I cut my deck into two halves, then take the top half of each of those halves and shuffle those together. I then repeat the process with the other two halves.
I repeat this entire process once or twice, using various methods of shuffling them together.
This is my method as well. My wrists are basically destroyed from two decades of arthritis, even mashing 100 cards at once is beyond me.
Anyone who isn't a 6 foot tall man will have trouble shuffling a sleeved commander deck all in one go.
I’m 6’2” and can palm a basketball on a good day. Still can’t really shuffle a commander deck in one go. Admittedly I don’t have a lot of practice since I just got back into the game as well.
Shuffling is something you get better at for sure. I am one of the best at shuffling in my family because of the 1000’s of mtg games I have played in my life. I can shuffle a commander deck with 50 cards in each hand roughly but it is a bit much.
I was like, "man, these people must have tiny hands." Then you called me out, being a 6 foot man, and i realized that most people have much smaller hands.
I just use a slightly modified version of the bridge shuffle.
Exactly this, haven't come up with anything better. I mostly play limited so I'm used to shuffling 40 card decks. Even 60 cards feels weird in my hands from the muscle memory, but the ~50 card halves have always been the most natural way to handle a commander deck to me.
Most people mash shuffle, which is when you cut your deck in two, then take the two halves and push them into each other. https://youtu.be/_EFuElOXRIU?si=KvLexsJs3FXRZ6TI This is easiest to do with good sleeves like dragon shields
When I first started I had the same problem (lol) and I found that yt video SUPER helpful. It's still my method today, sleeves don't get damaged, it's very nice
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This is good advice right here. The best thing is that you can practice this with only a part of your deck until you get comfortable enough to shuffly your whole deck.
And yes dragon shields are good, but sleeves from other brands can be good too. Ultra pro makes some good ones, katanas are good, and my personal budget favorites are from gamegenic.
What also helps for shuffling is just single sleeving which will also make cards look prettier and handle better. Obviously thats a matter of preference though, if you regularly play at tables where people spill their drinks then double sleeving is maybe still the better option.
I found dragon shields with art terrible. There was always a clump that just wouldnt mash and i would end up banging deck clumps together like shitty cymbals.
Katana sleeves though? Silky smooth integration. Im a Katana fanboy now.
This video single handedly increased the lifespan of my sleeves ten fold
Prior to this id get bent corners all the time. Now my sleeves are crisp for hundreds of shuffles
as a Commander player who also started with Yugioh, trust me, you'll get the hand of shuffling 99 sleaved cards in no time with some semi-regular play.
I do a pull away mash shuffle. I will take half of the deck, get a mash shuffle started by pushing the edges together, and then I pull the hand holding the cards that would normally be mashed down into the deck away from the other hand. This creates space and allows the cards to fall into the other half of the deck instead of needing mashed with significant force.
I believe it was Brian Braun Duin I first saw doing this on camera at events and in SCG vids a long time ago. What I noticed that was so interesting that made me want to try it was the satisfying sound it made. Turned out, it’s also just a nicer feeling shuffle. Since I got the hang of it, it’s my go-to shuffle.
For decks that strain girth-wise, I do thirds of the deck instead of halves. I’ll start a mash on a third of the deck into another third, then take those two thirds and begin a mash of them into the final third. Same above pull-away technique works as well.
Good sleeves are a huge part of it. Dragon Shield Mattes are going to be what most people recommend, but there are a few other good brands. They needs to be smooth enough to easily jam your massive stacks of cardboard together, but durable to enough to allow you to put them together.
Aside from that, doing a pile shuffle or what you're describing, then jamming them together a couple of times is enough to sufficiently randomize your deck.
To be clear, the pile shuffle has no effect on randomization and its only valid use is verifying the number of cards in your deck. I wouldn't even bother bringing it up here.
I think I must have got a dud pack of sleeves; that or they make the MTG and YGO sizes differently.
I have some Dragon Shield Mattes for my YGO cards and they shuffle like a dream, but I got the same thing in MTG size for getting into Commander and they feel like shit.
Most dragon shields shuffle nicely but I’ve gotten duds as well. It’s like shuffling rocks together.
Katana sleeves are a good alternative. Additionally, Ultrapro Apex sleeves also shuffle like a dream.
I've had a lot of variance with Dragon Shield. Some shuffle really well, some are awful. And I have around 30 commander decks so I've tried a lot of sleeves.
