A keepable Commander hand can pay for its early spells and take at least one meaningful action before the table runs away. For many casual decks, that means two to four lands, the colors to cast the hand, and ramp, selection, draw, interaction, or a setup piece. Your commander can supply part of the plan, but only if the hand can cast it on time.
The five-question keep test
- Can I produce the colors in this hand? Three lands are not functional if none casts the spells you kept.
- What are my first three turns? Name the sequence rather than hoping the next draw solves it.
- Does the hand advance my plan? Mana plus seven-mana finishers may survive, but it does not develop.
- Can it respond to the pod's likely pace? A slow value hand may be excellent in one pod and irresponsible in another.
- What draws improve it? Prefer hands with several live draws over one that needs exactly an untapped green source.
Judge mana by what it casts
Count lands, then inspect quality. Lands entering tapped can delay the first relevant play. Utility lands may not produce the required color. A two-land hand with a one-mana selection spell and two-mana ramp can be safer than a four-land hand whose first spell costs five.
Do not automatically treat a mana rock as another land. The hand must first cast the rock, and the rock can be removed. Modal double-faced cards also ask a real question: would you actually play the land face at the required time?
Common hands to send back
| Hand | Problem | Exception |
|---|---|---|
| One land and several expensive spells | Too few live draws rescue it | Unusually dense cheap selection may change the math |
| Five lands and two finishers | No setup or card access | A commander that immediately supplies cards can help |
| Mana with the wrong colors | Displayed land count is misleading | Reliable early fixing is already castable |
| All synergy, no enabler | Cards depend on a piece not present | The commander is that guaranteed enabler |
| Reactive cards only | You stop others but never develop | The pod is fast and your commander supplies the engine |
Mulligan for the pod you joined
The pregame conversation should affect a close decision. Against a graveyard deck known to establish an early engine, a hand with timely graveyard exile may be more valuable. Against slower battlecruiser decks, a resilient setup hand can be better than narrow interaction. Do not mulligan only to “find the hate card”; seek a functional hand that also respects the expected game.
Track opening-hand failures
Record mulligan count and one short reason when a keep produces a non-game: missed land, wrong colors, no early action, or hand too expensive. Review the pattern after 15–20 games. If multiple hands fail for the same reason, the issue may be deck construction rather than mulligan judgment.
Goldfishing makes this test repeatable. Shuffle fully, draw opening hands, apply the same keep rules, and play the first turns without granting free redraws. WUBRG can keep opening-hand details and mulligans beside the game result, so a land or curve change can be compared with the previous version.
Commander mulligan FAQ
How many lands should be in a Commander opening hand?
Two to four is common, but functionality matters more than a fixed count. Check colors, tapped lands, cheap draw or ramp, curve, and what the commander provides.
Should I keep a hand because it has Sol Ring?
Only if the rest of the hand converts that mana into a coherent sequence. Fast mana does not repair missing colors or a hand with no useful spells.
When is a six-card hand better than seven?
Whenever the seven lacks usable mana or a realistic plan. One fewer card is usually less damaging than spending several turns unable to participate.