Phenax, God of DeceptionPhenax, God of Deception | Art by Ryan Barger

Greetings and salutations, from a plane of existence where libraries are somewhat abstract concepts. I'm Arnaud and I'm thrilled to take you on a journey of graveyards filled to the brim, of players huffing and puffing, and of hardened glares around the table.

In our last Trim, I left you with the usual three choices. Either you all left to enjoy well-deserved holidays or weren't thrilled by the options, as they earned a tiny 67 votes altogether.

Third came Merieke Ri BeritMerieke Ri Berit, with 15 votes (22%). No tapping/untapping shenanigans it seems. Then came The Master, MultipliedThe Master, Multiplied, with 16 votes (24%). I'm somewhat relieved. I've played against this one in the past, and it's utterly terrifying. With 36 votes (54%), the top spot therefore went to the Lord of All Graveyards, Phenax, God of DeceptionPhenax, God of Deception.

This is no underdog. With 7,225 decks to its name, Phenax offers a variety of strategies, which basically revolve around filling graveyards and/or emptying libraries as quick as possible, relying on massive toughness to break through.

Gathering all cards from the commander's page, both regular and budget, nets us a healthy 356 cards to begin with.

Is mill a viable strategy in Commander? Let's find out!

First Trim – The Cardboard Chainsaw Massacre

To all new readers of this column (there's always a couple, and that makes me happy), welcome, welcome! This series is all about building on a budget: no card worth more than $1.10 shall be retained. And yes, those pesky 10 cents are there to account for price variations.

Getting rid of all the expensive stuff already clears up the area quite thoroughly, as it brings down the count to 263 cards costing at most $2.

Before slashing those as well, let's see what fun stuff lies in the $1.10-$2 bracket, in case you feel like upping the average ever so slightly:

• Whispering MadnessWhispering Madness: Repeatable WindfallWindfall as long as you cipher it on an evasive creature
• Sphinx's TutelageSphinx's Tutelage: Requires a decent draw engine, but in the right conditions can wreak havoc on libraries. A shame it targets a single player.
• Fleet SwallowerFleet Swallower: Repeatable TraumatizeTraumatize on a hefty body. Seven mana is a lot though.
• Eater of the DeadEater of the Dead: With Phenax, this can almost win games on its own. Tap it to mill four, use its ability to untap it by exiling a creature from a graveyard, rinse and repeat.
• Memory PlunderMemory Plunder: A very nice payoff to play all the nice stuff your opponents couldn't.
• Wrexial, the Risen DeepWrexial, the Risen Deep: Akin to Memory Plunder, with a big toughness.
• The MindskinnerThe Mindskinner: Slightly counter-intuitive, as our commander cares for toughness, but still very efficient.
• Intruder AlarmIntruder Alarm: This will take your deck to the next level. Untapping all your milling outlets whenever any creature enters is a serious threat. I can't believe this is only $1.42.
• Ruin CrabRuin Crab: Cheap and effective mill outlet that spreads the love around.
• Captain N'ghathrodCaptain N'ghathrod: Helmed a precon back in the day, and can be quite effective, assuming you're playing enough Horrors.
• Ashiok, Nightmare WeaverAshiok, Nightmare Weaver: A bit slow, but it exiles instead of milling.
• Fractured SanityFractured Sanity: 14 cards is nothing to be scoffed at, especially since it involves everyone.
• PropagandaPropaganda: Classic pillowforting outlet.
• Nemesis of ReasonNemesis of Reason: It's big and it mills at a decent pace.
• Ashiok, Nightmare MuseAshiok, Nightmare Muse: See other Ashiok.
• GrindstoneGrindstone: See Sphinx's Tutelage
• Unstoppable PlanUnstoppable Plan: Aka double the mill.

That's a lot of cards, and it's not over yet. Let's have a look at the $1-$1.10 section now:

• Folio of FanciesFolio of Fancies: A double-edged sword, but in a deck focused on milling out, this can act as a cheap and repeatable universal TraumatizeTraumatize, if not more.
• Rapid HybridizationRapid Hybridization: One of the best removals in blue, period.
• Nihil SpellbombNihil Spellbomb: Of utmost importance to deal with the occasional big Eldrazis or Gaea's BlessingGaea's Blessing (Underplayed gem in my book).
• Sting, the Glinting DaggerSting, the Glinting Dagger: Untap, mill, untap, mill, untap, mill...
• The Ancient OneThe Ancient One: One of the best cost-to-body ratio, and it has a milling ability? This is gravy upon gravy.
• Mind FuneralMind Funeral: It only targets a single opponent, but it can mill a surprisingly high number of cards.
• PerplexPerplex: Mostly here as a tutor.
• Jidoor, Aristocratic CapitalJidoor, Aristocratic Capital: A TraumatizeTraumatize on a land? Yes please!

With this initial Trim out of the way, the list's down to 228 cards. Let's proceed.

Second Trim – Cardward Scissorhands

This is the section tackling the necessary evil of each and every pile of cards: value.

Whatever your strategy, you'll always need ramp to cast big spells faster, draw to keep your hand filled with action, and interaction to deal with whatever lies beyond your own battlefield.

At the moment, there's the following:

These are, to put it mildly, surprisingly low figures. Nowhere near critical, but still, they are usually more in the 30-40 range.

One explanation might lie in the Counterspells section: 15 spells (!).

There are also a few spells here and there that have been tucked in the Mill section.

With that in mind, I'd like to keep around 10-12 draw spells and at least 12 ramp outlets. I'm foreseeing a decently high curve, and this deck needs to constantly spew stuff out to achieve the ultimate milling goal.

