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The Ur-Sphinx
Legendary Creature — Sphinx Avatar
Eminence — As long as The Ur-Sphinx is in the command zone or on the battlefield, other Sphinx spells you cast cost {1} less to cast. Flying Whenever one or more Sphinxes you control attack, each player mills that many cards. For each player, you may cast a card that player milled this way without paying its mana cost.
10 / 10
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“Flying Sphinx army mills opponents and cheats their best cards onto the battlefield.”
Aggro
Intermediate
Combat damage, Commander damage
Tokens, Spellslinger
Strategy
The Ur-Sphinx is a flying powerhouse that rewards you for attacking with Sphinxes by milling opponents and letting you cast their best cards for free. The eminence ability makes all your other Sphinxes cheaper, so you're ramping into a flying army while fueling your graveyard mill engine. Once you're attacking with multiple Sphinxes, you're essentially playing opponent's cards at no mana cost—turning their deck into your resources. This creates a dual gameplan: build a evasive Sphinx swarm that pressures life totals while you steal their threats, combo pieces, and bombs straight from their libraries.
Your win condition is usually combat damage from a growing aerial force, but the free casting effect means you can pivot into finishers other players milled (think Craterclaw Colossus giving your whole team trample, or Return to the Light Realms bringing back a board). The strategy is forgiving but rewarding: attack with Sphinxes, mill cards, play the best ones, repeat. Card draw from the free casting and Sphinx's Approach creates a virtuous cycle that refuels your hand and grows your air force.
Strategy generated by Tapped Decks AI. Not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.
Key Synergies
Budget Build
Skip expensive Sphinxes like Consecrated Sphinx; lean into cheaper fliers like Sphinx of False Conclusions and Theorist's Proxy, then ramp with basic mana dorks (Llanowar Elves, Sailor of Means) instead of tutors.
Signature Cards
- 1Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign
- 2Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign
- 3Magister Sphinx
- 4Medomai the Ageless
- 5Defiler of Dreams
Inclusion = % of The Ur-Sphinx decks running this card. +lift = percentage-point boost over the format average.
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Art Variants
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