Explore strategic identity, card composition, and version history for each Battle Deck.
Sphinx Control
There are none so clever as the renowned Sphinxes of Uthuun. Their destructive power and century spanning machinations are the stuff of legend.
Sphinx Control is a Blue/Black control deck that counters or kills all of the opponent’s creatures and draws cards until it can play a big Sphinx to finish off the game.
A Blue-Black control deck that uses removal, and card advantage to answer every threat, grinding down opponents before deploying powerful finishers.
Signature Cards
Keywords
FlyingKicker
Game Plan
Early Game
Turns 1-2
Prioritize hitting land drops and hold up interaction. Answer the most threatening plays rather than developing proactively.
Mid Game
Turns 3-4
Start transitioning from pure reaction to building card advantage. Identify your path to a win condition while keeping answers open.
Late Game
Turn 5+
Deploy Sandstone Oracle and Sphinx of Uthuun when the opponent's resources are exhausted. Keep interaction mana open even when winning — never tap out unnecessarily.
Deck Play Profile
Derived from automated card-by-card analysis across all known versions. The Capability Profile shows how the deck measures up across six functional dimensions — pressure, interaction, card advantage, and more. The Play Style hexagon uses the same data to place the deck on the aggro–control–combo–midrange spectrum.
Capability Profile
Play Style
Deck average (all versions)
Strengths & Weaknesses
Answer-heavy gameplan that adapts to any threat type
Late-game card advantage overwhelms opponents who run out of threats
Slow to establish a win condition against very aggressive starts
Tight sequencing requirements mean misplays are punishing
