How To Play Commander Online | Magic: The Gathering

Get started playing Magic Online today at: www.mtgo.com/en/mtgo
A Guide To Playing Commander Online With Spelltable: • A Guide To Playing Com...
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Music Courtesy Of:
"Vintage Education" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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"Show Your Moves" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Get started playing Magic Online today at: www.mtgo.com/en/mtgo A Guide To Playing Commander Online With Spelltable: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXfag42tptSsaaM Are you looking to Shuffle Up & Play games of Magic: The Gathering over webcam? The "Looking For Game" section of our Patron Discord is 100% free and open to everyone: discord.gg/tolariancommunitycollege

[@McMTG]

Use Xmage better then any other option

[@gregbridge]

Where is the link to those moxfield decklists provided by daybreak? Mentioned around 6:41

[@ghosttheripper8656]

@@gregbridge I have been looking for the same resource as well :/

[@tonyguzman8755]

@@ghosttheripper8656 check my comment, I did the dirty work lol, it was above the full card list under an imbedded link on the word "commander" on the announcing commander workshop page of mtgo

[@ConfidenceConnect]

Prof 🧑‍🏫 Can you ask wizards have golos unbanned since you are literally the only mtg channel that past 1mil subscribers

[@FearGX]

I want to say that this new knowledge is REALLY helpful for me as someone new to Commander with a small amount of cards and money. I didn't know this existed and was only a small price and a higher quality official format to play online. Thanks so much Professor for this video.

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Glad to help!

[@bbboijnk]

Cool vid but cockatrice is free.

[@CannedBreadCS2]

As some of the comments on this video describe, Tabletop Simulator is a great way to play commander as well. $20 game, you can subscribe (for free) to Steam workshop tables and import any card/deck to play at no additional cost. It's easy to learn and set up, and only $20.

[@BenjaminKlahn]

We play on TableTop Simulator. It supports any card we can find on scryfall and is completely free after buying the initial game.

[@alexisonfire199]

This is the way

[@steelstiletto]

Definitely my favorite way to play

[@snusnuterrordome]

It’s completely free after spending money

[@Derpingmuffin]

Sane here!

[@yourlocalfloatinglesbian]

Real ones know about tabletop sim. I wish there was a place for finding people for tabletop sim magic

[@justinwinterspear]

Tabletop simulator is still my preferred way to play online commander. No cost for cards, alternate art, custom tables and backgrounds, and voice chat if you want

[@hurpdurpueruhur]

mtgo/cockatrice's presentation can only be described as abysmal, i would never recommend a new player touch those programs lmao

[@briandaniels6372]

Cockatrice is completely free. It has every single card that ever came out and always updates spoilers.

[@condorman6293]

Nononono, then you get to save money. No one wants that.

[@briandaniels6372]

@@condorman6293 I'm still buying paper, spent $200 today alone 😭

[@theaamanable]

Yeah but cockatrice looks fucking horrendous

[@briandaniels6372]

@@theaamanable change the graphics. The original design is kinda lackluster. I prefer the marble board. You can also upload any sleeves you want, make custom cards, etc

[@condorman6293]

@@theaamanable that is definitely true, lol

[@KingArthurFleck]

Thank you for this! I have been trying to figure out a way to get back into MTG after seeing so many fun Commander videos on YT and this is just what I need to see. Cheers, Professor!

[@HzHzder]

Thanks for the guide and info, i have an MTGO Account but never considered getting into EDH on it, now i might try. You keep being a pillar of the community prof!

[@Articgamer10]

How did I not know about this? Always hated the limitations of Brawl so I'm really happy to see this.

[@Jamgeoso]

Although I kinda like brawl I'll admit it's not even close to commander. I think I need to set up an account 😂

[@gatorchomp9607]

I got a MTG Arena ad while watching this 😂

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

hahaha

[@Delmastron]

This was perfect timing Prof! I just moved several states away from my usual commander group and we were bummed about missing our in person games. We knew there were some alternatives for online Commander, like Tabletop Simulator, but this looks WAY easier and more cohesive. Thank you!!

[@ethanwetzel7]

Hope you don't have any cards outside that 7000 😂

[@CannedBreadCS2]

Tabletop is so much easier lol

[@hexginnkgo]

As many people have mentioned, Cockatrice is a fantastic option. It's easy to set up, has a plethora of options for customization, and unlike Tabletop Simulator is 100% free as well as gets you straight into Magic. You don't have to go through their janky setup. Spelltable is also really good but unless you are streaming your feed to someone else and vice versa, you only get to see one aspect of the board. There are tournaments that allow Spelltable as well as tournaments through Cockatrice. They aren't even hard to find.

