Master Chef — ruling 1

If your commander is entering the battlefield at the same time as other creatures, it will enter the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter, but the other creatures will not. This is because a replacement effect that is created by an object entering the battlefield can only apply to itself.

Master Chef — ruling 2

Choose a Background is a variant of the partner ability. You may have two commanders if one of them is a legendary creature with the choose a background ability and the other is a legendary Background enchantment. Backgrounds and cards with choose a Background do not interact with cards which have any other partner ability.

Master Chef — ruling 3

If your Commander deck has two commanders, you can include only cards whose own color identities are also found in your commanders’ combined color identities.

Master Chef — ruling 4

Both commanders start in the command zone, and the remaining 98 cards (or 58 cards in a Commander Draft game) of your deck are shuffled to become your library.

Master Chef — ruling 5

If your commander loses the choose a Background ability or stops being a Background during the game, as appropriate, it is still your commander.

Master Chef — ruling 6

Once the game begins, your two commanders are tracked separately. If you cast one, you won’t have to pay an additional {2} the first time you cast the other. A player loses the game after having been dealt 21 combat damage from any one of them, not from both of them combined (although your Background won’t usually be a creature anyway).

Master Chef — ruling 7

If something refers to your commander while you have two commanders, it refers to one of them of your choice. If you are instructed to perform an action on your commander (e.g. put it from the command zone into your hand due to Command Beacon), you choose one of your commanders at the time the effect happens.

Master Chef — ruling 8

An effect that checks whether you control your commander is satisfied if you control one or both of your two commanders.

Master Chef : règles, fonctionnement et interactions (MTG)

Master Chef is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.

Official card text

Commander creatures you own have "This creature enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it" and "Other creatures you control enter with an additional +1/+1 counter on them."

Complete guide

Master Chef is a powerful Background enchantment that turns your commander into a literal engine of growth for your entire board. By adding a layer of replacement effects to your commander, it ensures that every creature arriving under your command is stronger than usual. This card is essential for decks looking to go wide and tall simultaneously.

What It Does

Master Chef grants two distinct abilities to your commander creatures. First, the commander itself enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter. Second, as long as your commander is on the battlefield, every other creature you control also enters with an additional +1/+1 counter. This creates a persistent power boost that rewards you for simply playing the game.

How It Resolves Step by Step

When you have Master Chef on the battlefield and you cast your commander, the game checks for replacement effects. Because Master Chef grants your commander an ability that modifies its own entry, the commander enters with a counter. Once the commander is on the battlefield, its second granted ability becomes active. For every subsequent creature you play, the game sees the 'Other creatures you control enter with an additional +1/+1 counter' effect and applies it as that creature moves from the stack to the battlefield.

Common Mistakes

A common mistake occurs when your commander and other creatures enter the battlefield at the exact same time (for example, via a mass resurrection spell). In this specific scenario, your commander will receive its counter, but the other creatures will not. This is because a replacement effect created by an object entering the battlefield can only apply to itself if it isn't already on the field to 'see' the others enter.

When to Play It

Master Chef is best played early, before your commander hits the field, or immediately after if you have a hand full of small creatures. Since it scales with the number of creatures you play, it is most effective in 'token' or 'stompy' strategies where the incremental value of +1/+1 counters can quickly overwhelm an opponent's defenses.

Interaction examples

Scaling Power with Garruk's Uprising

Garruk's Uprising

With Master Chef and your commander on the battlefield, a creature that normally has 3 power will enter with a +1/+1 counter, making it a 4-power creature. This immediately triggers Garruk's Uprising, allowing you to draw a card because the creature 'entered' as a 4-power creature thanks to the replacement effect.

Sylvan Library and Resource Management

Sylvan Library

While Master Chef builds your board, Sylvan Library ensures your hand stays full of creatures to trigger the Chef's abilities. If you draw into multiple creatures during your draw step with Sylvan Library, Master Chef ensures that each one you eventually cast enters as a larger threat, maximizing the value of the life spent to keep those extra cards.

Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.

How it works : Master Chef

Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall

#1June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If your commander is entering the battlefield at the same time as other creatures, it will enter the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter, but the other creatures will not. This is because a replacement effect that is created by an object entering the battlefield can only apply to itself.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#2June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
Choose a Background is a variant of the partner ability. You may have two commanders if one of them is a legendary creature with the choose a background ability and the other is a legendary Background enchantment. Backgrounds and cards with choose a Background do not interact with cards which have any other partner ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#3June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If your Commander deck has two commanders, you can include only cards whose own color identities are also found in your commanders’ combined color identities.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#4June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
Both commanders start in the command zone, and the remaining 98 cards (or 58 cards in a Commander Draft game) of your deck are shuffled to become your library.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#5June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If your commander loses the choose a Background ability or stops being a Background during the game, as appropriate, it is still your commander.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#6June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
Once the game begins, your two commanders are tracked separately. If you cast one, you won’t have to pay an additional the first time you cast the other. A player loses the game after having been dealt 21 combat damage from any one of them, not from both of them combined (although your Background won’t usually be a creature anyway).
No other card is named in this ruling.
#7June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If something refers to your commander while you have two commanders, it refers to one of them of your choice. If you are instructed to perform an action on your commander (e.g. put it from the command zone into your hand due to Command Beacon), you choose one of your commanders at the time the effect happens.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#8June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
An effect that checks whether you control your commander is satisfied if you control one or both of your two commanders.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#9June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
You can choose two commanders that are the same color or colors.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#10June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If a card refers to a commander creature you own, a Background won't usually be counted or included for that effect. If another spell or ability causes your Background to become a creature, however, it will be included. Any effect that refers to your commander or a commander you own or control without specifying creature will apply to a Background that is your commander, as appropriate.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#11June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If you control a Background that grants an ability to commander creatures you own, and you own more than one commander creature, each of them will have that ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.