Magic: The Gathering’sHalloween-themed setDuskmourn: House of Horrorhas four possible commander decks, but not all of them are constructed equal. InMTG, the term “commander deck” refers to a 100-card deck centered on a single, powerful legendary creature or Planeswalker - the commander. Commander decks are built with specific color limitations, so players can only use cards that are the same color as their commanders, and only one of each card (other than basic lands) can be included.
Commander deck games are designed to be unique, casual, and fun, with endless options for deckbuilding creativity and distinct playstyles. However, it’s important to understand thata commander deck’s utility is almost entirely decided by its commander- far more so than the averageMTGdeck, commander decks center on the effective use of a single card. Picking the right commander is of grave importance, so those aiming to build a strong, viable commander deck around one of the new legendaries inDuskmournwould do well to choose wisely.
Valgavoth, Harrower Of Souls Is The Best Duskmourn Commander
Fun & Flexibility
Of the four available,Valgavoth is the best commander inDuskmournfor one major reason: flexibility. Many commanders tend to be gimmicky, potentially railroading players onto a single path. That’s not always a bad thing: some commanders support truly formidable playstyles. But playing the same kind of game every time can get boring, and if a player repeatedly uses the same commander deck against the same group of people (as this format supports), their opponents may quickly come up with ways to counter it.
I Toured Magic: The Gathering’s HQ & Learned All About The Upcoming MTG Sets
Screen Rant was invited to a tour of the Magic: The Gathering offices to discuss the people behind the game, as well as the newest upcoming sets.
Enter Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls, one of four new commanders introduced inDuskmourn. It has an incredibly simple ability - whenever any opponent loses life for the first time in their turn, players place a +1/+1 counter on Valgavoth and draw a card. Butthat simplicity is its strength. Valgavoth is a highly versatile commander, and can be slotted into a wide variety of decks. Its synergy with Rakdos can be used to prioritize group slug damage, to counter opponents' moves with flash spells, or build an army of demon cards - and that’s just one example.
Although it’s not necessarily the strongest by raw power (despite having the highest attack stat of anyDuskmourncommander),Valgavoth’s ability ensures that its attack and block will growrapidly, especially when combined with the right cards. Creatures like Zo-Zu the Punisher and Mogis, God of Slaughter can reliably deal damage to opponents at almost every turn, and each time they do, Valgavoth will gain a counter to each of its stats. Other cards that allow players to deal damage to any chosen target once their conditions are triggered, like Mayhem Devil, can help build Valgavoth’s counters as well.
Those purchasing the precon Valgavoth deck will find more variabilityand opportunities for adjustment. Its simple ability encourages experimentation. Players can combine the commander’s ability with a wide variety of different cards, allowing for a truly different experience each time they play Valgavoth.
Aminatou, Veil Piercer Is The Second-Best Duskmourn Commander
Unique Flavor & Raw Power At The Cost Of Flexibility
Aminatou, Veil Piercer is similar to (although not quite on par with) Valgavoth in terms of flexibility. She has two abilities, the first of which is pretty simple and generic, allowing players to surveil two cards at the beginning of each upkeep phase. Her most important ability, however, is her passive, whichapplies miracle to every enchantment card in the player’s hand. Miracle is a unique condition in which a spell’s cost is reduced if that card is the first to be drawn in the turn; in this case, the cost is reduced by four mana.
Magic: The Gathering Dustmourn Will Have A ‘Special Guest’ Card Silent Hill Fans Won’t Want To Miss
A new “Special Guest” card is coming to Magic: The Gathering, featuring a villainous design drawn by the lead monster artist of Silent Hill.
Aminatou is the first miracle-focused precon commander deck to be introduced toMTG, although there are plenty of fan-made options with a similar focus. She’ll do best in a deck stacked with powerful enchantments: cards like Bottomless Pool, Locker Room, and the Enchantment Saga card The Eldest Reborn ensure Aminatou consistently maintains control over the battlefield. If they’re drawn first, their low mana cost ensures Aminatou can perform such miracles early and often, making her one of the more powerful commanders inDuskmourn.
Bottomless Pool, Locker Room, and The Eldest Reborn are all included in Aminatou’s precon deck, along with ten other powerful enchantments.
