Get Ready to Play Duel Commander!

by Andreas 'ecobaronen' Petersen

Hello everyone and welcome back to what is hopefully another appetizer for yet another awesome format! I will briefly introduce the format and round out the article with suggestions for different decks that you can pick up and register for the tournament!

Once again, this month's ManaTraders Series will be open to everyone, and this time the format will be Duel Commander. Duel Commander is a competitive singleton format originally invented in France, but has since gained popularity worldwide. I highly recommend you check out the banned and restricted lists since not every detail is intuitive - especially once you realize that some cards might be banned entirely and some cards are only banned as your Commander. You can check out the official website here:

https://www.mtgdc.info/

As with any other Commander format, your Commander's color identity dictates the colors of cards you can play in your deck, and you generally want to play cards that synergize with it. For every time your Commander dies, gets countered or is exiled, you can choose to put it back in the command zone, and it how has a +2 mana tax to replay it. One of the keys to the format is balancing synergy and upside with having solid cards that lets you stay competitive when your Commander doesn't stick in play. Some of the things that I highly enjoy is that you play best of three games per match, and the starting lifetotal is 20 which makes aggressive decks viable contrary to previous two-player Commander formats. In general, the format is very attrition heavy with tons of counterspells and removal spells, so expect lots of ressource exchanges and somewhat long games.

Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful + Tana, the Bloodsower

Yoshimaru Tana

First off, we have this aggressive option in the Naya colors. Worth mentioning is that the Partner rules state that you can only play one of your Commanders each game which is a clever way of balancing the obvious advantage of having two Commanders instead of one. We do still get the benefit of having access to some green cards which this deck takes advantage.

The biggest key to this deck is realizing how many legendary lands you can slot into your deck to incidentally grow your Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful while also spamming legendary creatures. The deck prioritizes two and three drops since your curve "always" starts with its Commander. Curve out, clear the way with removal spells and reduce your opponent's lifetotal to 0!

List by Victor Burghi:

  • 1 Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
  • 1 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah
  • 1 Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon
  • 1 Arbaaz Mir
  • 1 Arid Mesa
  • 1 Baird, Argivian Recruiter
  • 1 Battlefield Forge
  • 1 Bessie, the Doctor's Roadster
  • 1 Bloodstained Mire
  • 1 Boromir, Warden of the Tower
  • 1 Broadside Bombardiers
  • 1 Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder
  • 1 Cathar Commando
  • 1 Caves of Chaos Adventurer
  • 1 Chain Lightning
  • 1 City of Brass
  • 1 Clifftop Retreat
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Craig Boone, Novac Guard
  • 1 Eiganjo Castle
  • 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
  • 1 Elvish Spirit Guide
  • 1 Embercleave
  • 1 Feldon, Ronom Excavator
  • 1 Flagstones of Trokair
  • 1 Flame Slash
  • 1 Flooded Strand
  • 1 Flowering of the White Tree
  • 1 Forth Eorlingas!
  • 1 Fury
  • 1 Gideon Blackblade
  • 1 Hammerheim
  • 1 Headliner Scarlett
  • 1 Inspiring Vantage
  • 1 Inti, Seneschal of the Sun
  • 1 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
  • 1 Laelia, the Blade Reforged
  • 1 Lightning Bolt
  • 1 Loyal Apprentice
  • 1 Mana Confluence
  • 1 Marsh Flats
  • 1 Merry, Esquire of Rohan
  • 1 Minas Tirith
  • 1 Mines of Moria
  • 1 Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes
  • 1 Mother of Runes
  • 1 Mountain
  • 1 Needleverge Pathway
  • 1 Palace Jailer
  • 1 Parallax Wave
  • 1 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd
  • 5 Plains
  • 1 Plateau
  • 1 Plaza of Heroes
  • 1 Prismatic Vista
  • 1 Pyrogoyf
  • 1 Pyrokinesis
  • 1 Reverent Mantra
  • 1 Rugged Prairie
  • 1 Sacred Foundry
  • 1 Samwise the Stouthearted
  • 1 Savannah
  • 1 Scalding Tarn
  • 1 Seasoned Dungeoneer
  • 1 Selfless Spirit
  • 1 Senu, Keen-Eyed Protector
  • 1 Shadowspear
  • 1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
  • 1 Simian Spirit Guide
  • 1 Skrelv, Defector Mite
  • 1 Skullclamp
  • 1 Skyclave Apparition
  • 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
  • 1 Solitude
  • 1 Squee, Dubious Monarch
  • 1 Static Prison
  • 1 Stoneforge Mystic
  • 1 Sunbaked Canyon
  • 1 Sundering Eruption
  • 1 Sundown Pass
  • 1 Swift Reconfiguration
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Synth Eradicator
  • 1 Taiga
  • 1 Tajic, Legion's Edge
  • 1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
  • 1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
  • 1 Umezawa's Jitte
  • 1 Urza's Saga
  • 1 White Plume Adventurer
  • 1 Windswept Heath
  • 1 Winota, Joiner of Forces
  • 1 Wooded Foothills
  • 1 Zurgo Bellstriker

