eDH X Duel Commander: What Makes Them Different & List Suggestions

Everyone knows that Duel Commander and "classic" eDH are quite different. Every single game dynamic is different from one format to another. Consider a "1 for 1" card like Duress. In a 1v1 format, this card results in both players losing a resource each. Meanwhile, in a format with 4 players, this card results in two players losing a resource each and two other players remaining neutral.

Likewise, the way we see damage is also different from one format to another. While you need to deal 20 damage in a Duel Commander match to win, in eDH matches you need to deal 120 damage (often less, considering other players are also attacking their opponents). These numbers obviously affect how great each card is as well. Beastmaster Ascension is a lot more valuable with bigger numbers, for instance, and in condensed games it typically performs a lot worse.

It's difficult to assess Commander decks because the closest to a competitive Commander format is cEDH. Furthermore, I think the term "competitive" is up for discussion, and the entire format seems to center around some card draw mechanics (particularly Rhystic Study). In any case, the biggest staples (most of the game changers) are banned in Duel Commander. But does this make all DC decks too terrible?

Mana and Finishers

Positive mana rocks are some of the most broken cards in MTG. Most of them are restricted in Vintage (that format that lets you use even Black Lotus and Ancestral Recall!), and, because they make 1v1 matches too "polarized", they're practically all banned in Duel Commander.

We must admit that it's practically impossible for someone who opens with a Sol Ring to lose a 1v1 match. The advantage they get from this is simply too much. The same goes for "worse" cards, like Chrome Mox. In Commander, opening with a land + Sol Ring, despite being very strong, results in a player with 3 mana and 3 players with 1 mana each. It is still incredibly strong, but it is a lot more balanced than the same thing happening in a 1v1 match.

This ends up killing a few combos, even if unintentionally, like infinite mana loops with Hullbreaker Horror, for instance. And, when the matter is ways to end the game, we can't play most of the most popular strategies, like Thassa's Oracle, Food Chain, or Underworld Breach. We're forced to use worse lines, but they're just as important in the Duel Commander meta.

Let's see a few decks as examples.

How can these two decks be so similar and so different at the same time? While the cEDH version needs extra combat phases to beat opponents with Blightsteel Colossus, the Duel Commander version can just play an Emrakul.

In cEDH, ramp is a lot more aggressive, but this makes sense. After all, the idea is to put the commander in play as early as possible (and many players try to survive the first turn a commander pops up on the board to try to combo on their own turn). In Duel Commander, the solution is bigger mana rocks. They'll make sure you can keep putting pressure on the opponent by, for instance, allowing you to cast your commander more than once whenever necessary.

Surprisingly, this Turtle duo is actually a real, competitive deck in Duel Commander. After it first showed up, players started refining it, and the way it plays now is really similar to the cEDH version (well, it's a bit slower, as you can't use Moxen/LED). It's a pity we can't use the best acceleration cards in Commander, like Elvish Spirit Guide, Delighted Halfling, and Tinder Wall.

We've already discussed Duel Commander Lumra in detail in this article.

Now, if we take a look at the cEDH version...

In this case, yes, that's practically the same deck. It would be great if we could play Mox Diamond in Duel Commander, but, let's be honest, it doesn't really make that much of a difference. The Ashaya/Vesuva combo doesn't see play in Duel Commander because you don't need to worry about the "infinite loop" (even more considering this loop relies on having two creatures in play and more removals see play in Duel Commander), but those are just details.

Basically, when you're playing Duel Commander, you don't need to worry about "how to kill your opponent when they're protected by The One Ring", but, at the same time, you do have to worry about creatures (you have 20 HP and you're the only opponent).

These two lists are drastically different. In cEDH, Vivi's game plan is entirely different, as Curiosity is like an Ancestral Recall. It's a lot easier to "keep comboing" with this type of effect, and this list, according to experts (not me - cEDH is not my specialty), wants to end the game on turns 4~5 but can win even on turn 2.

The Duel Commander list will try to build an advantage with its "Voltron" commander and worries less about playing the combo. Most of the Duel Commander removals affect toughness, either through Dismember or Galvanic Discharge, so +1/+1 counters are often enough to win, but one of the main ways to do that is by attacking!

It's incredibly unusual, I know. In this case, the cards in each deck change as well as the game plan as a whole. It's not like a cEDH player could just "double jump" to win a match...

One thing all of these decks have in common is how combo-y they feel. Other extremely similar lists are Rocco and Minsc:

These combos can involve Kiki-Jiki/Felidar and other lines, from Food Chain in cEDH to Reveillark in Duel Commander, but they all use a similar base and game plan. The most significant difference between them, without a question, is the support around them. In cEDH, that includes several combo lines, but, in Duel Commander, that includes Broadside Bombardiers and other creatures that attack.

Playing different formats in MTG is a challenge. Players that best adapt to Duel Commander are usually experienced Legacy and cEDH players, I believe.

What you really need is the right competitive mindset (that is, understanding that the people involved in each match will try to win very hard) and knowing the cards available. There are many cards in this format, and a Standard player would certainly be shocked to see how powerful a Broadside Bombardiers is in Duel Commander. When you look at, for instance, the way it interacts with Evoke Elementals (or Titans that need escape, like Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury), it's clear it's very powerful, even if it's not that straightforward.

Players in these formats are used to this type of thing and are used to incredibly efficient cards. Another cool thing is that these formats are naturally expensive, so the price of the Duel Commander staples probably doesn't scare anyone away.

But do you really need all of these cards? How much worse your deck would be without the Duel Commander staples that don't see play in cEDH, like Barrowgoyf or Psychic Frog?

To answer that question, I often ask myself three other questions:

1 - Is this card tutorable?

2 - Does this card win matches when you draw it?

3 - Does this card add a different attack strategy to my deck?

Let's see a practical example...

In a deck that can play Tainted Pact and Demonic Tutor, this card fits our first requirement, question 1. But what about a or deck, which can't play tutors for Ruination?

It still gives these decks a different way to attack: destroying all lands can win games on the spot.

As we can't tutor it, we can't expect to draw it every match (it's just one card among 99, after all!), but I'd be tempted to use it.

Oh, and it doesn't usually win the game when you draw it because it is quite bad in various matches. If you're facing a strategy that plays lots of basic lands, for instance, or if you're behind on the board, this card won't be great.

These cards are truly great, as well as some of the cards that define Duel Commander. However...

1 - We usually can't tutor them, even in decks.

2 - They don't win games by themselves. Your opponents will usually be ready to remove them.

3 - They don't add any different strategy to each deck. They're only efficient in their own game plan.

Is a Slimefoot and Squee without these cards worse than one with them? No question about it. But it's still playable... A lot more than a version without Chaos Defiler or Detective's Phoenix (these, yes, are usually tutorable).

Swapping from a multiplayer format to a 1v1 format is usually difficult and painful. The game patterns are different, the way you see each match is different, and "coming back into the game" (that is, recovering after a bad start) looks totally different as well.

But adapting won't be that difficult. A few matches, and you'll already have a feel for the format. If you enjoy highly varied competitive formats and dynamic game plans (centered around attrition and perfect for tournaments), swapping from one to another will be simple and cheap.

If you're tired of seeing Rhystic Study, you could try out this relatively small but stable format (for over a decade). I bet you'll like it.

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

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!