Introducing the Duel Deck Singleton Format (Part One)

By Dante Boey

18th August 2016

A Brief History

 

The Duel Decks line of Magic products has come a long way since its inception. The first pair of Duel Decks, Elves vs Goblins, was originally conceived as a Christmas gift set in 2007. Both featured tribes that were keenly matched and there were a startling eight rares in the set, including two marquee foils. The MSRP for this product was a very affordable US$19.90. In comparison, two theme decks, or what are known today as Intro Packs, would cost more than the stated price but contain only four rares in total. The value and novelty of Elves vs Goblins elicited an overwhemingly positive response, but its print run was too limited to fulfill all demand.

 

 

 

Duels Decks: Elves vs Goblins

 

 

The success of Elves vs Goblins prompted Wizards of the Coast to continue the range of Duel Decks. The next set appeared the following year and proved to be even more ground-breaking. Jace vs Chandra was the first set of Duel Decks that introduced the Planeswalker card type, pitting the two titular characters against each other on an even field. At the time of its release, the Mythic Rare rarity had not been introduced and Planeswalkers were still rare pulls in the Lorwyn expansion. These Duel Decks also featured eight rares, with the walkers as chase foils.

 

 

Jace Beleren and Chandra Nalaar

 

At this stage, a design pradigm was established. Elves vs Goblins had an almost symetrical match-up, ensuring a high degree of balance. Balance was also upheld in Jace vs Chandra, which was vigorously play-tested. In addition, according to Ken Nagle, lead designer of the latter product, other design "constraints" were codified: fun was to be maximised, a "back-and-forth" game play was to be ensured, and the decks had to cater to new and casual players, among others (see http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/jace-vs-chandra-2008-11-03). These design rules should be borne in mind and indeed we'll come back to them later. Like the previous set, Jace vs Chandra had a recommended retail price of US$19.90 (a standard for all Duel Decks to follow) and a limited print run.

 

2009 saw the release of Duel Decks: Divine vs Demonic, pitting wrathful angels against the unholy might of demons. The high point of this product was the reprint of Vintage and Commander staple Demonic Tutor. This black sorcery searches for any card in your library and puts it in your hand without any drawback, for a measly cost of 1B. You don't even need to reveal to your opponent what you've searched for. The reprint saw the card in an alternate artwork, making this product sought after.

 

 

Demonic Tutor

 

Divine vs Demonic was not as balanced as its predecessors however, despite the best intentions of its designers. According to Ertai's Lament, a website dedicated to preconstructed decks, the Divine deck had an "unbalanced mana curve with almost nonexistent ramp options" compared to the Demonic deck, a "woeful" selection of removal, and was "too reliant on racing for the bomb which tended to reward luck over skill". The bomb mentioned was Akroma, Angel of Wrath. She has Protection from Black but costs a whooping eight mana. For this product, her rarity was upped to Mythic Rare status to reflect the addition of the latest rarity type. The Lord of the Pit received this honour for the Demonic deck and both decks had another three rares each. Subsequently, all sets of Duel Decks would have two Mythic foils to headline the product.

 

The fourth pair of Duel Decks was Garruk vs Liliana and was released in October 2009. Notable reprints in this product include Rancor, Harmonize, Overrun, Mutilate and Snuff Out. A fine balance was again achieved between these decks, with Garruk's deck full of big efficient creatures like Blastoderm and Lilina's deck packing a comprehensive suite of removal spells.

 

 

Garruk Wildspeaker and Liliana Vess

 

The first four sets of Duel Decks saw a low print run but the promise of a fun balanced gaming experience coupled with superb value generated a huge yet largely unsatisfied demand. Even today, you can see the original Elves vs Goblins and Jace vs Chandra fetching prices in excess of a hundred US dollars in the open market. It is to Wizards of the Coasts' credit that they reprinted all four of them in a single product known as Duel Decks: Anthology in December 2014, with an MSRP of US$99.99, making owning all these decks an affordable reality. Duel Decks: Anthology is still available in many local gaming stores today, but stocks are diminishing, so get yourself one if you have the chance. In fact, I am going to give you another reason to do so in a moment.  

 

Players' Perspective and Latest Developments

 

The Duel Decks product line has continued its proud tradition for almost nine years. One particular set, Elspeth vs Tezzeret, stands out for the copious value contained within its cardboard box. Heavily played cards in the Legacy and Modern formats like Swords to Plowshares, Steel Overseer and Master of Etherium abound in Elspeth vs Tezzeret. The Knight-Errant and the Seeker are themselves choice picks.

 

Top: Elspeth, Knight-Errant Swords to Plowshares

Bottom: Steel Overseer,Master of Etherium and Tezzeret the Seeker

 

Today, the composition of rares in Duel Decks has increased further. In addition to two leading premium foils, a Duel Decks set will contain a whooping ten rares, and all still at a retail price of US$19.99. Despite this positive development, many players are unhappy about the direction the Duel Decks product line is taking. This has to do with their perception about the functions of the Duel Decks.