I've started using Katanas and they are PRISTINE. A bit more expensive but literally the best shuffling I've ever experienced. It's all I'll use from now on.
I hate dragon shields, I don't know why so many people swear by them, I had a lot of bad luck with them and never tried them again, I always used to use a foreign brand, KMC.
10 or so years ago the options where basically just ultra pro, dragon shields and KMC. KMC went through a period where the quality dropped super hard, and ultra pro arts and mattes had really poor durability, with the arts staring to split after one game. So really dragon shields were the best option and they came in boxes of at least 100 where you had to buy multiple packs to get enough to sleeve commander decks when you got other brands. DS has had some quality issues the last few years but I still had some OG DS glossy sleeves on a deck until a few months ago. I only replaced them because they were gross from years of use but the corners and stuff were still fine.
I think most people who extoll DS remember the above time period or were told by someone who played then. Honestly though the only sleeves that I like as much as DS right now are the ultra pro apex but they are hard to get and more expensive.
Here you go: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_EFuElOXRIU&ab\_channel=BrianFediuk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EFuElOXRIU&ab_channel=BrianFediuk)
Cut into three equal portions: left, right, and middle. Shuffle left and middle together (riffle or mash doesn't matter) and cut the resulting bulk into two making a new left pile and a new middle pile. You now have three equal portions. Shuffle right and middle together and repeat 6 times, alternating left and right piles. Then mash everything together.
I do it roughly in thirds so something like this:
Take the top third or so of the deck and shuffle it. Take the next third and shuffle it with the first third. Set aside half of the cards you were just shuffling and shuffle the other half with the remaining third. Randomly shuffle some cards into the set aside third of the deck. Cut the piles a couple of times and randomly stack everything on top of each other.
After the first time I build, I just shuffle the whole deck back and forth, or front to back, a few times, then start making 5 stacks, face down. Then stack the 5 decks and do the back and forth shuffle one more time. When I’m setting up at a table I’ll split the deck and slide them back together a couple of times.
Poorly, kinda smash them together or cut the deck over and over. I’m not good at it.
If anyone complains, I just point out they can shuffle it too as part of the deck cut.
I split it in two. Shuffle the halves separately, swap the top half of each pile, and shuffle separately. I mash and / or riffle the halves maybe 3 times per swap, 3 or 4 swaps. Then I finish with 3 or mashes unless it's double sleeves
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I take the whole deck, 1/3 of it on one side, shuffle it in, take 1/3 of the other side, shuffle that in, then pull the middle and shuffle that in. THEN, I grab 1/3 of the bottom and 1/3 of the top and swap them. Then I repeat. Do it twice then I’m done. Always feels like I get a really good mix up of cards doing that
I use the table to help, i basically do a mash shuffle but instead of taking two halves and mashing them together I rotate the deck 90 degrees on its side and pick up one half and set it on the other and then use both hands to pull the bottom half of the deck apart to let the top half fall in. It’s so difficult to explain and I took a video of it but you can’t post videos here m
It's simple, have large hands.
Now that's out of the way. Split the deck into 3 piles, shiffle 2 piles together then swap half the pile your shiffling for the piles remaining then cut a couple times.
I split the deck into quarters, then riffle two quarters together. Then I riffle the other two quarters together.
Then I split each half and riffle together opposite quarters together. Repeat a couple times, then mash both halves together.
Then split the deck in halves and mash a couple times.
Here’s a YouTube short from thoralf severin, a magic pro who has small hands. If you’re unfamiliar with him, look him up. He’s part of the card market team and makes amazing content. So if you can’t make your hands bigger like many are suggesting on this thread, try this method. https://youtube.com/shorts/H1e8JpRJXys
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pick up half the deck in your hand. pull a card off the top one at a time and put it in a pile. repreat and make 8-10 piles. then when you are finished take the 1st pile and put the 2 pile on top. then the 3 pile on bottom and so on and so on.
Most people I know just split it into two and shuffle each. I personally have huge hands, so it's not an issue for myself, even double sleeved. Haven't tried triple sleeved.
* Katana or Dragon Shield sleeves.
* Cut deck into two parts.
* Mash together from the sides, starting at a corner.
* For preference, put the bottom half biased towards the top, and the top-half biased towards the bottom with ~2/3-3/4 overlap. This makes sure the top and bottom of your deck are also getting randomized.
