Commander Variants: [DC] Duel Commander/The French Ban List

[Remillo]

Duel Commander/French Ban List

Duel Commander, or the French Ban List, is the probably the most well-known of the variants and if often used to describe more competitive decks.  While it may be used as a descriptor, the Duel Commander (DC) rules and banlist are themselves a different style from your normal Multiplayer Commander. 
First and foremost, the ban list is built specifically for competitive, one-on-one play, where as the "traditional" ban list is crafted more for "casual" multiplayer use.  This means that a completely different ban list and ban philosophy has to be adopted.  For example, "fast mana", like Sol Ring and Mana Vault, provide too much of an advantage if some player draws them and the other doesn't, so they are banned in DC play.  In Multiplayer, the advantage of having 4 mana on turn 2 is mitigated by having multiple opponents to deal with, where in 1v1, a turn 1 Sol Ring can win you the game right then.  On the flip side, powerful cards that are banned in Multiplayer could be fair game in DC, like Primeval Titan in green decks or Emrakul as a Polymorph target.

Also, if you've ever wanted your store to run Commander for FNM, THIS is what you should use to do it.  The multiplayer banlist is just too lopsided with fast mana, and this format levels out the playing field very nicely.  Propose it to people you play with.  Ask your store to run it.  See what kind of interest you can drum up!  Duel Commander is a heck of a lot of fun, and I want to share it with you guys!

When posting a French/Duel Commander deck in the Commander Forum, please head it with the tag [DC]

The rules for Duel Commander are as follows:

Duel Commander follows the exact same rules as classic multiplayer Commander, except for the following.

First, players start the game with 30 life.

Second, in addition to the ability to put the Commander back into the Command Zone if it would go to the graveyard or be exiled, you may do so also if it would be put into your library.

Third, new cards are legal on release day (Friday following the pre-release).

Finally, there is a specific banlist

For tournaments:
Matches are best-of-three.
Since games can take more time than smaller formats, we recommend a time limit of at least 55 minutes.
No sideboards are used.

Apart from the points mentioned above, all the rules of Duel Commander obey the rules of classic multiplayer Commander. This includes the mulligan rule (put aside X cards, draw X-1, repeat until satisfied, then shuffle all cards put aside into the library) and poison (10 counters needed to kill a player).

And its ban list:

The following cards are banned in Duel Commander:
{Ancestral Recall}
{Ancient Tomb}
{Balance}
{Back to Basics}
{Black Lotus}
{Channel}
{Chaos Orb}
{Entomb}
{Falling Star}
{Fastbond}
{Food Chain}
{Gaea's Cradle} **NEW**
{Gifts Ungiven}
{Grim Monolith}
{Grindstone}
{Hermit Druid}
{Humility}
{Imperial Seal}
{Karakas}
{Library of Alexandria}
{Loyal Retainers}
{Mana Crypt}
{Mana Drain}
{Mana Vault}
{Mind Twist}
{Mishra's Workshop}
{Mox Emerald}
{Mox Jet}
{Mox Pearl}
{Mox Ruby}
{Mox Sapphire}
{Mystical Tutor}
{Natural Order}
{Necropotence}
{Oath of Druids}
{Protean Hulk}
{Sensei's Divining Top}
{Serra Ascendant}
{Shahrazad}
{Sol Ring}
{Strip Mine}
{The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale}
{Time Vault}
{Time Walk}
{Tinker}
{Tolarian Academy}
{Vampiric Tutor}
{Yawgmoth's Bargain}

Ante cards are also banned.

The following cards are also banned from being played as a commander :
{Derevi, Empyrial Tactician}
{Edric, Spymaster of Trest}
{Erayo, Soratami Ascendant}
{Oloro, Ageless Ascetic}
{Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary}
{Tasigur, the Golden Fang}
{Yisan, the Wanderer Bard}
{Zur the Enchanter}

Please note that this banlist is completely separate from multi-player Commander. Any card banned in that format is playable in Duel Commander unless noted otherwise here.

So, those are the basics!  As you can see, the ban list is built much differently than the multiplayer list.  Where the Multiplayer list is supposed to be about regulating cards that polarize the game or make it 'unfun' ({Primeval Titan}, {Sway of the Stars}), the French list is built to balance a competitive environment, focusing on banning cards that make certain decks or strategies too powerful ({Edric, Spymaster of Trest}, {Entomb}).  If you looks around on some of the sites that host threads about Duel Commander (MTGSalvation, MTGTop8, games on Cockatrice), you'll find an incredible variety of commanders and strategies, possibly even moreso than in traditional commander.  Almost any sort of strategy is playable, from burn to aggro to combo to control to midrange.  I've personally seen things like {Marton Stromgald} Weenies, {Maelstrom Wanderer} ramp, {Tasigur, the Golden Fang} control and {Reaper King}...  Stuff all in the same tournament!

Other resources:
Official website: www.duelcommander.com
Dual Commander "Megathread": http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/forum-1-vs-1-commander-decklists/206334-aka-french-mega-thread-rules-decks-to-beat-and