not slightly more complex than some of the other decks. Newer players have to get used to the idea of milling themselves and being less attached to their own creatures since they have ways to get them back.

This deck includes some aristocrats elements because the reanimation theme makes sacrificing a creature a lot less of a loss. It also includes several board wipes that are theoretically much more devastating for its opponents.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

Liliana, Untouched by Death

The best card in this deck value-wise is Liliana, Untouched by Death. It’s also a great inclusion for this deck because this Liliana perfectly fits the theme and would definitely be a good card to keep if you’re looking to upgrade this deck.

The deck also includes some great zombie tribal cards like Cemetery Reaper and Champion of the Perished, which are nice for new players to have if they want to stick with this precon. Then there’s Gray Merchant of Asphodel, A.K.A. Gary, which is a staple in mono-black decks.

The Verdict

The theming in this deck is really tight, and I think it perfectly straddles the line between “simple to understand” and “effective at higher levels of play.” As someone who’s been wanting to build Gisa and Geralf, I’m considering picking this deck up just to get a jump start on it.

While I really like this deck I could see it being potentially discouraging to play in the environment of Starter Commander decks specifically. It doesn’t have a lot of ways to deal with flying creatures and may have trouble against First Flight and Draconic Destruction. But I still think it is fun enough that players won’t care.

In terms of value, this is the least valuable of any of the decks, but it’s still double the value of Amazon’s asking price.

Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Grave Danger (Blue-Black) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
  • READY-TO-PLAY COMMANDER DECK FOR NEWCOMERS AND FANS: Join friends in epic battles! This Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck, Grave Danger (Blue-Black), is ready to play straight out of the box
  • INTRO TO MAGIC’S MOST POPULAR FORMAT: Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic! Learn how to play with your own deck, easy-to-follow rules, strategy tips, and reference card
  • 100 CARD BLUE-BLACK DECK: With the Grave Danger deck, ally with the human wizards and siblings Gisa and Geralf and overwhelm foes with a multiplying army of zombies
  • FOIL-ETCHED LEGENDARY CREATURE CARD: Includes 1 legendary creature card with gorgeous art and a foil-etched treatment. This card serves as your "commander" with unique abilities that make plays even more powerful
  • INCLUDES ACCESSORIES AND DECK BOX: Also comes with 10 two-sided tokens, a deck box for storage, and punchout counters to keep track of creature buffs

Chaos Incarnate

Chaos Incarnate EDH precon

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Kardur, Doomscourge - Illustration by Helge C. Balzer

Kardur, Doomscourge | Illustration by Helge C. Balzer

Kardur, Doomscourge helms Chaos Incarnate. While there are some chaos cards, the idea behind the deck seems to just be making stuff happen. There’s a bit of goading, some direct damage spells meant to punish other players, and a few true chaotic cards like Explosion of Riches and Wildfire Devils.

The deck’s strategy is to use cards like Spiteful Visions and Kaervek the Merciless to chip away at your opponents’ life totals. Kardur’s ability can also help with this since it spreads damage out across all your opponents on a somewhat consistent basis.

Goading your opponents’ creatures is a good way to make sure that they continue to deal damage to one another and keeps them from attacking you. You can use cards like Deadly Tempest and Rakdos Charm to close things out Once you’re up on life.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

Lightning Greaves

The most expensive card in Grave Danger is Lightning Greaves, and it’s also one of the more notable inclusions. It’s a format staple and honestly isn’t terrible in any Commander deck since it’s great for protecting commanders.

Archfiend of Depravity

Archfiend of Depravity is also relatively valuable for these decks and definitely does some work against your opponents. It’s likely to be one of the meanest cards played in games using just Starter Commander precons.

Blasphemous Act

Blasphemous Act is another format staple. It’s also one of red’s better board wipe options, so it’s nice to see it included here.

The Verdict

Right off the bat, I think Chaos Incarnate will make Starter Commander games a lot more fun for players. Forcing players to attack speeds games up and prevents boring stalemates that are likely to bore new players. Cards like Chaos Warp can also lead to fun and unexpected moments that liven things up.

I think this precon will hold up pretty well against other decks in Starter Commander. It has a decent number of answers and goad abilities to help point big threats at other players. I do think a lot of effects in this deck might come off as scary to new players, so whoever grabs Chaos Incarnate might get early experience with being hated off the table.

Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Chaos Incarnate (Black-Red) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
  • READY-TO-PLAY COMMANDER DECK FOR NEWCOMERS AND FANS: Join friends in epic battles! This Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck, Chaos Incarnate (Black-Red), is ready to play straight out of the box
  • INTRO TO MAGIC’S MOST POPULAR FORMAT: Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic! Learn how to play with your own deck, easy-to-follow rules, strategy tips, and reference card
  • 100 CARD BLACK-RED DECK: With the Chaos Incarnate deck, embrace the chaos of war with the demon berserker Kardur, Doomscourge, and overwhelm foes with a multiplying army
  • FOIL-ETCHED LEGENDARY CREATURE CARD: Includes 1 legendary creature card with gorgeous art and a foil-etched treatment. This card serves as your "commander" with unique abilities that make plays even more powerful
  • INCLUDES ACCESSORIES AND DECK BOX: Also comes with 10 two-sided tokens, a deck box for storage, and punchout counters to keep track of creature buffs

Draconic Destruction

Draconic Destruction EDH precon

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Atarka, World Render - Illustration by Karl Kopinski

Atarka, World Render | Illustration by Karl Kopinski

Atarka, World Render is the head dragon in charge of Draconic Destruction. This is a relatively straightforward dragon tribal deck without any specific sub-themes.

Your strategy for this deck is mainly to drop some big dragons and swing with them. Atarka and cards like Crucible of Fire help increase your dragons’ damage output. Aside from buffing up your dragons, you also have ways to give them trample with cards like Garruk's Uprising which help punch through the decks that are heavy on fliers in Starter Commander.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

Dragon Tempest

The most valuable card in Draconic Destruction is Dragon Tempest. It’s incredible in any dragon deck and can even help close out a game.

This is actually the most valuable of all the Starter Commander decks. It includes several cards over $4 including Thundermaw Hellkite, Elemental Bond, and Vandalblast.

This precon also includes great dragon tribal cards like Spit Flame, Dragonmaster Outcast, and Magmaquake.

The Verdict

I think Draconic Destruction is my first choice right out of the box. It’ll play well against the rest of the Starter Commander precons and can possibly even stand up to some low-level decks if you’re interested in trying the deck elsewhere. I think the deck might suffer from a steep mana curve and little ramp, though, but there’s a decent amount of cost reduction to help make up for that.

I think this precon also serves as a good starter dragon deck since it gives you two of the more important colors for dragon decks. This could be a good starting point for players to splash some blue and convert it into a Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm deck.

This deck also has a few good lands to get players started. Haven of the Spirit Dragon works for any color dragon deck, and Cinder Glade benefits from having basic land types.

Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Draconic Destruction (Red-Green) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
  • READY-TO-PLAY COMMANDER DECK FOR NEWCOMERS AND FANS: Join friends in epic battles! This Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck, Draconic Destruction (Red-Green), is ready to play straight out of the box
  • INTRO TO MAGIC’S MOST POPULAR FORMAT: Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic! Learn how to play with your own deck, easy-to-follow rules, strategy tips, and reference card
  • 100 CARD RED-GREEN DECK: With the Draconic Destruction deck, go on the attack with Atarka, World Render, and double down on dragon damage to overwhelm foes with a multiplying army
  • FOIL-ETCHED LEGENDARY CREATURE CARD: Includes 1 legendary creature card with gorgeous art and a foil-etched treatment. This card serves as your "commander" with unique abilities that make plays even more powerful
  • INCLUDES ACCESSORIES AND DECK BOX: Also comes with 10 two-sided tokens, a deck box for storage, and punchout counters to keep track of creature buffs

Token Triumph

Token Triumph EDH precon

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Emmara, Soul of the Accord - Illustration by Mark Winters

Emmara, Soul of the Accord | Illustration by Mark Winters

Token Triumph is commanded by Emmara, Soul of the Accord. This precon’s theme is creature tokens, and the strategy revolves around making said creature tokens.

There are plenty of ways to make these tokens, whether it’s creature abilities like Hornet Queen or spells like March of the Multitudes. There are also cards like Presence of Gond that allow you to safely tap Emmara while doubling up on the number of tokens it makes.

