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Playgroup MTG life counter tracking four Commander players with life totals, commander damage and an attack
Free MTG Commander life counter

The MTG Commander life counter that keeps score

Track life, commander damage, poison and turns for paper Commander, free in your browser. Every game quietly builds your playgroup's ELO leaderboard, deck stats and a yearly Rewind.

No password, no download. Sign in only when you want the stats to stick.

At the table

Counts everything in a Commander game

Life totals, commander damage, poison, energy and custom counters, plus turn timers, for 2 to 6 players. Put one tablet in the middle of the table, or have everyone track from their own phone in the same game.

Four player Commander life counter with commander art backgrounds and a damage attack arrow
Commander damage

A commander damage tracker that does the counting for you

Commander damage is tracked per commander, not per player, which is the part that gets messy on paper. Playgroup keeps a separate running total for every commander that has hit you, so a four player pod is three numbers per seat rather than one you have to remember. Tap the attacking commander, enter the damage, and it goes where it belongs.

21 commander damage from a single commander is lethal, and the tracker tells you the moment a total crosses it instead of leaving you to notice. The same prompt covers 10 poison counters and life hitting zero. If the table is on separate phones, the prompt clears on every device once the kill is confirmed.

Playgroup ELO leaderboard ranking decks and players in a Commander playgroup
After the game

Most counters forget your game. This one remembers.

When the game ends, Playgroup turns those life totals into real data: an ELO leaderboard for your whole pod, win rates and estimated power level per deck, average turn and game length, and who really wins the table. Players call it the magic.

Every December

Your year in Magic, wrapped

Playgroup Rewind turns a season of games into a shareable year in review: your most played commanders, biggest rivalries, longest games and more. No other life counter does this.

A playgroup's 2025 Commander year in review with leaderboards, top commanders and combat stats
Any table, any device

An online MTG life counter, no download needed

Use it free in any browser on web, phone, tablet and desktop, or install the app on iOS, Android, Windows and Linux. Playing remotely? Our Convoke integration sends webcam Commander games straight to your Playgroup stats. Or bring your own deck to a Playgroup Live table on camera, in beta.

Web iOS Android Windows Linux
710,000+
Games tracked
★ 4.9
Google Play
★ 5.0
App Store

“The killer feature is that it updates ELO ratings for the decks each time they're played.”

Google Play

“The magic happens on the website. Seeing how decks do adds an extra layer of detail to our favorite hobby.”

App Store

“Since we introduced it into our pod our game awareness has improved significantly.”

Google Play

Reviewed by Commander's Herald

MTG life counter FAQ

What is an MTG life counter?
An MTG life counter is a digital scoreboard for Magic: The Gathering that tracks every player's life total during a game. For Commander it also tracks commander damage, poison and other counters for 2 to 6 players. Playgroup's life counter runs free in any browser and saves your results, so every game builds your playgroup's ELO leaderboard and deck stats.
Is the Playgroup life counter free?
Yes. Counting life at the table is free, in any browser and in the apps. You only need a free account when you want to save your stats, ELO and leaderboards.
Do I need an account to use the life counter?
You need one free account to host a game and save the results, and you can start with just your email, no password and no download. Other players can join as guests without signing up.
Does it track commander damage and poison?
Yes. It tracks life totals, commander damage, poison, energy and custom counters, plus turn times, for 2 to 6 players.
How much commander damage is lethal?
21 from a single commander. The count is per commander, not per player, so 15 from one commander and 12 from another does not kill you even though it adds up to 27. Playgroup keeps the totals separate and tells you when one of them crosses 21.
How does commander damage work?
Only combat damage dealt by a commander creature counts. A commander that pings you with a triggered or activated ability is dealing ordinary damage: it takes your life total down, but it never adds to that commander's 21. Damage is tracked per commander for each player it has hit, and it stays on you even if the commander changes zones.
Does Y'shtola, Nekusar or Minsc and Boo deal commander damage?
Only in combat, and Minsc and Boo not at all. Y'shtola, Night's Blessed and Nekusar, the Mindrazer are creatures, so their combat damage counts toward 21, but their triggered abilities (Y'shtola's 2 damage to each opponent, Nekusar's 1 on each draw) are not combat damage and never do. Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes is a planeswalker rather than a creature, so it never deals commander damage at all, and neither does the Boo token, which is not your commander. The same test settles every version of this question: was it combat damage, dealt by the commander itself?
Can the whole table share one tablet, or use their own phones?
Both. Put one shared device in the middle of the table, which is by far the most popular setup, or use device sync so every player tracks from their own phone in the same game.
What makes it different from a basic MTG life counter?
Most life counters forget your game the moment it ends. Playgroup turns every game into lasting data: an ELO leaderboard for your whole playgroup, per deck win rates and estimated power level, and a yearly Rewind.
Does it work for paper and for remote games?
It is built for paper Commander at the table. For remote webcam games, our Convoke integration sends the finished match straight to your Playgroup stats.
Can I play Commander online with Playgroup, or is the life counter only for in-person games?
The life counter is for in-person paper Magic at the table, including remote webcam games. If you want to play Commander online with virtual cards, that is Playgroup Live, a separate free browser-based virtual tabletop, where a player can also bring their own paper deck on camera, in beta. Games you finish on Playgroup Live count toward the same ELO, deck stats and Playscore leagues, so your leaderboard stays in one place.
What devices does it run on?
Any modern browser, plus iOS, Android, Windows and Linux. Your stats are available on playgroup.gg in real time.
How many players can it track?
2 to 6 players per pod, covering duel Commander, four player pods and larger tables.

Start your first game in seconds

No password, no download. Sign in only when you want the stats to stick.