Removal is also important, but since I'm planning on keeping it in the 5-7 range, alongside three board wipes. Despite having some beefy blockers, you still need to deal with the inevitable critical threat on the board.

It's been a while since I saw such a small veggies table. After giving the land base a healthy makeover, the list stands proudly at 187 cards. Time to have fun.

Third Trim – Cutting Off the Rough Edges

When I first started writing about Phenax, I thought I would see a lot more reanimation outlets. Turns out there are hardly any. Looks like milling yourself out is not favored by brewers here.

Therefore, the strategy is quite straightforward: win by milling out all of your opponents as quickly as possible. In this case, I'd like to avoid comboing off, and try achieving victory in a "fair" and "regular" way.

This means the list will include a big number of high-toughness creatures, to maximize Phenax's output, with an emphasis on those thriving on graveyard sizes. There will also be a few additional outlets to speed up things or to end games.

While it should theoretically be possible to win with huge beaters as a Plan B, it's not exactly the goal here.

Also keep in mind that Phenax provides a tap ability, meaning you won't be able to use it with summoning sick creatures.

With that in mind, let's see what's left in the list:

• A huge number of mill outlets: It makes a lot of sense to have those here. However, most are sadly underwhelming, so there's a good chunk of them that'll be axed, keeping only the very best.
• A lot of big tough creatures: The core idea behind this brew. Let's keep at least 20 if not more.
• Many counterspells: I don't want this brew to turn into a control-fest, so I'm probably going to get rid of most, if not all of them.
• Several Tutors: These, on the other hand, will have to go. By now you should know how I feel about these.
• A lot of grave hate outlets: Extremely important to deal with either decks that you'll be actually helping by filling their graveyard, or the occasional mass recursion outlet. 10 is too many, but I'd like to keep at least five.
• A few recursion outlets: Not extremely impressive ones at that. A couple might stay, but no more.

Let's cut, and cut deep.

There, almost done. The keenest eyes will have noticed I added an Island back to make up for Waterlogged TeachingsWaterlogged Teachings. I've also gotten rid of most of the cards in the Misc section, mostly because they were marginally helpful to the overall strategy.

I also removed Ioreth of the Healing HouseIoreth of the Healing House, as it's simply too slow and not relevant enough of an effect. for our purposes.

10 cards to go. And these will not be exactly the easiest ones to choose from.

Final Trim – Heart-Wrenching Choices

It's been a while since I was stuck in the final stretches. But almost all that remains looks like the crème de la crème, if you'll pardon my French.

To make matters worse, I'm even adding a card back in. TurnaboutTurnabout is a Swiss-army knife of sorts: untap all of your creatures to mill even more or create a surprise wall of blockers, or untap all your lands to make even more mana in the end game.

So, 11 cards. As usual, keep in mind all of these are not bad inclusions, per se. I'm making decisions based on my gut here, but by all means, go ahead and explore other avenues!

• Mirko Vosk, Mind DrinkerMirko Vosk, Mind Drinker and Mind FuneralMind Funeral: While they could theoretically land a good amount of cards in the bin, they also do it one player at a time, and either need to deal damage or are a one-shot.
• Riptide TurtleRiptide Turtle, Wall of MistWall of Mist, Monastery FlockMonastery Flock and Murmuring PhantasmMurmuring Phantasm: Two of the least impactful creatures for their mana value.
• Keening StoneKeening Stone: While this could theoretically take a player out, it's also + to activate. A bit expensive for my taste.
• Prismatic LensPrismatic Lens: The worst rock of our ramp package.
• Crypt IncursionCrypt Incursion: While the lifegain is nice, it only targets a single player and is restricted to creatures. Not good enough.
• Patient RebuildingPatient Rebuilding: Yes it mills, but ever so slowly, and the card draw payout is all but guaranteed. There's better value to be found for .
• Infernal GraspInfernal Grasp: I really wanted to leave the interaction package intact, but I'm running out of ideas.

As foreseen, this was arduous. Nevertheless, I give you...

Phenax, God of Deception Commander Deck List

Additional Trim – A Look Into the Past

Fire up the time machine, we're heading back to February 2024, to take a critical look at Brion Stoutarm.

Well, it could be worse. There are six cards currently worth more than $1.10:

• Mob RuleMob Rule: $1.25
• Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid: $1.31
• Plargg and NassariPlargg and Nassari: $1.48
• Sejiri ShelterSejiri Shelter: $1.56
• Chandra's IncineratorChandra's Incinerator: $1.74
• SunforgerSunforger: $2.84 (!)

These six cards alone account for almost 25% of the total price of this deck. Let's find some suitable replacements:

• Captivating CrewCaptivating Crew: While it won't make up for Mob RuleMob Rule, it will still be able to consistently steal the best creature on the board.
• Hofri GhostforgeHofri Ghostforge: Steal the best creature on the board, sacrifice it, and then make a copy of it for you to keep? Yes Please!
• Gratuitous ViolenceGratuitous Violence: More damage. Moooooooooooore!!!
• Serra AvatarSerra Avatar: Granted, it's expensive. But it will also be a boon in the late-game.
• Commander's SphereCommander's Sphere: Not quite as good as the Knight.
• Furycalm SnarlFurycalm Snarl: Not as good as the Shelter, but what can you do.

You can find the updated list here.

Conclusion

Aaaah, the good old feeling of struggle, when brain almost catches on fire trying to find which among those last cards to cut. Can't say I missed it. Feels like my brain was milled.

How about you? Are you used to emptying libraries? How does the table deal with it? Any success with Phenax?

Let me know in the comments below, and I'll see you in two weeks!