[@Nidrog]

I'll say TTS advantage over Cockatrice is that it is a TABLETOP Simulator. Anything from MTG to 40k can be played on it. And while not free it does go on sale pretty often such as right now thanks to being on steam. But hey its 20€ for something that has given me at least over a thousand hours of playtime total. That's honestly worth the price of admission if you ask me. I'd argue also that if you don't host the game, it gets you quicker into the magic because all you need is the deck importer and that the host can get set up and then all you do is ctrl+c, ctrl+v, click button. And your deck with all the tokens and everything else you might need is there. Including potential side and maybe board cards that can be there to swap out cards if you want to lower your decks power level, or increase it. And all you needed to do besides making the deck on a place like moxfield or Archidekt is install it. Both are pretty good ways of playing it though. (I do prefer TTS because honestly I can have my decks look the way I want without any work on my end outside of picking how I want the cards to look on Archidekt.)

[@hurpdurpueruhur]

Cockatrice's interface is absolutely atrocious(very similar to mtgo's lmao) compared to TTS's mtg scripting, as cockatrice is made for many card games and the TTS map is specifically designed for MTG, and can host up to 8 players without the restriction of only being tied to a window, as someone that's played both it's not even close, spend the 20$(10$ on sale right now) for tts and never look back.

[@hurpdurpueruhur]

also not even trying to be rude here, if 10-20$ for tts is too high of a price point picking up MTG as a hobby isn't the greatest idea.

[@DarkYuan]

I'll recommend Untap instead of Cockatrice. It's basically everything Cockatrice does but without having to manage a few thousand image files.

[@hexginnkgo]

@@DarkYuan When do you have to manually have to manage a few thousand image files?

[@frenzii8332]

When it is hard to find a group of local players, this is highly useful information. Thanks for the video. If however you can find local groups, take that route. Its much better to me. May get stinky from time to time, but its so much more worth it to build real friendships. You the reader have the ability, believe in yourself.

[@othervinny]

I'm so glad this video got made! MODO is so scary for so many people (myself included) and I can't think of anyone better than the Prof to deliver this sort of tutorial. I'll have to pick up those bundles this weekend and try and throw a deck together. Wish me luck

[@questforchips]

This was very helpful, thank you! I haven't played in years but been watching TCC and the Command Zone for a bit. Getting the itch to play, this is a great entry.

[@AutkastKain]

My DND group uses Cockatrice, and it's 100% free. We can even upload our own custom cards, which inspired our DM to make custom Commanders that are our DND characters

[@artofstorytelling9406]

Does it take a lot of time / knowledge to setup games of commander with cockatrice? And is it only for windows or Mac too ?

[@Aztracity]

I've been on cockatrice for like 11 years now lol. Favorite place to play online

[@Demonhawk14]

@@artofstorytelling9406 My group also uses Cockatrice. It takes a bit of time to get used to the UI, but after a few games it works pretty well. It works for both Win or Mac and the one minute game guide & getting started guide on the github wiki for the project should get you going pretty quickly.

[@xChikyx]

finally, a man of culture

[@xChikyx]

​@@artofstorytelling9406it's really easy to use. setting up a room takes like 5 seconds literally

[@salvatorenoth2489]

This was a great video Prof, and I'm super excited for the next Shuffle Up and Play!

[@user-lk9mk9md9d]

I'm an Arena player and watching this video made me think Arena was made by someone only interested in profit and MTGO is made by people who actually loves the game and wants to be more available.

[@Greg501-]

Well, they're both kind of understaffed anyways

[@xChikyx]

you just realized that after this video and not after the first fee minutes of using arena??

[@emerald_archer]

Arena was and is just trying to capitalize on Hearthstone, but with a Magic skin.

[@phoenixgemini42]

MTGO has one of the worst user interfaces I have ever interacted with. It's also so, so slow. Arena is much better in that regard

[@emerald_archer]

@@phoenixgemini42 yeh, I would rather play Commander, but MTGO sucks, like you said.

[@DerpHerper]

Recommend Table Top Simulator for a game with friends because it's the closest digital equivalent to regular magic.

[@fiascothe63rd]

Right down to getting to throw tokens around the board just for funsies! TTS is the best.

[@toporange0075]

i find cockatrice to be better to use than tts

[@fiascothe63rd]

@@toporange0075 Cockatrice is also good, but for totally different reasons. It’s streamlined and efficient, but it’s missing the ‘paper feel’ that Tabletop Simulator gives.

[@TheOneWhoKnocksPolitely]

Downloaded today. Will play with the settings over the next few days!

