Kess, Dissident Mage (1v1 Duel Commander)

Duel Commander* Competitive Control Cruel Control UBR (Grixis)

Bissmarck

Land (41)

• 1x Badlands
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Cascade Bluffs
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Creeping Tar Pit
• 1x Darkslick Shores
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 5x Island
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x River of Tears
• 1x Shivan Reef
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Sulfurous Springs
• 1x Sunken Ruins
• 3x Swamp
• 1x Tectonic Edge
• 1x Underground River
• 1x Underground Sea
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Volcanic Island
• 1x Wasteland
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Instant (27)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cryptic Command
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Daze
• 1x Delay
• 1x Diabolic Edict
• 1x Dismember
• 1x Fatal Push
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Force Spike
• 1x Go for the Throat
• 1x Impulse
• 1x Intuition
• 1x Kolaghan's Command
• 1x Lightning Bolt
• 1x Mana Leak
• 1x Memory Lapse
• 1x Miscalculation
• 1x Mystic Confluence
• 1x Negate
• 1x Pact of Negation
• 1x Remand
• 1x Spell Pierce
• 1x Stifle
• 1x Terminate
• 1x Unsubstantiate

Creature (9)

• 1x Baleful Strix
• 1x Dark Confidant
• 1x Gilded Drake
• 1x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy  ^Flip
• 1x Snapcaster Mage
• 1x Spellskite
• 1x True-Name Nemesis
• 1x Vendilion Clique
• 1x Venser, Shaper Savant

Commander (1)

Sorcery (18)

• 1x Chain Lightning
• 1x Collective Brutality
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Duress
• 1x Flame Slash
• 1x Gamble
• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Hymn to Tourach
• 1x Inquisition of Kozilek
• 1x Mind Twist
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Pyroclasm
• 1x Radiant Flames
• 1x Serum Visions
• 1x Sudden Demise
• 1x Thoughtseize
• 1x Toxic Deluge

Planeswalker (3)

• 1x Dack Fayden
• 1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 1x Liliana of the Veil

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Treachery

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Deck- Description

This is my take on the upcoming new Grixis Commander.

I personaly see her as the best new cards from the set. Aside from the heavily broken "Arahbo", who I expect to be banned soon. But lets get back to business.

Kess brings really competetive colours to the table. Blue gives us card advantage and control, black gets us the cards we need, aswell as the discard/information via Duress. Red is more a splash, but a Lightnig Bolt in a 20 life game is always value, especially if you can "Flashback" it.

Kess herself got good stats, too. With 4 Mana she is decent for a 3/4 flying. 4 toughness means, she is out of Bolt range and can block 3 attack creatures, like Leovold. Flying is a nice keyword of offense and defense.

The gameplan is a typical control playstyle. Use your discard spell to get information and prevent threats from casting. Use blue to counter key cards and draw new spells. Use removal spells to get off the board whats bothering you.

Wincons are usually a bit difficult in control decks. In this deck I added value planeswalkers, who win the game, if left unanswered. Regarding all the removal, counter and disruption you got, this shouldnt be such a big deal. In addition to that Kess can beat face, too. We also got True-Name Nemesis or Tar-Pit who beat if needed.

Cards I am testing:

1. Chandra, the Flamecaller vs Torrential Gearhulk (a wincon, with different approaches)
2. Yawgs Will
3. I was trying to add 3 three Swords (F&F/F&I + Jitte) to the deck, but ended up cutting them. Without Stoneforge & friends they are not that good and you wont use a Demonic for them.
4. I am not happy with Entomb, since gravehate is so important against Kess, and I prefer to draw my key cards.
5. Timewalks... This is whats in many peoples head if they see her. I tested it a lot and for my personal experience it is just too slow and too conditional. Aggro just beats or burns you down, before you get the value. Control removes Kess or counters the spell, so I ended up with the feeling that it is just "win-more".

Thanks for reading this article. I am curious about your opinions and suggestions.

Date added	6 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is not Duel Commander legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 0 Mythic Rares 46 - 0 Rares 13 - 0 Uncommons 19 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.10
Tokens	Emblem Dack Fayden, Emblem Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
Folders	Grixis Control