JUNE 17, 2024 ANNOUNCEMENT/UPDATE
Modern Horizon 3 has warped Duel Commander. With its powerful new Command Zones among many other impacts it had, metagame diversity has already dwindled, compelling us to make a few, exceptional changes.
CHANGES:
🔘 GLOBAL GAME RULES CHANGES
No changes.
🔘INDIVIDUAL BANNED AND RESTRICTED CARD CHANGES
Ajani, Nacatl Pariah is now banned as a commander only.
Nadu, Winged Wisdom is now banned as a commander only.
🔘 EXPERIMENTAL CHANGES
No changes.
🔘 OTHER CHANGES
Announcement/update timing changes now apply, starting today, as stated in our June 7 announcement.
👉 Don’t forget to check out our Comprehensive Rules page for detailed understanding of Duel Commander rules.
👉 Don’t forget to check out our Banned and Restricted page for a recap of all the currently banned/restricted cards.
You can still contact us on our Facebook Page page and our Discord server. The next scheduled announcement will be published on July 29, 2024.
Until then, we wish you all many good games! 😇
FURTHER EXPLANATIONS
Nadu, Winged Wisdom is a powerful card in itself. Its colour association allows access to early mana-generating creatures to play it earlier in the game, while giving access to countering spells to protect it. Moreover, it’s hard to deal with when using any kind of removal, since targeting it gives its controller either a card draw or, even better, an untapped land to play it again very fast. What makes it even more threatening, is that a lot of cards act as a single-card combo, like Shuko or Lightning Greaves. Those strengths allow Nadu, Winged Wisdom to be played as a control deck if need be, while dominating the battlefield with multiple creatures, generating an impressive card advantage, and having a very strong combo plan. For all intents and purposes, Nadu, Winged Wisdom is, by far, one of the best decks to ever exist in Duel Commander and much stronger than any other deck available at this time.
Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, by itself, can dominate a battlefield. It effectively forbids opponents from attacking, having to deal with a formidable planeswalker. Also, once transformed, its abilities produce a very effective card advantage by being both a threat and an answer, meaning it can also protect itself by adding both a blocking creature and removing an attacker. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah also forces slower decks to deal with it as soon as possible to prevent it from transforming, creating a problematic "deal-or-die" situation. With the exclusion of Nadu, Winged Wisdom, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah appears to be much stronger than any other available commander left, especially among aggressive decks, where it’s by far the best option at the moment.