[@energy-turtle]

This video reminded genuinely of when I was in University learning a tutorial I love this channel and it’s style thanks for all you do Proferino!!

[@crazyhands911.]

Nice job bringing this to light!

[@mateastman1765]

Another banger! Thanks prof

[@scizo8882]

Thank you for this video, and the intro to Mtgo!

[@Coryn101]

Great video, Prof! Love MTGO.

[@RadishSpirit432]

I don't usually comment on TY videos but i recently got into MTG and have build my first commander deck, and I have been looking up a way online..... like TODAY i was looking this stuff up.... This video has been great ty!

[@Dugan1121]

I can't wait to try this. Already showed me friends

[@DragonmasterSK]

Thanks for the info, Prof. Definitely worth it

[@viper69kane99]

Great introduction to the site, and excellent unpacking of all the information 🤘 🐍

[@akersstrings5682]

Cockatrice is my favorite for playing with friends! Free sandbox that lets you do whatever I have modern, pauper, legacy, standard, commander and CEDH decks on it. It’s clunky at first, but once you get down the shortcuts, it’s so nice. It’s also where I test decks out.

[@xChikyx]

the shortcuts are easy to master, and thankfully they are customizable. I test every single one of my decks there before buying the proxys to play them physically. It saves me so much money, and helps me improve my decks a lot. I just love it

[@xChikyx]

the shortcuts are easy to master, and thankfully they are customizable. I test every single one of my decks there before buying the proxys to play them physically. It saves me so much money, and helps me improve my decks a lot. I just love it

[@DarkYuan]

I'll recommend Untap instead of Cockatrice. It's basically everything Cockatrice does but without having to manage a few thousand image files.

[@phareux5135]

Very helpful and informative

[@ItalianRage1]

Can’t wait to try this out.

[@w4tsonichiro351]

i was waiting for a video like this!!! Magic should really come up with a online commander game so I can play with friends who's far away... Yugioh and pokemon do today, and now I discovered Magic!

[@houndoom73]

I might give this a try now. I've been to afraid of getting into MTGO and being so far behind anyone else because I wouldn't have any cards. This seems like a really good way to play Magic at home

[@hotdachsbun]

This is a super helpful video

[@benjaminkaye5119]

This was very helpful. Would love to see a follow up video , obtaining new cards and building and playing a deck.

[@Light-ps5yf]

Greatest timing ever 🔥

[@trident042]

As someone who hasn't played MTGO since RTR block, I'm not sure how much of those bundles I can take advantage of, but when I get my computer back from the shop I intend to take a look! Thanks for the recommendation, Prof!

[@spectre1006]

great video i didnt know where to start thank you!

[@MikhailHudon_ZerithFarron]

Spell Table with friends to use my IRL cards or Tabletop Simulator to brew/test and play with strategies I'd normally never want to build.

[@ethanwetzel7]

Tabletop Simulator is the best commander experience out there with the right table, especially for deck experimentation, ease of use and price.

[@Sturmcrow]

This is really cool to know, last year I went through the steps to access my old MTGO account but didnt know I could play Commander on it nor that I could get a LOT of cards for very little, now I just need to remember the password again hehe

[@leosklein575]

Excellent video, has been much needed

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Cheers!

[@DHogsett]

As someone that derives immense enjoyment from spectating matches of Commander on MTGO I'd be extremely happy to see some new faces to watch play. ♥

[@jacklallem7805]

Great vid! Cheap OTJ drafts online too right now. Packs around 1 ticket to play!

[@professorchance8515]

Table top sim or untap is the way to go.

[@sentientsickness]

Untap is a little jank, but it works on my phone so it gets a pass

[@Mia_Waiting]

Xmage is still better tho (open source and all cards are 100% free).

[@ThatDudeSmoke]

I use Cockatrice personally, easy to setup and use. Has a very good community if using the discord to look for games of any format.

[@eikumbokum]

I use xmage to play Modern. It's great!

[@DarkYuan]

Yeah Xmage is basically the free equivalent to MTGO. It's the only other multiplayer program that handles all the game logic like MTGO does.

[@JD-td8kl]

Is Xmage still supported well? Have not used it for years. Is it still worth it? May load it up again.

[@eikumbokum]

@@JD-td8kl Xmage is still supported, yes. In that new cards are still added. That said, I do not believe there is much in the way of new features or anything like that.

[@R0LL1NGTHUND3R86]

I had never really thought about MTGO because I didn't want to have to pay for paper and digital cards. That is the sole reason that I don't play Arena. My friends and I are new considering MTGO because of this video. Thank you so much for this and everything that you do, Prof. Much love and appreciation.

