Fliers
Flying creatures and card draw. Isperia draws you a card whenever a creature attacks you, so the deck rewards holding a defensive board and winning in the air.
Set Spotlight
Starter Commander Decks
Five two-color decks built to teach Commander. Every card a reprint. Releases December 02, 2022.
5
PRECON DECKS
Set Code
scd
Cmdr Code
?
Release
December 02, 2022
Precons
5
Starter Commander Decks MTG release date: when did it come out?
Starter Commander Decks was released on December 2, 2022.
Starter Commander Decks released on December 2, 2022. Five two-color preconstructed decks, sold separately at a lower price than a seasonal Commander precon, built as an entry point into the format. Each box holds one 100-card deck: a foil-etched legendary commander plus 99 cards, with ten double-sided tokens, a deck box and a life tracker.
The five decks are First Flight (fliers and card draw), Grave Danger (Zombies and graveyard recursion), Chaos Incarnate (forcing opponents to attack each other), Draconic Destruction (Dragons and combat damage), and Token Triumph (creature tokens that go wide). Every face commander below links into Playgroup's stats pages with playrate, win rate, ELO and average game length, and every deck has a one-click Playtest in Playgroup Live button that drops you into a solo game with the decklist already imported. No copy-paste, no login dance.
Set code on Scryfall: SCD (352 cards).
Are the Starter Commander Decks good?
They are good at the job they were built for, which is teaching the format cheaply. Each deck runs two colors and one clear plan, so a new player can pick it up and understand every card in it. Nothing in the five decks is exclusive: all 352 cards are reprints, so there is no card here you can only get by buying one of these boxes.
The trade is power. These were built to a lower price than the Commander decks that ship alongside a modern set, and they play that way out of the box. If a deck has enough tracked games on Playgroup, its real win rate straight out of the box sits on the Commander precon tier list next to every other precon we rank.
Starter Commander Decks and the 2026 Foundations Commander Decks
Wizards replaced this line for 2026. The Foundations Commander Decks are five single-color starter precons releasing October 2, 2026, aimed at the same first-time Commander player. If you are searching for starter Commander decks in 2026, those are the current product and this page covers the 2022 originals.
The 2022 decks are still sold and still play fine. They are two-color rather than single-color, which gives a new player a little more to manage, and being older they are usually cheaper.
Card data sourced from Scryfall
Starter Commander Decks Commander Precons
Zombies
Zombie typal with graveyard recursion. Mill yourself with Gisa and Geralf, then cast a Zombie out of your graveyard each turn and rebuild faster than opponents can remove your board.
Goad
Politics and forced attacks. Kardur makes your opponents attack each other instead of you, and drains them for one life every time an attacking creature dies.
Dragons
Dragon typal and big combat damage. Ramp into Dragons, then let Atarka give every attacking Dragon double strike.
Tokens
Creature tokens that go wide. Emmara makes a lifelinking Soldier every time she taps, including for convoke, and the deck pumps the resulting team.
Taking Starter Commander Decks precons to a real table?
Track life, commander damage and per-deck stats with the free Playgroup life counter.
337 Starter Commander Decks cards spoiled so far
The full card list, sorted newest-first. Updated daily from Scryfall.
Starter Commander Decks FAQ
When did the Starter Commander Decks release?
The Starter Commander Decks released on December 2, 2022. The set code on Scryfall is SCD, covering all 352 cards across the five decks.
What are the 5 Starter Commander Decks?
First Flight (Fliers) led by Isperia, Supreme Judge; Grave Danger (Zombies) led by Gisa and Geralf; Chaos Incarnate (Goad) led by Kardur, Doomscourge; Draconic Destruction (Dragons) led by Atarka, World Render; Token Triumph (Tokens) led by Emmara, Soul of the Accord.
Are the Starter Commander Decks good?
They are good at what they were built for: two colors, one clear plan per deck, and a low price. Every card in them is a reprint, so nothing is exclusive to these boxes. They are less powerful out of the box than the Commander precons that ship with a modern set.
Which Starter Commander Deck is best for new Commander players?
Token Triumph is the easiest to pilot. Emmara, Soul of the Accord costs two mana and makes a token every time she taps, so the deck does something useful from turn two without asking you to track much. Draconic Destruction hits the hardest if you would rather attack with Dragons.
How much do the Starter Commander Decks cost?
They launched below the price of a seasonal Commander precon and are usually cheaper again now that the line is several years old. Each precon on this page has a buy link with the current price rather than a figure that goes stale.
Can I playtest the Starter Commander Decks before buying?
Yes. Every precon on this page has a one-click Playtest in Playgroup Live button. Click it, sign in if needed, and you land in a fresh solo game with the Archidekt decklist already imported.
Are the Starter Commander Decks still worth buying in 2026?
They still play fine and are usually the cheaper option. The current equivalent is the Foundations Commander Decks, five single-color starter precons releasing October 2, 2026, which are simpler again because each one runs a single color.
Are the Starter Commander Deck cards Standard legal?
No. The SCD printings are a Commander product and are not Standard legal. All 337 distinct cards across the five decks are legal in Commander, and because every one of them is a reprint, many are legal in other formats through their earlier printings.
