Athreos, Enchantress

Commander / EDH Competitive Cruel Control Enchantment Primer Theme/Gimmick WB (Orzhov)

jstroud08

Enchantments (42)

• 1x Attrition
• 1x Aura of Silence
• 1x Bitterblossom
• 1x Black Market
• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Concerted Effort
• 1x Contamination
• 1x Debtors' Knell
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Grasp of Fate
• 1x Grave Betrayal
• 1x Greater Auramancy
• 1x Humility
• 1x Karmic Justice
• 1x Koskun Falls
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Luminarch Ascension
• 1x Moat
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Nether Void
• 1x Night of Souls' Betrayal
• 1x No Mercy
• 1x Painful Quandary
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Polluted Bonds
• 1x Quarantine Field
• 1x Rest in Peace
• 1x Rule of Law
• 1x Sanguine Bond
• 1x Solitary Confinement
• 1x Sphere of Safety
• 1x Starfield of Nyx
• 1x Stony Silence
• 1x Suppression Field
• 1x Tainted AEther
• 1x The Abyss
• 1x Underworld Dreams
• 1x Words of Waste
• 1x Worship
• 1x Wound Reflection

Land (35)

• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Concealed Courtyard
• 1x Eiganjo Castle
• 1x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 1x Flagstones of Trokair
• 1x Ghost Quarter
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Leechridden Swamp
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 6x Plains
• 1x Scrubland
• 1x Serra's Sanctum
• 1x Shambling Vent
• 1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 5x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Tectonic Edge
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Creatures (3)

• 1x Academy Rector
• 1x Fountain Watch
• 1x Grand Abolisher

EnchantmentCreatures (3)

• 1x Erebos, God of the Dead
• 1x Fate Unraveler
• 1x Heliod, God of the Sun

Commander (1)

BoardWipes (5)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Cataclysm
• 1x Extinguish All Hope
• 1x Merciless Eviction
• 1x Winds of Rath

WinCons (5)

• 1x Enduring Ideal
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Luminarch Ascension
• 1x Sanguine Bond
• 1x Starfield of Nyx

Auras (4)

• 1x Eldrazi Conscription
• 1x Gift of Immortality
• 1x Indestructibility
• 1x Spectra Ward

Tutors (4)

• 1x Academy Rector
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Idyllic Tutor

Protection (3)

• 1x Open the Vaults
• 1x Replenish
• 1x Second Sunrise

---

Athreos, Enchantress

The idea behind this deck is to have every card some variation of the word "enchant" on the card. The only card in the deck without the word "enchant" is Demonic Tutor which is included to help set up combos.It started as an Athreos Constellation deck with most all the enchantment creatures from the Theros block, and was slow, but good in the late game. It still had many non-enchantment cards that were just good-stuff cards. I slowly kept adding enchantments, and eventually decided to begin removing all cards without the word enchant somewhere on them. Over time it has become the deck that I have put the most effort and money into, and finally believe that it is cohesive and complete enough to begin a primer/explanation of the deck.

COMMANDER

This one I am still debating; my experience and gut says to go with Athreos, God of Passage because having a 5/4 commander with her ability is super strong, but part of me thinks that Daxos the Returned would be better, if I can consistently get 3 or more experience counters. Athreos' creature recursion is great because I have no other way to return creatures from my graveyard, and the life loss is even better with cards such as Exquisite Blood and Wound Reflection. Daxos has the ability to be an excellent late-game closer, but only if I am able to gain enough experience counters, which shouldn't be hard in this deck. Daxos tends to draw hate once opponents know that I am playing enchantments only. I am playtesting Daxos now, but am keeping Athreos as the commander for the purposes of this article until I can more fully explore Daxos' potential.

WINCONS

• Enduring Ideal is probably the most powerful card in this deck, as it gives me access to almost half my deck, and the cards aren't counterable once Enduring Ideal resolves. Fate Unraveler then Exquisite Blood followed by Sanguine Bond will kill everyone at the next opponent's draw step. I'll mention this card several times below and expand on its usefulness.
• Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond This is the quickest win condition in the deck, and once the two spells resolve it effectively ends the game with the next damage to an opponent or life I gain. This combo is essential to winning beating other combo decks or when an immediate win condition is required.
• Luminarch Ascension This allows me to generate a huge token army of 4/4 flyers for a fairly small mana cost. This can be activated even while EPIC is active.
• Starfield of Nyx This card turns all of my non-creature enchantments into big-bodied creatures that can usually attack as soon as Starfield is on the battlefield. This can often create enough creatures to swing for the kill if an opponent isn't expecting my enchantments to become so many creatures.

