Art by Magali Villeneuve
Commander deckBUW
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
Control the board with efficient sweepers and removal while leveraging Y'shtola to burn opponents and draw cards on every player's turn, ultimately assembling compact win packages with Bolas's Citadel or Vito.
Asked for“Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, efficient and synergistic, but not fully optimized cEDH. The primary game plan is control: stabilize the board, trade resources efficiently, generate card advantage, and win at a reasonable/respectable Bracket 3 speed with a compact win package. Include a moderate amount of instant-speed and on-other-players'-turns interaction, but do not overload the deck with reactive cards that create analysis paralysis.”
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 · 62 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
1Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
1WUBLegendary Creature — Cat Warlock
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Card Draw
10
Rhystic Study
2UEnchantment
MV 3 noncreature that taxes opponents and draws cards
Esper Sentinel
WArtifact Creature — Human Soldier
repeatable noncreature tax draw
Necropotence
BBBEnchantment
MV 3 noncreature that easily pays 4 life to trigger Y'shtola
Dig Through Time
6UUInstant
high MV instant noncreature castable for cheap with delve
Removal
12
Anguished Unmaking
1WBInstant
MV 3 noncreature instant exile for any nonland permanent
Generous Gift
2WInstant
flexible MV 3 noncreature answer to any problem permanent
Toxic Deluge
2BSorcery
MV 3 board wipe that easily loses 4 life to trigger end step draw
Threats/Wincons
22
Shark Typhoon
5UEnchantment
MV 6 noncreature that creates flying sharks on spell casts
Bolas's Citadel
3BBBLegendary Artifact
MV 6 noncreature engine and compact win condition
Aetherflux Reservoir
4Artifact
MV 4 noncreature win condition pairing with Citadel or lifegain
Sensei's Divining Top
1Artifact
enables the Bolas's Citadel and Aetherflux Reservoir loop
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
2BBLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor
punishes draws to easily deal 4 or more life loss to opponents
Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1WBLegendary Creature — Human Advisor
taxes opposing noncreatures and helps reach 4 life lost thresholds
Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
2BLegendary Creature — Vampire Cleric
turns commander lifegain into direct burn damage
Exquisite Blood
4BEnchantment
MV 5 enchantment that forms an infinite combo with Vito
Monastery Mentor
2WCreature — Human Monk
spawns an army of prowess tokens from noncreature spells
Talrand, Sky Summoner
2UULegendary Creature — Merfolk Wizard
creates 2/2 flying drakes on instant and sorcery casts
Murmuring Mystic
3UCreature — Human Wizard
generates evasive bird tokens from spellcasting
Sedgemoor Witch
2BCreature — Human Warlock
creates pest tokens that drain and gain life upon dying
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
3WULegendary Planeswalker — Teferi
MV 5 planeswalker that untaps lands and draws cards
The Meathook Massacre
XBBLegendary Enchantment
board stabilization that drains life on creature deaths
Debt to the Deathless
XWWBBSorcery
large-scale drain finisher that guarantees commander card draw
Bloodchief Ascension
BEnchantment
punishes graveyard fills with consistent life loss and gain
Twilight Prophet
2BBCreature — Vampire Cleric
drains each opponent on upkeep based on revealed card MV
Elspeth, Sun's Champion
4WWLegendary Planeswalker — Elspeth
MV 6 planeswalker providing blockers and a one-sided sweeper
Mind's Dilation
5UUEnchantment
casts opponents' spells on their turns to trigger commander
Sorin Markov
3BBBLegendary Planeswalker — Sorin
instantly sets an opponent to 10 life for massive life loss
Queza, Augur of Agonies
1WUBLegendary Creature — Octopus Advisor
drains opponents whenever you draw cards
Utility
8
Smothering Tithe
3WEnchantment
MV 4 noncreature enchantment generating massive mana advantage
Blind Obedience
1WEnchantment
slows down opposing attackers and extorts life on casts
Well of Lost Dreams
4Artifact
MV 4 artifact converting commander's lifegain into card draw
Trouble in Pairs
2WWEnchantment
MV 4 enchantment that punishes opponents' extra actions
Leyline of Anticipation
2UUEnchantment
MV 4 enchantment enabling noncreature casts on opposing turns
