Though arguably among the weaker of the Theros gods (looking at you, Pharika!), Ephara, God of the Polis is my favorite commander deck I have ever played. As a general, she is more subtle and versatile than the other popular generals, such as Brago, King Eternal or Grand Arbiter Augustin IV. She can (and has) gone many ways; in the past, this list has been useless jank (not a recommended build style), purely tokens, blink value, hatebears, and this current iteration, an amalgamation of many playstyles, forming a solid Azorius control shell. I consider this list to be solidly 75% power-wise, and don't think that Ephara is conducive to much more competitive play than that. If you are looking for an Azorius cEDH deck, look at more objectively powerful generals, such as those listed above. One small disclaimer: this deck doesn't exactly make friends. It is a blast to play, but some of what it does can be considered unpleasant, and games might go on for a while, while you try to assemble a wincon after locking people down through a series of soft-locks.


Other Generals For This Style:
Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage: Probably the other best general for this style of play. If you want to run a more artifact heavy build, or run more legendaries, or both, consider him as either a part of the 99 or a general (with Ephara in the 99, of course!)

Brago, King Eternal: Oh boy. Brago is the man; I should run him here, but he reminds me of how pale Ephara is in comparison. He lends himself to a slightly less traditional control deck, preferring to play more on his turn, not necessarily leaning as heavily on countermagic. Solid general, not quite what I want to end up doing with this deck.

Dragonlord Ojutai: Before Raff, the best alternative general. He does tend to lean towards the more aggressive side of the spectrum, playing as a voltron-control build. Again, solid general, and could possibly find a home here.

Gameplan:
Early Game: In this stage (turns 1-4), you are looking to get your general out as early as possible. Ideally, you have her down by turn 3, and the start of an engine. Most of what your opponents are doing is irrelevant, and will be dealt with by sweepers later on.

Mid Game: Here (turns 5-10), you start controlling the board a bit more heavily; you will have an engine online, and enough mana to leave up responses. With an aggressive start, you might be able to knock out an opponent through combat damage. Depending on how effective you are at ramping, Approach of the Second Sun can pull off a win at this stage. Wiping the board shouldn't be a priority, but problems should be dealt with with your discretion.

End Game: At this point (turns 11-?), winning is your main priority. Your creatures are largely outmatched, but having an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, along with a small army of pegasi is highly effective. Sweepers ought to hurt less, as you have drawn enough cards to rebuild. Approach of the Second Sun should be within reach, and ideally, you will have counterspell back-up.

Engines/Wincons:
Approach of the Second Sun
Recruiter of the Guard + Trophy Mage + Cloudstone Curio + Another creature to bounce Recruiter
Recruiter of the Guard + Stoneforge Mystic + any equipment
Recruiter of the Guard + Spellseeker + 2 cmc or less spell (Cyclonic Rift, Muddle the Mixture, etc)
Recruiter of the Guard + Whitemane Lion/Venser, Shaper Savant bouncing the recruiter to start off other loops (ideally curio loop)
Deadeye Navigator + Venser, Shaper Savant
Recruiter of the Guard/Deadeye Navigator + almost anything
Sacred Mesa/Heliod, God of the Sun/Elspeth, Sun's Champion + Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
AEtherling
Talrand, Sky Summoner/Monastery Mentor + spells

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91% Casual

Competitive

Date added 6 years
Last updated 2 years
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

9 - 0 Mythic Rares

45 - 0 Rares

14 - 0 Uncommons

11 - 0 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.30
Tokens Angel 4/4 W, Angel Warrior 4/4 W, Bird 1/1 W, Cat Soldier 1/1 W, Copy Clone, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Human 1/1 W, Manifest 2/2 C, Monk 1/1 W, Pegasus 1/1 W, Soldier 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 W, Tentacle 1/1 U, Wolf 2/2 G, Zombie 2/2 B
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