{"id":1234094,"date":"2026-02-26T03:59:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T03:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=608423"},"modified":"2026-02-26T03:59:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T03:59:03","slug":"magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure> <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-caption=\"\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups.png\" \/><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Commander has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/2020\/5\/28\/21266763\/magic-the-gathering-commander-origins-elder-dragon-highlander-alaska-menery\">Magic: the Gathering\u2019s most popular format<\/a> for years, shaping the way the game is developed from the creation of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/mtg-magic-the-gathering\/598769\/magic-the-gathering-mtg-final-fantasy-commander-decks-pre-orders\">ready-to-play decks<\/a> to accompany each new set to the preponderance of legends players can build their own decks around. Wizards of the Coast has only been increasing its focus on the format, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/mtg-magic-the-gathering\/533852\/mtg-magic-commander-format-changes\">taking control<\/a> from the volunteer-led Commander Roles Committee last year and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/mtg-magic-the-gathering\/485083\/magic-gathering-commander-video-game\">working on a dedicated video game<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Now the company is looking to connect its top formats with a new drafting model designed for four people \u2014 the number in a Commander group \u2014 rather than the six-to-eight-person pods players are grouped in for a typical booster draft. Pick-Two Draft uses 12 booster packs, three for each player, as usual, and follows the rules of a standard draft except that players choose two cards from every pack before passing, a rule that was already present in drafts for the Commander Masters sets. Besides halving the number of players required, it also allows a bit more focused deck crafting and makes it easier to telegraph to your neighbors what colors you\u2019re focusing on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Players build decks of 40 cards using what they drafted and any basic lands they want. The pod is then divided into two groups to play against each other, with the winners facing off for bragging rights or a prize if it\u2019s part of a tournament. Since this is now an official format, you might be able to find it at local gaming stores soon, beyond just using it to spice up your usual Commander night.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div>\n<div><iframe title=\"Introducing: Four-Player Pick-Two Draft for Magic: The Gathering! | MTG\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nffR1Tqbphw?rel=0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Pick-Two Draft was first tested at MagicCons, where it was called a Lightning Draft. That name is a reference to the format\u2019s other big advantage: during playtests, pods have been able to draft, build their decks, and then play their matches in just 90 minutes. <\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">As with every announcement that introduces new rules or ways to play the game, responses have been mixed. While many players are enthusiastic and eager to play Pick-Two Draft, some purists of the Limited format are more skeptical, and look at this as another example of what some players perceive as Commander encroaching on other formats. Nonetheless, Pick-Two Draft will continue to be part of MagicCons, with the next one taking place in <a href=\"https:\/\/mcatlanta.mtgfestivals.com\/en-us.html\">Atlanta in September<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/mtg-magic-the-gathering\/608423\/mtg-new-draft-format-pick-two-commander-groups\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Commander has been Magic: the Gathering\u2019s most popular format for years, shaping the way the game is developed from the creation of ready-to-play decks to accompany each new set to the preponderance of legends players can build their own decks around. Wizards of the Coast has only been increasing its focus on the format, taking control from the volunteer-led Commander Roles Committee last year and working on a dedicated video game. Now the company is looking to connect its top formats with a new drafting model designed for four people \u2014 the number in a Commander group \u2014 rather than the six-to-eight-person pods players are grouped in for a typical booster draft. Pick-Two Draft uses 12 booster packs, three for each player, as usual, and&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"excerpt-more\"><a class=\"blog-excerpt button\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1234095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1234094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Commander has been Magic: the Gathering\u2019s most popular format for years, shaping the way the game is developed from the creation of ready-to-play decks to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups | Arcader News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Commander has been Magic: the Gathering\u2019s most popular format for years, shaping the way the game is developed from the creation of ready-to-play decks to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T03:59:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cropped-arcader-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"headline\":\"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T03:59:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":393,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Polygon\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/\",\"name\":\"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups | Arcader News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T03:59:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"description\":\"Commander has been Magic: the Gathering\u2019s most popular format for years, shaping the way the game is developed from the creation of ready-to-play decks to\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups.png\",\"caption\":\"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"description\":\"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arcade News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cricketgames.tv\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/author\\\/arcade-news\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups | Arcader News","description":"Commander has been Magic: the Gathering\u2019s most popular format for years, shaping the way the game is developed from the creation of ready-to-play decks to","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups | Arcader News","og_description":"Commander has been Magic: the Gathering\u2019s most popular format for years, shaping the way the game is developed from the creation of ready-to-play decks to","og_url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/","og_site_name":"Arcade News","article_published_time":"2026-02-26T03:59:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":320,"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cropped-arcader-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Arcade News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arcade News","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/"},"author":{"name":"Arcade News","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"headline":"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups","datePublished":"2026-02-26T03:59:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/"},"wordCount":393,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups.png","articleSection":["Polygon"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/","name":"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups | Arcader News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups.png","datePublished":"2026-02-26T03:59:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"description":"Commander has been Magic: the Gathering\u2019s most popular format for years, shaping the way the game is developed from the creation of ready-to-play decks to","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups.png","caption":"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/magic-adds-a-new-draft-format-perfect-for-commander-groups\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Magic adds a new draft format perfect for Commander groups"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/","name":"Arcade News","description":"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839","name":"Arcade News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arcade News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/cricketgames.tv"],"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/author\/arcade-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1234094"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1510407,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234094\/revisions\/1510407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1234095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1234094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1234094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1234094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}