Riddle me this puzzle master by user3500249

Format: Commander

Commander: The Ur-Sphinx

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 36

Deck overview

This deck is an Esper Sphinx tribal midrange strategy built around The Ur-Sphinx. From the command zone, the commander provides constant mana reduction through Eminence, allowing you to cast expensive, powerful Sphinxes ahead of curve. The early game focuses on establishing mana rocks and cost reducers like Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Herald's Horn, and Urza's Incubator. By Turn 4, the deck deploys high-value engines such as Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign or Defiler of Dreams, which rapidly refill your hand whenever you cast creature spells. In the mid-to-late game, you deploy a massive air force of evasive beaters including Sphinx of the Steel Wind, Dream Trawler, and Azor, the Lawbringer. These creatures overwhelm opponents through evasive combat damage and powerful attack triggers. While the deck lacks fast infinite combos, its sheer card flow, inherent resilience, and towering flying threats allow it to dominate the skies and close out games reliably.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Ancient Den
  • 1 Arbiter of the Ideal
  • 1 Arcane Sanctum
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Archway of Innovation
  • 1 As Foretold
  • 1 Atemsis, All-Seeing
  • 1 Azor, the Lawbringer
  • 1 Cairn Wanderer
  • 1 Call to the Kindred
  • 1 Chancellor of the Spires
  • 1 Chromatic Lantern
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Conspiracy Unraveler
  • 1 Crib Swap
  • 1 Damn
  • 1 Dazzling Sphinx
  • 1 Decanter of Endless Water
  • 1 Defiler of Dreams
  • 1 Denzilore Fatehold
  • 1 Deserted Beach
  • 1 Dream Trawler
  • 1 Drowned Catacomb
  • 1 Eligeth, Crossroads Augur
  • 1 Enigma Sphinx
  • 1 Ethersworn Sphinx
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Firdoch Core
  • 1 Gathering Stone
  • 1 Glacial Fortress
  • 1 Graveshifter
  • 1 Hallowed Fountain
  • 1 Herald's Horn
  • 5 Island
  • 1 Isolated Chapel
  • 1 Isperia, Supreme Judge
  • 1 Kozilek's Unsealing
  • 1 Lightning Greaves
  • 1 Master of Predicaments
  • 1 Medomai the Ageless
  • 1 Meticulous Archive
  • 1 Morphic Pool
  • 1 Omni-Changeling
  • 1 Palantír of Orthanc
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 1 Persist
  • 1 Phyrexian Metamorph
  • 2 Plains
  • 1 Raffine's Tower
  • 1 Reflecting Pool
  • 1 Reflections of Littjara
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Sapphire Medallion
  • 1 Sea of Clouds
  • 1 Seat of the Synod
  • 1 Serum Sovereign
  • 1 Shadowy Backstreet
  • 1 Shattered Sanctum
  • 1 Shipwreck Marsh
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sphinx Sovereign
  • 1 Sphinx of Clear Skies
  • 1 Sphinx of False Conclusions
  • 1 Sphinx of Foresight
  • 1 Sphinx of Forgotten Lore
  • 1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
  • 1 Sphinx of the Revelation
  • 1 Sphinx of the Second Sun
  • 1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
  • 1 Strix Serenade
  • 1 Sunfall
  • 2 Swamp
  • 1 Swan Song
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 The Ur-Sphinx
  • 1 The Water Crystal
  • 1 Thought Vessel
  • 1 Undercity Sewers
  • 1 Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign
  • 1 Unsettled Mariner
  • 1 Urza's Incubator
  • 1 Vanquish the Horde
  • 1 Vault of Champions
  • 1 Vault of Whispers
  • 1 Virtue of Persistence // Locthwain Scorn
  • 1 Vivid Creek
  • 1 Vivid Marsh
  • 1 Vivid Meadow
  • 1 Watery Grave
  • 1 Windreader Sphinx
  • 1 Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign