MTG Commander Power and Speed: Build to Your Pod, Not the Internet

TLDR

“Power level” arguments usually fail because numbers are vague. “Speed” (turn range) is concrete.
Measure your deck by when it can meaningfully take over or attempt a win, not by vibes.
The biggest power-and-speed levers are fast mana, tutors, and how compact your win condition is.
A 30-second Rule 0 check about speed + win method solves more problems than any 1-10 scale ever will.
Proxies are great for testing and casual play when your group says yes. Sanctioned events are a different rulebook.

So here’s the secret: MTG Commander power and speed is not an internet ranking. It’s a promise you’re making to the three people across the table that tonight’s game will feel like the same sport. The internet can’t help you keep that promise. It does not know your pod. It barely knows peace.

Why “build to your pod” matters more than “optimize”

Commander isn’t one format. It’s a family of formats wearing a trench coat. Your local group might be:

Precons plus a few upgrades and a lot of snacks
“Mid-power” decks that still run tutors and combos, but not the turbo stuff
High-power games where interaction is constant and threats are compact
cEDH where the opening hand is basically a legal document

Online advice tends to assume one of two things:

You want the strongest version of your commander, period.
You’re playing against people who also did that, and everyone is happy about it.

Sometimes that’s true. Often it’s not. If you build for the internet, you will eventually sit down in a pod where your deck feels like a leaf blower at a candle-lit dinner. You might win. You will not be invited to the next dinner.

Power vs speed (related, not the same thing)

People mash these together, then wonder why every conversation goes poorly.

Speed is how early your deck can produce a win attempt or a game-warping position.
Power is how hard that plan is to stop, and how well you recover if it gets stopped.

Examples:

A glass-cannon combo deck can be fast but not very powerful if one counterspell deletes its whole identity.
A stax or value engine deck can be powerful but not fast because it wins later, just with everyone slowly losing the will to live.

This is why “my deck is a 7” is comedy. That number is trying to describe speed, power, resilience, consistency, and social tolerance all at once. It cannot. It was never going to.

A quick way to measure your deck’s speed (no spreadsheets required)

You don’t need a power-level calculator. You need three reality checks.

1) Goldfish for “first scary turn”

Shuffle up and play 10 solo hands (fast, imperfect is fine). Track:

Turn you present a must-answer threat (engine online, lethal swing incoming, combo setup that forces interaction)
Turn you attempt to win if nobody stops you

Ignore the one hand where you had everything. Also ignore the one hand where you kept a swamp and a dream.

2) Track “win attempt turn” in real games

In actual pods, speed is constrained by interaction and table politics. So in your next few games, note:

When did you try to win?
When did you force the table to react?

That’s your real speed. Not your best speed. Commander isn’t graded on your highlight reel.

3) Do the “compression check”

Ask how many cards your deck needs to win once it decides to win.

Combat plans usually need time plus board presence plus protection.
Combo plans can be 2 cards, 3 cards, or “my commander plus one spell, sorry.”
Tutor density makes any plan more consistent, which effectively makes it faster.

If your win is compact and tutorable, your deck will feel fast even if it technically wins on turn 8. Because every turn 8 looks the same.

A pod-friendly speed ladder (use this, not the 1-10 scale)

Turn ranges are not perfect, but they are understandable. Here’s a practical ladder you can use to match expectations:

Pod label (common)	Typical “win attempt” window (if mostly unchecked)	What games feel like
Battlecruiser / Precon-ish	Turn 10+	Big boards, big spells, lots of time to breathe
Low to Mid	Turn 8-10	Synergy decks, some combos, interaction exists but is not constant
Mid to High	Turn 6-8	Efficient engines, tutors show up, threats come online early
High power	Turn 4-6	Compact win lines, heavy interaction, mistakes get punished fast
cEDH	Turn 2-4 (often earlier pressure)	You keep hands for velocity, not vibes

Important: these are rules of thumb, not laws of nature. The point is shared language. If your pod says “we’re usually a turn 9-ish table,” you now know what not to bring.

That’s the whole game. Matching.

The three knobs that actually change Commander power and speed

If you only remember one section, make it this one. Most deck “power debates” are secretly about these levers.

Knob 1: Fast mana

Fast mana is anything that jumps you ahead on turns 1-3 in a way normal decks cannot keep up with.

If your opening turns regularly look like “land, rock, rock, commander” you are announcing a faster game than a precon pod signed up for. They might still be cool with it. They just deserve to know.

How to tune:

Want to slow down without ruining the deck? Cut the fastest acceleration first.
Want to speed up responsibly? Add ramp, but also add interaction so you don’t become “I ramped, now I hope nobody does anything.”

Knob 2: Tutors (and “tutor-like” redundancy)

Tutors reduce variance. Less variance means more consistent early wins. More consistent early wins means your “casual” deck becomes the same game over and over, which is a special kind of un-fun.

A simple guideline:

0-1 tutors feels like “I built a deck.”
2-5 tutors feels like “I built a plan.”
6+ tutors feels like “I built a machine.”

You can absolutely play machines. Just do it with other machine enjoyers.

Knob 3: Win condition compression

This is the big one people ignore because it requires honesty.

