pre-constructed Commander decks are unique compared to similar products because they were designed with two game modes in mind: Commander and Archenemy. Archenemy pits three players against one, which is why Duskmourn’s Commander decks feature three heroic commanders, and a villainous one.
Magic players knew when Wizards of the Coast previewed the box art for the Duskmourn Commander decks that two familiar faces would be returning to lead a pair of decks: Zimone, and a recently desparked Aminatou. The other two decks are led by new characters introduced in Duskmourn: Winter, and the horrific demon Valgavoth. Each Commander gives a pretty clear hint at the playstyles of their respective decks.
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All 4 Duskmourn Commander Deck Face Cards Explained
Primary Commanders For Duskmourn’s Pre-Constructed Commander Decks
Looking at the returning characters first, Zimone, Mystery Unraveler continues Zimone’s focus on land cards with the Landfall ability: “Whenever a land you control enters, manifest dread if this is the first time this ability has resolved this turn. Otherwise, you may turn a permanent you control face up.” Manifesting dread allows players to look at the top two cards of their library manifest one as a face-down 2/2 creature and put the other in their graveyard. This gives more control over what cards go onto the battlefield than typical manifesting.
Aminatou, Veil Piercer allows players to surveil 2 at the start of each turn. This works perfectly with her ability, which reads, “Each enchantment card in your hand has miracle. Its miracle cost is equal to its mana cost reduced by [four generic mana].” Miracle allows players to cast cards for an alternate casting cost if it was the first card drawn that turn. Thanks to Aminatou’s surveil ability, players have a much better chance of casting cards as a miracle.
Winter, Cynical Opportunist is a Golgari commander with Deathtouch and “Whenever Winter attacks, mill three cards.” This self-mill pairs well with his Delirium ability: “At the beginning of your end step, you may exile any number of cards from your graveyard with four or more card types among them. If you do, put a permanent card from among them onto the battlefield with a finality counter on it.” This commander works well by itself and also synergizes well with other Golgari graveyard strategies.
Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls is appropriately scary for the intended archenemy. It has Flying, Ward - pay 2 life, and “whenever an opponent loses life for the first time during each of their turns, put a +1/+1 counter on Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls and draw a card.” Players attempting to interact with Valgavoth on their turn will therefore trigger its second ability after paying its Ward cost. Valgavoth’s deck will likely also have ways to ensure players are losing life on their turns.
Overall, the Duskmourn Commander face cards look like they have a lot of potential to build decks around. Each makes sense for their specific color combination, and it’s easy to see the direction each deck can go in. While the full decklist’s won’t be revealed until later in Duskmourn’s spoiler season, Magic: The Gathering fans will no doubt already be brewing new builds based on these commanders.