How Fun Are the Duskmourn Commanders?
The Jolly Balloon Man | Illustrated by Campbell White
Winter, Misanthropic Guide | Illustrated by Jodie Muir
Arabella, Abandoned Doll | Illustrated by J.P. Targete
Valgavoth, Terror Eater | Illustrated by Antonio José Manzanedo
Niko, Light of Hope | Illustrated by Aurore Folny
Hey, nerds! With the release of Duskmourn: House of Horror, we're introduced to 27 new commanders, and while many people might ask which of these is the most powerful, I like to ask how fun they are. Of course, each person's definition of fun differs, so I might Rate a commander lower or higher than you. That doesn't mean I think it's bad or you're bad for playing them. And to be clear, this is for casual EDH only.
The ranks are as follows:
- Want to build: These are commanders I'm interested in building. It could be that their effect is unique or a new take on an old mechanic I like.
- Very Fun: These are close to wanting to build, but not going out of my way to brew a list for myself.
- Fun: This is where most commanders fall. They either have enjoyable play patterns or a unique effect.
- Kinda Fun: This is where more generic commanders go that are kindred lords or tend to become pile decks.
- Not Fun: This is usually reserved for older commanders who are seven-mana vanilla creatures or legendary creatures that aren't meant for EDH.
Altanak, the Thrice-Called
Hey, looks they fixed Nadu. Jokes aside, this big bug doesn't interest me as a commander. I like that it replaces itself when it gets targeted, but otherwise, it's a big bug that has trample. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I'll pass on this one.
Fun Ranking: Not Fun
Aminatou, Veil Piercer
New Aminatou is a unique commander with a powerful ability that requires a little setup. Miracle has been a mechanic I've loved since first being introduced to it, and getting to give all enchantments miracle for cheap is so cool. Plus she is the face commander of a precon, so she'll be easy to get. I am definitely interested in this precon.
Fun Ranking: Want To Build
Arabella, Abandoned Doll
The only thing I hate more than clowns are dolls. Their creepy glass eyes stare into your soul and follow you around the room. And Arabella is a scary commander, especially for two mana. I love that this card isn't checking base power, but actual power, so you can't abuse cards like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite or Cathars' Crusade.
Fun Ranking: Want To Build
Kianne, Corrupted Memory
This is the alternate Simic commander that cares about drawing cards. Its ability is unique, changing as its power changes. However, I think this ability will be a pain in the butt to track in paper and will lead to misplays. That aside, I think this is a fine commander. Not interested in building Simic card draw.
Fun Ranking: Fun (Borderline Kinda Fun)
Kona, Rescue Beastie
We can easily tap Kona using cards like Smuggler's Copter or Ornery Tumblewagg to cheat haymakers like Portal to Phyrexia or Avenger of Zendikar into play. While powerful, I find effects like these to be pretty boring.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Marina Vendrell
If you want to put every room card from the set into a five-color pile, this seems like the de facto commander. Its ability seems insane with Smoky Lounge // Misty Salon, Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber, or Experimental Lab // Staff Room and Intruder Alarm, letting you continually open and close doors. You need another way of untapping them, but you have access to all colors, so it won't be hard.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun (borderline Want to Build)
Marvin, Murderous Mimic
I'm glad they made this commander colorless instead of five colors. It seems like an incredibly powerful combo commander that can easily go infinite with Pili-Pala and Palladium Myr. And with Kuldotha Forgemaster as a tutor option, I can see this deck getting out of hand very quickly. While unique, I don't find pure combo commanders like this as enjoyable to play. However, I will enjoy seeing it in the wild.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun
Nashi, Searcher in the Dark
Nashi seems like an interesting but a bit underwhelming card. They have to deal combat damage to a player get their trigger and if you whiff, you put a counter on it. Even then, the payoff doesn't seem that great. It will be great in the 99 of decks, but not leading one.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Niko, Light of Hope
Do you remember Niko Aris from Kaldheim? No? Me either. Much like their planeswalker counterpart, Niko makes Shards when they enter. But unlike old Niko, we turn all of our shards into a copy of a creature and blink that creature at the same time. You do need to tap Niko for this, but Intruder Alarm means we can do this each turn. And if Spark Double is a copy of Niko, it can copy itself, giving us even more shards.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun
Norin, Swift Survivalist
I always thought Norin the Wary was a Goblin until this card. But that aside, this Norin is the first card to hit Want To Build. I love the unique effect it provides and I think is a great option if you're looking to build a mono-red good stuff deck. I don't know how many effects in mono-red there are to force blocks, but that could be cute too. I'm also interested in putting Norin in the 99 of a creature lands deck, since we can play the exiled card.
