Trim Down Libraries With Phenax, God of Deception

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Nature" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Nature</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/gregstaples">Greg Staples</a>)</h6>
<h1>Keywords as a Keystone</h1>
<p>Welcome to <em>Too-Specific Top 10</em>, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that <em>Banding</em> is the best new mechanic out of <em>Alpha</em>?)</p>
<p>This year, Commander Christmas brought us a full helping of legends based around underutilized keywords. From <em>Flashback </em>to <em>Madness</em>, we got some build-around commanders specifically made to help out archetypes that weren't really viable before. But while we're looking for new goodies, are we missing other excellent mechanics right under our noses? Have we really used all the available keywords that are build-aroundable?</p>
<p>To find out, let's dive into what the best mechanically-minded commanders are.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Top 10 Commanders Featuring a <a href="https://mtg.gamepedia.com/Evergreen">Non-Evergreen Keyword</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1-resized.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-37092" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1-resized.png" alt="" width="350" height="278" /></a></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Atraxa, Praetor&#039;s Voice"></div></div>
<p>If anyone was doing some quick mental math while reading the theme for this week, it probably wasn't hard to figure out that the number one card that fit the criteria would also be the number one commander of all time. While Atraxa has been knocked off of the top of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders#pastweek">Past Week</a> and <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders#pastmonth">Past Month</a> lists, she's still good enough and flexible enough that she continues to stick around the middle of them despite all the new and exciting commanders we've seen in the past few months. As for her featured keyword, <em>Proliferate</em>, it's only gotten more popular of late with the return visit to the plane of Ravnica and the +1/+1 counters and planeswalkers that came with it.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for this too-specific list, however, <em>Proliferate</em> may not be the main reason that everyone plays Atraxa: given just how good her keyword soup is, and the fact that she's in four colors, Atraxa can often built as a "goodstuff outside the color red" commander rather than around a central theme that takes advantage of her <em>Proliferate </em>ability.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-37093" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2-resized.png" alt="" width="350" height="278" /></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Edgar Markov"></div></div>
<p>Perhaps we haven't gone specific enough with our top 10 this week, as our number two happens to be found on the second-most popular commander of the past two years. With the inclusion of <em>Eminence</em> as a keyword, however, it perhaps isn't much of a surprise that we ran into <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Edgar Markov" href="#" target="_blank">Edgar Markov</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> so soon. Having a commander that can affect the game state without ever having to be cast is extremely powerful, even if that ability is restricted to a tribe. Maybe if a more obscure tribe than Vampires had been chosen, however...</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-37094" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/3-resized.png" alt="" width="350" height="278" /></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Queen Marchesa"></div></div>
<p>Moving a little bit further down the popular commanders list, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Queen Marchesa" href="#" target="_blank">Queen Marchesa</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is ranked the number ten commander overall, and number three on our list of keyword commanders. Often seen as a fun casual commander that allows for you to do pretty much anything you want in Mardu colors, Marchesa makes you the <em>Monarch</em> when she enters the battlefield, and then punishes others for taking the crown from you, thereby making it easier for you to take the crown back. Deathtouch Assassin tokens will do that, after all.</p>
<p><a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/10-resized.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-37095" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/4-resized.png" alt="" width="350" height="278" /></a></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Ur-Dragon"></div></div>
<p>Speaking of <em>Eminence</em>, here is the most powerful of Dragons, whose mere presence allows other Dragons to rush forth from your hand, and whose actual arrival to the battlefield can even bring forth more Dragons from the top of your library. While throwing Dragons (and other permanents) onto the battlefield is certainly a lot of fun, this isn't quite the "building around keywords" type of thing we were looking for, now was it? In another universe where <em>Wizards of the Coast </em>hadn't brought back Protection to evergreen status, we would have had our number four in this list appear in the form of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Animar, Soul of Elements" href="#" target="_blank">Animar, Soul of Elements</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. As it is, we'll have to wait for our number five ranking before we find a legend who gives us a keyword to build around, rather than just building around some (admittedly awesome) large flying reptiles.</p>
<p><a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/10-resized.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-37096" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/5-resized.png" alt="" width="346" height="278" /></a></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tasigur, the Golden Fang"></div></div>
<p>There we go! <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tasigur, the Golden Fang" href="#" target="_blank">Tasigur, the Golden Fang</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is rather expensive when looking at his CMC, but in all actuality you're rarely casting him for that much thanks to the inclusion of <em>Delve</em>, which gets even better since his activated ability puts more cards into the graveyard. Indeed, in a Sultai deck built around getting things into and out of the graveyard, it's not uncommon to see him come down for a single black mana, even with a few instances of commander tax stacked on him. Speaking of cheap, he's also the first commander on the list under the $10.00 mark, coming in at only 35 cents (as of the posting of this article)!</p>
<p><a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/10-resized.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-37097" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/6-resized.png" alt="" width="350" height="278" /></a></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Omnath, Locus of Rage"></div></div>
<p>Perhaps one of the most popular and most commonplace keywords to grace commander tables everywhere, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Omnath, Locus of Rage" href="#" target="_blank">Omnath, Locus of Rage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> brings us one heck of a <em>Landfall</em> trigger in the form of 5/5 Elementals; not only that, but he also gets to tack a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Bolt" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Bolt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> onto each death trigger. It probably comes as no surprise, then, that Omnath is number 23 on the most popular commanders list. Being rewarded for playing lands, something you were already going to do, looks to be quite powerful on its face, but once you start building decks around it, it gets to a whole other level of ridiculousness.</p>
<p><a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/10-resized.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-37098" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/7-resized.png" alt="" width="350" height="278" /></a></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder"></div></div>
