Art by John Stanko
Commander deckUW
Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage
Grind out the game with flash-speed Azorius control and wizard synergies, eventually decking opponents out with massive Braingeyser and Stroke of Genius effects.
Asked for“A tight budget blue white control deck with wizards and a braingeyser style win condition that plays interesting oldschool cards. No infinite combos just grind.”
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 · 61 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
1Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage
2WULegendary Creature — Human Wizard
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Card Draw
10
Archmage Emeritus
2UUCreature — Human Wizard
wizard engine that draws a card on every instant and sorcery
Removal
14
Arcane Denial
1UInstant
unconditional counter that feeds opponent cards for your wincon
Dusk // Dawn
2WW // 3WWSorcery // Sorcery
sweeps large threats while recurring small wizards later
Threats/Wincons
20
Folio of Fancies
1UArtifact — Book
grinds card draw and mills libraries based on hand sizes
Iron Maiden
3Artifact
punishes opponents for full hands generated by your draw spells
Psychosis Crawler
5Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Horror
burns opponents whenever you draw huge bursts of cards
Talrand, Sky Summoner
2UULegendary Creature — Merfolk Wizard
wizard that generates a board of drakes while slinging control spells
Docent of Perfection // Final Iteration
3UUCreature — Insect Horror // Creature — Eldrazi Insect
wizard lord that turns cantrips into evasive threats
Murmuring Mystic
3UCreature — Human Wizard
human wizard that clogs the skies with bird tokens
Naru Meha, Master Wizard
2UULegendary Creature — Human Wizard
wizard lord that copies massive draw or counterspells
Sea Gate Oracle
2UCreature — Human Wizard
classic value wizard blocker that smooths draws
Augur of Bolas
1UCreature — Merfolk Wizard
early wizard blocker that digs for control spells
Trinket Mage
2UCreature — Human Wizard
tutors key artifacts like Sol Ring or Black Vise
Tribute Mage
2UCreature — Human Wizard
searches up mana rocks and utility artifacts
Elite Guardmage
2WUCreature — Human Wizard
wizard that provides stabilization life and card selection
Aven Mindcensor
2WCreature — Bird Wizard
bird wizard that shuts down opposing search engines
Jalira, Master Polymorphist
3ULegendary Creature — Human Wizard
wizard that cycles early tokens into bigger threats
Utility
7
Swiftfoot Boots
2Artifact — Equipment
protects Raff or key wizards from spot removal
Ghostly Prison
2WEnchantment
keeps aggressive combat decks from pressuring your life total
Spellbook
0Artifact — Book
historic zero-mana artifact that gives unlimited hand size
Library of Leng
1Artifact
oldschool protection from discard that keeps massive hands intact
Feldon's Cane
1Artifact
oldschool insurance to recycle your graveyard and avoid self-decking
