Quick Rules

Your commander is the most important card in your Duel Commander deck. It defines:

• The colors you can play (color identity)
• The strategy and theme of your deck
• Your playstyle and win conditions

Best commanders for beginners

Search for commanders on Scryfall · Top Duel Commander decks

Your commander's color identity is one of the most important rules in Duel Commander. It determines which cards you can legally include in your deck.

What counts for color identity

• Mana symbols in the casting cost (top-right corner)
• Mana symbols in activated abilities (e.g. "{G}: Target creature gets +1/+1")
• Mana symbols in characteristic-defining abilities
• Color indicators (like on the back of double-faced cards)

What does not count

• Reminder text (italicized text in parentheses)
• Flavor text (italicized story text at the bottom)

In Duel Commander, each card in your 100-card deck must be unique by name (except basic lands). This is called the "singleton" rule.

Now that you have your commander, it is time to build the remaining 99 cards. Here is a recommended breakdown for competitive Duel Commander:

Optimal mana curve distribution

• 0–1 mana: 8–12 cards (cantrips, 1-drop creatures, fast mana)
• 2 mana: 12–16 cards (removal, ramp, card draw, efficient threats)
• 3 mana: 10–14 cards (key pieces, interaction, value engines)
• 4 mana: 6–10 cards (threats, powerful effects, your commander if 4 CMC)
• 5+ mana: 4–8 cards (finishers, game-ending cards, high-impact spells)

Certain cards are banned in Duel Commander for competitive balance reasons. Before finalizing your deck, make sure you are not using any prohibited card.

Common reasons for bans

• Too powerful: cards that dominate the competitive meta (e.g. Black Lotus, the Moxen)
• Unfun gameplay: cards that create uninteractive games or lock opponents out
• Fast mana: cards that accelerate mana too quickly and break the balance
• Commander-specific: some commanders are too dominant and are banned as commanders only

• Each player starts with 20 life points (unlike 40 in multiplayer Commander)
• Determine who goes first (random method or die roll)
• Reveal your commander, which starts in the command zone, not in your library
• Reveal your companion if you have one
• Shuffle the remaining 99 cards to form your library
• Draw your starting hand of 7 cards
• Apply the London mulligan if you want to mulligan

You can cast your commander from the command zone as if it were in your hand, whenever you have priority to cast it (typically during your main phase).

When can you return your commander to the command zone?

You can choose to return your commander to the command zone as a replacement effect when it would go to:

• Your graveyard (when it dies or is discarded)
• Exile (when exiled by any effect)
• Your library (when shuffled or put on top / bottom)
• Your hand (when bounced or returned)

You cannot return it from

• The battlefield, because it must change zones first
• The stack, while it is being cast or as a spell

Additional differences from multiplayer Commander

• No politics: pure 1v1 competitive strategy, no negotiation or alliances
• Different banlist: optimized specifically for competitive 1v1 play
• Faster games: average game length is 10–20 minutes vs 30–90 minutes in multiplayer
• No sideboard: unlike Modern or Legacy, but you can swap commanders between games
• More competitive: focused on tournament play with prizes and rankings

Partner commanders

Some legendary creatures have special keywords that allow you to have two commanders instead of one.

Companion mechanic

Companions are cards that start outside the game in your sideboard and can be brought into your hand once during the game by paying {3}.

• Your entire deck (including your commander) must meet the companion's deckbuilding restriction
• The companion starts outside the game, not in your 100-card deck
• Once per game, during your main phase, you can pay {3} to put it from outside the game into your hand
• After that it functions like a normal card in your hand
• Popular companions: Lurrus of the Dream-Den, Umori (Yorion does not work due to deck size)

Yes. You can produce and use mana of any color during gameplay. For example, if someone plays Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, your Mountains can produce black mana and you can use it. Color identity only restricts which cards you can include in your deck during construction.

No. Only mana symbols in the casting cost, color indicators and rules text count for color identity. Reminder text (italicized) and flavor text are completely ignored.

Yes. Cards with Partner, Partner With, Friends Forever, or Choose a Background all work in Duel Commander. You will have two commanders starting in the command zone and 98 cards in your library. However, you can only cast one commander directly from the command zone during a game. To play the second commander you will need to find another way, like drawing or tutoring it.

No. There is no traditional sideboard in Duel Commander. However, you can change commanders between games in a match, as long as the new commander is legal within your deck's color identity. You can also use a companion outside your deck.

When your commander spell is countered, it goes to your graveyard. At that point you can choose to return it to the command zone as a state-based action. The commander tax still increases, because casting it from the command zone increases the tax, not resolving it.

No. Unlike multiplayer Commander, Duel Commander does not have the 21 commander damage rule. You can only win by reducing your opponent to 0 life or through alternate win conditions like Thassa's Oracle or Laboratory Maniac.

Check our complete FAQ page for more complex cases and detailed rulings. You can also consult the comprehensive rules document or ask questions in the Duel Commander Discord community.