Only if you continue believing that 10 tooth cogs aren’t horrible hacks to let them claim a bigger gear range than is real.
So my 42:10 gear isn’t a real gear? 
I’ll have to double-check on my next downhill section whether my rear derailleur stays in 42:11 or really shifts into the 10-tooth cog.
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Another point (not sure if mentioned upthread)…2x = Better efficiency through straight alignment.
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I’ve been running 1x on my BMC URS for 1.5 seasons. I miss my 2x Canyon Grail! Gravel is mostly road (gravel or pavement) for most of us. If you think you can run 1x on the road, then you will likely be OK with it, if not, I recommend sticking with 2x. I have lost many positions in gravel races due to 1x spinning out on flat, downhill and tailwind sections when people on 2x setups pull away. You can get creative and run a 9/50T (e-Thirteen) with a 42T or so up front, but why… I’ve never had problems “maintaining” a front derailleur in my 30+ years of riding. My only hope for the time-being is that this new Classified Powershift system becomes something plebeians like me can afford. If I could do it all over again, I would do a 2x Grizl. The Grail was a magical rig! The only thing I didn’t like was that I couldn’t adjust the cockpit fore/aft positioning. The Grizl solves that problem. Good luck!
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What gearing do you have if I may ask?
(I have a 42-tooth chain ring on my road bike, and I spin out at about 66 km/h. I pretty much only use my tallest gear as an overdrive gear on the downhill.)
It was mentioned already, but I don’t think it matters for us non-pros. Same goes for the efficiency differences between equivalent gearing that involves smaller cogs. We think too much about marginal gains and not enough about substantial gains like being able to be aero for longer, tight-fitting clothing or being consistent in our training. 
IMHO it is purely a question of personal preference, all other justifications are post hoc, me thinks.
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I think ive decided on 1x, simply because Im going to use this as a dual purpose for gravel, but mainly cx. 45min to an hour at near max hr, simplicity wins for me. Unless that is, if before I pull the trigger on one of the bikes I have in mind, something else comes up thats too good a deal to pass on
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Campy Ekar is brilliant for gravel - it’s almost (but not quite) fine for road too.
I hear what @Aeroiseverything says regarding the 9t cog but I don’t find it loud or notice it being inefficient. I don’t like being in it to long though and to be honest I rarely am.
Currently running the OEM config that is a 38 ring with 9-42 cassette but think I might go to the 10-44 cassette to ditch the 9t and stick a 42 or 44t ring on there.
I’m pretty sure there are enough options for me to find a combo that works for me on road and gravel but with the chainring being such an easy swap (no need to remove crank or chain) I can see me swapping between a few options depending on the ride.
One thing it will never have though is small jumps between easy gears. Campy have done the right thing designing their cassette with small jumps on the small cogs and big ones between the big cogs but what this means is that loose some of your ability to choose your perfect cadence on climbs - this is the only reason I wouldn’t consider Ekar for my road bike.
Edit: oh and cresting the top of a steep climb and straight on to a steep descent is a click-fest going from the 42 back down to the 9 as you can only move one at a time in that direction -
Click click click click click click click click click click click click 
The other way it’s up to three jumps per lever swing.
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I think this is a matter of taste. Personally, I don’t want small jumps between climbing gears, I want them to be bigger. It doesn’t matter if that is on- or off-road.
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I’ve definitely considered campy. Issue is building a bike from the frame up right now is really challenging and finding a reasonably priced bike with campy and in stock is equally unicorn-like
Yeah wouldn’t hold your breath
I think much will depend on how much road vs gravel you will do with the bike. I had a BMC Roadmachine with a 1x and it worked nicely on road up to a certain point. Some gearing is gappy and hard to maintain proper cadence at times. Now I have a 2x for my road bike and will never consider a 1x again for road.
I will have a gravel bike built in July with GRX Di2 (if I can get a hold of a groupset). If not, then I will use a Classified rear hub to replace the FD. I will probably split 40/60 road/gravel because I have to ride some distance to get to the gravel.
If your gravel bike is for example, 80% gravel riding, then maybe the 1x 13 Ekar will be a good option for you.
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3T and Open sell a lot of bikes with Campagnolo’s Erkar groupset pre-installed. I was considering it for my Strada last year, but ultimately decided against it as I don’t really like their shift controls. But in terms of gearing, I think their 9–36 cassette is a great option for road riding.
A couple friends have bought Ekar bikes at super reasonable prices recently. Lauf and Fezzari. Both were really excellent value.
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I run either 40 or 36 up front depending on the course. Most events I do here in the PNW require climbing mountains which frequently have ramps well over 10%. Eagle with a 40 would work, but I’m not willing to drop that coin on it. I could do everything on my 2x and never had to worry about getting creative. And never had shifting trouble with my front derailleur.
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Agree. I don’t see the point of faffing around with changing chainrings and possibly chain lengths when you can just have all the gears there all the time. I’ve personally never had to do maintenance on my front derailleur in about 5 years (outside of shop services)
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