Duel Commander - Deck Tech: Ketramose, the New Dawn

Ketramose is my favorite commander, and I really love how he finds his place in every meta. I've never really found an opponent I can't beat when I'm playing him: that's how good he is. But, at the same time, he is not that dominant and can be considered an off-meta commander.

Since he was released, around a year ago, we have seen several lists with him, with several different structures. Further on, we'll see the "best Ketramose list", but, to start, let's go over the main staples that see play in this archetype and its main game plan.

Without further ado, let's go!

In fact, this commander interacts really well with cards that exile graveyards. As there are no sideboards in Duel Commander, many decks use the graveyard as a consistent source of resources.

All of these cards do something with the graveyard, and this is just the beginning. We also have Cling to Dust, Earthbend, Delve (looking at you, Tasigur)...

Furthermore, Ketramose is incredible on the battlefield. He is an indestructible 4/4 creature with lifelink, so he's a nightmare for aggro archetypes, particularly in a deck with many removals.

Like so, this deck plays out like a non-blue control list. It plays a card draw engine and lots of disruption, whether that's removals or discards. It can't interact really well with the stack, which is, without a question, a drawback for any control list, but it does follow a nice game plan to make up for it.

If you play Ketramose, you'll mostly see yourself in the following matchups:

Fair/Removal Matchups

Several decks in Duel Commander are "fair" and play pretty honest MTG matches. They put creatures in play, but Ketramose will play removals. They might try to create some value with good cards, but, overall, you'll disrupt their main game plan constantly and draw countless cards with Ketramose and Relic of Progenitus, The Ooze, or Unlicensed Hearse. If you're trading cards 1-for-1 but also drawing lots of cards in the process, you won't lose.

These matches were quite easy (every single one of them) until Deadpool, Trading Card came along. You really need your card draw engine, and losing it is quite painful. Further on, when we discuss a few cards, you'll see that many of them only see play in this list because they work in these "complicated" matches.

Discard Matchups

To me, these are the worst matchups. When you face control decks, you'll be in a terrible spot. You won't be able to set up your card draw engine or disrupt the opponent in a satisfying way, and you'll also get considerably behind in "virtual card advantage". This means you'll have lots of dead cards in your hand (the many removals you'll draw), and your opponent will interact really well with you in the meantime.

In turn, each Duress you can put in play will put you ahead in information. Knowing what your opponent has in hand is always great because then you can figure out if you have an opening or not.

You can beat these matchups if you put some effort into them, but you need to be careful to not sacrifice too much. You might end up changing this list so much that you start losing the easy games.

In any case, the best strategy in these matchups is to put as much pressure on the opponent as possible and try to play some sort of card advantage tool to try to stay afloat.

Cataclysm Matchups

You simply can't interact with some game plans, particularly if the opponent always draws something useful (so discarding their cards won't be enough to win) or can ignore removals. The most critical offenders are Lumra and Azusa, but there are definitely others. In these matchups, the best you can do is resolve a Cataclysm because, as a rule, it wins the game on the spot.

This deck usually plays around 42 ways to get mana and 10 to 15 creatures. The creatures have been slowly disappearing - they were 30 at first, then 25, then 20, and now 15 or less. Whenever a new set or balance update comes out, they end up leaving this archetype. I believe which creatures you play are actually some of the most important decisions for this list.

Creatures

These 9 creatures are unquestionable staples and always see play with Ketramose. Other creatures that fit the main synergies, like Phelia, Skyclave Apparition, and Sorin, have seen some play but lately have been disappearing. Others haven't seen play for a while, like Kutzil's Flanker.

I believe a small number of creatures is the best choice nowadays. I wouldn't find it weird if at some point we all started playing 5 or 6 creatures in this archetype.

Discards

As you can see, Specter's Shriek is one of your good discards, and this already says a lot about how much you need this type of effect. You really want to resolve some of these discard cards with a threat, so it's a good deal to pay 1 less mana instead of using Agonizing Remorse or Collective Brutality.

That being said, I really enjoy these two cards, as well as Unmask. Cruelclaw's Heist hasn't seen much play - I believe the it costs might be why.

Tourach, Dread Cantor also only sees a bit of play and is quite interesting with Ketramose. I tried playing Mind Twist, but it doesn't perform well. Some people play the love of my life, Liliana of the Veil, and I believe Ral from Strixhaven might also start seeing play.

Utility

This list plays lots of counters, Flute, and two land tutors. These land tutors have seen play with Dust Bowl and Maze of Ith, but they also get Abstergo Entertainment and Bojuka Bog.

This is a different way to attack with this deck, and it seems quite interesting, particularly considering Ketramose isn't as "mana intensive" as other control strategies.

Engine

All of these cards are great and draw multiple cards for you but don't force you to invest extra mana to do it. You don't really have to worry about drawing several of them because they all do something else as well. For instance, they might give you +1/+1 counters, or you can just cycle them.

Nonetheless, if you're facing an opponent that uses the graveyard... Well, then these cards, which are already great in normal circumstances, get even better because of their extra interactions with Ketramose.