Fun Ranking: Want to Build
Rendmaw, Creaking Nest
This is the alternative Golgari precon commander, and it seems pretty fun. The biggest issue is giving your opponents creatures to sacrifice if they are playing an aristocrat deck, but other than that, this Scarecrow helps speedup the game by giving flying attackers to everyone. Seems very fun and also like a house in a Reaper King deck.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun
Rip, Spawn Hunter
Similar to Kona, Rip needs to be tapped to trigger its ability. Its ability does seem pretty powerful, letting you potentially draw a bunch of cards. But that's pretty much it. You'll want to tap it to get value. Nothing fancy here. I wish it let us fill the graveyard at least so we could build GW reanimator.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
The Jolly Balloon Man
Full disclosure, I hate clowns, so when I saw a clown that makes faces into balloons, I wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. But creepiness aside, this card seems solidly fun. It reminds me a bit of Hofri Ghostforge, where you want to play creatures with powerful enter triggers, death triggers, or both! Cards like Solemn Simulacrum, Spirited Companion, or Village Bell-Ringer. In fact, Village Bell-Ringer can go infinite with Mana Echoes or Ashnod's Altar.
Fun Ranking: Fun
The Lord of Pain
This is the alternate Rakdos precon commander and reminds me a lot of Vial Smasher the Fierce. It also prevents opponents from gaining life, but not you, so if you can give this lifelink, you can potentially gain a bunch of life. This seems like a fun commander if you want a fast game, but I'm not sure how often this commander will end up sticking around without some form of protection.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun
The Master of Keys
The alternate Esper commander that gives enchantments escape. You still need to pay the mana cost for them, which is a bummer. I think the art of this card is great, and I love a creature that can mill. But I'm not sure what to do with this Horror. Not really interested in building this, but it could be fun.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
The Mindskinner
I love this card, despite it being very fragile. Triple B is a real cost, and one toughness means this dies to a lot of things. Ideally, you'll play this and win on the same turn using some sort of Dramatic Reversal, Isochron Scepter, Prodigal Sorcerer combo. I think it might be better in the 99 of certain decks, but that casting cost seems pretty tough. Maybe we'll see it in some fling deck.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun (Borderline Want to Build)
The Swarmweaver
It's an Insect and Spider kindred commander. Probably goes into the 99 of some decks, but I'm not sure how interested I am in building them as a commander. I do love Golgari, but this seems solidly fine.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
The Wandering Rescuer
This was made for 60-card formats and Limited. There isn't anything on this that makes me want to build her as a commander. Seem solid in the 99 of decks.
Fun Ranking: Not Fun
Toby, Beastie Befriender
I love the flavor and art of this card. You can either blink Toby to make as many of these 4/4 Beasts as possible or lean into the token strategy. They are straightforward commander, which is fine, but I think their core gameplay loop might get a bit repetitive.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Tyvar, the Pummeler
Tyvar seems like a fine option if you want a slightly less scary Elf-ball commander, or want a win condition in the command zone. It buffs your board, but doesn't provide any evasion, so unless you already have trample or a ton of tokens, the ability seems fine. Maybe you could build a powers matter deck with him. Seems better in the 99.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
This is the Rakdos precon face commander and it reminds me of Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin. Both are four-mana that want to burn the table and grow. But with Valgavoth we get to draw the cards and you'll usually get at least one trigger because of the ward cost. I'm not as interested in building this; however, I want it for the 99 of some decks.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Valgavoth, Terror Eater
Valgavoth doesn't seem like that scary of a commander. It costs nine mana, which is a lot if you aren't a green deck, and while its effect is powerful, people know who the commander is. Do I think its effect is fun though? Not as a commander, no. I want to slot this into my Mikaeus, the Unhallowed creature pile, but not have it at the helm.
Fun Ranking: Kinda Fun
Victor, Valgavoth's Seneschal
Their ability seems like a solid enchantment payoff that lets you reanimate any creature. I love the theme of reanimating enchantment creatures, such as Arvinox, the Mind Flail, Overlord of the Mistmoors, and Doomwake Giant. Or you know Valgavoth, Terror Eater. But it does say any graveyard, so find the best creature and go wild. No idea how relevant rooms will be in Commander, so just ignoring that for the time being. All in all, seems like an interesting take on enchantress that doesn't just want you to combo off.
Fun Ranking: Fun
Winter, Cynical Opportunist
The Golgari face commander, and oh boy do I love this card. It reminds me of Baba Lysaga, Night Witch because it cares about card types. You get to cheat some big permanents into play and it has a requirement that isn't that hard to get active. Nesting Grounds is a must in this deck to remove the finality counters. I am 100% getting this precon and likely keeping it pretty stock but I also want to build a powerful version of this deck.
Fun Ranking: Want to Build
Winter, Misanthropic Guide
It's a weird Jund commander, that cvan quickly reduce the hand size of opponents. With a total of nine card types, many of which are multiple types, this is pretty easy to do. But do I think this is fun? No. It is strong, but not something I'm interested in playing.
Fun Ranking: Not Fun
Zimone, All-Questioning
Notably, this token trigger isn't a may, so as you hit more lands, you keep getting a token. Which can be cute if you can sacrifice it at instant speed with Greater Good type effects. And while it is a Simic value commander, I love the idea of sacrificing and replaying lands to repeatedly trigger Zimone.
Fun Ranking: Very Fun (borderline Want to Build)
Zimone, Mystery Unraveler
The face commander of the Simic precon, which is another Landfall deck. However, it has the unique ability of flipping cards face up when you play lands. I still think this will be an incredibly powerful commander that might lead to a linear play pattern. I'm hoping that I'm wrong, but I'm putting them into the fun zone until proven otherwise.
Fun Ranking: Fun (Borderline very fun)