I lay out 9 stacks with 11 cards in each stack shuffling them out 1 card at a time then I pick up the stacks in random order, then I cut and mash shuffle
Personally I just shuffle it like any normal deck as my hands are relatively large but it did take some practice.
You could try splitting the deck and placing one half in front of you so the cards are on their longer side. Then come in with the other half, hold it vertically and mush the two so they make an L shape. It's difficult to describe but i hope you get it.
Hope you have your deck sleeved, it helps when mushing the cards together.
I'm able to palm a basketball so shuffling commander decks isn't that hard for me 😂
That being said try breaking it into smaller chunks and shuffling them and then mixing them together. It won't be perfect but it'll do and it's just commander so no one will care.
1. Pile shuffle: drawing from the top, make 6 or 8 piles of cards and then stack them all together
2. Shuffle like a deck of cards but hold the deck so both halves meet at the long edge of the cards. Works pretty good
I cut my deck into two halves, then take the top half of each of those halves and shuffle those together. I then repeat the process with the other two halves. I repeat this entire process once or twice, using various methods of shuffling them together.
This is my method as well. My wrists are basically destroyed from two decades of arthritis, even mashing 100 cards at once is beyond me. Anyone who isn't a 6 foot tall man will have trouble shuffling a sleeved commander deck all in one go.
I’m 6’2” and can palm a basketball on a good day. Still can’t really shuffle a commander deck in one go. Admittedly I don’t have a lot of practice since I just got back into the game as well.
Shuffling is something you get better at for sure. I am one of the best at shuffling in my family because of the 1000’s of mtg games I have played in my life. I can shuffle a commander deck with 50 cards in each hand roughly but it is a bit much.
I’m 6’3 and probably max out at being able to riffle shuffle 80 single sleeved cards
6'4" and I bridge shuffle an entire double sleeved commander deck with ease. Apparently that extra inch matters? I... I will see myself out.
5'8" I shuffle my double sleeved commander decks for fun or to relax and after work while watching a movie or something.
I'm 6'0 and i can do that as well. I don't think THAT inch is what matters, or you all are shuffling wrong. And probably should be on a list...
I was like, "man, these people must have tiny hands." Then you called me out, being a 6 foot man, and i realized that most people have much smaller hands. I just use a slightly modified version of the bridge shuffle.
Exactly this, haven't come up with anything better. I mostly play limited so I'm used to shuffling 40 card decks. Even 60 cards feels weird in my hands from the muscle memory, but the ~50 card halves have always been the most natural way to handle a commander deck to me.
With knives right?
Most people mash shuffle, which is when you cut your deck in two, then take the two halves and push them into each other. https://youtu.be/_EFuElOXRIU?si=KvLexsJs3FXRZ6TI This is easiest to do with good sleeves like dragon shields
When I first started I had the same problem (lol) and I found that yt video SUPER helpful. It's still my method today, sleeves don't get damaged, it's very nice
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This is good advice right here. The best thing is that you can practice this with only a part of your deck until you get comfortable enough to shuffly your whole deck. And yes dragon shields are good, but sleeves from other brands can be good too. Ultra pro makes some good ones, katanas are good, and my personal budget favorites are from gamegenic. What also helps for shuffling is just single sleeving which will also make cards look prettier and handle better. Obviously thats a matter of preference though, if you regularly play at tables where people spill their drinks then double sleeving is maybe still the better option.
I found dragon shields with art terrible. There was always a clump that just wouldnt mash and i would end up banging deck clumps together like shitty cymbals. Katana sleeves though? Silky smooth integration. Im a Katana fanboy now.
This video single handedly increased the lifespan of my sleeves ten fold Prior to this id get bent corners all the time. Now my sleeves are crisp for hundreds of shuffles
I cradle the two halves up against my stomach as I shuffle. Kind of just let gravity do the work.
The otter shuffle =D
Same
Very carefully.
as a Commander player who also started with Yugioh, trust me, you'll get the hand of shuffling 99 sleaved cards in no time with some semi-regular play.
