When playing 1v1 Commander, speed is king. A powerful first or second turn play can end a game in short order. You need fast mana and a powerful spell that can shut your opponent down before they can even get started or give you enough advantage that they can’t catch up. I am going to give you the knowledge that every “degenerate” Commander player uses to win the game before their opponent gets a chance to play. Be prepared, this is by no means a budget article.
Fast Mana
The key to truly fast mana is that it generates more mana than it costs. You want mana effects that help you the turn you play them. This lets you stack effects to play large spells quickly. When you are playing 1v1, the long term rarely comes into play; it is all about what you can do now. I do not recommend running one of these cards, I recommend running as many as you can. Going for fast mana will feel like an all-in strategy. Since there are typically better threats than answers at the early level, I have found this strategy to be very effective. There are color specific cards that are good as well, but for today I will just be covering the ones that any deck can play.
- Lotus Petal – Lotus petal is only a one time use piece. However, it costs zero and creates colorless mana. While it is not the best card on the list, it is still useful.
- Mana Crypt – For all intents and purposes, this is a piece of power, and a damned good one. There are no better accelerators in Commander. If you really like winning 1v1 games, you should try to find one of these before they go up in price even more.
- Chrome Mox/Mox Opal – This is scenario where you choose one or the other. In heavy artifact decks, Mox Opal is amazing and Chrome Mox is useless. You might be able to find a good balance for these two to go in the same deck, but it will be difficult.
- Mox Diamond You just need lands for this to work. That should never be a problem.
- Sol Ring – This is already well known as one of the best accelerators in Commander.
- Mana Vault – More and more, I believe this should be in as many decks as Sol Ring. This is an artifact version of Dark Ritual that can be untapped and reused with voltaic key. Keep playing this card.
- Grim Monolith – The most expensive CMC on the list. It only nets you one the turn you play it, and three the turn after. Being able to go infinite with it and Power Artifact is also a pretty big upside.
- Ancient Tomb – The 2 life isn’t much of a downside for shorter games. This is one of the best T1 land drops available.
- City of Traitors – This is worse than Ancient Tomb, since you only get 2 uses out of it. Keep in mind, you are trying to end the game in the first 2-3 turns. As a result, it is still very effective I would also suggest playing Crucible of Worlds if this is in your deck.
- Crystal Vein – I like this a little less than Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors, since it has to be sacrificed to net 2 mana. However, it can still net 2 mana and if you don’t need the full two you can save it for later.
- Mishra’s Workshop – If price is no object, then this is your golden land. Like Mox Opal, you need a lot of artifacts you plan on casting for this to be good. It is at it’s current price for a reason.
- Lion’s Eye Diamond – It’s unbanned, but I am not sure for how long. If your deck’s Commander is something you want out as quickly as possible, you will want this card in your deck.
Big Plays for Cheap
If you have the right fast mana set up in your deck, you are going to have 4-6 mana in the first 2 turns. The goal here should be to play something that wins or knocks your opponent out of the game. In each color, I am sure you could find a few cards that work well for this, but for the purposes of including everyone without writing a novel I will just cover a few of the colorless options.
Your Commander: In 1v1 Commander, having a general that costs more than 6 is going to be an issue. Chances are the game will be decided or close to it when you play your Commander. Try to cap your CMC on your Commander at 6 if you are building for 1v1.
Kuldotha Forgemaster – Since you are using fast mana, this guy should be able to activate to grab Blightsteel Colossus or some other crazy artifact the turn after he comes out. I have won more games on T1-2 from this card than any other.
Steel Hellkite - When it comes to shutting down opposing decks, not much beats this. You get to deprive them of all of their fast mana and gain a huge lead.
Phyrexian Juggernaut - This is the next best thing to casting a Blightsteel Colossus. It is a two turn clock, so if they stall at all they lose the game.
Crucible of Worlds + Strip Mine - A simple easy lock to get on board. You can destroy all of their lands until they run out and you can play while they do nothing but watch.
Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brightheart - It costs 6 mana to cast, then 2 more mana to get this combo online. Once you do, you should win the game with the infinite mana you generate. Either Planar Portal or Sensei’s Divining Top are good colorless options for a mana outlet.
Well, that should be enough information to get you on your feet and crushing some dreams. Just remember that in 1v1 Commander there is no reason to hold your punches. If you go easy on someone you are insulting them by implying that they can’t handle your best lines of play. If you want to use this advice for group games, go ahead. Just make sure your playgroup is ok with people being knocked out of the game before they get to play their third land.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you liked what you saw and will take the time to look at some of my more casually oriented articles on the other sites. If you ever want deck advice or just want to chat Commander, feel free to shoot me an email or a tweet
.
-STP
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Twitter: @swordstoplow (please RT if you like the article)