TUTORS

• Enlightened Tutor Enchantment targeted tutor spell.
• Idyllic Tutor lets me choose from about half my deck and pick a card into my hand.
• Demonic Tutor can find Enduring Ideal which tends to be game-ending if it resolves.
• Academy Rector is a tutor that puts the card onto the battlefield instead of my hand

BOARD WIPES

• Cataclysm replaced Tragic Arrogance because of its land destruction ability. With the boatloads of mana produced by Serra's Sanctum it is possible to cast Cataclysm followed by Enduring Ideal , allowing me to play high mana spells while everyone else is stuck with around 1 available mana.
• Extinguish All Hope is the best boardwipe for this deck, as all but 5 of my creatures are enchantment creatures.
• Winds of Rath is similar to Extinguish All Hope, and with my many Bestow cards in the deck and a couple of Auras, it is likely that I will end up with the better board position post-wipe. It can be troublesome against Voltron decks though.
• Merciless Eviction Great Wrath card, but expensive casting cost. Takes care of pesky indestructible creatures such as Gods though.
• Austere Command Gives me options, which is nice.

GRAVEYARD RETURNS

• Replenish is the best recursion card for this deck, as it will return almost all my nonland permanents from my graveyard TO THE BATTLEFIELD, but it also doesn't do the same for my opponents.
• Open the Vaults is slightly worse than Replenish, but I still usually end up with more permanents returned than my opponents. It can be bad against any artifact heavy deck though.

INSTANT SPEED PROTECTION

• Second Sunrise Excellent after a boardwipe, but not useful against exile. Downside is that opponents get their permanents back also.

NON-ENCHANTMENT CREATURES

• Academy Rector Searches my library for an enchantment AND puts it onto the battlefield.
• Fountain Watch Gives my Enchantments shroud and if it has an aura attached and Greater Auramancy on the field, it is shrouded itself, along with Auramancy
• Grand Abolisher This protects my enchantments from being countered, and allows me to get the Blood+Bond combo out easier.

ENCHANTMENT CREATURES

• Erebos, God of the Dead Card draw engine, plus it absolutely decimates Oloro, The Ageless Ascetic decks and any other lifegain deck.
• Fate Unraveler This enables Enduring Ideal to search out a winning combo, plus it is a constant source of damage to all opponents.
• Heliod, God of the Sun Token engine, plus gives my creatures vigilance

AURA ENCHANTMENTS

• Indestructibility My favorite use for this card is to put it on Greater Auramancy.
• Gift of Immortality Turns any of my creatures into repeatable sac engines.
• Spectra Ward This one is amazing with Concerted Effort on the field, will give all my creatures protection from all colors. Also great alone with Fountain Watch .
• Eldrazi Conscription This card wins games.

GLOBAL ENCHANTMENTS

• Blind Obedience Slows down my opponents, and Extort gives me an extra mana outlet.
• Greater Auramancy Protects my board and can combo with Fountain Watch or Indestructability or Concerted Effort + Spectra Ward to make it very hard to tamper with my board state.
• Luminarch Ascension A new addition, but the Quest Counters shouldn't be hard to acquire, and once it is active, it is an exceptional token engine and mana outlet, especially since it can be used multiple times per turn.
• Quarantine Field A better Oblivion Ring, good at dealing with pesky permanents.
• Rest in Peace This card frustrates my opponents more than any other, its downside being that it can be detrimental to me if I need to use Replenish or any other of the graveyard return spells. I tend to only cast it once my permanents have protection, shroud, or indestructible, or if I am playing any deck with heavy graveyard action.
• Aura of Silence Especially effective against voltron and artifact decks, always happy to draw this card.
• Ghostly Prison Helps me stay safe within my pillowfort, and encourages my opponents to fight among themselves.
• Grasp of Fate A strictly better Oblivion Ring that is invaluable in multi-player games.
• Karmic Justice Discourages opponents from destroying any of my enchantments or lands.
• Necropotence Allows me to find pieces to any combo I am trying to set up, or find me Enduring Ideal .
• Polluted Bonds Lifegain, and a tax on land ramp decks. Seems to be a good constant drain on the opponents.
• Phyrexian Arena Card draw engine, not as powerful as Necropotence, but still effective.
• Attrition Much better than Seal of Doom , which was in this slot previously. Also provides a sac outlet to get added value from Dictate of Erebos.
• Underworld Dreams Very effective against opponents with heavy card draw advantage, especially blue decks.
• Concerted Effort This one is amazingly powerful if I have Spectra Ward on the battlefield, still effective otherwise.
• Worship Prevents me from dying to combo kills, and hard to deal with for most combo decks, especially with Indestructibility or Greater Auramancy.
• Black Market Mana ramp in black.
• Dictate of Erebos Discourages opponents from targeting my creatures. When used with Attrition as a sac outlet, it causes my opponents to have to sacrifice their own creatures, while I can just sack tokens generated with Luminarch Ascension or Heliod, God of the Sun.
• Exquisite Blood Helps me stay strong in the late game while my opponents attack each other. Also part of the Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond game ending combo.
• Painful Quandary This card draws a lot of hate from my opponents, while not being vital to my play at all. Great at goading opponents into wasting an enchantment kill spell on this, and if it is not destroyed, it can quickly end games.
• Sanguine Bond Part of the Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond combo, also effective on its own.
• Starfield of Nyx Turns all my Global Enchantments into Creatures, giving me a quick way to end a game, especially if I am down to just one opponent. I can usually swing for 20+ damage the turn it comes into play. Plus it returns my enchantments from the graveyard to the battlefield.
• Wound Reflection This one ends games quicker than any of my other non-combo cards. Downright Deadly.
• Debtors' Knell The only time I am upset to draw this card is when I have Rest in Peace out. Otherwise it can be incredibly powerful, bringing back cards like Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger . Opponents usually try to deal with this card as soon as it is cast.
• Grave Betrayal Again, this one loses its efficacy when Rest in Peace is on the battlefield, but otherwise it is a great card I am usually happy to draw.
• Nether Void This card is amazing after resolving Enduring Ideal and will likely be the first card I search for every time.
• The Abyss Since I am not running many creatures, and my commander is Indestructible, this one generally won't affect me as much as opponents.
• Sphere of Safety in theory this should function better than either Ghostly Prison or Koskun Falls, but the cost seems on the high side, making it a better target for an Enduring Ideal search than it is during the early game.
• Suppression Field I only have a handful of activated abilities in the entire deck, and this should prove especially useful to thwart combo decks.
• Koskun Falls Another shield to help protect me from token armies and creature damage.
• No Mercy Yet another deterrent to make people think twice before attacking me. Any creatures that make it through Ghostly Prison and the like will die to this.
• Land Tax Land ramp source, also helps thin my deck in the late game.
• Contamination Land hatred is always powerful, and although I do run more white spells than black and have no artifact sources of white mana, I want to try this out and see how powerful it can be.
• Bitterblossom Gives me a creature to sacrifice to Contamination.
• Humility This will make lots of fun times for judges with Starfield of Nyx, also good way to hate out powerful commander creature abilities.
• Rule of Law Replaces Eidolon of Rhetoric, doesn't die to creature wipes or Humility
• Tainted AEther MORE creature hate! MORE land hate!
• Night of Souls' Betrayal This combos with Humility for a permanent wrath effect.
• Words of Waste After casting Enduring Ideal , if one piece of the Blood+Bond combo has been exiled, I can shut out my opponents out of the game with this.
• Stony Silence This prevents many many combos from happening, without affecting me at all.
• Solitary Confinement I can use Necropotence or Phyrexian Arena to "draw" cards to discard, and this is one of the best protection pieces in the game.
• Moat The most expensive card I own.