At first glance, Aminatou seems to rely quite a bit on luck; players only get the benefit of her passive if they happen to draw an enchantment first. However,it is possible to game the odds with cards that allow players to reshuffle their libraries. Terminus, which moves all creatures to the bottom of the deck, increases the likelihood of an enchantment appearing on top. Sensei’s Divining Top allows players to specifically rearrange the top three cards of their libraries in any order.
With a wide variety of enchantments available inMTG,Aminatou makes for a pretty customizable commander deck. However, its sole focus is on enchantments, and while enchantments can have a wide variety of effects, they are somewhat limited. And since there’s no guarantee players will always draw enchantments first, it’s necessary to compensate for that shortcoming with cards that allow for deck rearranging. As a result, an Aminatou deck is slightly less customizable than Valgavoth.
Winter, Cynical Opportunist Has Too Many Limits
Card Milling & Finality
The first thing most will likely notice about Winter, Cynical Opportunist is thatthis card has deathtouch, an ability that causes any amount of damage they deal to a creature to be lethal. Despite their relatively low attack stat, this ensures thatWinter is excellent when it comes to removing creatures from the board. That can be excellent in certain formats, but isn’t necessarily the most important aspect of commander play, which is more focused on doling out damage to players and commanders.
One of the more interesting aspects of the commander format is thatif a player accumulates 20 points of damage from a single commander, they immediately lose the game.
That’s made worse by the fact thatplayers must mill three cards every time they use Winter to attack. But don’t think a Winter deck has to be totally reliant on its relatively weak commander; Winter also has a delirium ability. If the player has four or more card types in their graveyard, they can choose to exile all these cards but one permanent, which will be placed onto the battlefield with a finality counter. In other words, once that permanent dies, it’s exiled, too.
I’m Disappointed I Couldn’t Buy Magic: The Gathering’s Latest Secret Lair (& I’m Not Alone)
Magic: The Gathering’s latest Secret Lair featured some great cards and exciting collaborations; unfortunately, many players couldn’t buy it.
This creates a metagame in which players are constantly sending cards to the graveyard, exiling them to bring single permanents back, then exiling those, too. There’s potential for some interesting late-game developments here, butit takes a long while and a lot of luck to build up to the point that Winter’s most powerful abilities can be activated, leaving plenty of space for opponents to charge ahead in the meantime. Players will then either have to sacrifice their recurred permanents, or waste turns removing their finality counters, to make them count, making Winter one of the weakerDuskmourncommanders.
Zimone, Mystery Unraveler Is The Weakest DuskmournCommander
Limited Abilities & Repetitive Playstyle
All that leavesZimone, Mystery Unraveler as the weakest commander card inDuskmourn. Unlike Valgavoth and Aminatou, Zimone isn’t quite so original; she’s another Simic commander with a special focus on lands, which is something longtime commander players have certainly seen before. She does have some new options, all of which boil down to a single skill: landfall.
Whenever the player uses a land card,they’re permitted to manifest dread if it’s the first land they’ve played this turn. This allows them to draw their first two library cards, put one into the graveyard, and place the other face-down on the battlefield as a 2/2 creature. If it’s the second land or later, they may turn one of their permanents face-up.
How To Find Out Which Magic: The Gathering Cards Are Worth Money
Players who are new to Magic: The Gathering might not know the best way to figure out what their cards are worth, but it’s good information to have.
So Zimone is all about controlling creatures, which isn’t a terribly exciting playstyle. It also makes her incredibly vulnerable to deathtouched commanders like Winter. Since most of the creatures she plays will be manifested face-down with limited stats, they’ll be especially weak until she turns them over, which requires consistently playing multiple lands per turn.A Zimone deck may be improved with creatures that have special abilities that activate when they’re turned face-up, like Greenbelt Radical or Printlifter Ooze, but there are relatively few of these, and they may be sent to the graveyard before they can even be activated.
However, the best choice of commander deck is whichever one suits a strategy that the player is interested in. Valgavoth might offer the most flexibility, and Aminatou raw enchanting power, but allMagic: The Gathering’s newDuskmourncommanders have their benefits.
