The Command Zone Template

Jimmy Wong and Josh Lee Kwai from The Command Zone podcast created one of the most widely used deckbuilding templates in Commander. They've updated it over the years as the format has evolved.

The template

The big shift: targeted removal nearly doubled while board wipes dropped. The format got faster and more threat-dense. You need answers to specific problems more often than you need to reset the board. Board wipes also set you back along with everyone else, so running fewer makes sense unless your deck specifically benefits from them (see Aristocrats).

The Episode 658 evolution

In Episode 658, they introduced a framework for thinking about the "strategy" portion of your deck:

Enablers — cards that make your strategy work. Without them, the deck doesn't do its thing. Sacrifice outlets in Aristocrats. Blink engines in Flicker. Extra land drop effects in Landfall.

Payoffs — cards that reward you for executing your strategy. Blood Artist when creatures die. Avenger of Zendikar when lands enter. These turn your engine into damage.

Enhancers — cards that make your strategy better but aren't required. A lord in a tribal deck. A Doubling Season in a token deck. Nice to have, not essential.

When building the "standalone / strategy" portion of your deck, aim for a balance. Too many enablers and not enough payoffs means your engine runs but doesn't win. Too many payoffs and not enough enablers means you're holding cards that do nothing until something else appears.

A rough split: 40% enablers, 35% payoffs, 25% enhancers. Adjust based on how your deck actually plays.

When to deviate

The template is a baseline, not a prescription. Some archetypes need different numbers:

• Control wants more removal (12-15) and more board wipes (5-7)
• Aggro wants less removal (5-6) and fewer lands (34-36)
• Combo wants more card draw (10-12) and protection (4-6) at the expense of removal
• Spellslinger cares less about creatures and more about instant/sorcery density

See ratios by archetype for specific numbers.

Using the template

1. Pick your commander
2. Fill in the fixed categories: lands, ramp, card draw, removal, board wipes
3. Count how many slots remain (usually 30-40)
4. Split those slots into enablers, payoffs, and enhancers for your strategy
5. Build, playtest, adjust

The template gets you to a functional first draft. The playtesting is where the deck becomes yours.