I've played a lot of Duskmourn Limited this past week. I've played a majority of it on stream and have discussed the format a lot with the community. I'm comfortable with the format now and have learned quite a bit.
Color balance
I'm commonly asked on stream what I think is the best color or color combination. Not many want to hear the answer. Simply, there isn't one. This isn't entirely true, as there are a couple of color combinations and even a color I favor, but ultimately the open color is the best by a lot in Duskmourn. There's no color so weak you can't win with it.
If I was forced to choose a color I prefer to draft, I would currently choose red. Red is deep with efficient removal, solid low-curve creatures, and I like red paired with any color. In fact, for many people the least preferred color combination with red is Rakdos, which is my second-highest win-rate archetype overall and only trails Izzet. Izzet, according to 17Lands, is the worst-performing deck overall or close to it last time I checked. While my personal sample with every color combination is small, I am confident it's about when you move into these colors and not the colors themselves.
Red is deep at common. Much like the rest of the format, you need to know what decks want to play which cards. For instance, Ticket Booth/Tunnel of Hate is a card I love in Rakdos. It's a three-drop that leaves a blank game piece in play to sacrifice to many of the sacrifice outlets in the format, and Rakdos is great at putting menace creatures into play and closing the game with Tunnel of Hate.
Most Valuable Slayer is one of the best commons in the format. MVS, as we've been calling it, makes blocking challenging for the opponent, but you don't want it in Izzet or any deck that isn't curving out. You want MVS mostly at the top of your curve. While MVS is a card I've first picked, I won't play it in every red deck. It's a unique aspect of this format that there are cards that are quite good, but don't go into any old deck you draft. Removal is the safest choice early, as it will go in every deck, but a lot of the other cards have a lot of contextual value.
For this reason, you'll have a difficult time if you use just 17Lands data to guide you. This is a format where knowledge of the format and how the games play will benefit you. MVS may have a lower win rate than you'd think since it's being put into decks it doesn't belong, which leads you to believe it's worse than it is in your RW Aggro deck. You might do a deep dive through the data, but mostly you should play with the cards, watch streams, or however you familiarize yourself and learn the format. There's a lot of value in understanding the format's color pairs and how each individual deck wants to utilize the format's depth.
While almost every color pair is viable, there are two pairs I would avoid. Selesnya and Dimir have both been nothing short of awful. There's no solid strategy for the color pairs. While you can likely find a good Dimir deck, Selesnya seems to be close to a lost cause. Survival as a mechanic isn't strong enough to carry a color pair, and Dimir doesn't have a strong game plan since it often lacks enough threats to close games.
Both of these color combinations lack quality signpost uncommons, which leads me to my next point.
Look for the sign(posts)
As for the playable color pairs, the gold uncommons are almost all quite strong. If you open a weak pack and take a common like Murder, you don't want to use that as a card to guide your draft. It's better to be willing to abandon it in the first few picks and take a strong uncommon gold card to pivot into. Finding the right lane can take some time, but if and when you find it, your deck will vastly benefit.
Here's an example of a deck I drafted today. I bounced all over the map and ultimately ended up in Rakdos because of a late Sawblade Skinripper.
I started with a blue card. I tried all the way through pack two to get into Boros, but no signpost cards meant the archetype wasn't there, and I pivoted into the red archetype that was available.
The deck isn't full of broken or good rares. I'm not playing many truly bad cards. While I'd rather not play a card like Impossible Inferno, it's not the end of the world when you do.
I've had success locking into a color, being patient, waiting for gold cards to end up in my pile, speculating aggressively on them, and starting my pivot. The format is deep, and the value is in those middling picks where you get first-pick quality cards. I've taken cards like Murder first pick and tenth pick, and I don't think it's that out of line. The format card and color balance are deep. It's all about putting together a deck and not just taking the best card of a color, as that will change with context.
One excellent change about this format that goes somewhat unnoticed is that while the gold signpost cards are mostly powerful, almost none of them are splashable. Most of them want you to be in the color pair that they represent. As many are two-drop creatures, most people aren't looking to splash a card like Wildfire Wickerfolk or Oblivious Bookwurm. These are cards that when you see them in pack one, you can expect to see more gold cards of those colors.
ABC
ABC means "always be closing." In this format, especially in Bo1, I'm noticing myself almost always taking aggressive lines. Without overwhelming card advantage, life total advantage, etcetera, I'm looking to leverage tempo and spend mana efficiently rather than focus on grinding down value. This often means making a play where I take more damage to set myself up later for one or two turns where I can position myself better on board.
Occasionally you run out of gas and lose, but there are tons of cards that punish you for trying to block a lot. Whether it be the plethora of removal, or cards like Most Valuable Slayer, I'm attacking or directly working on my long-term game plan. For instance, if you have access to a card that goes over the top of most of the format, like Valgavoth's Onslaught, then you can play a longer game. It's hard to have confidence that your deck will out-engine against an unknown opponent's deck. In many formats, you can infer that the Boros Aggro deck will be disadvantaged as the game progresses, but there are a lot of rares that turn the corner in a normal game. Creature sizing is relatively small. There are often roadblocks in the way, like Glimmers and Innocuous Rat, that slow the games down, but there are also ways to close the game out in a hurry. You never know when your opponent will cast the Rollcrusher Tide in the late game and end the game on the spot.
In general, I make plays in the early game that spend the most mana possible, even if it puts me behind on board for a turn or two, as long as I think my position will be positive on about turn five.
To focus on closing, one thing I do during the draft is make sure I keep as lean a curve as possible. I don't like top-end in this format. There are few expensive value creatures, and none that come to mind at common at all. Mostly, expensive creatures eat a cheaper removal spell, and you fall behind on board. I don't mind a land cycler and maybe one other solid six-drop, I typically won't play more than three cards that cost five or more mana, and I want to focus on double spelling as much as possible.
Most underrated cards
Lastly, I'm going to talk about some cards that are going far too late in my drafts in best-of-one queues on Arena.
1) Most Valuable Slayer
I've talked a good deal about this, but MVS is often wheeling, and I can reliably get them every draft. I suspect this should change, as this is a high-impact common.
2) Final Vengeance
People seem to have Bone Splinters brain about Final Vengeance. This isn't the typical format where fueling it is difficult. Being able to sacrifice an enchantment leaves room for a ton of cards to fuel it. We have Rooms that have value, Glimmers, Innocuous Rats, and we get to live the dream when we can pick up Vengeful Possession.
An important aspect of this card is the ability to exile. There are a lot of creatures you want to exile in this format to avoid losing value, and Final Vengeance covers your bases.
3) Sawblade Skinripper
This is a function of people not yet valuing Rakdos, but I suspect that will change. I don't think I'm winning as much as I am with Rakdos on accident, and Skinripper is a huge reason why. Rakdos is slightly underdrafted, and Skinripper is a lot better than it looks.
This will wrap up my thoughts on the format this week. I may go a bit deeper next week after my trip to DC to play some LCQs but we'll see what comes up.
Until then, stay flexible and remember to ABC.
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