Mystery Booster Commander Commander Draft Night Checklist

Running a Mystery Booster Commander Edition draft at Gen Con, MagicCon Atlanta, or a kitchen table benefits from a shared checklist captains can follow aloud. Too many first-time pods lose twenty minutes debating deck size, partner eligibility, or whether playtest cards belong in the main deck. This page combines procedural reminders with an interactive checklist embedded below—use the on-page tool to mark steps complete and reset between rounds when you fire another draft from the same twenty-four booster box.

Draft night checklist

Tick each step as your pod moves from pack one to the first combat step.

• Confirm each player has three Mystery Booster Commander Edition boosters
• Agree on pick-two direction: left, then right, then left
• Choose a commander (or partner pair) from your drafted pool
• Apply the ≤1-colour partner exception only when the event uses MBC draft rules
• Verify every nonland card fits the resulting colour identity
• Count early interaction and mana sinks before cutting to sixty
• Add enough basics for your colours and any Rulebreaker land permissions
• Sleeve, life pad ready, explain Rulebreaker text to the pod if needed

Reset checklist

Read how to play for full rules context; this checklist is the condensed captain script.

Pre-draft setup

Confirm each player knows boosters are pick-two and decks are sixty cards. Count boosters per player against box allocation—twenty-four boosters total in a product box. Seat players, randomize first pick direction, and designate who resolves disputes (preferably someone who skimmed partner pairings and release notes).

Announce synthetic partner rules upfront: legends with one or fewer colors without printed partner may be treated as having partner. Point players to the partner checker on their phones.

Remind the table that playtest cards are legal in Limited for this product but not in constructed Commander afterward—a common post-draft mistake.

During the draft

Pass packs on schedule; pick-two means fewer total passes than one-pick drafts but larger pools per player. Encourage players to keep picked cards separated from unpicked pool to prevent accidental mix-ins from neighboring seats.

Call a mid-draft checkpoint when roughly half the packs are opened: anyone below expected pick count should verify they took two cards each time. Mystery Booster’s wide card frames make miscounts easy.

Watch for intentional rare pulls—wildcard and reprinted commander slots can shift archetypes late. That is normal; panic-picking a legend pack one is not required.

Deckbuilding phase

Set a timer if your venue requires pace—forty-five to sixty minutes suits new players; spikes may finish faster. Building steps:

1. Sort mana sources, removal, creatures, and engines.
2. Choose commander or eligible partner pair from drafted legends.
3. Verify combined color identity on every main-deck card.
4. Apply Rulebreaker construction only for the designated commander—see Rulebreaker guide.
5. Count to exactly sixty main-deck cards.

Players unsure about mana bases should open how to build for land counts and rock adjustments.

Registration and pre-game

Collect decklists if the event requires them—casual pods may skip paper lists but should still verbalize commanders. Check for acorn cards only when building for constructed later; they are fine in Limited tonight.

Set life to forty, commanders in zone, mulligan procedure agreed. Reveal all commanders simultaneously so table knows colors, partner pairs, and obvious synergies before turn one.

Resolve disputes with release notes PDFs rather than memory—conjure cards and playtest interactions generate questions fast.

First combat readiness

Confirm turn order, dice or app for commander damage tracking, and that each player shuffled with commanders identifiable. Take a photo of interesting board states if content creators attend—optional but Gen Con culture.

After game one, decide whether to redeploy same decks or sideboard unused pool cards per house rules.

Using the interactive checklist

The embedded tool on this page mirrors the sections above as tick boxes you can reset when running multiple drafts. It does not replace judges at competitive events—always defer to official MagicCon head judges when instructions conflict.

Organizers planning large events should also read MagicCon Atlanta availability and Festival in a Box for sourcing enough boxes.

After draft cleanup

Separate playtest cards if players sleeve for Commander FNM later. Discuss legality timing for new MBC-set cards. Trade or return unused cards per pod agreement.

Reset the interactive checklist before the next pod uses the tool—nothing confuses captains like last group’s half-checked steps.