Secret Lair Commander Deck: Odds and Ends by gfparadiso

Format: Commander

Commander: Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 42

Deck overview

This deck is an Esper Sphinx tribal and big-mana strategy led by The Ur-Sphinx. The commander provides constant mana velocity from the command zone via Eminence, discounting all Sphinx spells by one generic mana. The early game focuses on deploying low-cost mana artifacts and tribal cost reducers like Urza's Incubator and Herald's Horn. By Turn 4, the deck deploys pivotal engine anchors like Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign or Defiler of Dreams, generating continuous card flow and massive mana reductions. On Turns 5 and 6, the deck transitions into lethal pressure with heavy aerial threats including Magister Sphinx, Consecrated Sphinx, and Sphinx of the Second Sun. It closes the game by overwhelming opponents with large flying beaters and casting free spells from milled libraries via The Ur-Sphinx attack triggers. A strong suite of spot removal, countermagic, and sweepers supports the creature engine.

Decklist (100 cards)

• 1 An Offer You Can't Refuse
• 1 Anguished Unmaking
• 1 Approach of the Second Sun
• 1 Arcane Denial
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Azor, the Lawbringer
• 1 Azorius Signet
• 1 Bojuka Bog
• 1 Brainstorm
• 1 Brainsurge
• 1 Breach the Multiverse
• 1 Chancellor of the Spires
• 1 Chromatic Lantern
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Consecrated Sphinx
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Curator of Destinies
• 1 Cyclonic Rift
• 1 Dark Ritual
• 1 Deadly Rollick
• 1 Defiler of Dreams
• 1 Dovin's Veto
• 1 Dream Eater
• 1 Drowned Catacomb
• 1 Esper Sentinel
• 1 Ethersworn Sphinx
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Fabled Passage
• 1 Farewell
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Glacial Fortress
• 1 Godless Shrine
• 1 Halimar Depths
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Herald's Horn
• 4 Island
• 1 Magister Sphinx
• 1 Marsh Flats
• 1 Meticulous Archive
• 1 Morphic Pool
• 1 Mystic Remora
• 1 Mystical Tutor
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Perplexing Chimera
• 4 Plains
• 1 Polluted Delta
• 1 Ponder
• 1 Prairie Stream
• 1 Propaganda
• 1 Quantum Riddler
• 1 Raffine, Scheming Seer
• 1 Reanimate
• 1 Reconnaissance
• 1 Reflecting Pool
• 1 Rhystic Study
• 1 Roaming Throne
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Scavenger Grounds
• 1 Scholar of the Lost Trove
• 1 Scroll Rack
• 1 Sea of Clouds
• 1 Sensei's Divining Top
• 1 Shadowy Backstreet
• 1 Shipwreck Marsh
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Sphinx Ambassador
• 1 Sphinx of Foresight
• 1 Sphinx of Forgotten Lore
• 1 Sphinx of Uthuun
• 1 Sphinx of the Second Sun
• 1 Sunken Hollow
• 4 Swamp
• 1 Swift Reconfiguration
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Talisman of Dominance
• 1 Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1 Talisman of Progress
• 1 The Ur-Sphinx
• 1 Underground River
• 1 Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign
• 1 Urza's Incubator
• 1 Vault of Champions
• 1 Vesuvan Drifter
• 1 Void Rend
• 1 Watery Grave
• 1 Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1 Weathered Wayfarer
• 1 Windreader Sphinx
• 1 Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign