Utah's Ultimate Commander Experience

Three Full Days. Unlimited Commander.
Play Your Way Pods.

October 2–4, 2026 · Mountain America Expo Center · Utah

145
Weekend Badges 2025
14+
Pod Drops Per Day
700+
Active Players
$19K+
In 2025 Prize Drops

What Is Command Con?

The Beating Heart of the
Game Grid Open

For three full days, we transform one of Utah's largest event floors into Commander's biggest playground - hundreds of pods, unlimited pairings, a matchmaking system that puts you with players who play the way you play, and hourly prize drops that put product in your hands just for showing up and playing.

Bring a precon you cracked yesterday, your 10-year-old jank brew, or your cEDH monster. We'll match you with your people.


Choose Your Access

Command Con Badges

Six tiers. Every option includes unlimited Play-Your-Way pod pairings during its window.

MOST POPULAR

Weekend Badge

$99

All three days · Best value

  • ✓ Unlimited pods Fri–Sun
  • ✓ 2026 Commander playmat
  • ✓ Exclusive promo card
  • ✓ 600 prize wall tix ($60 value)
  • ✓ Eligible for every hourly drop

Friday Single Day

$35

Fri 10am–11pm

  • ✓ Unlimited Friday pods
  • ✓ 200 prize wall tix
  • 11am Kick-Off - every pod wins

Saturday Single Day

$35

Sat 9am–11pm

  • ✓ Unlimited Saturday pods
  • ✓ 200 prize wall tix
  • ✓ All Saturday prize drops

Sunday Single Day

$35

Sun 9am–9pm

  • ✓ Unlimited Sunday pods
  • ✓ 200 prize wall tix
  • ✓ All Sunday prize drops

Single Pod

$10

Any day · Walk-up

  • ✓ One Play-Your-Way pod
  • ✓ 50 prize wall tix
  • ✓ Eligible for drops while active

Winner-Take-All Pod

$10

Any day · High stakes

  • ✓ One pod, four players
  • ✓ Winner takes all 400 tix
  • ✓ Brutal, fast, fun

Early-bird Weekend Badges available while they last - price goes up after.

The Pod Giveaways

Win Prizes Just for Playing

One of 2025's biggest hits - Random Drops with huge prizes (sometimes literally!).

Every Pod Has a Number

When you queue into a pod, your table gets a number. All active pod numbers go onto the spin-the-wheel display on our main Command Con TV.

Every Hour, on the hour

We spin the wheel and draw ~10% of active pods. 100 active players (25 pods) = about 3 winning pods per drop. More players = more wins.

Real Prizes, Real Range

Bonus prize tix, supersized Magic cards (collector-grade oversized), Collector Booster packs, Convention swag, and bigger items as the weekend builds.

Kick-Off

Friday · 11:00 AM

Every Pod Wins

To launch Command Con 2026, our very first drawing is special. Every active pod at 11am Friday wins something. Prizes scale from bonus prize tix up to a Collector Box of Reality Fracture.

If you want the best odds of the entire weekend, be in a pod by 11am Friday.

One important rule:

You must be actively playing in a pod when a drop fires to be entered. Drops are random and happen every hour during Command Con hours. If you've stepped out for lunch, gone home for the night, or haven't queued into a pod at the moment of the drop, you won't be eligible for that specific drop. Your badge doesn't auto-enroll - your seat at an active table does.

The Matchmaking

Play-Your-Way Pods

 Play-Your-Way isn't about tiers or deck power levels, it's about how you like to have fun. At your heart, are you a more casual player or a more competitive one? Play-Your-Way puts you with three other people who answer that question the same way.

A casual player with a tuned precon can have a perfect afternoon in a Green pod. A competitive player piloting a jank brew can have the time of their life in a Red pod.

🟢

Green - Most Casual

Here to enjoy the game. Games go long, cards get read aloud, table talk is part of the fun. Great for new players and anyone who wants a nice time. Perfect for trying out a new precon or teaching a friend how to play.

