Who Are the Top 5 Commanders in Duskmourn

Magic: The Gathering’s latest expansion, Duskmourn: House of Horror, brings a haunting new collection of legendary creatures to the Commander format. From enchantment-based synergies to graveyard manipulation, Duskmourn delivers powerful, flavorful Commanders that can lead your deck to victory. But which of these spooky new legends truly stand out in the competitive EDH scene?

We’ve looked at the data, considered the synergies, and ranked the Top 5 Commanders from Duskmourn. If you're planning to build a new deck or upgrade an existing one, these Commanders are worth considering for your next big EDH game.

1. Marina Vendrell

Marina Vendrell is the Commander to watch in Duskmourn. As a five-color legend, she opens up endless possibilities for creative deckbuilding, especially for enchantment-heavy strategies. When Marina enters the battlefield, she lets you reveal the top seven cards of your deck, putting all enchantments into your hand. In the right deck, this is a powerful form of card advantage.

Marina isn’t just about versatility. Her ability to dig deep into your deck and grab multiple enchantments makes her a standout for any player who loves synergy-based strategies. Whether you’re building an enchantress deck or exploring more niche enchantment types, Marina’s ability to reload your hand with key cards is unmatched.

Best Cards with Marina:

• Enchantress's Presence: Refills your hand as you cast enchantments.
• Smothering Tithe: Generates tons of mana, which is crucial in a five-color deck.
• Estrid’s Invocation: Doubles the enchantment triggers for maximum value.

Whether you build a deck around Shrines, Auras, or just the best enchantments Magic has to offer, Marina Vendrell gives you the flexibility to find and cast what you need.

2. Valgavoth, Terror Eater

When it comes to pure intimidation, no Commander in Duskmourn beats Valgavoth, Terror Eater. This 9/9 flying, lifelink demon comes with a massive board presence and the ability to exile your opponents' cards from anywhere, giving you access to their best spells. If a card gets exiled under Valgavoth, you can cast it by paying life instead of mana.

Valgavoth is the ultimate late-game bomb. While he’s expensive to cast, the payoff is huge. His ward ability (which forces opponents to sacrifice three nonland permanents to target him) makes him incredibly hard to deal with. If Valgavoth survives just one turn cycle, you’ll likely take control of the game by casting your opponents’ best cards.

Best Cards with Valgavoth:

• Necropotence: Turns your life total into an unstoppable resource for drawing cards and powering Valgavoth’s ability.
• Grave Pact: Synergizes well with Valgavoth's ward, forcing opponents to sacrifice more creatures.
• Bolas’s Citadel: Another way to convert life into card advantage, keeping the pressure on your opponents.

Valgavoth is perfect for players who enjoy high-risk, high-reward strategies. Build your deck around life payment and sacrifice mechanics, and you’ll have a devastating mono-black powerhouse that no one wants to see across the table.

3. Winter, Misanthropic Guide

Winter brings something new to the Jund color combination (black, red, green): group hug! But before you think this Commander is all about helping your opponents, take a closer look. At the beginning of your upkeep, Winter lets every player draw two cards. Then, with enough card types in your graveyard (thanks to Delirium), your opponents will have to discard those extra cards when their hand size shrinks.

Winter is perfect for a group hug strategy with a bite. You give your opponents extra cards, but punish them for holding onto too many. This Commander excels in decks that fill the graveyard with multiple card types quickly, locking down opponents’ hands while you take full advantage of the card draw.

Best Cards with Winter:

• Underworld Dreams: Makes your opponents pay for all that extra card draw.
• Waste No: Turns their discards into mana, cards, or creatures.
• Sheoldred, the Apocalypse: Pairs perfectly with Winter to drain life as your opponents draw more cards.

For players who love the thrill of outdrawing their opponents but hate the idea of giving away too much advantage, Winter creates the perfect balance of card advantage and control.

4. Victor, Valgavoth’s Seneschal

If you love enchantments and Orzhov (white-black) strategies, Victor, Valgavoth’s Seneschal is your Commander. Every time an enchantment enters the battlefield or you fully unlock a Room, you trigger a series of escalating effects, from surveiling to forcing your opponents to discard, and finally reanimating creatures from graveyards.

Victor rewards consistency. As you cast more enchantments or manipulate Rooms, you can trigger multiple abilities in a single turn. This means that with the right setup, you’re not just surveiling to stack your deck—you’re also forcing your opponents to lose valuable cards and reanimating game-changing creatures from graveyards.

Best Cards with Victor:

• Doomwake Giant: Clears the board of small creatures every time you cast an enchantment.
• Phyrexian Reclamation: Ensures you can bring back the creatures you surveil into your graveyard.
• Necropotence: Fills your graveyard for future reanimation and keeps your hand full of enchantments.

If you love the grindy, attrition-focused playstyle Orzhov decks are known for, Victor offers a fresh and powerful way to win through enchantments and graveyard manipulation.

5. Norin, Swift Survivalist

Fans of the original Norin the Wary will love this new version. Norin, Swift Survivalist can’t block, but whenever a creature you control becomes blocked, you can exile it and cast it again. This ability opens up all kinds of possibilities for enter-the-battlefield (ETB) effects and creature recursion.

Norin’s ability to protect your creatures while triggering ETB effects is extremely powerful in the right deck. You can continuously bounce creatures with key abilities like dealing damage or drawing cards, while pressuring your opponents with constant, hard-to-interact-with threats.

Best Cards with Norin:

• Impact Tremors: Punishes your opponents every time one of your creatures enters the battlefield.
• Purphoros, God of the Forge: Similar to Impact Tremors, but much stronger. Every time you exile and recast a creature, you’re hitting all your opponents for 2 damage.
• Confusion in the Ranks: Causes chaos on the board as creatures swap sides when they’re cast from exile.

Norin is perfect for aggressive mono-red players who love chaos and maximizing value from creatures that flicker in and out of play. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly but fun and unpredictable Commander, Norin is a great choice.

Conclusion

Duskmourn: House of Horror has delivered a fantastic set of Commanders that bring fresh strategies and mechanics to the format. Whether you're into graveyard recursion, enchantments, or chaotic aggro, there’s a Commander here for every type of player. Marina Vendrell and Valgavoth, Terror Eater lead the pack, offering unique synergies and powerful abilities that will help you dominate your next Commander game.

If you’re ready to build your next great Commander deck, these legends from Duskmourn are the perfect starting point. Explore their synergies, gather the right cards, and lead your deck to victory! Visit our online store for these cards and more, and check out our upcoming events for upcoming commander events!