Xu-Ifit, OsteoharmonistXu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist | Art by Michal Ivan

Hello hello! With Edge of Eternities hype in full swing, I wanted to talk about one of my favorite cards for the set. This week's deck tech will be centered on Xu-Ifit, OsteoharmonistXu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist, a cool new reanimator commander coming to us straight from the Blind Eternities.

While this commander may not be the strongest reanimation piece that Commander players have access to, it is certainly unique. The ability to strip negative abilities away from our creatures provides interesting deckbuilding opportunities, so I'm excited to talk about what Xu can do for you!

What Does Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist Do?

For , Xu-Ifit is a 2/3 Human Wizard. That's not exactly impressive, but it's also not what we're here for.

When we our commander, we can reanimate a creature from our graveyard as a Skeleton with no abilities. This is interesting, as Xu-Ifit takes away all abilities, both positive and negative.

So, whether we reanimate something with positive abilities like an Archon of CrueltyArchon of Cruelty or something with negative abilities like Yawgmoth DemonYawgmoth Demon, we'll be left with a vanilla 6/6 Skeleton.

While Xu-Ifit's abilities are pretty unique, the card is still reminiscent of some previously printed commanders.

I'm reminded first and foremost of Zul Ashur, Lich LordZul Ashur, Lich Lord from Foundations. Both cards let us get creatures from our graveyard back into the fray, and both cards also care about undead creatures. Their art is even similar!

I'm also reminded of Ruxa, Patient ProfessorRuxa, Patient Professor, another commander that brings cards back from our graveyard and will build board states full of big vanilla creatures.

But, let's get back to business. What sort of cards will fill out the 99 of this deck? 

Key Cards for Xu-Ifit

We'll fill out Xu-Ifit's supporting cast with ways to dump our library into the graveyard, big creatures that we can cheat back onto the battlefield, and ways to benefit from the previous two points. is the color of reanimation, so we've got no shortage of cards to put in our decklist.

First, let's talk about what we're all here for: big creatures. I've included a full 14 reanimation targets here, three of which have drawbacks and 11 of which are just too expensive to reasonably cast in most games.

While it's possible to eventually cast an Emrakul, the Promised EndEmrakul, the Promised End in a super long game, we'll most often be using it as a vanilla 13/13 Skeleton. Among the largest creatures we've got available to us in this deck are Phyrexian DreadnoughtPhyrexian Dreadnought, Death's ShadowDeath's Shadow, and Ancient Stone IdolAncient Stone Idol.

There's a few other creatures that are at our commander's disposal, but their abilities aren't the focus of this deck; their power and toughness boxes are.

Self-Mill

I'd also like to showcase a few of the best self-mill engines that have found a slot here.

Altar of the WretchedAltar of the Wretched might seem like just a bulk rare from Lost Caverns Commander, but it's actually a perfect fit in this deck. On its front face, we can sacrifice the largest creature we've got on hand to see a huge amount of cards from our deck. And, after we activate its craft ability, it can become an absolutely gigantic, game-ending threat. As a little bonus, it can even bring itself back to our hand from the graveyard if we've milled it over.

Although Altar of DementiaAltar of Dementia may be a less exciting pick for this same effect, it's certainly extremely powerful. I've also become a big fan of mill rocks like MillikinMillikin. This card can hit the battlefield before our commander, and provide a steady stream of mana advantage and mill over the course of a game. It's easy to replace a card like Mind StoneMind Stone with Millikin in any graveyard-centric deck, and I've been doing so quite frequently.

Lastly, Palantír of OrthancPalantír of Orthanc also works quite well in this Xu-Ifit list. Most players will let us get away with drawing a card each turn, but any foolish opponents that don't risk being hit for huge amounts of mana if we flip an Eldrazi or two into our bin.

Graveyard Synergy

Between our commander's ability and cards like VictimizeVictimize, we'll be moving cards in and out of our 'yard quite frequently. Let's take advantage of that, shall we?

There's a trio of enchantments that work perfectly with our game plan, first among them being Corpses of the LostCorpses of the Lost. This three-mana enchantment will serve as a repeatable source of creature tokens and haste for our reanimated creatures. It's admittedly a slow value engine, requiring us to pay turn after turn to generate a good board state, but this fits right into the deck's Bracket 2 standing.

Speaking of enchantments that cost , Teval's JudgmentTeval's Judgment works quite similarly. We can choose between card draw, mana creation, and creature token creation whenever a card leaves our graveyard, and that flexibility is key to this card's strength.

Lastly, Defiled Crypt // Cadaver LabDefiled Crypt // Cadaver Lab is a nice little value engine just like Corpses of the Lost. It lets us make 2/2s when we reanimate creatures, and can bring a creature back to our hand for just one mana too.

There's a few other cards worth mentioning that fit into this aspect of the deck's game plan, including Skeleton CrewSkeleton Crew, Tormod, the DesecratorTormod, the Desecrator, and Syr Konrad, the GrimSyr Konrad, the Grim.

How Does This Xu-Ifit Commander Deck Win?

So, after we've had our fun and made a 13/13 creature on turn four, what do we do now? Well, this deck's primary win condition is combat. We'll try to beat our opponents down with big, vanilla creatures. Anthems like Dragon Throne of TarkirDragon Throne of Tarkir and Gisa, the HellraiserGisa, the Hellraiser can make that process a bit easier, providing nice buffs that should allow our creatures to get in for damage more easily.

The aforementioned Corpses of the LostCorpses of the Lost also works well here, letting us surprise our opponents with a big, hasty creature to close out games.

But, failing that, there are a few other ways that we can win the game.

We've got: relatively one-sided board wipes, like Mandate of AbaddonMandate of Abaddon (if we choose a large creature we control, there's a good chance that a few of our other creatures will be big enough to survive the wipe); the ability to turn one big creature into a game-ending board of tokens with Ghoulcaller GisaGhoulcaller Gisa (turning a 10/10 into 10 2/2s will usually make quick work of even the most clogged-up board states); and even a few ways to give our creatures lifelink, like Whip of ErebosWhip of Erebos (we'll be able to gain enough life to put the game entirely out of reach for our opponents).

Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Thanks very much for reading! Before you go, I wanted to chat about a few more cards that work particularly well in the deck. Not of This WorldNot of This World will usually act as a free protection spell for our biggest reanimated creature, which will feel great against the Bracket 2 competition this deck should be facing.

I also really like the inclusion of Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet, which can blink a reanimated creature to give its abilities back. We've got a full 11 reanimation targets with beneficial rules text on them, so this artifact can turn a vanilla creature back into a menacing threat.

I also chose the removal spells for this deck carefully, with Lethal SchemeLethal Scheme, Pile OnPile On, and Price of FamePrice of Fame all letting us fill up the graveyard as we clear the board.

That's all for now, so I'll see you all next week for another deck tech!