If your deck can win with:

commander + one card
a two-card combo you can tutor for
an A+B line that only needs one window to resolve

Then your deck is functionally faster than it looks, even if you “usually win later.” Because you can pivot from “nothing happening” to “game over” with very little warning.

If you want your deck to play nicer in slower pods, you don’t have to delete your identity. You can:

swap to a more board-based win
require more setup pieces
cut the cleanest tutor targets
add win conditions that the table can see coming and respond to

Telegraphed is not bad. Telegraphed is interactive. Commander is supposed to be interactive unless you’re specifically agreeing not to be.

Build to your pod: a simple calibration loop

Here’s the framework that actually works, especially when you’re playing with new people.

Step 1: Ask for the pod’s speed, not their number

Try:

“What turn do games usually end around here?”
“Are we talking precons and combat, or are combos normal?”
“Any fast mana and heavy tutors at the table tonight?”

You’re not interrogating. You’re matching.

Step 2: Describe your deck in one sentence

Not a TED Talk. One sentence.

Examples:

“This deck wins through combat, usually turns 9-11, not many tutors.”
“This is a combo deck, it can attempt a win around turn 6-7 if left alone, and it runs a few tutors.”
“This is high-power, lots of stack interaction, compact wins, it’s trying to end games fast.”

If that sentence feels embarrassing to say out loud, that’s useful information.

Step 3: Swap decks or swap a few cards

If you’re off by a full tier, don’t negotiate reality. Adjust.

Easy downshifts:

cut the fastest mana pieces
cut a couple tutors
replace a compact combo with a slower, board-based finisher
add “fair” draw and removal so you’re playing the same game as everyone else

Easy upshifts:

tighten the mana base (more untapped sources)
increase cheap interaction
add redundancy for your win condition
reduce cute seven-mana spells that do nothing when you’re behind

Step 4: Do a 20-second postgame check-in

This is the most underrated Commander skill.

“That was faster than I expected. Next game I’ll play something slower.”
“Combos are fine, but can we avoid the super compact ones this pod?”
“I’m going to switch to my lower-power deck so it’s closer.”

This is how good pods get good. Not by arguing about “7s.”

Rule 0 scripts that actually prevent bad games

Use these. Copy-paste them. Become the person who makes the night smoother.

Quick script (strangers, LGS, pickup pods)

“Before we start, what speed are we aiming for? My deck tries to win around turn 7 if unchecked, mostly through combo, with a few tutors. If that’s too spicy I can swap.”

Slightly longer script (when people want specifics)

“My deck’s plan is [combat/value/combo]. It can attempt a win around turn [X-Y] if nobody interacts. It runs [none/a few/several] tutors and [some/a lot] of fast mana. Any preferences or hard no’s at the table?”

If you want to say no without making it weird

“I’m looking for a slower game right now. Mind if I sit this one out or swap pods?”

That’s it. No moral judgments. No speeches. Just matching expectations like an adult who wants to play a card game and not star in a forum thread.

Proxies and “speed mismatch” are not the same conversation

Because this is ProxyKing, we should say the quiet part plainly: proxies make it easier to build whatever you want. That’s the point. Testing and accessibility are good.

But proxies don’t magically decide the kind of game you’re playing. You still do.

Use proxies to:

test a higher-speed version of your deck before you buy anything
keep games balanced across budgets
try new archetypes without lighting money on fire

Do not use proxies to:

dodge the power conversation
sneak into a pod that did not agree to that speed
treat sanctioned events like they’re casual kitchen table night

If your group is cool with proxies, awesome. If not, also fine. Bring a backup deck. The goal is to play Magic, not win a policy debate.

Common mismatches (and the fixes that don’t ruin friendships)

A few classics:

“My deck is casual, it just has fast mana and tutors”

That’s like saying your car is normal, it just has a rocket attached.

Fix: cut the fastest mana and a couple tutors, or play it at a table that wants that pace.

“We all agreed on mid-power, then someone won on turn 3”

Could be miscommunication, could be a nut draw, could be a deck mislabeled on purpose. Commander is full of mysteries.

Fix: call it out calmly after the game. “Hey, that was way faster than what I expected when we said mid-power. Can we recalibrate?”

“My deck never wins, so it must be low power”

Not always. Sometimes it’s high power with no interaction, which is basically just a victim waiting to happen.

Fix: add cheap interaction. A deck that can’t stop anything is not “nice.” It’s just present.

FAQs

What does “Commander power level 7” actually mean?

It means “I want this to sound reasonable.” The problem is that everyone’s 7 is different. Talk speed and win method instead.

How do I slow down my Commander deck without making it bad?

Cut the fastest mana first, then trim tutors, then swap compact win lines for more board-based wins. You’ll still have a plan, it’ll just give the table time to interact.

What’s the best way to describe my deck’s speed?

Use a turn range for win attempts if unchecked (like “turn 7-9”), plus a quick note on win method (combat vs combo) and whether you run lots of tutors or fast mana.

Is cEDH just “high power Commander”?

Not really. cEDH is a different social agreement: maximize win percentage, assume heavy interaction, assume compact win lines, and treat speed and consistency as the baseline.

Are proxies allowed in Commander?

In casual Commander, it’s whatever the group (or store) agrees to. In sanctioned events, player-made proxies are not allowed, with very limited judge-issued exceptions.