🟡

Yellow - Casual-Leaning

You know the cards, you want a game that moves, but you're not trying to solve the table. Mid-length games, mix of brews and semi-tuned lists. You aren't trying to go infinite, but you've definitely put more time into your deck than an off the shelf precon. Ultimately defined as players who have fun by playing.

🟠

Orange - Competitive-Leaning

Tight, efficient games. Fewer questions, faster turns, more competitive but not cEDH. Your deck might not be fully tuned, but you've put a lot of work into it. Everyone at the pod is here to win, because you all know that deep down winning is how you have fun.

🔴

Red - Most Competitive

cEDH and cEDH-adjacent. Your deck is tuned up and ready to roll and you want to see if you have what it takes to crush the competition. Unlike the rest of the play-your-way pods, power level is the defining difference between Orange and Red Pods. Both pods are here to win, but if you're in a Red Pod its because you know it would be too easy to win if you played down.

Jump in a queue at the pod desk, or request a custom pod with friends.
Pods fire as soon as four players of the same color are ready.

The Weekend

At a Glance

Day 1

Friday

October 2, 2026

10:00 AM — 11:00 PM

11am Kick-Off Drawing - every active pod wins something

Day 2

Saturday

October 3, 2026

9:00 AM — 11:00 PM

Peak crowd day. Biggest prize pool. Maximum pod density. Multiple Saturday-exclusive drops.

Day 3

Sunday

October 4, 2026

9:00 AM — 9:00 PM

The survivors' day. Chillest, most intimate pods of the weekend.

Heads up: Command Con opens at 10am Friday. The rest of the Game Grid Open (tournaments, vendors, artist alley) operates a Friday soft launch starting at 3pm, but our Commander floor is open from the morning.

Player Voices

What 2025 Attendees Said

★★★★★

"Played three days straight, I won two prizes, already buying my tickets for next year"

Kurt G

2025 Weekend Badge holder, Izzet Player

★★★★★

"Best 10 hours of commander I've ever played"

Mike B

2025 attendee, Grixis Player

★★★★★

"For a first year this good, next year will only be better"

JT

2025 first-timer, Dimir Player

Questions?

Frequently Asked

Do I need a ticket to enter the Game Grid Open?

General Admission to the Game Grid Open is free. We ask you to grab a free GA ticket in advance so we can track expected attendance, but there's no cost to enter the venue. Your Command Con Badge is a separate ticket on top of GA, it's what gets you into the pods.

What are "prize wall tix"?

Prize tix are physical tokens - not a digital balance. You'll receive them in person at check-in and earn more from pod prize drops throughout the weekend. Walk up to the Prize Wall any time, trade your tix for sealed product, convention exclusives, playmats, snacks, whatever's on the wall.

How do pod prize drops work? Do I need to be present?

Yes, you must be actively playing in a pod when a drop fires to be entered. Drops are random and happen every hour during Command Con hours. If you've stepped out for lunch, gone home for the night, or haven't queued into a pod at the moment of the drop, you won't be eligible for that specific drop. Your badge doesn't auto-enroll, your seat at an active table does.

Can I upgrade from a Single Day to a Weekend Badge after the event starts?

Yes. Bring your Single Day wristband to the Command Con desk and pay the price difference. We'll credit your existing prize tix toward the weekend total.

What if I just want to watch?

Spectators welcome. General admission is free, and you can walk the Command Con floor and watch any pod, just ask first -most players love an audience, but make sure we're all being respectful of each other.

Can I bring my own Commander deck?

Absolutely. Your deck, your commander, your way. All legal Commander decks are welcome in any pod color. Play-Your-Way is about how you want to play, not what you brought.

Ready?

Claim Your Seat at Utah's Biggest Commander Table

Three days. Hundreds of pods. Hourly giveaways.
One legendary Friday kick-off drawing.

Get Your Weekend Badge · $99

Early-bird pricing available while it lasts!

Questions? Email staff@gglehi.com or stop by any Game Grid location.