Art by Ryan Barger
Commander deckBU
Phenax, God of Deception
Lock down the battlefield with potent interaction and high-toughness blockers, then weaponize your defenses to mill opponents out with Phenax and classic Dimir mill engines.
Asked for“interaction, control, mill”
Deck anatomy
What this list actually runs on: how cheaply it casts things, and whether it has enough ramp, card draw and interaction to keep up at the table. Each block is one card — hover for its name.
Mana curve · 60 nonland cards
The working parts
Counted from Scryfall’s community card tags, not from the builder’s own labels. A card that does two jobs counts twice, so these add up to more than the deck. The hatched band is a common rule of thumb, not a law — combo decks run leaner, battlecruiser decks heavier.
Colored mana symbols
Commander
1Phenax, God of Deception
3UBLegendary Enchantment Creature — God
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
8
Card Draw
9
Archmage Emeritus
2UUCreature — Human Wizard
Draws on every instant or sorcery cast
Removal
12
Threats/Wincons
20
Consuming Aberration
3UBCreature — Horror
Huge body that scales with graveyards and mills on cast
Court of Cunning
1UUEnchantment
Card advantage and 10-card mill per turn with monarch
Gorging Vulture
2BCreature — Bird
High-toughness flying blocker that fuels the board
Tree of Perdition
3BCreature — Plant
Massive 13 toughness for Phenax and drops opponent life to 13
Charix, the Raging Isle
2UULegendary Creature — Leviathan Crab
17 toughness body for massive single-tap milling
Mortivore
2BBCreature — Lhurgoyf
Massive creature scaling from all milled creature cards
Sire of Stagnation
4UBCreature — Eldrazi
Punishes opposing lands with exile mill and draw
Bruvac the Grandiloquent
2ULegendary Creature — Human Advisor
Doubles all mill amounts for rapid wins
Tasha, the Witch Queen
3UBLegendary Planeswalker — Tasha
Planeswalker that casts spells milled from opponents
The Haunt of Hightower
4BBLegendary Creature — Vampire
Grows with each milled card and provides lifelink
Geth, Lord of the Vault
4BBLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Zombie
Reanimates milled artifacts and creatures while milling more
Memory Erosion
1UUEnchantment
Passively mills opponents whenever they cast spells
Utility
11
Thousand-Year Elixir
3Artifact
Allows tapping for Phenax immediately and untapping creatures
Intruder Alarm
2UEnchantment
Untaps entire board whenever creatures enter for massive mill
Lightning Greaves
2Artifact — Equipment
Protection and haste for your key creatures
Swiftfoot Boots
2Artifact — Equipment
Hexproof protection for Phenax or key millers
Animate Dead
1BEnchantment — Aura
Steals the best milled creature from any graveyard
Bloodchief Ascension
BEnchantment
Turns each card milled into life loss and lifegain
Scheming Symmetry
BSorcery
Tutors your best card while setting up an opponent to be milled
