The basics
Play a normal free-for-all game of Commander. On top of that, each player holds one identity card. It tells you which side you are on, how you win, and gives you a one-time ability you can unleash by unveiling it.
The Leader is known to everyone from the first turn. Everyone else is hidden: friend, enemy and wildcard all look the same until they flip their card. The only rule of thumb that never fails: trust no one.
Setup
- Choose decks first. Everyone picks their Commander deck before identities are dealt, so nobody builds around their role.
- Build the identity pile. Take exactly one identity per player, using the role counts below. Everyone may know the counts.
- Deal in secret. Shuffle and deal one to each player. Look at yours without showing anyone.
- Reveal the Leader. The Leader turns their card face up. Everyone else keeps theirs face down in the command zone.
- Play. The Leader takes the first turn. Use 40 starting life, as usual for Commander.
On Treachery.app the dealing happens on our server: each phone only ever receives its own identity, and the Leader is announced to the whole table automatically.
Roles and how they win
There are three teams. The Leader and the Guardians are one team. The Assassins are another. Every Traitor is a team of one. When one player on a team wins, the whole team wins, including teammates who were already knocked out.
Leader team
Starts face up and takes the first turn. Everyone knows who you are, and half the table wants you gone.
Wins when: Survive. Your team wins once every Assassin and Traitor has left the game.
Playing the Leader →Leader team
Secretly sworn to protect the Leader. You win or lose with them, even if you are still alive.
Wins when: Keep the Leader alive until every Assassin and Traitor is gone. If all Leaders fall, you lose too.
Playing the Guardian →Assassin team
Hidden among the table, working with the other Assassins to bring the Leader down.
Wins when: Your team wins when all Leaders have lost and at least one Assassin is still in the game.
Playing the Assassin →A team of one
Loyal to no one. Play both sides until only you are left on the throne.
Wins when: Be the last player standing. You must outlast everyone, other Traitors included, so the Assassins have to fall before the Leader does.
Playing the Traitor →When does the game end?
- All Leaders are out → the Leader team has lost, Guardians included. If at least one Assassin is still in the game, the Assassins win.
- All Assassins and Traitors are out while a Leader stands → the Leader team wins.
- Only one Traitor is left after everyone else is gone, other Traitors included → that Traitor wins alone.
A player whose identity is still face down counts as having no team for card effects: they are everyone’s opponent until they unveil.
How many of each role
There is always exactly one Leader and at least one Traitor. Roughly half the table are Assassins.
| Players | Leader | Guardian | Assassin | Traitor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Five or six players is the sweet spot. From nine players on, half the table (rounded down) are Assassins, and the seats left after the Leader split evenly between Guardians and Traitors, the same split as the official table. The setup guide explains why.
Unveiling
Every identity except the Leader has an unveil cost. Whenever you have priority, even on someone else’s turn, you may pay that cost and turn your card face up. Unveiling is a special action, so it doesn’t use the stack and nobody can respond to the flip itself. Most identities then trigger “when this is unveiled”, and that trigger does use the stack.
- Unveil costs can be mana, life, discarding or sacrificing. Some use X, and that X carries into the card’s text.
- Once your card is face up, everyone knows your team, and your ongoing abilities switch on.
- When you lose the game, your identity turns face up whether you unveiled it or not.
- Timing is everything. Unveil too early and you become a target; too late and the game is over.
Undercover
Many Guardians are marked Undercover. An Undercover identity may only be unveiled if, earlier this game, either:
- a player other than you attacked the Leader, or
- another identity that isn’t a Leader has been revealed.
Putting a creature onto the battlefield already attacking doesn’t count as attacking. This stops Guardians from flipping on turn one and clearing the table for the Leader before anyone has shown their hand. Treachery.app tracks both conditions and tells you when you’re allowed to unveil.
Your first game
Rarity on identity cards means complexity, not power. For a first game, deal only uncommons (see them). Add rares and mythics once everyone knows the flow. Mythics include a few wild identities that can swap cards around or rewrite the end of the game.
Talk a lot. Make deals. Point fingers. A Guardian who never helps the Leader looks a lot like an Assassin, and a Traitor who helps everyone looks a lot like a Guardian.
FAQ
If the Leader dies, do the Guardians still win if they survive?
No. Guardians are on the Leader’s team. The moment the last Leader leaves the game, the whole Leader team has lost, even Guardians with plenty of life left.
Can a Traitor win while the Leader is alive?
Only by being the very last player in the game, so the Leader has to fall at some point. The catch: if the Leader goes down while any Assassin is still alive, the Assassins win on the spot. Traitors usually need the Assassins gone first.
Is the role distribution a secret?
No. Everyone knows how many Guardians, Assassins and Traitors are in the game. Only who holds which card is hidden.
Can players respond to me unveiling?
Not to the unveil itself. Turning your card face up is a special action that doesn’t use the stack. If your identity has a “when this is unveiled” trigger, that trigger does go on the stack and can be responded to or countered.
What happens to my identity when I lose?
It’s turned face up so the table learns what you were. Your team is remembered, so a dead Assassin still shares in an Assassin win.
Can I lie about my role?
Say whatever you like. Bluffing, hinting and false alliances are the heart of the game. Your identity card only proves anything once it’s face up.
Who goes first?
The Leader. Their identity starts face up, and they take the first turn.
What starting life total do we use?
When you play Treachery with Commander decks, use the normal 40 life. Some Leaders change this, like The Old Ruler, who starts with 20 more.
Can I proliferate or move counters on identity cards?
Identities aren’t permanents, so effects that care about permanents don’t touch them. They stay in the command zone and can’t be destroyed, bounced or stolen except by other identities.
Are any cards banned?
Use your usual Commander banlist. Cards that let players look at or swap hidden information, such as Expropriate, Head Games and Trade Secrets, tend to wreck the hidden-role game, so most groups leave them out.
Ready?
Every player needs a phone and a Commander deck. That’s it.