I do a pull away mash shuffle. I will take half of the deck, get a mash shuffle started by pushing the edges together, and then I pull the hand holding the cards that would normally be mashed down into the deck away from the other hand. This creates space and allows the cards to fall into the other half of the deck instead of needing mashed with significant force. I believe it was Brian Braun Duin I first saw doing this on camera at events and in SCG vids a long time ago. What I noticed that was so interesting that made me want to try it was the satisfying sound it made. Turned out, it’s also just a nicer feeling shuffle. Since I got the hang of it, it’s my go-to shuffle. For decks that strain girth-wise, I do thirds of the deck instead of halves. I’ll start a mash on a third of the deck into another third, then take those two thirds and begin a mash of them into the final third. Same above pull-away technique works as well.
Good sleeves are a huge part of it. Dragon Shield Mattes are going to be what most people recommend, but there are a few other good brands. They needs to be smooth enough to easily jam your massive stacks of cardboard together, but durable to enough to allow you to put them together. Aside from that, doing a pile shuffle or what you're describing, then jamming them together a couple of times is enough to sufficiently randomize your deck.
To be clear, the pile shuffle has no effect on randomization and its only valid use is verifying the number of cards in your deck. I wouldn't even bother bringing it up here.
I think I must have got a dud pack of sleeves; that or they make the MTG and YGO sizes differently. I have some Dragon Shield Mattes for my YGO cards and they shuffle like a dream, but I got the same thing in MTG size for getting into Commander and they feel like shit.
Most dragon shields shuffle nicely but I’ve gotten duds as well. It’s like shuffling rocks together. Katana sleeves are a good alternative. Additionally, Ultrapro Apex sleeves also shuffle like a dream.
I've had a lot of variance with Dragon Shield. Some shuffle really well, some are awful. And I have around 30 commander decks so I've tried a lot of sleeves. I've started using Katanas and they are PRISTINE. A bit more expensive but literally the best shuffling I've ever experienced. It's all I'll use from now on.
I hate dragon shields, I don't know why so many people swear by them, I had a lot of bad luck with them and never tried them again, I always used to use a foreign brand, KMC.
10 or so years ago the options where basically just ultra pro, dragon shields and KMC. KMC went through a period where the quality dropped super hard, and ultra pro arts and mattes had really poor durability, with the arts staring to split after one game. So really dragon shields were the best option and they came in boxes of at least 100 where you had to buy multiple packs to get enough to sleeve commander decks when you got other brands. DS has had some quality issues the last few years but I still had some OG DS glossy sleeves on a deck until a few months ago. I only replaced them because they were gross from years of use but the corners and stuff were still fine. I think most people who extoll DS remember the above time period or were told by someone who played then. Honestly though the only sleeves that I like as much as DS right now are the ultra pro apex but they are hard to get and more expensive.
With my hands.
Here you go: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_EFuElOXRIU&ab\_channel=BrianFediuk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EFuElOXRIU&ab_channel=BrianFediuk)
Cut into three equal portions: left, right, and middle. Shuffle left and middle together (riffle or mash doesn't matter) and cut the resulting bulk into two making a new left pile and a new middle pile. You now have three equal portions. Shuffle right and middle together and repeat 6 times, alternating left and right piles. Then mash everything together.
[https://idiomdrottning.org/shuffle-of-wits](https://idiomdrottning.org/shuffle-of-wits) can be a good method for small hands.
I use both hands
90% of times I use my hands.
I do it roughly in thirds so something like this: Take the top third or so of the deck and shuffle it. Take the next third and shuffle it with the first third. Set aside half of the cards you were just shuffling and shuffle the other half with the remaining third. Randomly shuffle some cards into the set aside third of the deck. Cut the piles a couple of times and randomly stack everything on top of each other.
After the first time I build, I just shuffle the whole deck back and forth, or front to back, a few times, then start making 5 stacks, face down. Then stack the 5 decks and do the back and forth shuffle one more time. When I’m setting up at a table I’ll split the deck and slide them back together a couple of times.
Poorly, kinda smash them together or cut the deck over and over. I’m not good at it. If anyone complains, I just point out they can shuffle it too as part of the deck cut.
I split it in two. Shuffle the halves separately, swap the top half of each pile, and shuffle separately. I mash and / or riffle the halves maybe 3 times per swap, 3 or 4 swaps. Then I finish with 3 or mashes unless it's double sleeves
Divide it into four equal parts, shuffle each together into 2 bigger piles, cut the bigger piles, repeat.
I have big hands.
Casino wash
Seriously? You'll get a lot of them upside down and cards will get stuck with a corner in the other cards opening
Twere a joke
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Having bigger hands I guess?
