James' Sphynx by BurnedJello

Format: Commander

Commander: The Ur-Sphinx

Bracket: 4

DeckCheck Threat Index: 40

Deck overview

This deck is a high-synergy Esper Sphinx tribal engine commanded by The Ur-Sphinx. The deck uses eminence and artifact cost-reducers to deploy expensive, high-toughness flying Sphinxes ahead of curve. The early turns focus on establishing mana velocity through 2-CMC mana rocks and cost reducers like Herald's Horn and Urza's Incubator. By Turn 5, engines like Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign or Consecrated Sphinx create massive card advantage. On Turn 6, the deck reaches critical onset by deploying The Ur-Sphinx to mill cards and cast up to four free spells per attack step, or dropping Magister Sphinx and Archfiend of Despair to slash enemy life totals. Defensive spells such as Teferi's Protection and Flawless Maneuver shield large boards from sweepers, while a broad Esper removal suite disrupts opposing game plans. The deck secures victory through overwhelming aerial combat damage by Turn 8.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Ad Nauseam
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Arbiter of the Ideal
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Archfiend of Despair
  • 1 Archon of Cruelty
  • 1 Avacyn, Angel of Horror
  • 1 Azorius Signet
  • 1 Balancing Act
  • 1 Brainstorm
  • 1 Brainsurge
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Consecrated Sphinx
  • 1 Counterspell
  • 1 Cyclonic Rift
  • 1 Denzilore Fatehold
  • 1 Deserted Beach
  • 1 Despark
  • 1 Dimir Signet
  • 1 Dovin's Veto
  • 1 Dream Eater
  • 1 Drowned Catacomb
  • 1 Enigma Sphinx
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Fact or Fiction
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Flawless Maneuver
  • 1 Flooded Strand
  • 1 Glacial Fortress
  • 1 Glyph Keeper
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Grand Crescendo
  • 1 Hallowed Fountain
  • 1 Herald's Horn
  • 1 Horizon Scholar
  • 4 Island
  • 1 Isolated Chapel
  • 1 Isperia, Supreme Judge
  • 1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Corsair
  • 1 Land Equilibrium
  • 1 Magister Sphinx
  • 1 Master of Predicaments
  • 1 Medomai the Ageless
  • 1 Memnarch, the Warden
  • 1 Morphic Pool
  • 1 Negate
  • 1 Ob Nixilis, the Ascended
  • 1 Orzhov Signet
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 4 Plains
  • 1 Polluted Delta
  • 1 Prismatic Vista
  • 1 Prognostic Sphinx
  • 1 Raffine's Tower
  • 1 Reflecting Pool
  • 1 Scalding Tarn
  • 1 Scholar of the Lost Trove
  • 1 Sea of Clouds
  • 1 Secluded Courtyard
  • 1 Shark Typhoon
  • 1 Sharuum the Hegemon
  • 1 Shattered Sanctum
  • 1 Shipwreck Marsh
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Spellbook
  • 1 Sphinx Ambassador
  • 1 Sphinx of Clear Skies
  • 1 Sphinx of False Conclusions
  • 1 Sphinx of Uthuun
  • 1 Sphinx of the Final Word
  • 1 Sphinx of the Second Sun
  • 1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
  • 1 Sphinx's Approach
  • 1 Stroke of Midnight
  • 1 Sunfall
  • 4 Swamp
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Talisman of Dominance
  • 1 Talisman of Hierarchy
  • 1 Talisman of Progress
  • 1 Teferi's Protection
  • 1 The Ur-Sphinx
  • 1 Tundra
  • 1 Unclaimed Territory
  • 1 Underground Sea
  • 1 Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign
  • 1 Urza's Incubator
  • 1 Utter End
  • 1 Watery Grave
  • 1 Windreader Sphinx
  • 1 Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign