Speed vs Cunning Duel Decks
Are you all about the speed or are you witty enough to be cunning? Try out these new duel decks to see for yourself. These latest decks boast a cool flavour while introducing the new set – Khans of Tarkir.
What I love about these duel decks that come out each year is they always reprint something old while introducing unreleased new cards. In these decks, they bring back old school stuff as shown below
Plus some modern goodies like these
A few commander bombs
And some unreleased new stuff
Follow this link to view the full decklists here.
I’ve already got myself a copy of this duel deck and had a great session playing them against each other with my mate Ethan. We’ve found that these decks have a lot of potential for use as a basis for commander decks. The goblins can really blow out and Zurgo hits very hard if unanswered. Plus we found great potential with the new “Prowess” mechanic as it will go great in a Jeskai themed (blue, white, red) tempo deck. There are lots of hidden tricks within both decks and they are pretty much evenly matched. Play of the night went to me casting Act of Treason to steal Ethan’s Arcanis the Omnipotent for the turn, tapping Arcanis to draw 3 cards where I drew into a Goblin Bombardment, which I cast then sacrificed Arcanis to deal one damage to Ethan’s life total instead of giving him back his card that would shut me out of the game.
The main 2 cards that appealed to me, which meant I had to buy this duel deck as soon as I saw it, was the foiled alternate art of Arcanis the Omnipotent which goes straight into a commander deck of mine that is nearly all foiled out and the Lightning Angel which is now finally reprinted in the new modern bordered card frame. Plus there are lots of unique cards in the speed deck that makes a great start to a mono red goblin deck lead by Krenko for commander.
After saying that, what’s an article without one of my tasty deck lists to try? Here is a Modern Jeskai Tempo deck that includes my old favourite – Lightning Angel
LAND 22
2 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Seachrome Coast
2 Steam Vents
CREATURES 16
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Lightning Angel
SPELLS 22
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Spell Snare
3 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Helix
4 Mana Leak
2 Electrolyze
2 Jeskai Charm
*** COMPETITION TIME ***
For our lucky readers, Australian Tabletop Gaming Network will be giving away a copy of the Speed vs Cunning Duel Deck. To be in the running simply register yourself to this site and leave a comment below about what excites you the most about these duel decks.
Competition closes midnight September 30th. Competition is open to Australian residents only. Winner will be notified via email.
~ Dan
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Love the new art Arcanis! Definitely my favourite part of the duel decks.
I think possibly the most exciting thing about duel decks is the variability, variety and ability to play with another player straight out of the box.
This Duel Deck include reprints such as Impulse, Lightning Helix and many more which give newer players a chance to touch a bit of Magic history. Not only do you get the cards but you also get to read the flavor text. It’s like a peek into different planes that you’ve never seen before. -Sudden vengeance. Echoing Fury- ‘Lightning Angel’. So simple, but so good. Something old in something new.It’s just an amazing, cohesive product.
Duel decks are great for beginner players and returning players to grab a deck and play straight out of the box with friends.
I like how they included 2 Evolving Wilds and 2 Terramorphic Expanse in the different decks – subtle touch that lets new players start their Wedge-coloured commander decks with 2 fixers in each!
I am looking forward to more Beetleback Chiefs entering trade circulation.
Dan did you find it difficult to get both decks firing on all cylinders? I read a review about Ajani v Nicol Bolas, that basically compared the duel deck to watching two minor league sports teams… evenly matched, but only because they stumble as much as each other. And the manabase was the issue there.
they weren’t the fastest decks to use comparing to legacy but neither had stumbling issues, I feel they had more of a Duels of the Planeswalkers feel about them and I love playing Duels of the Planeswalkers on my XBox.
I like that the Cunning deck has a wide range of tempo effects to disrupt your opponent’s plans, while the Speed focuses on Haste and Trample, to give the feel of constant assault. Plus Goblin Bombardment is just such a fun card. I also like the new art for Fleshbag Marauder. The old one had plenty of fleshbag, but I was hard-pressed to imagine it marauding.
I found every time I played Goblin Bombardment, I’d always win. It is such a great card when flooding out your board with Goblin tokens.
What I like about Duel decks is that tas a newb they show me different types of deck design. I don’t know a lot of older cards and hence don’t know what sorts of things can be done.
I played this duel last night – I was Speed and my opponent was Cunning. In the first game my goblin rush wiped the floor with him. In the second I had some spells to wipe out his creatures, but nothing to mount a counterattack with so he survived and cunning’s card advantage took me down.
The third game was an epic. I had creatures coming all the time, but he had morph creatures which he would always reveal to counter me. I think I was at 20 and he was at 4 but I was topdecking and he was discarding cards because he had too many. I was praying to draw Zurgo Helmsmasher or simething else big, but instead I got mountains. Once the angel got into play it was all downhill for me.
I’m a beginner player and these duel decks are so good for me and my friends to just pick up and play magic.
I like the balance of power between the decks and the variety that comes with them. Roll a die for odds or evens to chose which deck you play, high replay value!
I like that you can have a couple of lunch time games at work without the worry that one person’s deck is way better than an another’s. Plus the foils in there are usually great (just ignore Jace in Jace v Vraska).
I think it’s awesome that you get to play duel decks during your lunch breaks at work.
I love the new artwork on the reprints.
Hmm, what excites me the most about these particular Duel Decks? Hmm, I think it’s fantastic the way it gives a primer on deck construction and the interactions between the mechanics of two-year old sets and a preview of the upcoming set!
I’m most *excited* by the artwork on Zurgo. Nothing like a sweaty Orc covered in battle grime (or is that just him after a quiet night in? Aren’t Orcs interesting?) to get the visual taste buds tingling.
What made me excited about this set is Krenko. One of the very first decks I made after a 10 year hiatus from Magic was a Krenko goblin aggro deck. I didn’t get too far or do very well, but it definitely helped solidify my love for magic again. It’s just a very nostalgic card for me that holds a special place in my heart. Who could say no to that big red nose!
I am still new to MTG, and I’ve never played a duel deck yet. But I love my red speed decks and think this would be a lot of fun to play both in a duel and outside of it with some friends
Congratulations Mordeth, you have been selected randomly as our winner of this competition! I have contacted you via email. Please reply at your earliest convenience and we’ll get your prize out to you.
I love the art on the Zurgo, much better than the set one. And who doesn’t love more orcs in magic!
new art for Zurgo is sick, I’d love to build a commander deck for him.