NON-BASIC LANDS

• Bojuka Bog Good Graveyard hate
• Leechridden Swamp can help trigger the Blood and Bond combo.
• Command Beacon Lets me bypass the additional cost of re-casting my commander.
• Emeria, The Sky Ruin Creature recursion, usually used for Fountain Watch
• Serra's Sanctum Usually produces stupid large amounts of mana in this deck.
• Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth A strictly better Swamp
• Shizo, Death's Storehouse Another strictly better swamp, this one can give my creatures fear.
• Shambling Vent A dual color Man-Land, can be useful after a board wipe.
• Eiganjo Castle Great protection for my commander.
• Flagstones of Trokair A nonbasic Plains that replenishes itself after mass land destruction.
• Orzhov Basilica Dual color mana-ramp land.
• Ghost Quarter Can help take care of pesky lands like Maze of Ith and Cabal Coffers
• Tectonic Edge Same as above
• Fetid Heath Untapped dual color land
• Command Tower Untapped dual color land
• Isolated Chapel Untapped dual color land
• Caves of Koilos Untapped dual color land
• Tainted Field Untapped dual color land
• Concealed Courtyard Untapped dual color land
• Mistveil Plains Allows me to tutor for a card that has made its way into my graveyard.
• Scrubland Both a Swamp AND a Plains
• Godless Shrine Scrubland, but with a 2 life cost
• Marsh Flats Fetches either one of my basics, and thins the deck
• Myriad Landscape Fetches two basics, and thins the deck

Well there it is in all its glory. Please upvote here: +1 UPVOTE

Although I think this deck is fully built, I have included some cards in the acquireboard which I own but have not tried in this deck. I may experiment with these at some point, please feel free to make any suggestions about additions to the acquireboard.

ACQUIREBOARD Show

• Circle of Despair Another sac outlet, possible replacement for Righteous Aura , but not quite as effective. If I attain the card I will playtest it, but it has a low possibility of being added.
• Golden Wish Some playgroups allow sideboards and wish cards, this one fits my deck.
• Hedonist's Trove Seems like a good tutorable source of graveyard hate, without needing to lock myself out with Rest in Peace.
• Nevermore Seems like a good answer for troublesome commanders, might toy around with it.
• Night Dealings An enchantment based tutor engine, fits right into my theme, I may change out Diabolic Tutor for this one for flavor reasons.
• Subversion A win condition if I need to deal a damage during using Epic with Enduring Ideal and Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond .
• Suppression Field Looks like a good way to shut down several combos and I only run seven activated abilities in my deck, so it shouldn't hurt me much.
• Cabal Coffers Currently in my mono black commander deck, but when it combos with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, it can be an excellent mana generator.
• Urborg Not especially useful, but it is a strictly better Swamp, so I am leaving it here for consideration.

Date added	7 years
Last updated	6 years
Key combos	Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond Concerted Effort + Spectra Ward
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 63 - 0 Rares 13 - 0 Uncommons 3 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.88
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Enchantment Cleric 2/1 W, Faerie Rogue 1/1 B
Folders	EDH