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Duel Commander: Jace vs. Tasigur


Hello, folks! While Commander Clash goes on hiatus, we're going to be trying out different formats to entertain you guys. This week, Seth and I dip our toes into a 1v1 variant of Commander called Duel Commander. Duel Commander follows mostly the same rules as classic multiplayer Commander. However you start at 30 life instead of 40, and it has its own banlist which you can check out here.The format is tuned around competitive play and their banlist reflects that: the best mana rocks, Sol Ring and Mana Crypt, are banned, while cards that are busted in multiplayer but not in 1v1, like Sylvan Primordial, are fine.

Unfortunately, since Magic Online does not support Duel Commander, we have to play with the classic Commander banlist while also adhering to the Duel Commander banlists. Since we're both Blue players at heart, I chose Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, while Seth chose Tasigur, the Golden Fang. Our lists are based off winning decklists from recent Duel Commander tournaments, though significantly cheaper budget versions. Most of the cards removed were fast mana rocks, fetchlands, and tutors.

Buckle up folks, we're in for a Blue Control mirror match! But first, a quick reminder: if you enjoy Commander Clash and other video content here on MTGGoldfish, make sure to subscribe to the MTGGoldfish Youtube Channel to keep up with the latest and greatest. 

 

Tomer's Deck 

 

Seth's Deck

 

For comparison, here are two tuned, non-budget versions of the decks we played:

 

Of the swaps I made for my Jace deck, the cards that didn't work out were the two-mana rocks like Star Compass. I never wanted to play them on turn 2 because Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is almost always the superior play. Otherwise I think most of my budget swaps were defensible. I would probably run a couple more ways to deal with creatures, even something as basic as Unsummon, since there was little I could do to deal with resolved threats.

Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about the format yet. It feels less like a Commander variant and more like a Legacy variant, where you get to run lots of powerful cards and a commander, but you have to pack a ton of tutors to compensate for the singleton aspect . . . which goes against the entire concept of Commander, another gripe of mine. On the other hand, I did enjoy playing these games, so that's something. I feel like if you're willing to spend $3,000 to build a deck, you're better off playing Legacy, since Duel Commander is about the same price. 

That's just my initial thoughts on the format at least. Like I said, I did enjoy the games, so if you guys are interested in seeing more Duel Commander, let us know! I'd also love to hear from people who enjoy Duel Commander on why they prefer it over other high-powered formats, since it's possible that I'm not being fair in my comparisons.

 

Tell us What You'd Like To See!

We have a couple ideas on what to record for the near future, but we'd love to hear your suggestions. Let us know what videos you'd like to watch, be it multiplayer or 1v1, and we'll try our best to deliver. Momir Basic games? Planechase? If we can pull it off on Magic Online, we'll get it done! Oh, and guess what? Jake is back! We've recorded the next Commander Clash on the good old plane of Innistrad! See you next week!



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