You also want to make your tokens bigger so they can stand up to your opponent’s creatures. This deck includes a couple of handy anthems in the form of Dictate of Heliod and Collective Blessing. There’s also the ever-helpful Hour of Reckoning, which is a great way to clear your opponents’ boards while keeping yours intact.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

Citanul Hierophants

The most valuable card in this deck is actually the most valuable in the whole set: Citanul Hierophants. This is a very helpful tool in a token deck, but it’s disappointing that it wasn’t swapped for the slightly cheaper Cryptolith Rite, which is a bit better. This is kind of a pattern in this deck.

Ajani, Caller of the Pride

Ajani, Caller of the Pride can be a fun wincon and is also just a helpful way to buff your tokens.

Curse of Bounty

Curse of Bounty is an interesting inclusion that I really enjoy in this deck, and I think it helps speed up potentially slow precon games.

Felidar Retreat

Felidar Retreat is always great in a token deck.

The Verdict

While Token Triumph has some good cards I think it suffers the most from the strict pricing restrictions Wizards seems to have put on cards in these decks. Forget big-ticket items like Doubling Season and Parallel Lives, but even cheaper options like Finale of Glory and Divine Visitation are also left out here.

There’s even a much clearer commander in the form of Rhys the Redeemed, but it seems like Wizards wanted to go with commanders that were under a dollar. Avenger of Zendikar is in tons of precons, is pretty cheap, and including it still keeps this deck’s value lower than Draconic Destruction.

While it may be disappointing to see some great Selesnya () tokens staples missing, this deck does have a solid foundation that can be built on with those staples. I worry about how this deck will hold up against Draconic Destruction and First Flight seeing as it doesn’t have as many cards to deal with fliers, but I think Token Triumph is a decent starting deck to build on top of.

Just maybe not the best-out-of-the-box deck here.

Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Token Triumph (Green-White) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
  • READY-TO-PLAY COMMANDER DECK FOR NEWCOMERS AND FANS: Join friends in epic battles! This Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck, Token Triumph (Green-White), is ready to play straight out of the box
  • INTRO TO MAGIC’S MOST POPULAR FORMAT: Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic! Learn how to play with your own deck, easy-to-follow rules, strategy tips, and reference card
  • 100 CARD GREEN-WHITE DECK: With the Token Triumph deck, ally with the elf cleric Emmara, Soul of the Accord, and overwhelm foes with a multiplying army
  • FOIL-ETCHED LEGENDARY CREATURE CARD: Includes 1 legendary creature card with gorgeous art and a foil-etched treatment. This card serves as your "commander" with unique abilities that make plays even more powerful
  • INCLUDES ACCESSORIES AND DECK BOX: Also comes with 10 two-sided tokens, a deck box for storage, and punchout counters to keep track of creature buffs

The Best Starter Commander Decks

For Value

Draconic Destruction EDH precon

In terms of card value, Draconic Destruction is the best bang for your buck. You get about three times the deck’s price in the value of cards, which is a steal. This precon also has a good distribution of worthwhile cards as instead of just having one very valuable card while the rest are super cheap.

Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Draconic Destruction (Red-Green) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
  • READY-TO-PLAY COMMANDER DECK FOR NEWCOMERS AND FANS: Join friends in epic battles! This Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck, Draconic Destruction (Red-Green), is ready to play straight out of the box
  • INTRO TO MAGIC’S MOST POPULAR FORMAT: Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic! Learn how to play with your own deck, easy-to-follow rules, strategy tips, and reference card
  • 100 CARD RED-GREEN DECK: With the Draconic Destruction deck, go on the attack with Atarka, World Render, and double down on dragon damage to overwhelm foes with a multiplying army
  • FOIL-ETCHED LEGENDARY CREATURE CARD: Includes 1 legendary creature card with gorgeous art and a foil-etched treatment. This card serves as your "commander" with unique abilities that make plays even more powerful
  • INCLUDES ACCESSORIES AND DECK BOX: Also comes with 10 two-sided tokens, a deck box for storage, and punchout counters to keep track of creature buffs

For Competitive EDH

Token Triumph EDH precon

This was a hard call since none of these precons are competitive out of the box and mostly just have good potential. But with the understanding that all these decks need to be upgraded, I think I’d have to go with Token Triumph as the best cEDH precon.

It has a solid enough foundation that can be built on with some staples like Second Harvest and Avenger of Zendikar. Emmara, Soul of the Accord should likely be replaced by Rhys the Redeemed, and King Darien XLVIII would also be a solid inclusion.

Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Token Triumph (Green-White) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
  • READY-TO-PLAY COMMANDER DECK FOR NEWCOMERS AND FANS: Join friends in epic battles! This Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck, Token Triumph (Green-White), is ready to play straight out of the box
  • INTRO TO MAGIC’S MOST POPULAR FORMAT: Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic! Learn how to play with your own deck, easy-to-follow rules, strategy tips, and reference card
  • 100 CARD GREEN-WHITE DECK: With the Token Triumph deck, ally with the elf cleric Emmara, Soul of the Accord, and overwhelm foes with a multiplying army
  • FOIL-ETCHED LEGENDARY CREATURE CARD: Includes 1 legendary creature card with gorgeous art and a foil-etched treatment. This card serves as your "commander" with unique abilities that make plays even more powerful
  • INCLUDES ACCESSORIES AND DECK BOX: Also comes with 10 two-sided tokens, a deck box for storage, and punchout counters to keep track of creature buffs

For Fun

Grave Danger EDH precon

I think Grave Danger is probably the most fun of these precons as-is. It uses a fun playstyle and is powerful enough to stand up to the other Starter Commander decks. I also think it does one of the best jobs with its theme, which is always a bonus.

Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Grave Danger (Blue-Black) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
  • READY-TO-PLAY COMMANDER DECK FOR NEWCOMERS AND FANS: Join friends in epic battles! This Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck, Grave Danger (Blue-Black), is ready to play straight out of the box
  • INTRO TO MAGIC’S MOST POPULAR FORMAT: Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic! Learn how to play with your own deck, easy-to-follow rules, strategy tips, and reference card
  • 100 CARD BLUE-BLACK DECK: With the Grave Danger deck, ally with the human wizards and siblings Gisa and Geralf and overwhelm foes with a multiplying army of zombies
  • FOIL-ETCHED LEGENDARY CREATURE CARD: Includes 1 legendary creature card with gorgeous art and a foil-etched treatment. This card serves as your "commander" with unique abilities that make plays even more powerful
  • INCLUDES ACCESSORIES AND DECK BOX: Also comes with 10 two-sided tokens, a deck box for storage, and punchout counters to keep track of creature buffs

Where to Buy Starter Commander

Starter Commander decks can be bought at your local game store starting December 2, 2022 as well as from online Magic retailers.

Commanding Conclusion

Curse of Bounty - Illustration Kieran Yanner

Curse of Bounty | Illustration by Kieran Yanner

Starter Commander seems like a successful product for what it’s trying to do. These decks do a good job of introducing some popular themes and tribes to new players and make picking up the game easier. I don’t know if there’s as much here for veteran players looking for value or competitive decks, but I think it would be a fun activity to get together with your playgroup and try these out for a more casual game.

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Most Fun
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Top Pick
Most Valuable
Most Competitive
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – First Flight (White-Blue) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Grave Danger (Blue-Black) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Chaos Incarnate (Black-Red) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Draconic Destruction (Red-Green) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Token Triumph (Green-White) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – First Flight (White-Blue) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Grave Danger (Blue-Black) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Chaos Incarnate (Black-Red) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Draconic Destruction (Red-Green) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Token Triumph (Green-White) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$24.94
$34.95
$49.95
$59.75
$25.00
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime
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Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – First Flight (White-Blue) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – First Flight (White-Blue) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$24.94
Amazon Prime
Most Fun
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Grave Danger (Blue-Black) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Grave Danger (Blue-Black) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$34.95
Amazon Prime
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Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Chaos Incarnate (Black-Red) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Chaos Incarnate (Black-Red) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$49.95
Amazon Prime
Top Pick
Most Valuable
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Draconic Destruction (Red-Green) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck – Draconic Destruction (Red-Green) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$59.75
Amazon Prime
Most Competitive
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Token Triumph (Green-White) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
Magic: The Gathering Starter Commander Deck - Token Triumph (Green-White) | Ready-to-Play Deck for Beginners and Fans | Ages 13+ | Collectible Card Games
$25.00
Amazon Prime

Are you thinking of buying any Starter Commander decks? Which precon caught your attention the most? Do you think this is a good product for new players, or should Wizards focus on making more competitive decks at a slightly higher price? Let me know what you think in the comments below or over on Draftsim’s Twitter.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one!

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