Underrated MTG Wizard Typal Deck Wins Event By Casting Broken Free Spells

While Universes Beyond sets are undoubtedly controversial, the massive influx of new legends helps Commander gameplay stay fresh and exciting. This is especially true for enthusiasts of Duel Commander, which has experienced some major metagame shifts this year. Unique brews continue to make their way out of the woodworks, including a wild Wizard typal deck with some incredibly powerful plays.

Combining Wizard and Legendary Themes

This archetype’s entire gameplan revolves around Gandalf, Party Guest, which requires pretty restrictive deckbuilding to use but pays you off in the end. The goal is to build out a big board of legendary Wizards early so that when you slam Gandalf, you can immediately cast a beefy instant or sorcery for free. With this in mind, nearly every creature in this deck is a legendary Wizard that supports a Spellslinger theme.

Baral, Chief of Compliance Baral, Chief of Compliance Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Whenever a spell or ability you control counters a spell, you may draw a card. If you do, discard a card. and Kaza, Roil Chaser Kaza, Roil Chaser Flying, haste
{T}: The next instant or sorcery spell you cast this turn costs {X} less to cast, where X is the number of Wizards you control as this ability resolves. serve as cheap Wizards that also discount your spells, while Adeliz, the Cinder Wind Adeliz, the Cinder Wind Flying, haste
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, Wizards you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. and Balmor, Battlemage Captain Balmor, Battlemage Captain Flying
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain trample until end of turn. buff your team for each spell cast. From there, Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy {T}: Draw a card, then discard a card. If there are five or more cards in your graveyard, exile Jace, then return him to the battlefield transformed under his owner's control. and Tersa Lightshatter Tersa Lightshatter Haste
When Tersa Lightshatter enters, discard up to two cards, then draw that many cards.
Whenever Tersa Lightshatter attacks, if there are seven or more cards in your graveyard, exile a card at random from your graveyard. You may play that card this turn. do a great job digging for your most impactful instants and sorceries. You even have access to trigger doublers like Harmonic Prodigy Harmonic Prodigy Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
If a triggered ability of a Shaman or another Wizard you control triggers, that ability triggers an additional time. that further lean into your Wizard theme.

All these tools curve nicely into Gandalf, which then threatens to take over the game in a number of ways. While this easily lets you cast larger spells for free on larger boards, Gandalf can also cast incredibly powerful free spells like Inevitable Betrayal Inevitable Betrayal Suspend 3—{1}{U}{U} (Rather than cast this card from your hand, pay {1}{U}{U} and exile it with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.)
Search target opponent's library for a creature card and put that card onto the battlefield under your control. Then that player shuffles. or Ancestral Vision Ancestral Vision Suspend 4—{U} (Rather than cast this card from your hand, pay {U} and exile it with four time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.)
Target player draws three cards. while ignoring Suspend. Either card can swing a game on its own, letting Gandalf create value on an otherwise empty board.

When you have a larger board of Wizards in play, you can also cast free haymakers like Baral’s Expertise Baral’s Expertise Return up to three target artifacts and/or creatures to their owners' hands.
You may cast a spell with mana value 4 or less from your hand without paying its mana cost. or Raise the Palisade Raise the Palisade Choose a creature type. Return all creatures that aren't of the chosen type to their owners' hands. , which single-handedly halts any pressure against you. Thanks to your legends matter subtheme, you can also abuse Urza’s Ruinous Blast Urza’s Ruinous Blast (You may cast a legendary sorcery only if you control a legendary creature or planeswalker.)
Exile all nonland permanents that aren't legendary. in this department as a one-sided board wipe.

Once you start to turn the corner, your last step is to prevent your opponent from coming back. Naturally, counterspells like Memory Lapse Memory Lapse Counter target spell. If that spell is countered this way, put it on top of its owner's library instead of into that player's graveyard. and Force of Negation Force of Negation If it's not your turn, you may exile a blue card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Counter target noncreature spell. If that spell is countered this way, exile it instead of putting it into its owner's graveyard. play a pivotal role, protecting Gandalf turn after turn. Alternatively, you can use Armageddon Armageddon Destroy all lands. to stop your opponents from casting spells altogether, while Gandalf keeps casting spells with his ability.

One Way to Win

Ultimately, this deck’s biggest appeal is against other creature decks with few answers to your creatures. Archetypes like Brigid, Clachan’s Heart and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd Flash
Whenever Phelia attacks, exile up to one other target nonland permanent. At the beginning of the next end step, return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control. If it entered under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on Phelia. rely more on developing their boards than messing with yours, so they’re vulnerable to your mass bounce and exile effects. You also have ample answers to Drannith Magistrate Drannith Magistrate Your opponents can't cast spells from anywhere other than their hands. , so you should have no issue sticking Gandalf.

However, your Commander’s trigger relies on a critical mass of Wizards, so things can go south if your opponent has lots of removal. One of the easiest ways to lose is to have your two- and three-mana Wizards killed by one-mana burn spells while your opponent still develops their board. Things get even harder when your Commander faces free answers like Pyrokinesis Pyrokinesis You may exile a red card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Pyrokinesis deals 4 damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures. .

Similarly, getting Gandalf countered multiple times is a recipe for disaster, since your other Wizards will struggle to end games on their own. These weaknesses make your matchup against control decks like Tasigur, the Golden Fang Tasigur, the Golden Fang Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.)
{2}{G/U}{G/U}: Mill two cards, then return a nonland card of an opponent's choice from your graveyard to your hand. quite poor.

With these factors in mind, Gandalf hardly feels like a top competitive option in Duel Commander. Still, considering just how popular White Weenie and Brigid strategies are, Gandalf can be a decent meta call for small events.

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