
Review
Children of EDH: Commander and its Variants
Commander is a format with many variations, each of them with a different focus, creating an environment that can embrace all kinds of players!
By Vinicius, 01/14/22, translated by Humberto - 4 comments
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Commander - Elder Dragon Highlander
Multiplayer Commander
or by the old acronym for EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander), this is the original format whose philosophy and history I've told you in the past article and which you probably already know (otherwise check it out later). What many may not know is that Commander/EDH is not a format managed by Wizards of the Coast. In fact, the company's only contributions to the format were changing its name from Elder Dragon Highlander to the current Commander, and recurrent development of dedicated products like preconstructed decks, which is already quite a thing. However, all format management, including maintenance of its rules, banned list and disclosure is done by a committee of 4 people who have been involved in the development and improvement of EDH since long before Wizards thought about publishing the first product with the Commander brand. The four members of the Commander Rules Committee - Sheldon Menery, Toby Elliott, Gavin Duggan and Scott Larabee - all hail from the MTG judge community, and although some work sporadically with Wizards, in practice they are completely independent of the company relating to the management of Commander. At one point, Wizards started to embrace the format and consider it in its market strategies, releasing new cards and specific mechanics for it, but it leaves the control over more structural decisions to this Committee.Ad

Duel Commander
Duel Commander
grew out of this need by making the Commander more balanced for 1v1 matches. The first Duel Commander rules committee was created by Frenchman Kevin Desprez in 2007, and has undergone several configuration changes since then. This French committee has long taken the lead when it comes to promoting Commander Championships in Europe - many with considerable prizes - and has become one of the main references for the rest of the world when it comes to two-player CommanderRules
TheDuel Commander
(or French Commander, for some) has the same rules as the traditional Commander, with the following exceptions: -Duel:
A Duel Commander game is a two player game. -Starting Life Totals:
20 -Banned and Restricted List:
Duel Commander has its own banned card list that includes cards with special edges (silver, gold, Conspiracy, etc.), oversized cards, cards that require physical dexterity (Chaos Orb), ante (Amulet of Quoz), sub-games (Shahrazad) as well as cards marked offensive by Wizards of the Coast (Click here to the list). The French list also has a distinct list of cards banned only as commanders but still playable in the deck, with most cards withpartner
oreminence
making this list. As this is a work in constant progress, the most reliable way to check the updated banned list is through its official website: mtgdc.info.
Leviathan Commander
Partner
andEminence
mechanics, which proved too powerful in 1v1 games. The way the French Committee handled this - intermittently banning several cards and lowering the starting life totals to 20 - sparked controversy and further divided the community, causing many groups to then migrate to Leviathan.Ad
Rules
Leviathan Commander
(LC) has the same rules as the traditional Commander, with the following exceptions: -Duel:
A Leviathan Commander game is a two player game. -Starting Life Totals:
30 -Starting hand and Mulligan:
The starting hand and mulligan rules in Leviathan are different, to balance cards withpartner
. Each player starts with 7 cards in hand. But in case a player chooses to start with more than one commander, the player puts X cards from his hand at the bottom of his library in any order, where X is 1 plus the number of mulligans made. This way, if players start the game with 2 commanders and decide not to make mulligans, X will be 1 and the player will have to place a single card from their hand at the bottom of their library, starting with one less card in their hand. If they decide to mulligan once, the number of cards put on the bottom of his library will be 2, and so on similarly for more mulligans. -Commander Switch:
Another distinction of the LC compared to other 1v1 variants is the possibility to switch commanders between one match and another in a better-than-three game. After each game, players decide if they want to continue using the same commander or exchange for another. Players decide simultaneously, not knowing whether the opponent is choosing to change or not. Each player shuffles their commander(s) into their deck and introduces the same or new commander(s) of the same deck before the start of each following game during each round. To ensure that information is not revealed, both players have their commander face down and face up when the next game starts. If a player decides to switch, their previous commander is shuffled into their library. Your deck's color identity must remain the same. For example: If you start with a Dragonlord Ojutai (white and blue) as your commander, you can only switch to another commander with white and blue identity, making Geist of Saint Traft a legal option and Vendilion Clique illegal. Players cannot switch to commanders who are on the Banned List as Commanders. Players can also switch from a single commander to two partners and vice versa.
Banned and Restricted List:
Leviathan Commander also has its own banned list which also has a separate list only for cards that cannot be commanders but can play in the library which is generally smaller than the French list. As this is a work in constant progress, the most reliable way to check Leviathan Commander's up-to-date banned list is through its Committee's official website: leviathancommander.wixsite.com/.Archon Commander
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Rules
Archon
has the same rules as the traditional Commander, with the following exceptions: -Duel:
An Archon game is a two player game. -Starting Life Totals:
20 -Commander Damage:
Archon games do not use the rule that causes a player to lose the game if he has suffered 21 or more combat damage from a commander. -Deck Size:
Archon decks are not subject to Commander rule 3, which says that a deck must contain exactly 100 cards. Instead, each deck must contain AT LEAST 100 cards, including its commander(s). In other words, the minimum deck size is 100 and there is no maximum deck size. -Commander Change:
Similar to Leviathan Commander, Archon allows a player to replace their commander between one game and another in a Bo3 matchup. In a tournament, players must designate their commander(s) and cannot designate other cards as their commanders for the first game of each game. If decklists are used, the main commander(s) must be highlighted. Players can, however, switch commander(s) at the start of each other game in a matchup. The new commander(s) must be chosen from the deck, be legal and have the same color identity color as the main commander(s). Players can keep these cards face down as they are chosen, but each player must clearly indicate which card face down they are choosing. -Banned and Restricted List:
Like the previous variants, Archon has its own banned list which also has a separate list just for cards that can't be commanders, another even more specific list of cards that can't be used only aspartners
and another for cards that cannot be chosen ascompanion
(only Lutri, the Spellchaser is in the latter). Another difference in Archon's banned list is that cards with square and gold borders are also allowed in tournaments, as long as they are not distinguishable from the rest of your deck (using opaque shields, for example). As this is a work in progress, the most reliable way to check Archon's up-to-date banned list is through the official format's official site: archon.page/.cEDH
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Conquest
Felipe Torres
has already written an excellent article analyzing Conquest and its most notable points, which you can check out here. For the rest, it is still a marginal format, although still very new. All the rule changes add up to create relatively balanced, fun and board-focused games.Rules
Conquest
has the same rules as the traditional Commander, with the following exceptions: -Planeswalkers as Commanders:
Legendary creatures and also planeswalkers are allowed as commanders. -Starting Life Totals:
30 -Commander Damage:
Commander damage is 12 (instead of 21).Ad
Deck Size:
The minimum number of cards in the deck is 80, and there is no maximum. -Banned and Restricted List:
Conquest has its own list of banned castes that remains in development. In addition to all the cards in the Reserved List, the list also includes the 10 original fetchlands, and a number of other cards. You can check out the full ban list here.Brawl & Historic Brawl
Throne of Eldraine
set. However, even with Wizards' support, the format ended up not taking hold in the physical game, although it has a fair share in the MTG Arena, where Brawl is the closest we can get to a Commander on the main digital platform of the game. A variant of the format only available in the Arena, Historic Brawl, has de facto become a representative of the 1v1 Commander on the platform and has become even more popular by allowing any existing cards on the platform rather than being limited to Standard only. I dare say that if multiplayer games were possible in MTG Arena, Historic Brawl would be a much more impactful phenomenon in the global Commander community, although I recognize that such a scenario is quite unlikely.Rules
Historic Brawl
has the same rules as the traditional Commander, with the following exceptions: -Historic Format:
The Historic Brawl allows you to build a deck using any MTG Arena card -Planeswalkers as Commanders:
Legendary creatures and also planeswalkers are allowed as commanders. -Starting Life Totals:
25 -Commander Damage:
This rule does not exist in Historic Brawl. -Banned and restricted list:
Historic Brawl has its own list of banned card, and you can find it here.Oathbreaker
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Rules
Oathbreaker
has the same rules as the traditional Commander, with some exceptions. Detailed rules can be found here. Here is a summary of the main differences compared to Commander: -Command Zone:
Each deck is led by a Planeswalker designated as theOathbreaker
for that deck and an instant or sorcery designated as theSignature Spell
that must be in the Oathbreaker's Color Identity. Just like in Commander, you can cast your Oathbreaker from your command zone. Your Signature Spell can only be cast if your Oathbreaker is on the battlefield under your control. Both your Oathbreaker and Signature Spell are subject to the “command zone tax”. These rates are set individually, meaning casting your Oathbreaker doesn't make your Signature Spell cost more. -Starting Life Totals:
20 -Deck Size:
Each deck must contain exactly 60 cards, including the Oathbreaker and Signature Spell. -Commander Damage:
For obvious reasons, this rule does not exist in Oathbreaker. -Banned and Restricted List:
Oathbreaker has its own list of banned cards that you can find here.
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