  • 1 Tana, the Bloodsower
  • 1 Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student

Bazaar of Baghdad

The second deck on my list is unsurprisingly Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student which lets you play Blue and Green because of the colors on the flipside of it. The deck is limited on the interaction side of things and fights best on the stack compared to the battlefield, but if you can avoid getting run over and falling behind, you are in prime position to grind out the game with your card advantage and superior card quality in general.

Tamiyo creating clues lets you take advantage of a handful of "artifacts matter" cards, and your manabase with tons of basic lands lets you implement Harbinger of the Seas and Winter Moon to punish greedier three-color decks. In general, Tamiyo is a very strong option if you're comfortable playing long games and being behind trying to stabilize early and often. Register this deck if you enjoy playing a land, attacking with your Commander and passing the turn with blue mana up.

List by Baptiste Berbille:

  • 1 Horned Loch-Whale
  • 1 Brazen Borrower
  • 1 Shadowspear
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Mystic Sanctuary
  • 1 Oko, Thief of Crowns
  • 1 Brainstorm
  • 1 Counterspell
  • 1 Daze
  • 1 Mana Leak
  • 1 Memory Lapse
  • 1 Misdirection
  • 1 Mystic Confluence
  • 1 Preordain
  • 1 Snap
  • 1 Engulf the Shore
  • 1 Snow-Covered Forest
  • 22 Snow-Covered Island
  • 1 Spell Pierce
  • 1 Tale's End
  • 1 Tropical Island
  • 1 Boomerang
  • 1 Force Spike
  • 1 Flooded Strand
  • 1 Vedalken Shackles
  • 1 Tarmogoyf
  • 1 Force of Will
  • 1 Vendilion Clique
  • 1 Breeding Pool
  • 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
  • 1 True-Name Nemesis
  • 1 Spell Snare
  • 1 Remand
  • 1 Repeal
  • 1 Snapcaster Mage
  • 1 Wilderness Reclamation
  • 1 Misty Rainforest
  • 1 Scalding Tarn
  • 1 Verdant Catacombs
  • 1 Polluted Delta
  • 1 Windswept Heath
  • 1 Wooded Foothills
  • 1 Cryptic Command
  • 1 Gitaxian Probe
  • 1 Stifle
  • 1 Archmage's Charm
  • 1 Force of Negation
  • 1 Ice-Fang Coatl
  • 1 Prismatic Vista
  • 1 Ponder
  • 1 Mental Misstep
  • 1 Soul-Guide Lantern
  • 1 Wizard's Retort
  • 1 Urza's Saga
  • 1 Subtlety
  • 1 Svyelun of Sea and Sky
  • 1 Lose Focus
  • 1 Murktide Regent
  • 1 Hall of Storm Giants
  • 1 Fading Hope
  • 1 Wash Away
  • 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
  • 1 Otawara, Soaring City
  • 1 Disruption Protocol
  • 1 Ledger Shredder
  • 1 Witness Protection
  • 1 Stern Scolding
  • 1 Lorien Revealed
  • 1 Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
  • 1 Tishana's Tidebinder
  • 1 Hedge Maze
  • 1 Winter Moon
  • 1 Brainsurge
  • 1 Volatile Stormdrake
  • 1 Harbinger of the Seas
  • 1 Sink into Stupor
  • 1 Nadu, Winged Wisdom
  • 1 Amphibian Downpour

  • 1 Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student

Slimefoot and Squee

Coveted Jewel

This deck is a true midrange deck much in line with the color combination of Jund. The objective is to curve a mana dork into turn two Slimefoot and Squee to build a board presence to slowly but surely start working on the opponent's lifetotal backed up by the most efficient discard and removal spells. The deck has a small "unfair" package of land cyclers, Living Death, Goblin Bombardment and Chthonian Nightmare which lets you overwhelm the opponent with value and win without the attack step in drawn out games.

Slimefoot and Squee offers some flexibility when it dies where you can choose to put it into the graveyard to take advantage of the "unearth" ability. Worth noting is this is uncounterable but requires a Saproling token in play, so it can both be an awesome way to reanimate a bigger creature on top of bringing back your Commander, but it can also backfire if you lose your Saproling token before getting the chance to activate. Get ready to grind down the opposition!

List by Zihan Lian:

  • 1 Abrupt Decay
  • 1 Animate Dead
  • 1 Arbor Elf
  • 1 Arid Mesa
  • 1 Badlands
  • 1 Barrowgoyf
  • 1 Bayou
  • 1 Birds of Paradise
  • 1 Birthing Pod
  • 1 Blackcleave Cliffs
  • 1 Blood Crypt
  • 1 Bloodstained Mire
  • 1 Blooming Marsh
  • 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
  • 1 Broadside Bombardiers
  • 1 Cankerbloom
  • 1 Chain Lightning
  • 1 Chaos Defiler
  • 1 Chthonian Nightmare
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Copperline Gorge
  • 1 Cragcrown Pathway
  • 1 Dark Confidant
  • 1 Darkbore Pathway
  • 1 Dauthi Voidwalker
  • 1 Deathrite Shaman
  • 1 Delighted Halfling
  • 1 Demonic Tutor
  • 1 Diabolic Intent
  • 1 Duress
  • 1 Eldritch Evolution
  • 1 Elves of Deep Shadow
  • 1 Elvish Mystic
  • 1 Elvish Spirit Guide
  • 1 Emperor of Bones
  • 1 Endurance
  • 1 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
  • 1 Fatal Push
  • 1 Flare of Malice
  • 1 Forest
  • 1 Fury
  • 1 Fyndhorn Elves
  • 1 Gilded Goose
  • 1 Goblin Bombardment
  • 1 Green Sun's Zenith
  • 1 Grief
  • 1 Grist, the Hunger Tide
  • 1 Ignoble Hierarch
  • 1 Inquisition of Kozilek
  • 1 Insidious Roots
  • 1 Karplusan Forest
  • 1 Keen-Eyed Curator
  • 1 Laelia, the Blade Reforged
  • 1 Lazotep Quarry
  • 1 Lightning Bolt
  • 1 Living Death
  • 1 Llanowar Elves
  • 1 Llanowar Wastes
  • 1 Marsh Flats
  • 1 Mawloc
  • 1 Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes
  • 1 Misty Rainforest
  • 1 Nethergoyf
  • 1 Nurturing Peatland
  • 1 Oliphaunt
  • 1 Orcish Bowmasters
  • 1 Overgrown Tomb
  • 1 Pendelhaven
  • 1 Phyrexian Tower
  • 1 Polluted Delta
  • 1 Prismatic Vista
  • 1 Pyrogoyf
  • 1 Raucous Theater
  • 1 Reanimate
  • 1 Scalding Tarn
  • 1 Simian Spirit Guide
  • 1 Skullclamp
  • 1 Snow-Covered Forest
  • 1 Snow-Covered Mountain
  • 1 Snow-Covered Swamp
  • 1 Snuff Out
  • 1 Stomping Ground
  • 1 Sulfurous Springs
  • 1 Swamp
  • 1 Taiga
  • 1 Tainted Pact
  • 1 Tarmogoyf
  • 1 Thoughtseize
  • 1 Troll of Khazad-dum
  • 1 Underground Mortuary
  • 1 Undermountain Adventurer
  • 1 Unearth
  • 1 Utopia Sprawl
  • 1 Verdant Catacombs
  • 1 Wight of the Reliquary
  • 1 Wild Growth
  • 1 Windswept Heath
  • 1 Wooded Foothills
  • 1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth

  • 1 Slimefoot and Squee

Tymna the Weaver + Thrasios, Triton Hero

Coveted Jewel Coveted Jewel

To finish off the quartet of suggestions and cover all strategies, here's a relatively unproven yet cheeky combo option for the Cephalid Breakfast and/or Nadu enjoyers out there.

Tymna + Thrasios combination allows for a nice four-color deck with access to most mana ramp, combos and tutors to complete them available. I count a total of 17 tutors between Urza's Saga, Ranger-Captain of Eos, Recruiter of the Guard, Stoneforge Mystic, Spellseeker, Vedalken Æthermage, Demonic Tutor, Eladamri's Call, Eldritch Evolution, Enlightened Tutor, Finale of Devastation, Green Sun's Zenith, Intuition, Neoform, Step Through, Summoner's Pact and Worldly Tutor which add tons of consistency despite playing a 100-card singleton format. Putting together combos and punishing unaware opponents is both fun and challenging, so give this deck a spin if that's your jam.

List by Jan Jilek:

  • 1 Arbor Elf
  • 1 Arid Mesa
  • 1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
  • 1 Bayou
  • 1 Birds of Paradise
  • 1 Bloodstained Mire
  • 1 Breeding Pool
  • 1 Cabal Therapy
  • 1 Cephalid Illusionist
  • 1 Chord of Calling
  • 1 Chthonian Nightmare
  • 1 City of Brass
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Deathrite Shaman
  • 1 Deep-Cavern Bat
  • 1 Delighted Halfling
  • 1 Demonic Tutor
  • 1 Deserted Beach
  • 1 Devoted Druid
  • 1 Dread Return
  • 1 Dreamroot Cascade
  • 1 Dryad Arbor
  • 1 Eladamri's Call
  • 1 Eldritch Evolution
  • 1 Elves of Deep Shadow
  • 1 Elvish Mystic
  • 1 Endurance
  • 1 Enlightened Tutor
  • 1 Ephemerate
  • 1 Esper Sentinel
  • 1 Fatal Push
  • 1 Finale of Devastation
  • 1 Flooded Strand
  • 1 Forest
  • 1 Fyndhorn Elves
  • 1 Gitaxian Probe
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Green Sun's Zenith
  • 1 Hallowed Fountain
  • 1 Haywire Mite
  • 1 Horizon Canopy
  • 1 Intuition
  • 1 Invasion of Ikoria
  • 1 Island
  • 1 Lightning Greaves
  • 1 Llanowar Elves
  • 1 Lotleth Giant
  • 1 Mana Confluence
  • 1 Marsh Flats
  • 1 Misty Rainforest
  • 1 Mother of Runes
  • 1 Nadu, Winged Wisdom
  • 1 Narcomoeba
  • 1 Neoform
  • 1 Noble Hierarch
  • 1 Nomads en-Kor
  • 1 Nurturing Peatland
  • 1 Oko, Thief of Crowns
  • 1 Orcish Bowmasters
  • 1 Overgrown Tomb
  • 1 Plains
  • 1 Polluted Delta
  • 1 Ranger-Captain of Eos
  • 1 Recruiter of the Guard
  • 1 Savannah
  • 1 Scalding Tarn
  • 1 Scrubland
  • 1 Sevinne's Reclamation
  • 1 Shipwreck Marsh
  • 1 Shuko
  • 1 Silent Clearing
  • 1 Skullclamp
  • 1 Snap
  • 1 Spellseeker
  • 1 Springheart Nantuko
  • 1 Step Through
  • 1 Stoneforge Mystic
  • 1 Summoner's Pact
  • 1 Swamp
  • 1 Swift Reconfiguration
  • 1 Sylvan Safekeeper
  • 1 Teferi, Time Raveler
  • 1 Temple Garden
  • 1 Tropical Island
  • 1 Tundra
  • 1 Underground Sea
  • 1 Unearth
  • 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Urza's Saga
  • 1 Vedalken Aethermage
  • 1 Verdant Catacombs
  • 1 Waterlogged Grove
  • 1 Watery Grave
  • 1 White Plume Adventurer
  • 1 Windswept Heath
  • 1 Wooded Foothills
  • 1 Worldly Tutor
  • 1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth

  • 1 Tymna the Weaver
  • 1 Thrasios, Triton Hero

If you made it this far, thank you for reading and considering giving Duel Commander a go. The format offers a variety of viable strategies with lots of room for innovation, and I can't wait to play it in the ManaTraders Series later this month. Until then, see you in the Magic Online leagues!

Content Creator Program     Contact Us     Terms and conditions
Copyright Manatraders © 2025