Phenax, God of Deception
$12.28
Legendary Enchantment Creature — God

Dimir mill that turns every creature into a tap ability milling cards equal to its toughness, aiming to deck the table.
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Phenax is indestructible and stays a noncreature enchantment until your devotion to blue and black reaches seven. Its main effect works right away: creatures you control gain "{T}: Target player mills X cards, where X is this creature's toughness." Walls and other high-toughness creatures become mill engines, so a 0/8 mills eight cards a turn. The deck adds landfall mill, draw-trigger mill and counterspells, and wins by emptying libraries.
In the recorded games, Ruin Crab and Hedron Crab put on early mill pressure, and Bruvac the Grandiloquent doubled every mill effect. Sphinx's Tutelage, Mindcrank and Psychic Corrosion added up quickly when paired. Ashiok, Dream Render and Thief of Sanity added control, and Memory Lapse or Swan Song slowed down faster decks. Cabal Coffers powered the bigger spells. The plan is slow, which was its main weakness. Large trampling attackers got through the walls, and decks that tapped out on their own turn left little room to interact. Instant-speed removal on key creatures also stalled the mill clock. In 1v1 games, with just one library to empty, the deck looked much stronger.
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Videos
Commander gameplay videos featuring Phenax, God of Deception.
100% Burn vs. 100% Mill vs. 100% Lifegain vs. 100% Looting | Commander Clash
MTG Commander Bracket 4 Gameplay! | Phenax | Neheb | The First Sliver | Tifa | MTG EDH Matchup
Born of the Gods Box Brawl
Commander, but Damage is Banned
$50 Budget Commander - EDH Gameplay Ep 113
We Always Wanted To Build These Commanders | Midnight Mana Episode 10
Trapped In Commander Purgatory | Meaty Magic
Bilbo vs Phenax vs Go-Shintai vs Caesar | EDH Gameplay | Smooth Brain EDH
Phenax VS Kotis 1v1 EDH/CMDR Gameplay
MAMTG cEDH S5 E22 | ITS STORM FORCE OF NATURE TIME! | ft @ComedIanMTG
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New Cards
Fresh cards from recent sets that players are experimenting with in Phenax, God of Deception decks.
High Synergy Cards
Cards that work exceptionally well with Phenax, God of Deception's abilities and overall game plan.
Consuming Aberration
Ruin Crab
Tree of Perdition
Maddening Cacophony
Mindcrank
Wight of Precinct Six
Duskmantle Guildmage
Fractured SanityTop Cards
The most popular and reliable cards that form the backbone of successful Phenax, God of Deception decks.
Consuming Aberration
Ruin Crab
Tree of Perdition
Maddening Cacophony
Mindcrank
Fractured Sanity
Drown in the Loch
CounterspellGame Changers
Powerful cards that can single-handedly turn the tide of a game when resolved.
Rhystic Study
Cyclonic Rift
Consecrated Sphinx
Notion Thief
Demonic Tutor
Mystical Tutor
Ancient Tomb
Vampiric Tutor
Force of Will
Fierce GuardianshipCreatures
Essential creatures that complement Phenax, God of Deception's strategy through synergy, utility, or raw power.
Wight of Precinct Six
Duskmantle Guildmage
Cruel Somnophage
Nighthowler
Mortivore
Hedron Crab
Fleet Swallower
Silent Arbiter
Sire of Stagnation
Sewer Nemesis
Nemesis of Reason
Terisian Mindbreaker
Wall of Lost Thoughts
Jace's Phantasm
Manic Scribe
Fog Bank
Undead Alchemist
Aegis Turtle
Crashing Drawbridge
Deepmuck Desperado
Riddlekeeper
Guiltfeeder
Soulless Jailer
Dreamborn Muse
Unhallowed Phalanx
Avatar of Woe
Merfolk Secretkeeper
Doomsday Excruciator
Drift of Phantasms
Disciple of Deceit
Mirelurk Queen
Jace's Archivist
Dimir Doppelganger
Exhibition Tidecaller
Consecrated Sphinx
Notion Thief
Dauthi Voidwalker
Baleful StrixInstants
Key instant-speed responses for protection, removal, and keeping Phenax, God of Deception safe.
Visions of Beyond
Dramatic Reversal
Didn't Say Please
Thought Collapse
Psychic Strike
Archive Trap
Grisly Spectacle
Crypt Incursion
Into the Story
Drown in Dreams
Thought Scour
Kitsune's Technique
Psychic Spiral
Cyclonic Rift
Perplex
Aetherize
Memory Plunder
Muddle the Mixture
Doom Blade
Mana Drain
Mystical Tutor
Murder
Vampiric Tutor
Force of Will
Rapid Hybridization
Fact or Fiction
Waterlogged Teachings
Force of Negation
Pongify
Negate
Reality Shift
Fierce Guardianship
Swan Song
Arcane Denial
Brainstorm
Withering Torment
Go for the Throat
Fell the Profane
Sink into Stupor
Infernal Grasp
Deadly Rollick
Dark Ritual
An Offer You Can't Refuse
Frantic SearchSorceries
Important sorcery spells that advance Phenax, God of Deception's game plan and control the board.
