Phyrexian Arena

Enchantment

At the beginning of your upkeep, you draw a card and you lose 1 life.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Casual	Legal
Custom	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal

Discussion (50)

DawnsRayofLight on Chainer, Dementia Master

1 day ago

As someone who has played Chainer for close to a decade, I have some suggestions I would like to offer. (though everyone's decks run differently!)

34-35 lands is usually enough. I would recommend 34 with Agadeem's Awakening  ^Flip that gives you 5 spots:

In those spots:

Mana Crypt

Thought Vessel

Charcoal Diamond

Coldsteel Heart

Jet Medallion

(Or all the expensive artifacts like Grim Monolith or what have you)

In place of:

1x Cast Down--> Lethal Scheme: This card is amazing in any reanimator list

1x Culling the Weak--> Phyrexian Altar: you need more sac outlets with some staying power

1x Dismember--> Soul Transfer: seems janky, but versatile

1x Doom Blade--> Baleful Mastery: you can hit more with it.

1x Go for the Throat--> Infernal Grasp

1x Power Word Kill--> Deadly Rollick/Altar of Dementia: for a better killspell or for a sac outlet

1x Sacrifice--> Ashnod's Altar: need more sac outlets with staying power

1x Terror--> Meteor Golem: This guy helps so much with things Black cannot remove

1x Victim of Night--> Karn Liberated: This guy helps so much with things Black cannot remove

Cruel Tutor--> Mikaeus, the Unhallowed: bonkers for some staying power, also has combo potential

Unmarked Grave--> Putrid Goblin: this or Walking Ballista are good for combos with Mikaeus. Putrid GOblin + Ashnod's Altar/Phyrexian Altar + Mikaeus = infinite mana (or sub ashnod's altar for mill).

Suggested Drops, see next list for suggested replacements

Blood Pet--> sort of an eh card, I might think of something with more oomph

Liliana, Heretical Healer  ^Flip--> I do like her, she just never did anything when I ran her.

Ruthless Technomancer: I have debated a lot adding him, in something like Korvold, he is an all-star, in chainer, he can be good, but I would almost always rather have Disciple of Bolas

Skirge Familiar: I get the reason it is in here, but there are better cards.

Black Market: It's nice, but can be too slow.

Liliana of the Dark Realms: I just have never been a big fan, she feels too lackluster.

Final Parting: good card, but I feel you can part with some tutor because you have MORE than enough

Sidisi, Undead Vizier: good card, but I feel you can part with some tutor because you have MORE than enough

Rune-Scarred Demon: good card, but I feel you can part with some tutor because you have MORE than enough, there also some stronger creatures to fit in the spot.

Suggestions

Archon of Cruelty: expensive mana wise but an all star.

Kokusho, the Evening Star: has been in my deck from the beginning and has flat out won me games.

Brainstealer Dragon: seems janky, but I added to just try it and it has been amazing.

Black Market Connections: You need more draw (also helps with ramp)

Phyrexian Arena: You need more draw

Bolas's Citadel: an amazing card. Wins games all the time.

Disciple of Bolas: card draw and life gain

Fell Stinger: card draw

Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed: Great for recursion

Reanimate, Liliana, Death's Majesty, Living Death. and Animate Dead: it is good to have other means of reanimation if Chainer keeps getting removed (I also suggest sac outlets to help keep your creatures from getting exiled when they spot remove Chainer)

Hope this helps! Here is my list to maybe show you how I run the list: The True Meaning of Death and Taxes

Housegheist on Teysa Karlov’s Double D's

2 days ago

Interresting cuts.

i found Phyrexian Arena pretty grindy. Maybe rethink about Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools? I have to admit, he cost 2 cmc more but... he is resilient as hell with his 2 relevant + abilities and a game-winning ultimate. And... he can't kill you by pinging yourself

KibaAlpha on Teysa Karlov’s Double D's

3 days ago

Out: Arena Rector and Stoneforge Mystic

In: Hallowed Spiritkeeper and Phyrexian Arena

stellarnear on NotSoHoly

5 days ago

Phyrexian Arena > Smuggler's Share
Skullclamp > Inspiring Overseer
Victimize > Folk Hero
Buried Alive > Archivist of Oghma
Damnation> Mother of Runes
Wrath of God > Giver of Runes
Marauding Blight-Priest> Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

Bojuka Bog>Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Plains> Secluded Courtyard

Cleansing Nova > OUT
Kaya's Wrath > OUT
Tragic Arrogance > OUT
Vanquish the Horde > OUT

Masterful on Necronomicon | Teysa Karlov | Primer

1 month ago

Foster_I_Am Just released the update, sorry for the lateness! I got caught up in school and work.

• Hidden Stockpile is slow for token generation, but it does a good impression of Bitterblossom. As a sac outlet, it's inefficient since you have to pay mana. The real strength of the card is that it does both. Personally, I like my token-makers as death-triggers, and my sac-outlets as cheap creatures or artifacts that grant me mana. It's not a bad card though, so play it if you like it!
• Tithe Taker: I'm more a fan of the mana utility provided by Carrier Thrall than the Grand Abolisher-lite effect from taker. If you find your playgroup constantly disrupting you on your turn, it could be worth it.
• Bennie Bracks, Zoologist: He's great at 1-mana, but I think our current draw suite is stronger with a higher ceiling than 1-card per turn. And while we have token makers in the deck, we're not all in on a token strategy, so other decks have more to gain from his effect than we do.

Let me know what you think of the update and thanks for the suggestions!

kirbysan Black Market Connections is a super interesting card. It's definitely better than Phyrexian Arena which is its closest comparison at the moment. The versatility is strong since we can generate fodder, mana, or cards whenever we're lacking them. Making all 3 is a crazy strong option that can pull us ahead in the early game for 6-life per turn, which isn't the most when we have lots of lifegain potential in the deck. I'm pretty enthusiastic about this card right now, but I'm gonna sit on it for a bit until my next update when the full Baldur's Gate commander lists are released. Thanks for the suggestion!

Triton on Self Mill Reanimator Shenanigans

1 month ago

Love the deck! It's refreshing seeing a Kess deck that isn't just a sweaty spell slinger deck! :p

I got a couple really cool suggestions for you as well!

Tortured Existence: I absolutely love this card in my Mimeo deck, and I think your deck can abuse it even more!

Anje Falkenrath: Very good card in a Madness-heavy deck

Monastery Siege: Both modes are super useful, but I'd imagine you'd want the Phyrexian Arena effect more often than not

Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur: If you wanna be mean hehehe

The cheap reanimation spell package: Animate Dead, Dance of the Dead, Reanimate, and Necromancy. They're quite spendy nowadays, but oh-so-good

I noticed that there aren't many mana rocks, I'd definitely recommend the 2-CMC Talismans and Signets if you need them!

Coward_Token on Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's …

1 month ago

Black Market Connections: decent upgrade over Phyrexian Arena in life gain decks; drawing a card and making a Treasure for 3 life ain't bad. Note you're forced to pick at least one mode

Guerric on [Primer] Helming the Host of Heaven: A Giada Guide

1 month ago

Gameplay Report, Analysis, and Thoughts on the Deck- May 25, 2022

I got in a couple of games last night, the first being 1v1 and the second a four player game. I won't go into tedious detail about all of them, but neither were wins, though in both the deck performed well, and I would have one the second if I hadn't made a mistake. Always, always kill the combo player first! I should know that better than anyone with all of the nasty combo decks I've built. I have some relevant observations on cards and mechanics that should help players of the deck.

The first is to not underrate vigilance, which a turn three Thraben Watcher gave to me for the whole of the second game. Some players have rated it as a junk ability, but it's strong when you give it to everyone, and we have several cards that do that. Even before Angelic Skirmisher got me to over 100 life in the second game I was pretty unattackable throughout because of my angelic attacker/defenders.

I also got to play Eye of Vecna for the first time and thought it was great. It immediately replaces itself, and you always have the option to pay the {2} to draw the card since it comes right after untap. It sort of becomes like a Phyrexian Arena that we pay for with mana instead of life loss, which we'll take because we are in white. In the first game I had the mother of all draw cards in Well of Lost Dreams in my hand, but I could never find the free mana to cast it because I was under a clock to put my opponent away. I still think Well is incredibly good, but it makes me nervous about Vanquisher's Banner and reminds me of the importance of low cmc draw pieces.

I also did not like Secret Rendezvous, and will probably replace it with Rogue's Gloves before I play this again. This isn't because I am a detractor from Rendezvous generally, it a less aggressive deck it would be a good political card and welcome white draw piece. It is pretty hard to give cards to anyone in this deck where you will definitely be viewed as a threat. I'm surprised I haven't played Rogue's Gloves earlier. Once equipped it just gets us a free card every turn, and that's what we need. As good equipment becomes more and more relevant here, it makes me wonder if it might not be worth adding Steelshaper's Gift to the deck. At some point I am going to do a tutoring pass on the deck, and that card will be high on the list.

I've also pretty much planned for awhile to replace Eerie Interlude with Guardian of Faith. Interlude doesn't bring your counters back when you use it to save yourself from a boardwipe, whereas Guadian does, making it a superior card in that instance. Nonetheless, in this game I used Interlude to save my Angelic Skirmisher from targeted removal, which felt really good. As I continue to ponder this change it is helpful to remember that while interlude is worse in terms of board wipe protection it is better in terms of having utility to re-order counters if Giada is out, replay ETB creatures, or just protect from targeted removal.

In both games the engine set up well, I was a constant threat, and in the first game he only barely overcame me in the end with some lucky draws and really strong play sequencing. I was excited to play the deck against that friend, who is definitely the strongest player in my play group. As I plan further refining and revisions, I will definitely be prioritizing lowering the cmc of support pieces to two or three cmc as much as possible as I think that is key to success.