[@bcoo111]

Tabletop Simulator, and cockatrice, give you what you are looking for, and TTS has a much better UI than MTGO.

[@666voyager666]

Hey professor thanks, love ya bud.

[@Byron418]

Thanks Prof!

[@pedroenmanuelfuenteszambra8873]

didn't knew we had commander and pauper in MTGO. why this isn't in arena. I've tried testing out decks in Arena but there are so many missing cards. Having MTGo as an actual functional and cheaper alternative is incredible. Thanks Prof!

[@coreykuehl8519]

Great video 👍

[@Maxis3434]

Thank you for this video! Last time I saw MTGO it looked… out of date. This video has convinced me it’s time to transition from expensive paper magic to online 24/7 games!

[@jayster426]

I just sold my collection. Going online more

[@austingreen4775]

I've played some commander online. Personally it doesn't feel as fun as in person but I completely understand when people do. Still waiting on that Behind the Campus Video Prof, it's been a few months now. I've been keeping track.

[@rickgsteel2443]

My buddies and I play on Untap. We use moxfield to store and rotate out decks

[@luostsolSECT]

you are not only a character , legend in MTG BUT you are a salesman. i was sold at 4 minutes in

[@erdinyobarboza8083]

Finally the infomercial that got me

[@thumbwrestler12]

Oh this sounds interesting I’m hyped up I usually just go webcam or untap with friends I’ll have to try online again. I love brawl in arena and this will be great

[@MagicTheChattering]

I’ve been playing magic for over 10 years, my group aims to meet once per week, but life gets in the way and we tend to meet more once per month now. I always want to play more commander but Magic Online has always seemed too intimidating! Even after all this time! But not anymore, I’ll definitely be giving it a crack now, thanks Prof 🥳

[@stevepeter6619]

Still waiting on cards from over two years ago to get added to MTGO (Purification Druid, looking at you).

[@yuukikun0]

As a side note, I like that he empathizes the fact it is a one time purchase instead of a suscription. Suscription services had really become a problem

[@punkypinko2965]

Thanks!

[@Timbuktu-qt2lj]

Looks like it could be fun, I'll give a shot.

[@Orandjman]

Forge is free, open-source, runs on Windows + Mac + Linux + Android, includes every MTG card to date, allows for play against bots & multiplayer, and has an optional adventure mode.

[@xChikyx]

against bots it's great, i used to test some decks there

[@hommebanal3852]

Forge ?

[@eikumbokum]

Looking at the official Forge wiki now it says that online multiplayer is still a work in progress and has bugs that will likely prevent you from playing a full game. I use Xmage and have never encountered a bug in multiplayer. But I'll give forge a try for Android use and AI play.

[@TheLarch]

Forge is excellent for "advanced goldfishing" but playing with other humans is a mess

[@trueagentt]

This is the ONLY way

[@dougljenkins]

Thanks 🎉😊

[@NN-cr6gx]

There should be a magic game where you can "scan" or somehow import your real life cards and play it out with friends.

[@samowens576]

Have you tried Spelltable? You don't even have to scan your deck. It just does it on the fly.

[@rustyxof]

This should have been in effect many many moons ago.

[@urahara64360]

That's what I'm honestly looking for

[@sixtysixstyx]

The tcgplayer app can scan your deck and then you import it to tappedout and you can use it in tabletop simulator for free.

[@user-pd2mp8nk5g]

You could probably do that on tts

[@UraniumChef]

I’m ready for the Charlie episode!

[@alexzandermanning6094]

Protip: you can actually screenshare moxfield using OBS software . Lets you prototype any deck, and spelltable picks up the cards perfectly.

[@jazzyjay2728]

I personally love to use Cockatrice for commander. No limits on cards, infinite variety.

[@xChikyx]

a man of culture as well

[@zentec010]

Thanks for the videos and the comments, I never heard so many different clients dropped for commander in the comment section before will be checking all of them out.

[@musashibriem1352]

Still not interested in playing commander online with randos, but very clear and informative video if I were. Thanks Prof!

[@sethronalter5178]

Glad the comments are mentioning Table Top Sim and other free alternatives. Cool that this exists and all but I'll just keep playing on TTS where I can just import every card for free, thanks.

[@bcoo111]

I'd even pay a one off official site fee if it was all cards and a better UI, like the TTS one.

[@bigbearded8434]

You rock!

[@ItsEmeraldYT]

I wish I could just port my actual commander deck into it without needing to buy cards that I already had to buy physically, if I already have all this than I don't wanna buy whatever I need to in order to play with my buddy's when we don't wanna meet up I would rather stick to facecam game nights

[@sixtysixstyx]

Tabletop Simulator is what your looking for. Probably on sale right now for the steam summer sales too so best time to get started.

