Best cards from Ixalan to get for your duel commander deck

Lost Caverns of Ixalan is the newest set and one of the most popular ones from the year 2023. It features many new powerful mechanics but also some really nice cards. A lot of these are quite popular in EDH decks but some of them have already started seeing play in duel commander. In this article I will mention some of the cards worth getting to upgrade your duel commander decks and why so you can maybe add them to your Xmas wishlist...

Outside of Inti, Seneschal of the Sun, Broadside Bombardiers is in my opinion the best red card from the set. This new pirate can be found in the new pirate precon commander deck and is a new powerful tool for those aristocrats players. It's basically an upgraded goblin bombardment on an aggressive body that is also capable of doing damage by itself. 

It's yet another free sacrifice outlet which decks like Juri and even Slimefoot and Squee like so it's a solid upgrade for those decks. The only downside of the card is that it needs to attack for you to start blasting so it can't be used during your opponent's turns. It is also a creature so it's a bit easier to remove than enchantments like Goblin Bombardment. However, it is still a powerful card that can easily help you finish the game in aristocrats strategies and I would consider getting it for your deck.

Tishana's Tidebinder is the new powerful blue card on the radar. It is currently seeing play in modern in temur cascade decks but also in many tempo and midrange duel commander decks. The tidebinder is a strong 3-drop which allows you to both counter an ability and develop a pretty nicely stated body. On top of that, your target loses all abilities until it leaves the battlefield so your opponent will most likely need to spend more resources and cards to actually get their effects back.

Decks like Raffine, Dennick and Aragorn all like this card as it's a really efficient tempo play and helps you deal with problematic abilities that normal counterspells can't stop. All of this has made the card a powerful include in these tempo decks, especially for mirror matchups. It isn't the really cheapest card from the set but if you play one of those decks I heavily recommend that you add it to your shopping list.

Yet another good blue value card from the set is Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel. Similarly to the before-mentioned tidebinder he is an aggressively stated creature with flash. Rather than stopping the effects of your opponent, he helps you sculpt your hand as he draws you a card each time he hits the opponent. Additionally, he is also a must-remove threat because if he is not dealt with he also eventually allows you to play those cards for free.

Creatures like this naturally fit into decks that like to play on instant speed like Dennick, Pious Apprentice or decks that want powerful flying creatures as they synergise with their gameplan or commander like Raffine, Scheeming Seer or even Aragorn. The decks do fine without it but Malcolm is a really solid upgrade for the decks as he works so well with the gameplan and you can certainly add him to your decklist.

Get Lost is the last card in this article and also one of the if not the best white card from this set. It's quite an efficient removal spell that has already found a home in many EDH and duel commander decks alike. It can easily deal with creatures, planeswalkers and even enchantments which can often be hard to remove. The only downside of the card is that it gives your opponent two map tokens which can maybe fix their next draw which is about it. They even need creatures on board to do so which makes those tokens less valuable than clue tokens from a card like Fateful Absence.

Get Lost has found a home in many different aggressive and midrange decks of the format. Even though white decks already have the best removal spells of the format like Swords to Plowshares, Oust and more, it is still a powerful removal piece for those decks. Pretty much all aggro and midrange decks benefit from this card and it is also a great replacement for Fateful Absence if you run that card in your deck as it can help you deal with more different types of permanents while also giving your opponent less valuable tokens.

Author: Tomas Solovic

Date: 20th December, 2023