Traumatize
Mind Grind
Singularity Rupture
Tasha's Hideous Laughter
Glimpse the Unthinkable
Cut Your Losses
Mind Funeral
Windfall
Rise of the Dark Realms
Breach the Multiverse
Pilfered Plans
Extract from Darkness
Increasing Confusion
Damnation
Mind Sculpt
Whispering Madness
Diabolic Tutor
Startled Awake
Nuclear Fallout
Tome Scour
Scheming Symmetry
Grim Tutor
Demonic Tutor
Treasure Cruise
Read the Bones
Sign in Blood
Toxic Deluge
Night's Whisper
Preordain
Reanimate
Ponder
Feed the SwarmUtility Artifacts
Versatile artifacts that provide ongoing value, card selection, or strategic advantages.
The Water Crystal
Thousand-Year Elixir
Mesmeric Orb
Bonehoard
Riverchurn Monument
Altar of the Brood
Keening Stone
Grindstone
Profane Memento
Realmbreaker, the Invasion Tree
Sting, the Glinting Dagger
Folio of Fancies
Illusionist's Bracers
Isochron Scepter
Tormod's Crypt
Altar of Dementia
Nihil Spellbomb
Sapphire Medallion
Lightning Greaves
Wayfarer's Bauble
Jet Medallion
Swiftfoot BootsEnchantments
Powerful enchantments that support Phenax, God of Deception's strategy and create lasting battlefield effects.
Fraying Sanity
Psychic Corrosion
Memory Erosion
Sphinx's Tutelage
Unstoppable Plan
Propaganda
Court of Cunning
Intruder Alarm
Bloodchief Ascension
Freed from the Real
Teferi's Tutelage
Pemmin's Aura
Patient Rebuilding
Phyrexian Arena
Rhystic Study
Drowned Secrets
Leyline of the Void
No Mercy
Jace's Erasure
Mystic Remora
Animate Dead
Black Market ConnectionsPlaneswalkers
Planeswalkers that work alongside Phenax, God of Deception to provide ongoing value and board presence.
Jace, Memory Adept
Ashiok, Dream Render
Jace, the Perfected Mind
Jace Beleren
Jace, Wielder of MysteriesUtility Lands
Non-basic lands that offer additional utility beyond just mana production.
Nephalia Drownyard
Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital
Minamo, School at Water's Edge
Restless Reef
Scavenger Grounds
Bojuka Bog
Duskmantle, House of Shadow
Mystic Sanctuary
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Temple of the False God
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Mortuary Mire
Halimar Depths
Reliquary Tower
Ancient Tomb
Cabal Coffers
Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
Creeping Tar Pit
Otawara, Soaring City
Rogue's PassageMana Artifacts
Artifacts focused on mana acceleration and color fixing for consistent gameplay.
Altar of the Pantheon
Commander's Sphere
Dimir Locket
Dimir Cluestone
Midnight Clock
Dimir Signet
Sol Ring
Mind Stone
Thran Dynamo
Sky Diamond
Charcoal Diamond
Arcane Signet
Thought Vessel
Fellwar Stone
Talisman of DominanceLands
The mana base foundation for Phenax, God of Deception decks, ensuring smooth and reliable mana development.
Evolving Wilds
Dismal Backwater
Dimir Aqueduct
Dimir Guildgate
Terramorphic Expanse
Drowned Catacomb
Jwar Isle Refuge
Temple of Deceit
Reflecting Pool
Submerged Boneyard
Sunken Ruins
Watery Grave
Shipwreck Marsh
Fabled Passage
Clearwater Pathway
Ice Tunnel
Darkslick Shores
Fetid Pools
Prismatic Vista
Contaminated Aquifer
Gloomlake Verge
Polluted Delta
Island
Swamp
Underground Sea
Darkwater Catacombs
Morphic Pool
Boggart Trawler
River of Tears
Hidden Lair
Myriad Landscape
Scalding Tarn
Sunken Hollow
Misty Rainforest
Hydroelectric Specimen
Bloodstained Mire
Flooded Strand
Waterlogged Teachings
Choked Estuary
Command Tower
Underground River
Undercity Sewers
Tainted Isle
Fell the Profane
Sink into Stupor
Exotic Orchard
Path of AncestryPhenax, God of Deception Deck Stats
Based on 9,309 Phenax, God of Deception decks.
| Mana value | Cards |
|---|---|
| 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 19 |
| 3 | 17 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 5 | 6 |
| 6 | 2 |
| 7 | 1 |
| 8 | 1 |
- Creature 25
- Instant 11
- Sorcery 10
- Artifact 11
- Enchantment 6
- Planeswalker 1
- Land 35
| Card type | Cards |
|---|---|
| Creature | 25 |
| Instant | 11 |
| Sorcery | 10 |
| Artifact | 11 |
| Enchantment | 6 |
| Planeswalker | 1 |
| Land | 35 |
Lands: 20 basic, 15 nonbasic
| Month | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2024-10 | 315 |
| 2024-11 | 268 |
| 2024-12 | 226 |
| 2025-01 | 224 |
| 2025-02 | 277 |
| 2025-03 | 222 |
| 2025-04 | 312 |
| 2025-05 | 254 |
| 2025-06 | 287 |
| 2025-07 | 216 |
| 2025-08 | 240 |
| 2025-09 | 275 |
| 2025-10 | 298 |
| 2025-11 | 185 |
| 2025-12 | 278 |
| 2026-01 | 234 |
| 2026-02 | 246 |
| 2026-03 | 280 |
| 2026-04 | 309 |
| 2026-05 | 310 |
| 2026-06 | 319 |
| 2026-07 | 336 |
| 2026-08 | 304 |
| 2026-09 | 259 |
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