By The Duel Commander rules committee

Hello everybody.

After the last update which was, well, not an update, it’s time now for a few changes.

These changes take effect on May 3rd, 2013.

While we already acknowledged the large proportion of white and blue in January, it appears that the number of such decks is rising, and even more so in large tournaments. Saint-Nazaire’s tournament in March, with 77 players, had more than 30% of decks playing white-blue. It’s clear that while players enjoy playing diverse decks, many are coming back to the tried-and-true combination of disruption and game-breakers that these colors offer when it’s time to play a big tournament with significant prizes. The powerful commanders available in these colors add to their appeal.

Another large feedback has been the lack of aggressive options. While the relatively small number of such decks is explained by rules inherent to the format, 30 life being a big hurdle for very aggressive decks to overcome, we do believe that their small numbers are also explained by the fact that many experienced and successful players choose more controlling strategies.

Nonetheless, we are trying with these bannings and unbannings to push a little bit towards aggro and open up other possiblities as well. We are keeping an eye on the number of blue-white decks and if these continue dominating further measures will be taken.

Explanations about the individual changes can be found HERE.

We remain vigilant about the format and of course welcome any feedback, which you can send us HERE.

The Duel Commander rules committee.