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Duel Commander Archetypes

56 archetypes ranked by meta share

Metagame concentration

How few decks Duel Commander is, month by month, against every ban on record. Each point is the chance that two decks drawn at random from that month's field are the same archetype (the Herfindahl–Hirschman index), shown as the number of decks a field that concentrated is equivalent to. How this is calculated

13.2
effective decks · Oct 2025
0.0760
HHI
+3.6
vs Sep 2025
6.8–13.2
range over 8 months

Lower means more concentrated. Months pooling fewer than 200 classified decks, or fewer than two events, are left blank rather than plotted — below that the reading moves more with how much data the month held than with the format. Decks the classifier could not name are excluded; each point's tooltip reports what share of the field that left.

Tier history — top archetypes

The 8 biggest archetypes by meta share, on one axis. Each line is the score its tier is computed from, so a ban or a set release shows up as the whole field rearranging.

The Y axis is the score each archetype's tier is computed from: for measured points a 60/40 blend of MTGGoldfish meta share and TopDeck top-8 appearances, for reconstructed ones the meta share our classifier derives from standings. Dashed horizontal lines mark the tier thresholds.

The shaded span left of the dashed vertical line is reconstructed from historical standings (issue #214), not measured at the time; those segments are drawn dashed, and they break rather than join at the changeover because no single reading bridges the two. The two eras are scored against different denominators — a reconstructed share is a slice of our classifier's archetypes, a measured one a slice of MTGGoldfish's curated list — so compare shapes across the line, not values. D tier is reconstructed-only — the live writer floors at C — so a line can step D→C at the changeover without its score moving.

Sort within tiers:

Deck costs estimate an average list at each card's cheapest printing across all printings, promos and reprints included.

S

S-Tier

Meta-defining archetypes (≥10% meta share) (1 archetypes)

S

Cloud, Midgar Mercenary

9.4%of meta
~$1,086
A

A-Tier

Competitive tier archetypes (5-10% meta share) (9 archetypes)

A

Aminatou, the Fateshifter

7.6%of meta
~$2,784
A

Aragorn, King of Gondor

4.7%of meta
~$2,267
A

Brigid, Clachan's Heart

4.7%of meta
~$1,910
A

Jace, Multiverse Architect

4.1%of meta
~$4,788
A

Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice

3.5%of meta
~$317
A

Satya, Aetherflux Genius

3.5%of meta
~$1,933
A

Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

2.9%of meta
~$1,106
A

Tifa Lockhart

2.9%of meta
~$431
A

Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd

2.3%of meta
~$911
B

B-Tier

Viable archetypes (2-5% meta share) (18 archetypes)

B

Aerid Konstrari

2.9%of meta
~$1,561
B

Glarb, Calamity's Augur

2.9%of meta
~$3,534
B

Slimefoot and Squee

2.3%of meta
~$2,932
B

Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper

2.3%of meta
~$3,295
B

The Prismatic Piper // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

2.3%of meta
~$52
B

Kraum, Ludevic's Opus // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

1.8%of meta
~$2,976
B

Vraska, Soul of Stone

1.8%of meta
~$299
B

Vohar, Vodalian Desecrator

1.8%of meta
~$2,636
B

Winter, Cynical Opportunist

1.8%of meta
~$1,240
B

Brigone, Soldier of Meletis

1.8%of meta
~$43
B

Azusa, Lost but Seeking

1.8%of meta
~$913
B

Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel

1.8%of meta
~$358
B

Octavia, Living Thesis

1.8%of meta
~$40
B

Basim Ibn Ishaq

1.8%of meta
~$41
B

Niv-Mizzet, Parun

1.8%of meta
~$544
B

Kratos, God of War

1.8%of meta
~$174
B

Elminster

1.2%of meta
~$1,305
B

Atraxa, Grand Unifier

1.2%of meta
~$4,726
C

C-Tier

Low-meta archetypes (1-2% meta share) (28 archetypes)

C

Vivi Ornitier

1.2%of meta
~$1,574
C

Toph, Greatest Earthbender

1.2%of meta
~$1,831
C

Aang, Swift Savior

1.2%of meta
~$1,545
C

Sokka, Tenacious Tactician

1.2%of meta
~$40
C

Hit-Monkey

1.2%of meta
~$54
C

Namor the Sub-Mariner

1.2%of meta
~$204
C

Thanos, the Mad Titan

0.6%of meta
~$6,480
C

Amalia Benavides Aguirre

0.6%of meta
~$1,166
C

Feldon, Ronom Excavator

0.6%of meta
~$38
C

Fin Fang Foom

0.6%of meta
~$125
C

The Ur-Dragon

0.6%of meta
~$3,016
C

Muxus, Goblin Grandee

0.6%of meta
~$944
C

Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers

0.6%of meta
~$1,100
C

Judith, Carnage Connoisseur

0.6%of meta
~$179
C

Kenrith, the Returned King

0.6%of meta
~$7,017
C

Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

0.6%of meta
~$741
C

The Scarab God

0.6%of meta
~$3,221
C

Ashling, the Limitless

0.6%of meta
~$7,077
C

Flamewar, Brash Veteran

0.6%of meta
~$1,212
C

Goro-Goro and Satoru

0.6%of meta
~$3,532
C

Fynn, the Fangbearer

0.6%of meta
~$22
C

Denzilore Fatehold

0.6%of meta
~$198
C

Magda, Brazen Outlaw

0.6%of meta
~$502
C

Kefka, Court Mage

0.6%of meta
~$3,616
C

Tivit, Seller of Secrets

0.6%of meta
~$3,004
C

Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

0.6%of meta
~$7,260
C

Hashaton, Scarab's Fist

0.6%of meta
~$80
C

The Wandering Minstrel

0.6%of meta
~$5,861