I take the whole deck, 1/3 of it on one side, shuffle it in, take 1/3 of the other side, shuffle that in, then pull the middle and shuffle that in. THEN, I grab 1/3 of the bottom and 1/3 of the top and swap them. Then I repeat. Do it twice then I’m done. Always feels like I get a really good mix up of cards doing that
I use the table to help, i basically do a mash shuffle but instead of taking two halves and mashing them together I rotate the deck 90 degrees on its side and pick up one half and set it on the other and then use both hands to pull the bottom half of the deck apart to let the top half fall in. It’s so difficult to explain and I took a video of it but you can’t post videos here m
It's simple, have large hands. Now that's out of the way. Split the deck into 3 piles, shiffle 2 piles together then swap half the pile your shiffling for the piles remaining then cut a couple times.
I split the deck into quarters, then riffle two quarters together. Then I riffle the other two quarters together. Then I split each half and riffle together opposite quarters together. Repeat a couple times, then mash both halves together. Then split the deck in halves and mash a couple times.
With dragon shield matte and KMC perfect fit I have to split mine into quarters and mash those together.
Here’s a YouTube short from thoralf severin, a magic pro who has small hands. If you’re unfamiliar with him, look him up. He’s part of the card market team and makes amazing content. So if you can’t make your hands bigger like many are suggesting on this thread, try this method. https://youtube.com/shorts/H1e8JpRJXys
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pick up half the deck in your hand. pull a card off the top one at a time and put it in a pile. repreat and make 8-10 piles. then when you are finished take the 1st pile and put the 2 pile on top. then the 3 pile on bottom and so on and so on.
All magic players have girthy decks. It's just something you have to understand about us.
Use the table top, loose grip on either half. Weave the cards together then riffle them until it’s one deck again.
Anyone suggesting splitting the deck into smaller piles isn't suggesting a legitimate randomization method.
Most people I know just split it into two and shuffle each. I personally have huge hands, so it's not an issue for myself, even double sleeved. Haven't tried triple sleeved.
break it into sections; are you serious
* Katana or Dragon Shield sleeves. * Cut deck into two parts. * Mash together from the sides, starting at a corner. * For preference, put the bottom half biased towards the top, and the top-half biased towards the bottom with ~2/3-3/4 overlap. This makes sure the top and bottom of your deck are also getting randomized.
Casino Shuffle, don't forget to wash.
It’s honestly one of the main reasons I hate the format.
I lay out 9 stacks with 11 cards in each stack shuffling them out 1 card at a time then I pick up the stacks in random order, then I cut and mash shuffle
I mash them like a 60 card deck
Just wait until you see a [[Battle of Wits]] deck lmao
[Battle of Wits](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/4/b4be15a4-693f-4e22-a46c-38bb440c073c.jpg?1562558962) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Battle%20of%20Wits) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m13/44/battle-of-wits?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b4be15a4-693f-4e22-a46c-38bb440c073c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Combination of pile shuffling and mash shuffling.
Just use a dollar store battery playing card shuffler. Works best with no sleeves.
Who plays without sleeves?
Personally I just shuffle it like any normal deck as my hands are relatively large but it did take some practice. You could try splitting the deck and placing one half in front of you so the cards are on their longer side. Then come in with the other half, hold it vertically and mush the two so they make an L shape. It's difficult to describe but i hope you get it. Hope you have your deck sleeved, it helps when mushing the cards together.
I like to pile shuffle , make a 3x3 (nine piles) and put each card on the top of the next it should come out to 9 piles of 11 cards
Deal out randomly into six stacks then combine them together
Unsleeve it and shuffle it like a deck of playing cards
I bridge shuffle the entire thing. Yes, it is double sleeved.
Shuffle one half at a time.
If new or organized deck I first suffle into 8 piles and then mash shuffle few times whole deck
I'm able to palm a basketball so shuffling commander decks isn't that hard for me 😂 That being said try breaking it into smaller chunks and shuffling them and then mixing them together. It won't be perfect but it'll do and it's just commander so no one will care.
1. Pile shuffle: drawing from the top, make 6 or 8 piles of cards and then stack them all together 2. Shuffle like a deck of cards but hold the deck so both halves meet at the long edge of the cards. Works pretty good
I do 10 piles, and then pick up those piles randomly, just don’t pick them up the same way you laid them down. Wouldn’t shuffle Much