Matoya's Tax by Xelitaz

Format: Commander

Commander: Y'shtola, Night's Blessed

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 42

Deck overview

This deck is an Esper lifegain and drain control build centered on Y'shtola, Night's Blessed. The game plan balances defensive board control with deterministic combo finishes. In the early game, the deck establishes mana with mana rocks and deploys deterrents like Authority of the Consuls, Ghostly Prison, and Propaganda to disincentivize early aggression. Middle turns leverage card flow engines such as Rhystic Study and Y'shtola's end-step triggers to dig toward tutors. The primary win condition is assembling an infinite life-drain loop utilizing Exquisite Blood or Bloodthirsty Conqueror combined with Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, Sanguine Bond, or Vizkopa Guildmage. A robust package of free and cheap countermagic, including Fierce Guardianship, Dovin's Veto, and Grand Abolisher, ensures that the deck can safely execute its win turn while answering opposing threats.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Adarkar Wastes
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Archaeomancer's Map
  • 1 Archmage of Runes
  • 1 Authority of the Consuls
  • 1 Beacon of Immortality
  • 1 Black Market Connections
  • 1 Bloodthirsty Conqueror
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Brainsurge
  • 1 Breathe Your Last
  • 1 Children of Korlis
  • 1 Chromatic Lantern
  • 1 City of Brass
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Cruel Tutor
  • 1 Curator's Ward
  • 1 Deadly Rollick
  • 1 Decanter of Endless Water
  • 1 Delney, Streetwise Lookout
  • 1 Deserted Beach
  • 1 Diplomatic Immunity
  • 1 Disallow
  • 1 Dissipate
  • 1 Dovin's Veto
  • 1 Enlightened Tutor
  • 1 Exquisite Blood
  • 1 Fierce Guardianship
  • 1 Flawless Maneuver
  • 1 Flooded Strand
  • 1 Ghostly Prison
  • 1 Glacial Fortress
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Grand Abolisher
  • 1 Grim Tutor
  • 1 Hall of Heliod's Generosity
  • 1 Hallowed Fountain
  • 1 Hermes, Overseer of Elpis
  • 1 Hindering Light
  • 1 Idyllic Tutor
  • 1 Inkshield
  • 1 Ishgard, the Holy See // Faith & Grief
  • 2 Island
  • 1 Isolated Chapel
  • 1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
  • 1 Kambal, Profiteering Mayor
  • 1 Mana Confluence
  • 1 Marsh Flats
  • 1 Mistrise Village
  • 1 Monologue Tax
  • 1 Multiversal Passage
  • 1 Mystic Sanctuary
  • 1 Observed Stasis
  • 1 Ophidian Eye
  • 1 Overkill
  • 4 Plains
  • 1 Polluted Bonds
  • 1 Polluted Delta
  • 1 Prismatic Vista
  • 1 Propaganda
  • 1 Raffine's Tower
  • 1 Reflecting Pool
  • 1 Render Silent
  • 1 Rhystic Study
  • 1 Sanguine Bond
  • 1 Sedgemoor Witch
  • 1 Settle the Wreckage
  • 1 Sevinne's Reclamation
  • 1 Shattered Sanctum
  • 1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
  • 1 Shipwreck Marsh
  • 1 Silence
  • 1 Skyclave Relic
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 South Wind Avatar
  • 1 Stormscape Familiar
  • 1 Summary Dismissal
  • 1 Supreme Verdict
  • 3 Swamp
  • 1 Tainted Remedy
  • 1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
  • 1 The Wind Crystal
  • 1 Toxic Deluge
  • 1 Tundra
  • 1 Turbulent Moor
  • 1 Underground River
  • 1 Underground Sea
  • 1 Undermine
  • 1 Vindicate
  • 1 Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
  • 1 Vizkopa Guildmage
  • 1 Void Rend
  • 1 Watery Grave
  • 1 Y'shtola, Night's Blessed