Ur-Sphinx

Format: Commander

Commander: The Ur-Sphinx

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 40

Deck overview

This deck is an Esper Sphinx tribal midrange build commanded by The Ur-Sphinx. The commander provides an eminence discount that reduces all other Sphinx spells by {1} from the command zone, effectively mitigating the high mana costs inherent to the tribe. The deck pairs this passive discount with dense 2-CMC mana rocks and cost reducers to cast powerful engine Sphinxes like Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign and Consecrated Sphinx on Turns 4 to 5. After drawing deep into its library, the deck deploys high-utility flyers such as Magister Sphinx, Sphinx of the Steel Wind, and Tivit, Seller of Secrets. It clears opposing boards using asymmetric sweepers like Raise the Palisade and Kindred Dominance while maintaining pillowfort defenses through Propaganda and Ghostly Prison. The primary win route closes through overwhelming aerial combat damage over 2 to 3 attack rotations.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Adarkar Wastes
  • 1 An Offer You Can't Refuse
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Arcane Denial
  • 1 Arcane Sanctum
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Atemsis, All-Seeing
  • 1 Azor, the Lawbringer
  • 1 Azorius Signet
  • 1 Black Market Connections
  • 1 Bloodline Bidding
  • 1 Brainstorm
  • 1 Breach the Multiverse
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Consecrated Sphinx
  • 1 Counterspell
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Dazzling Sphinx
  • 1 Defiler of Dreams
  • 1 Denzilore Fatehold
  • 1 Deserted Beach
  • 1 Despark
  • 1 Dimir Signet
  • 1 Dovin's Veto
  • 1 Dream Trawler
  • 1 Drowned Catacomb
  • 1 Elenda and Azor
  • 1 Enigma Sphinx
  • 1 Ethersworn Sphinx
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Ghostly Prison
  • 1 Glacial Fortress
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Hallowed Fountain
  • 1 Herald's Horn
  • 12 Island
  • 1 Isolated Chapel
  • 1 Isperia, Supreme Judge
  • 1 Kindred Discovery
  • 1 Kindred Dominance
  • 1 Kindred Judgment
  • 1 Magister Sphinx
  • 1 Master of Predicaments
  • 1 Medomai the Ageless
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 6 Plains
  • 1 Propaganda
  • 1 Raffine, Scheming Seer
  • 1 Raise the Palisade
  • 1 Reanimate
  • 1 Reflections of Littjara
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Sapphire Medallion
  • 1 Shipwreck Marsh
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sphinx of False Conclusions
  • 1 Sphinx of Foresight
  • 1 Sphinx of Forgotten Lore
  • 1 Sphinx of the Final Word
  • 1 Sphinx of the Second Sun
  • 1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
  • 1 Supreme Verdict
  • 3 Swamp
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Talisman of Dominance
  • 1 Talisman of Hierarchy
  • 1 Talisman of Progress
  • 1 The Ur-Sphinx
  • 1 Thought Vessel
  • 1 Tivit, Seller of Secrets
  • 1 Toxic Deluge
  • 1 Uldaros Theorix
  • 1 Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign
  • 1 Urza's Incubator
  • 1 Victimize
  • 1 Void Rend
  • 1 Watcher of the Spheres
  • 1 Watery Grave
  • 1 Windreader Sphinx
  • 1 Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign