The Keys to the Underworld's Menagerie by Alistair_Steele

Format: Commander

Commander: The Master of Keys

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 41

Deck overview

This deck is an Esper Enchantress and Reanimator engine led by The Master of Keys. It focuses on filling the graveyard through self-mill engines like Cemetery Tampering and Overlord of the Balemurk, then utilizing the commander's static ability to cast enchantments directly from the graveyard via escape. The deck controls the battlefield using repeatable enchantment-based removal such as Grasp of Fate and permanent-tapping effects from Fear of Sleep Paralysis. As the game progresses, it transitions into overwhelming combat pressure by animating non-Aura enchantments with Starfield of Nyx or Zur, Eternal Schemer, and deploying massive Saga creatures like Summon: Knights of Round and Summon: Bahamut. Protection pieces like Alseid of Life's Bounty and Alexi's Cloak shield key permanents, while catch-up ramp ensures stable mana development.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Alexi's Cloak
  • 1 Alseid of Life's Bounty
  • 1 Animate Dead
  • 1 Archaeomancer's Map
  • 1 Arid Mesa
  • 1 Authority of the Consuls
  • 1 Banishing Light
  • 1 Bloodstained Mire
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Cacophony Unleashed
  • 1 Cemetery Tampering
  • 1 Charitable Levy
  • 1 City of Brass
  • 1 Claim Jumper
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Consult the Star Charts
  • 1 Copy Land
  • 1 Cut a Deal
  • 1 Dance of the Dead
  • 1 Demon of Fate's Design
  • 1 Diplomatic Immunity
  • 1 Dress Down
  • 1 Drownyard Temple
  • 1 Enduring Curiosity
  • 1 Entity Tracker
  • 1 Fear of Sleep Paralysis
  • 1 Fell the Profane // Fell Mire
  • 1 Flooded Strand
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Grasp of Fate
  • 1 Gravebreaker Lamia
  • 1 Hallowed Fountain
  • 1 Inquisitive Glimmer
  • 1 Knight of the White Orchid
  • 1 Land Tax
  • 1 Mana Confluence
  • 1 Mana Drain
  • 1 Marsh Flats
  • 1 Mesa Enchantress
  • 1 Meticulous Archive
  • 1 Misty Rainforest
  • 1 Morphic Pool
  • 1 Necromancy
  • 1 Nowhere to Run
  • 1 Otawara, Soaring City
  • 1 Out of the Tombs
  • 1 Overlord of the Balemurk
  • 1 Overlord of the Floodpits
  • 1 Overlord of the Mistmoors
  • 1 Phyrexian Arena
  • 4 Plains
  • 1 Polluted Cistern // Dim Oubliette
  • 1 Polluted Delta
  • 1 Raffine's Tower
  • 1 Reflecting Pool
  • 1 Ripples of Undeath
  • 1 Scalding Tarn
  • 1 Scrubland
  • 1 Sea of Clouds
  • 1 Search for Azcanta // Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin
  • 1 Secret Arcade // Dusty Parlor
  • 1 Secret Rendezvous
  • 1 Sevinne's Reclamation
  • 1 Shadowy Backstreet
  • 1 Shark Typhoon
  • 1 Sheltered by Ghosts
  • 1 Sidequest: Catch a Fish // Cooking Campsite
  • 1 Silent Hallcreeper
  • 1 Spirited Companion
  • 1 Starfield Mystic
  • 1 Starfield of Nyx
  • 1 Stillness in Motion
  • 1 Stock Up
  • 1 Summon: Anima
  • 1 Summon: Bahamut
  • 1 Summon: Knights of Round
  • 1 Summon: Valefor
  • 1 Summon: Yojimbo
  • 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
  • 1 Temple of the False God
  • 1 Teval's Judgment
  • 1 The Legend of Yangchen // Avatar Yangchen
  • 1 The Master of Keys
  • 1 The Meathook Massacre
  • 1 The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration
  • 1 Toxic Deluge
  • 1 Trouble in Pairs
  • 1 Tundra
  • 1 Undercity Sewers
  • 1 Underground Sea
  • 1 Valgavoth's Lair
  • 1 Vault of Champions
  • 1 Verdant Catacombs
  • 1 Watery Grave
  • 1 Whip of Erebos
  • 1 Windswept Heath
  • 1 Zur, Eternal Schemer