Removals

Because this is a list, you can play the best removals in Duel Commander. Some of these are no-brainers and simply always see play.

Toxic Deluge is the one you can think twice before playing because it is the only one that can affect your commander. But, most of the time, you'll play it with an X that is less than 3 or exactly 3.

This deck doesn't have a reason to play the mass removals that cost 5 mana or more because most of them don't do anything too out of the ordinary for you. You already play many removals that exile creatures as well as ways to interact with the graveyard.

I'd love to use Wrath of the Skies in this deck, but, considering how many artifacts and enchantments are already in it, I can't really do this.

Obviously, Fatal Push is part of this list, but, as a rule, you should prefer removals like Ossification before Long Goodbye because of your main synergies. You need to be careful with your deckbuilding and in-game decisions because playing many sorcery speed removals might leave you in tough spots. Think about it: a Screaming Nemesis preventing you from gaining life, and this deck already takes a lot of damage (you'll usually exchange 1 HP for 1 card, ideally).

Because of this, you'll also have to be careful with cards like Snuff Out and Dismember (the list we included in this article uses both of them, but I confess I cut them from my versions several times). However, when they aren't dead in your hand, they're excellent.

Other Effects

We could list many other cards if we looked at the cards that commonly see play with Ketramose.

This list plays many basic lands, so Tainted Pact is not a real tutor. But all of these cards can enable Ketramose almost on the spot (as he needs at least seven cards in exile to attack or block).

Personally, I don't really like Serum Powder, and I lost a few games to my own Demonic Consultation (some I lost because I named a card that was at the very bottom of my deck, and others I lost because I exiled some key cards).

Many tutors can see play in this list. Depending on your taste and main game plan, you can use one or the other. Personally, I always play the first 3 cards above, but the Map tech (even World Map) has been quite popular lately.

There are ways to attack the opponent's mana with this list. Lately, I believe two copies (Cataclysm + Armageddon) are enough. Limited Resources is a pet card that I really love, and I really hope it starts seeing play someday.

Parallax Wave needs no introduction. This is your favorite target for tutors, and, considering it is great in nearly every deck, with Ketramose it is nearly absurd. The Abyss and its cheaper version - a Drop of Honey version - are good ways to win long matches. You'll be immune to their effects because Ketramose is indestructible, after all. These options are slow, without a question, but creating value at this point of the game is great.

This card is sort of similar to Ketramose. It has the same CMC, but it comes with a trap. This might seem counterintuitive, but you shouldn't look for it in your opening hand. If you play Ketramose , this enchantment , or a or engine, you'll end up investing too much mana on the first few turns and lose too early.

That being said, this card is too good to not play in this list. If it works, it is incredibly strong.

This is a recent list. I see some differences in it compared to my personal tastes. I don't believe Split Up is the best mass removal to play. In certain metas, Phelia struggles because sometimes people play more removals (Phelia is great against control/combo decks, which are more popular in some metas). Skyclave Apparition doesn't usually see that much play, but I consider it essential.

That being said, Ketramose lists are always quite similar. After some initial hype, they have found their place in the meta as pretty solid tier-3 options.

This hand is pretty great, but it can't do anything in the long term. It doesn't have removals nor artifacts, but it has an excellent curve, a "wildcard" (no one expects Disruptor Flute because its effect is quite unique), and can enable Ketramose on turn 4.

I believe most of the difficult decisions with this list are "when do I play my discards". In many matches, you'll do this later on to remove a key card or to get more information and figure out what you need to target next.

It's a good idea to play this list as a "land-go" strategy against blue decks. Otherwise, you can stick to your curve with discards + Flute (or Cathar Commando if it's a reasonable blocker) and try to stay alive.

You'll hardly have a decent match with this hand. You can do Seize -> Cauldron -> Ketramose, or, if you're drawing first, Seize + Furnace -> Ketramose, and set up an active card draw engine quite early. With two cards that exile graveyards and fetchlands, this is the best opener you can have.

But, if you don't have Ketramose because of a Wash Away or a Swords to Plowshares, you won't have anything.

This hand is weird. The best sequence I can see is to play the tapland on turn 1, Ossification on turn 2, Liliana on turn 3, Ketramose and On Thin Ice on turn 4. It's one removal per turn, but you don't have enough information, your removals are all at sorcery speed, and your curve can fall apart if you decide to play your On Thin Ice on turn 1 (a Deathrite Shaman or an Ocelot Pride will destroy it). But you desperately need to draw some type of engine to get cards and enable Ketramose.

If you're interested in this list, I recommend you prepare to invest some time into it, and don't give up that easily. A control list without blue and with so many tutors includes many strategies and sequences. You'll have to assess different threats according to your hand as well. Emperor of Bones doesn't work every time against Ketramose, after all.

Deadpool is more popular in some regions, so playing cards like Ephemerate (which can draw cards/save Ketramose from being exiled in other matchups) makes a lot of sense.

If you're facing lots of Spider-Man 2099, you'll need to pay attention to some details. Instant speed removals are almost mandatory if you want to survive this matchup (which is quite simple otherwise).

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!