[@daminit6]

ether tabletop sim for a paid program that also has tons of other uses and games you could play on it, or cockatrice/untap for completely free to use, import your deck list from some place like moxfield and your good to go, cockatrice is my preferred way to play, really easy to use once you start memorizing the many shortcuts and for me and my friend group that are much less experienced its really easy to just take back moves or mistakes as we continue to learn and mess with the system.

[@JakeBrowneVideo]

New Deck (2) (Final) (THIS ONE) is a great 'lil Easter egg

[@spooderous]

Spell Table is a nightmare to use. It requires such a perfect set of conditions to work. No one in my friend group can get it to work. I have a 4k webcam and it just doesn't matter because it's locked to 720p. No amount of adjusting my lighting or camera position works. It's just a fuzzy mess. We just use Table Top Simulator.

[@samuraib0b]

Tabletop simulator will be way cheaper than this way and you’ll have access to any of the cards for freeeeeee

[@shagbaker377]

One thing I would like to add: If you are looking for other commander staples like Mana Crypt/Vault or fetches, you only need ONE copy for ALL decks. There is no need to buy a separate copy for each deck. Learned that the hard way.😅

[@Infernoblade1010]

That's a wild deal! I've played on MTGO for years, and it was sad to see it fall to the wayside due to arena. Arena still has a ton of work to do before I'd even care to come back to it. I might drag a few of my friends back into it too. $45 is impressively cheap, and I love how easy it is to brew on MTGO.

[@EF14]

I use Cockatrice within my friend group. It's open-source and deck builder is built in. Plus if we swap out the card database with... let's say YuGiOh we can use it for that too. Downside is everything is manual

[@vctrsigma]

Naver gave MTGO much of a look. This actually seems pretty nice and a decent bargain. Thanks

[@tapedeccard]

Nice tie

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Thanks

[@Moto1987]

It would be great to have a video showcasing how to purchase cards which are outside the base 7000 shown here, it's quite complicated the first time you do it!

[@killat5913]

TableTop Simulator is also a very fun choice. There are scripted workshop mods.

[@SterkRacing]

The one thing keeping me from Arena are people purposefully dragging out games because they're losing. I can't imagine how long these commander games would last in this case.

[@DocTwisted]

I'll admit, this has me interested in giving MTGO another chance. Last time I tried it, was during Invasion, and back then it felt like it was just a way to make me purchase all my cards twice.

[@alexdalzell4451]

This was great, I had no idea there was an option that allowed commander as arena does not

[@joystickgenie]

As someone who hasn't played MTGO since Arena took off going back to MTGO for commander has felt like far too much of an undertaking knowing just how many cards I would need to pickup to get reasonably in the meta again. I did not know about that $5 collection upgrade pack and knowing about it now makes that seems like much less of an onerous task. Add this one to the list of the many positive videos where prof is acting as an ambassador to magic and doing good for the community

[@Fokeno]

Simple bump for Untap. It's not the most feature rich, but its simple and works.

[@Rich2799]

It’s been a while since I played MTGO. I remember I have a fun Aruami deck. I should dust it off and play a few games.

[@JerBroChill]

Guys just use moxfield to play test any deck you want, use OBS to create ways to cover your hand and library (when you view it) and to utilize the virtual camera. Point it to your moxfield play tes, then use spelltable and use your virtual camera to play anyone

[@thebrunoo2730]

If this was the way wizard annouced the release of commander on Arena it would have been epic, sadly we'll have to keep waiting

[@tersonva]

Let's goooooo

[@Rukha95]

Tabletop is the clear best way to play commander. My friends and I have tried spell table and even with great cameras sometimes it's just impossible to really see the card properly and grasp the full scale of their boards

[@theflyingpig1018]

Personally I still find tabletop simulator to be the best online commander option, though I would be lying if i said that i haven't given MTGO a thought, Tabletop SIm is just a significantly cheaper alternative.

[@allanturmaine5496]

Dang, Prof. You talked me into it. I've been unhappy with Arena for some time, and this is so much more fair. And maybe more fun.

[@xChikyx]

try cockatrice, i 110% recommend it

[@theboochiestore]

great video but can’t wait for Charlie

[@ripboots]

i don't know if i'm going blind but i've been trying to find the link for a bit. Thanks 😁👍

[@TheUnknownMercinary]

Tabletop Simulator is the way

[@guilhermesouza4933]

Thanks, I will build myself a deck today

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@APaganPerspective]

Been playing Commander on MTGO for years

[@Innate47i1]

How is it now compared to like 2 years ago?