Sphinx by alextorno

Format: Commander

Commander: The Ur-Sphinx

Bracket: 4

DeckCheck Threat Index: 49

Deck overview

This deck is an Esper kindred midrange build centered around Sphinx creatures and cost reduction. Led by The Ur-Sphinx, the deck leverages its passive Eminence ability from the command zone to discount all Sphinx spells by {1} throughout the game without ever needing to cast the commander. Fast 2-CMC mana rocks and cost reducers like Urza's Incubator accelerate high-impact Sphinxes such as Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign onto the battlefield by Turn 4. Unesh supercharges the deck by providing mini Fact or Fiction triggers and further mana discounts for every Sphinx cast. The deck establishes critical onset on Turn 5 by flooding the board with resilient, high-toughness flyers like Consecrated Sphinx, Medomai the Ageless, and Magister Sphinx. Supported by premier countermagic, asymmetric sweepers such as Raise the Palisade and Cyclonic Rift, and mass recursion via Bloodline Bidding, the deck systematically dismantles opponents through overwhelming aerial combat by Turn 7.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Ancient Tomb
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Arcane Denial
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Atemsis, All-Seeing
  • 1 Azor, the Lawbringer
  • 1 Azorius Signet
  • 1 Black Market Connections
  • 1 Bloodline Bidding
  • 1 Cavern of Souls
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Consecrated Sphinx
  • 1 Curator of Destinies
  • 1 Cyclonic Rift
  • 1 Dazzling Sphinx
  • 1 Defiler of Dreams
  • 1 Demonic Tutor
  • 1 Dimir Signet
  • 1 Dovin's Veto
  • 1 Dream Eater
  • 1 Dream Trawler
  • 1 Enlightened Tutor
  • 1 Esper Sentinel
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Fierce Guardianship
  • 1 Flooded Strand
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Hallowed Fountain
  • 1 Herald's Horn
  • 5 Island
  • 1 Kindred Discovery
  • 1 Lightning Greaves
  • 1 Magister Sphinx
  • 1 Mana Drain
  • 1 Medomai the Ageless
  • 1 Morphic Pool
  • 1 Mystic Remora
  • 1 Orzhov Signet
  • 1 Otawara, Soaring City
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 6 Plains
  • 1 Prognostic Sphinx
  • 1 Raffine's Tower
  • 1 Raffine, Scheming Seer
  • 1 Raise the Palisade
  • 1 Reanimate
  • 1 Reflecting Pool
  • 1 Rhystic Study
  • 1 Riddlemaster Sphinx
  • 1 Roaming Throne
  • 1 Scrubland
  • 1 Sea of Clouds
  • 1 Smothering Tithe
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sphinx Summoner
  • 1 Sphinx of False Conclusions
  • 1 Sphinx of Forgotten Lore
  • 1 Sphinx of Uthuun
  • 1 Sphinx of the Final Word
  • 1 Sphinx of the Second Sun
  • 1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
  • 4 Swamp
  • 1 Swan Song
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Talisman of Dominance
  • 1 Talisman of Hierarchy
  • 1 Talisman of Progress
  • 1 Teferi's Protection
  • 1 The One Ring
  • 1 The Soul Stone
  • 1 The Ur-Sphinx
  • 1 Thought Vessel
  • 1 Three Tree City
  • 1 Tivit, Seller of Secrets
  • 1 Toxic Deluge
  • 1 Trouble in Pairs
  • 1 Tundra
  • 1 Uldaros Theorix
  • 1 Underground Sea
  • 1 Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign
  • 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Urza's Incubator
  • 1 Vampiric Tutor
  • 1 Vault of Champions
  • 1 Watery Grave
  • 1 Windreader Sphinx
  • 1 Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign