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Duel Commander
Community Format
Duel Commander is a competitive 1v1 variant of Commander with adjusted rules for two-player gameplay. With 20 starting life, no commander damage rule, and a curated ban list, games are faster and more competitive than multiplayer Commander, often ending around turn 4-5.
Duel Commander emerged around 2005 as a competitive 1v1 variant of Commander, with rules optimized for two-player gameplay rather than multiplayer politics.
Where to Play
TabletopMagic Online
Deck Size100 cards
Starting Life20
Copies Allowed1 (Singleton)
Players2 players (1v1)
Game Duration~20 minutes
RotationNon-rotating
Legal Cards
All Magic sets ever printed
Commander Rules
- Commander must be a legendary creature (or card that can be your commander)
- Commander starts in the command zone
- Casting from command zone costs {2} more for each previous cast
- No commander damage rule (unlike multiplayer Commander)
Deck Construction
- Exactly 100 cards including your commander
- Singleton: only 1 copy of each card (except basic lands)
- All cards must match commander's color identity
Gameplay
- Best-of-three matches
- Each player starts with 20 life (not 40)
- First player draws on their first turn
Mulligan Rule
Draw 7 cards. You may mulligan any number of times, drawing 7 each time. After keeping, put cards equal to the number of mulligans taken on the bottom of your library.
Format Management
Maintained by: Duel Commander Committee
Separate ban list from multiplayer Commander; updated every 2 months
Ban Schedule: Every 2 months (odd months)
Notes
- Community-managed competitive format
- Separate 'banned as commander' and 'banned in deck' lists
- Key combo pieces (Thassa's Oracle, Food Chain, etc.) are banned
- Faster, more competitive than multiplayer Commander
- Available on Magic Online
- Official rules at duelcommander.com