Duel Commander: Top 10 Blue Staples + Best Mana Base

If you'd also like to see the best white cards in Duel Commander, check out this article.

And if you have just started playing this format, you might feel as if all blue players care about is countering things. I don't believe that's true, but it is a fact that blue answers are much more efficient than blue threats, and that applies to white cards as well.

If we were to take this ranking literally (as in, the 10 most played cards), we'd have to add 9 counters to it. So, we decided to group a few of them together in the same spot and add different cards and effects to the other spots.

1 - Mental Misstep

In a format as efficient as this one, in which so many super powerful 1-mana cards see play, there is no conceivable way to play blue decks and not play Mental Misstep. The reason this is our first card today is Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful's Boros Aggro. When it uses a partner (usually so it can use Spider-Woman, Stunning Savior), it also uses Mental Misstep, and that's why it is the most popular blue card in the format.

2 - Wash Away

This one is easy. Duel Commander is all about building around a single card that will always be available. This means most cards in a given deck will interact with this chosen card. An unconditional way to counter the opponent's commander for just is a pretty simple choice in every deck. Whether you're playing control or tempo strategies, you'll just gain a lot of value by playing this card (particularly since you can sort of predict when the opponent will play their commander, as they usually play them on curve).

You can also play it as a Cancel, so it is no surprise it is the second most played card in the format.

3 - Brainstorm

The only surprise here is that one of the best cards ever printed only made it to the top 3 and not the top 2 or top 1. The way it interacts with Polluted Delta (and all other fetchlands, of course) and how it can renew your entire hand (too many hands with 3 lands and a single Brainstorm have managed to win) consolidates Brainstorm as the best blue cantrip in Duel Commander. It is also the only cantrip in this ranking.

This is when I say that you can answer Thoughtseize with Brainstorm to save a specific card. And that you shouldn't play Brainstorm as you pass because it would be better if you played your fetchland before you drew any cards, but apparently these strategies are considered too boomer nowadays.

4 - Force Spike (+1)

Let's see these two cards together. They're pretty straightforward. They're very decisive when they show up early on and are still useful in the mid- to late game, though they become a bit more situational.

Force Spike is better in a Highlander, 99-card format than in Constructed formats because it's practically impossible (and I believe it's objectively wrong) to play around it in Duel Commander.

5 - Subtlety

I believe this is the closest to Force of Will we can play in Duel Commander. Unlike FoW, however, you can hardcast Subtlety, and a flying 3/3 makes a huge difference in the battlefield.

As usual, Sublety also comes with a pretty advantage. You'll know if the enemy deck plays a relevant creature and even how much it costs from the moment the game starts.

6 - Mana Leak (+3)

Another surprising detail in this article is that Counterspell is so low in the ranking. It might be considered "the best counter" because it's not situational, but this low spot actually makes a lot of sense. After all, a list like Aragorn, King of Gondor won't be able to get that consistently. Oftentimes you might even have two ways to get blue mana, but one of them might be Hallowed Fountain (and you might need white mana), for instance.

7 - Lorien Revealed

It feels like this card sees play in every blue list, so, to me, it's impressive that it is not even one of the top 10 most played cards in the format (we put it in our 7th spot because of how powerful it is). Out of all the landcyclings that cost and see play, Lórien Revealed is without a question the most playable because it draws 3 cards.

Furthermore, it interacts with a few other cards. For instance, you can use it to buff your Murktide Regent, collect evidence with Detective's Phoenix, or grow Pyrogoyf (you won't always draw Ponder, after all...).

8 - Snapcaster Mage

Could this be the best blue creature in the format? It can take the initiative or make you the monarch, and it is actually a spell, so it's unusually great. We must mention Brazen Borrower, though, because it is similar (and it's also a 3/1 with flying... it's only a pity it can't block).

9 - Consult the Star Charts

How can such a simple card be so cool? It's also an instant, so it is better than the all-star in many formats: Stock Up. Just by existing, this card practically made all Memory Deluges disappear.

Older players can see that this is Inspiration's natural evolution, and I believe Consult the Star Charts should remain popular for a long time still.

10 - Murktide (+3)

Blue "threats" are usually not that threatening, but these cards are all great, which is impressive. Murktide might be the only real way to end games with blue lists, and the other three are great at creating an advantage after some time.

One of the problems with ranking cards per color is that we can't include any multicolored cards (and, to be honest, there is no real way to deal with this).

Another issue is that, out of all the creatures we mentioned in this article, the best of all is, without a question, Psychic Frog. This card does absolutely everything Spider-Man 2099 wished he did. The only reason we didn't include it is because it's not a pure blue card.

Take this part of the article as a reminder that many excellent cards don't show up in these articles because they don't fit the main colors, at least not technically. Oh, and please note that I put Oko in this section because I crave nostalgia, but the best blue/green card is probably:

(She is so good that she deserves this space all to herself.)

All blue lands are excellent. Mistrise Village can win control matches extremely easily because it effectively destroys their entire game plan. Unlike Boseiju, Who Shelters All, Village won't hurt you whenever you tap it. You can also use it to protect your threats (usually your own commander), and it gives you blue mana (had it ever occurred to you that you can't cast an uncounterable Counterspell with Boseiju?).

Agna Q'ela and Mystic Sanctuary are just lands with an extra "bonus". Regarding Sanctuary, we must discuss Cryptic-lock (basically a strategy in which you play Cryptic Command, tap your opponent's creatures, and return Sanctuary to your hand). In other formats, if you play two Commands, your opponent will never be able to attack you again. In Commander, you'll need another way to draw cards, but this strategy will still buy you a lot of time.

Otawara, in turn, is the best land in the Kamigawa cycle (Sorry, Boseiju). It removes tokens (which are quite popular in the current meta) and saves your permanents. It is also great whenever a bounce would usually win the game, obviously.

Blue is the most popular color in Duel Commander, and the reason for that is quite clear. You can use every card in this format, but only one copy out of each, so a lot of threats see play. There are so many ETB abilities and game-winning combos with different types of permanents (or no permanent at all!) that counters are often the best way to interact with the opponent in a consistent way.

On the other side, blue doesn't have great ways to end the game or interact with creatures that are already in play. It's a support color almost exclusively, but, without a question, it is the best support color in DC.

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

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!