 

From the onset, Duels Decks gave the impression of value, that they are certain to contain much needed reprints, which may cost a substantial amount in the secondary market. Reprints of cards like Demonic Tutor and Ancestral Visions fuelled buyers' expectations. But this was not to be. In recent sets, reprints were merely functional and not profitable. Sets like Speed vs Cunning and the most recent Blessed vs Cursed were devoid of cards that have not seen reprints in eternal formats. Personally, I feel that while reprints are welcome, it is better to tamper the expectation that Wizards may print sought-after cards at quantities that would affect their price in the secondary market. It must be noted that although not all Duel Decks contain exceptional value, the sum of their individual cards will always exceed their recommended retail price, making every one of them a bargain when purchased at that price. Besides, the value of cards tend to fluctuate according to trends. When the Eldrazi saw heavy representation in the Modern format in early 2016, the price of the Zendikar vs Eldrazi set (printed in 2015) shot up to beyond US$50 in certain American stores.

 

 

Duel Decks: Zendikar vs Eldrazi

 

The second reason is, in my opinion, a more important cause of unhappiness. The pioneering Duel Decks had, by and large, good internal balance, in the sense that both decks were evenly matched without one dominating. Recent releases regrettably broke away from this convention. Zendikar vs Eldrazi, for instance, had poor internal balance with matches heavily favouring the Eldrazi. The deck featuring them has enough removal to deal with early threats from the Zendikar side and mana ramping to accelerate the casting of big powerful creatures, and when the latter are successfully summoned, the Zendikari lack spells to meaningfully interact with them (which is to say, destroy them). While the product is thematic and flavourful, reflecting Zendikar's desperate struggle for survival, it is not fulfilling in terms of gameplay.

 

The Duel Deck Singleton Format

 

The Duel Deck experience should be one that is fun and carefully crafted, with plenty of interaction between players. Recalling Ken Nagle, there should be back-and-forth plays and skill should be the primary factor of victory as opposed to luck. New and casual players should be able to immerse themselves in this experience. Bearing in mind these ideals, I am advocating the creation of the Duel Deck Singleton (DD Singleton) format.

 

DD Singleton is a casual duelling format that seeks to emulate the best Duel Deck experience. Players are free to use any card ever printed in any set of Duel Decks. Players are to form a 60-card deck and there must only be a single copy of every card, with the exception of basic lands. You need not use cards that are exclusively printed in the Duel Decks; any printing would do, just as long as the card has been printed in at least one Duel Decks set. For example, you can use a Revised Demonic Tutor or a Lorwyn Jace Beleren in your deck.

 

Currently, according to the magicards.info database, there are 1026 indivdual cards that have been printed across all the Duel Decks. This is not a very big number but it is set to grow with the release of future Duel Decks products, beginning with Nissa vs Ob Nixilis come September. Being a format in its nascency, there is great scope in DD Singleton for players to brew and customise their own decks. The number of lands available in this format is limited, so aggressive colour fixing will not be possible and games will move on at a pace closer to limited formats.

 

As a comprehensive metagame has not been developed for this format, players are encouraged to optimise their decks and strategies. It is also for this reason that there are no sideboard options for this format. However, when there comes a day when one or two standout decks start dominating the format and it starts to become stale and unhealthy, I'll revise this rule and allow for sideboards. For now, there is a wide expanse of unchartered frontier and I am excited to see what players can bring to the table. Because you can never be sure of what kind of deck your opponent will be playing, it is better to bring a deck with plenty of removal for different card types. This sense of mystery and uncertainty will hopefully persuade players to construct more balanced decks.

 

Optimisation of decks would probably lead to a dilution of theme among decks and this is lamentable. However, feel free to come to an agreement with your opponents to construct decks with tribal themes for battle. Zombies, humans and spirits are common creature types in DD Singleton. Having fun is the most important aim of this format so you should find a player group that shares your philosophy.

 

DD Singleton is not the cheapest format to join in, but it's price of entry is relatively affordable. A format like Commander encompasses almost the entire range of Magic the Gathering so players can definitely pay for powerful yet expensive cards to optimise their decks, but the card pool for DD Singleton is almost fixed and expands at a slow pace. Let me list out the ten most expensive cards in this format in descending order of price, according to current prices listed in the TCGplayer website:

 

Number 1

 

Ancestral Visions (printed in Jace vs Chandra)

 

 

Ancestral Visions

 

Price: US$41.14

 

Number 2

 

 

Demonic Tutor

 

Price: US$24.67

 

 

Number 3

 

 

Life from the Loam

 

Price: US$11.18

 

Number 4

 

 

Steel Overseer

 

Price: US$11.09

 

Number 5

 

 

Master of Etherium

 

Price: US$10.87

 

Number 6

 

 

Path to Exile

 

Price: US$10.65

 

Number 7

 

 

Elspeth, Knight-Errant

 

Price: US$10.44

 

Number 8

 

 

Elspeth, Sun's Champion

 

Price: US$9.98

 

Number 9

 

 

Golgari Grave Troll

 

Price: US$9.19

 

Number 10

 

 

Knight of the Reliquary

 

Price: US$9.00

 

As you can see, the price of cards appearing after Demonic Tutor drops drastically. Also, since you only need one copy of each card, the cost does not multiply. It should be noted that planeswalkers not of the name Elspeth all cost less than US$9. If you are a collector of Duel Decks, rejoice! DD Singleton is a format that will utilise what you already own to the fullest.

 

I hope I have psyched you up about the exhilarating possibilities of Duel Deck Singleton. I'll stop my introduction right here. In the second part of my article, I'll look at what I feel will be the staples of this new-born format, as well as some powerful interactions to be found within its card pool. Until then, happy duelling!