How to Track Life in Magic: The Gathering

By the Life Counters team. Updated .

There are four common ways to track life in Magic: a spindown die, pen and paper, a phone app, or a web counter like ours. Paper is the safest at a tournament; an app or web counter is quickest for a Commander table that also needs commander damage and poison.

Start at the right number

Each player starts at 20 life in most two-player formats (rule 103.4 of the Comprehensive Rules) and at 40 in Commander (rule 903.7). A player at 0 life or less loses the game (rule 704.5a).

Whatever you use, say each change out loud as it happens. The Magic Tournament Rules (section 4.1) call life a piece of status information that must be announced when it changes and tracked in a way every player in the match can see.

Spindown dice

A spindown is a 20-sided die numbered in order, so you turn it one face to count down or up. It is fast and small, and it sits right on the playmat.

The known problem is that it is easy to bump. One knock of an elbow or a shuffled deck and the total is gone, with no record of what it was. For that reason the Magic Tournament Rules do not allow methods that can easily be changed by accident, such as dice, at Competitive and Professional events.

A single die also stops at 20, so a Commander game at 40 needs two dice or a die plus a note. Use a spindown for: a casual game at 20 life where everyone is watching the board.

Pen and paper

Writing every change on paper is the most reliable method, because the running list shows each step and can be checked when players disagree.

Write both totals, yours and your opponent's, and add a new line for each change instead of crossing out one number. That way you can find the turn a mistake happened. The downside is speed: four players, commander damage and poison make for a crowded page.

Use paper for: tournaments, and any game where a disputed total would matter.

Phone apps

A life counter app turns one phone into a board for the whole table, with commander damage, poison, dice and a start player picker built in.

The catches are real. Everyone has to agree on one app and install it, some apps carry ads or lock features behind a payment, and a phone left on the table can sleep, run its battery down in a long game, or get a stray tap. Before using one at an event, check what the judges allow.

Use an app for: a regular playgroup that has settled on one.

A web life counter

A web counter works like an app but opens from a link, so nobody has to install anything. The MTG life counter on this site is free, needs no account and keeps the screen awake while a game is on.

It keeps the game through a refresh and works offline after the first visit. Each panel faces its seat on one phone laid flat, and undo plus a full history settle any argument about the last change. It shares the phone problems above: it needs a charged phone, and a bump can still land a tap.

Use a web counter for: Commander pods, game nights with new players, and any table where nobody wants to install an app.

Which method should you use?

Tracking commander damage and poison

Commander damage has to be counted per commander, not as one total, because a player loses only when 21 or more combat damage comes from the same commander (rule 903.10a). The damage still comes off life too, and gaining life never removes it.

On paper, give each opponent's commander a column under your life total. With partner commanders, each of the two gets its own column, since their damage counts separately (rule 702.124d).

Poison is a third number. A player with ten or more poison counters loses (rule 704.5c), and poison never comes off life, so keep it apart. On this site's counter, the sword on each panel opens commander damage from every opponent and poison in one sheet, and each point of commander damage also comes off life in the same tap. The Commander life counter page explains every rule it follows.

How to track life questions

What is the best way to track life in MTG?

It depends on the game. Pen and paper is the safest choice at competitive events because every change is written down. For a casual Commander table, an app or a web counter is faster and also tracks commander damage and poison.

Can you use a spindown die to track life at a tournament?

Not at Competitive or Professional events. The Magic Tournament Rules say methods that can easily be changed by accident, such as dice, may not be used there. At casual events and at home, a spindown is fine if everyone can see it.

How do you track commander damage on paper?

Give each opponent's commander its own column under your life total and add to it each time that commander hits you in combat. Only 21 from the same commander knocks you out, so the columns are never added together.

How do you track poison counters?

Keep a separate tally from your life total and add one for each poison counter. A player with ten or more poison counters loses the game, so write poison where everyone at the table can see it.

What life total do you start with in Magic?

Each player starts at 20 life in most two-player formats, under rule 103.4 of the Comprehensive Rules. In Commander each player starts at 40 life, under rule 903.7.

Do I need an app to track life in Magic?

No. Paper, a die or a counter on a phone all work for a casual game, as long as everyone at the table can see the totals. A web counter like this one needs no install and no account, and it keeps working offline after the first visit.