<p>Speaking of things you were probably already going to be doing in a game of Commander, how about attacking? Casting spells, maybe? If you do manage to connect with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder" href="#" target="_blank">Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, you're rewarded with your spells casting other spells for you! <em>Cascade</em> is another popular keyword, sometimes just acting as a train to value town, while other times finding specific combo pieces through careful manipulation of mana costs in your deck construction. Pairing either of those kinds of upside with four-colors-worth of resources leads to great options, no matter how you swing it.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/10-resized.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-37099" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/8-resized.png" alt="" width="300" height="238" /></a></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow"></div></div>
<p><em>Ninjitsu</em> is a keyword utilized exclusively by the Ninjas of the <em>Kamigawa</em> block. Or at least, it was, up until <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow" href="#" target="_blank">Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> crashed onto the scene in <em>Commander 2018.</em> Her slightly modified version of the Ninja keyword allows her to play switcheroo from the command zone when one of your creatures attacks and isn't blocked. The resulting combat damage allows both her and any other Ninja who happens to be getting through at the time to pull a reverse <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark Confidant" href="#" target="_blank">Dark Confidant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, drawing you a card and having your opponents lose life equal to that card's mana cost. Add to that that the <em>Commander Ninjitsu</em> cost gets around commander tax, and it's not surprising that quite a few folks out there decided on dusting off their old Ninjas.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-37100" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/9-resized.png" alt="" width="300" height="195" /></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Trostani, Selesnya&#039;s Voice"></div></div>
<p>All right, so I may have exaggerated in the intro when I said that all of the new keyword commanders from <em>Commander 2019</em> allowed strategies that weren't possible before. In the case of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghired, Conclave Exile" href="#" target="_blank">Ghired, Conclave Exile</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer" href="#" target="_blank">Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, it just allowed their keywords to be utilized in new color combinations. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trostani, Selesnya&#039;s Voice" href="#" target="_blank">Trostani, Selesnya&#039;s Voice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an example of another commander that could helm a deck based around the <em>Populate</em> keyword, which encourages you to play bigger tokens so you can keep on making copies of them. How <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Godsire" href="#" target="_blank">Godsire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> didn't make the cut in the <em>Naya </em>version is a bit beyond me, though....</p>
<p><a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/10-resized.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-37101" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/10-resized.png" alt="" width="350" height="278" /></a></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Inalla, Archmage Ritualist"></div></div>
<p>And... another <em>Eminence </em>commander, straight out of <em>Commander 2017</em> and warping a power curve near you. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inalla, Archmage Ritualist" href="#" target="_blank">Inalla, Archmage Ritualist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is centered around Wizards rather than keywords, although that doesn't mean you couldn't get up to some serious <em>Prowess</em> shenanigans if you put your mind to it!</p>
<hr />
<h2>Honorable Mentions</h2>
<p>Let's be honest, you're disappointed that a third of this list is <em>Eminence</em> commanders, and so am I. Abilities which operate from the command zone have long been a controversial topic, and the general increase in power level stemming from them is a large part of that controversy. With that in mind, then, let's take a look at what our Top 10 would look like without any cards that have the word "commander" or "command zone" on them. From that list we'll also remove any commanders that share a keyword with another commander in <em>that</em> top 10 (which edges out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karametra, God of Harvests" href="#" target="_blank">Karametra, God of Harvests</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Xenagos, God of Revels" href="#" target="_blank">Xenagos, God of Revels</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kruphix, God of Horizons" href="#" target="_blank">Kruphix, God of Horizons</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Athreos, God of Passage" href="#" target="_blank">Athreos, God of Passage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>).</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Marchesa, the Black Rose"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phenax, God of Deception"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest"></div></div>
<ol>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atraxa, Praetor&#039;s Voice" href="#" target="_blank">Atraxa, Praetor&#039;s Voice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: <em>Proliferate</em></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Queen Marchesa" href="#" target="_blank">Queen Marchesa</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: <em>Monarch</em></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tasigur, the Golden Fang" href="#" target="_blank">Tasigur, the Golden Fang</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: <em>Delve</em></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Omnath, Locus of Rage" href="#" target="_blank">Omnath, Locus of Rage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: <em>Landfall</em></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder" href="#" target="_blank">Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: <em>Cascade</em></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trostani, Selesnya&#039;s Voice" href="#" target="_blank">Trostani, Selesnya&#039;s Voice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: <em>Populate</em></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marchesa, the Black Rose" href="#" target="_blank">Marchesa, the Black Rose</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: <em>Dethrone</em></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phenax, God of Deception" href="#" target="_blank">Phenax, God of Deception</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: <em>Devotion</em></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: <em>Historic</em></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest" href="#" target="_blank">Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: <em>Prowess</em></li>
</ol>
<p>And there we have it! For those of you confused about our new #10, <em>Prowess</em> was dropped from evergreen status back in <em>Hour of Devastation</em>, allegedly for issues of complexity. That makes me doubt whether bringing back Protection was the right call, but I do still remember the old acronym D.E.B.T. (Damage, Equip/Enchant, Block, and Target), which makes remembering how Protection works a bit easier.</p>
<hr />
<h2>What Do You Think?</h2>
<p>With all of the keyworded commanders out and about from <em>Commander 2019</em>, are you excited that we're expanding on the list above? Are keywords something you'd like to see expanded on when it comes to future commanders, or would you rather <em>Wizards of the Coast</em> broaden their focus a bit?</p>
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<p>And finally, what are keyword mechanics you're building around?</p>
<p>Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the Mandatory <em>Monarch</em> tables soon!</p>


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Trim Down Libraries With Phenax, God of Deception

Too-Specific Top 10 - Evergreen, Schmevergreen