How to Playtest Your Commander Deck Online (Free)

Building a deck is half the fun. The other half is playing it. But before you buy $100 worth of cards, you should test your build. Here's how to playtest for free.

What Is Goldfishing?

"Goldfishing" means playing your deck against an imaginary opponent who does nothing. You draw cards, play lands, cast spells, and see how your deck develops over 5-10 turns. It's not a real game, but it reveals:

• - Whether your mana base works
• - How fast your deck develops
• - If you're drawing too many lands or not enough
• - Whether your curve is reasonable
• - If your cards actually work together

Tapped Decks Playtester

Our built-in playtester lets you goldfish any saved deck directly in the browser. Features include: - Full game zones (hand, battlefield, graveyard, exile, command zone) - Tap/untap mechanics - Token creation - Life and commander tax tracking - Multiple playmat themes - Sound effects

No download needed — just save a deck and click Playtest.

VS AI Mode

Want more than goldfishing? Our VS AI mode pits your deck against one of 5 preset AI opponents. The AI makes decisions based on board state, card advantage, and threat assessment. It's not perfect, but it's a much better test than goldfishing alone.

What to Look For

After 5-10 test games, ask yourself: 1. Am I casting spells on turns 1-3? If not, add more low-cost cards or ramp. 2. Am I running out of cards? Add more draw sources. 3. Am I stuck on one color? Fix your mana base. 4. Do I have a way to win? Make sure you have clear win conditions. 5. Are any cards consistently dead? Cut them for something better.

After Playtesting

Once you're happy with how the deck flows, export it to TCGPlayer to buy the cards, or order proxy copies from our proxy service ($0.15/card) to test at your local game store before investing in the real cards.