Methodology
How we rank Commander stores
"Best" here means best-documented place to play Commander: the stores where a player can be most confident there's a game and know what to expect. It is not a quality review, and we don't use star ratings from anywhere.
Who can be ranked
- A store must have at least one weekly Commander night we can cite: seen as a recurring event in the public Wizards Play Network event locator, or confirmed by the store itself.
- A city or state only gets a list when it has at least 5 such stores. Smaller places just get their normal store list, so we don't publish thin pages.
- City lists show the top 10, state lists the top 25.
The score
| Signal | Points | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Each weekly Commander night | +3 (max 5 nights) | WPN event locator, or the store's own answer |
| Verified by the store | +6 | The store confirmed its listing via our claim link or by email |
| Published proxy policy / bracket / beginner-friendly | +2 each | Store confirmation, store website, or a cited public post |
| Sourced cEDH play | +2 | A listed cEDH event or a cited statement |
| Public Discord | +1 | Linked from the store's website or confirmed by the store |
| Opening hours on record | +1 | The store's own website or the store directly |
Ties go to more weekly nights, then verified stores, then alphabetical order. Every store on a list has a "why" button that shows exactly how its score adds up.
What we never do
- No payments, sponsorships or affiliate deals affect the order. You can't buy a spot.
- No Google, Yelp or other outside star ratings or reviews. We don't copy them.
- Player "I played here" reports, when we turn them on, are shown separately and don't change the score.
- Nothing is guessed. A blank field means we couldn't cite it yet.
Store owners
Want to rank higher? The honest way is the only way: list your Commander nights publicly (WPN locator or your site), and confirm your details from the claim link we email you. Something wrong? Send a correction.
Lists rebuild with every data refresh (weekly). Right now: 50 state lists and 49 city lists.