Cycling is a Lifestyle

Commander / EDH Control Cycling Jank Reanimator Tempo WUB (Esper) Zoo

Murrow

Land (36)

• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Ash Barrens
• 1x Barren Moor
• 1x Blasted Landscape
• 1x Brightclimb Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Clearwater Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crystal Vein
• 1x Detection Tower
• 1x Drifting Meadow
• 1x Fetid Pools
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Irrigated Farmland
• 4x Island
• 1x Lonely Sandbar
• 4x Plains
• 1x Polluted Mire
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Remote Isle
• 1x Secluded Steppe
• 4x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Tainted Isle
• 1x Underground River
• 1x Watery Grave

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Akroma's Vengeance
• 1x Approach of the Second Sun
• 1x Decree of Pain
• 1x Migratory Route
• 1x Paradigm Shift
• 1x Peer into the Abyss
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Rise of the Dark Realms

Creature (20)

• 1x Angel of the God-Pharaoh
• 1x Angel of the Ruins
• 1x Archfiend of Ifnir
• 1x Cloud of Faeries
• 1x Consecrated Sphinx
• 1x Curator of Mysteries
• 1x Eternal Dragon
• 1x Forgotten Creation
• 1x Magister Sphinx
• 1x Marauding Blight-Priest
• 1x Sakashima of a Thousand Faces
• 1x Scion of Darkness
• 1x Shoreline Ranger
• 1x Spark Double
• 1x Street Wraith
• 1x Striped Riverwinder
• 1x Timeless Dragon
• 1x Vile Manifestation
• 1x Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
• 1x Windcaller Aven

Instant (13)

• 1x Ancient Excavation
• 1x Angelsong
• 1x Clear
• 1x Countervailing Winds
• 1x Easy Prey
• 1x Expunge
• 1x Fierce Guardianship
• 1x Forsake the Worldly
• 1x Imaginary Threats
• 1x Necrologia
• 1x Neutralize
• 1x Radiant's Judgment
• 1x Swat

Commander (1)

Artifact (16)

• 1x Alhammarret's Archive
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Feldon's Cane
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Fluctuator
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Prismatic Lens
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Dominance
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Astral Drift
• 1x Astral Slide
• 1x Faith of the Devoted
• 1x Lay Claim
• 1x Ominous Seas
• 1x Teferi's Ageless Insight

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Maybeboard

Creature (3)

• 1x Bone Miser
• 1x Psychosis Crawler
• 1x Shabraz, the Skyshark  ^Flip

Instant (1)

• 1x Shadow of the Grave

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So I’ve had an unhealthy obsession with cycling for the last couple years now. Mainly because my favorite card has got to be Approach of the Second Sun. Idk why, it just is. Something about it speaks to something inside me and says. “You know the spell Harry.” It’s hard to argue with that.

Okay, anyway, so all that considered I’ve been looking for a cycling commander I could call mommy for a long time. Zur was alright with a wig on but just didn’t quite do it for me. I love Gavi so very much but she was more gimmicky to me then serious. Don’t get me wrong I absolutely love Gavi! She’ll always be my first cycling momma but I also really like winning once in a while and not just by luck haha.

So Queza the Cephalid goddess from the deep has come along and hogtied me with her beautiful simplicity! Draw, hurt, heal. Mwah just beautiful. Isn’t it? Anyway. Let me just address the elephant on the bed right here and now. If her effect hit all players it would be broken. Maybe it would be great for cedh but she’d be unplayable for someone like me who likes keeping his friends around. Honestly I like to play fair commanders so that everyone can enjoy playing together. Queza, in her current form, is perfection. Her trigger isn’t relegated to phases or turn order, just draw, hurt, heal. That gives us three things to build around! My only complaint is that she is a 4 cmc commander. Not horrible but I really feel like she could’ve just cost esper and would’ve been just fine.

Onward!

About the deck itself. In its current iteration I focus on multiplying the damage and card draw effects in various ways either through creatures like Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose or Marauding Blight-Priest. Through artifacts like Alhammarret's Archive and even through clone effects which are incredibly versatile. I don’t like putting all my eggs in one basket so there’s a heavy lean towards big, evasive cycling creatures that I can Reanimate or Rise of the Dark Realms later. Or just use Rise if I’m up against my buddies graveyard deck mwahahaha.

Naturally I have some protection in the form of counterspells. Gotta make it round the table and back again for some of my fun stuff. I also have graveyard reshuffling effects and one tech card I fell in love with in my early cycling days, Paradigm Shift, which I can see being super fun in tandem with Rise of the Dark Realms.

I’ve also included Magister Sphinx for a couple reasons. I’ll be able to blink it with Astral Slide and Astral Drift to hit multiple players in a turn. Bringing the tables collective health from 120 to 30 makes this deck a friggin monster! Plus I just love the shock and awe Magister Sphinx generates. Bam! You’re at 10 life sucka! Hahaha. Ehem…

I’ve gone lighter on cycling cards then I usually would but that’s because I needed to include some very important support cards to really take advantage of Queza, Augur of Agonies. The cycling cards I have included are chosen due to their 2cmc cycling cost and their effectiveness in furthering the purpose of the deck.

In the past I would just slap all the cycling cards in and call it a day. But we learn, we grow, and we see our own foolishness in time. With this I’d also like to add, I don’t run every single cycling land. Why is this you may be wondering? Because I like to use my lands the same turn I play them. 10 cycling lands is plenty enough in my opinion. To slam all them in would leave me with barely any playable lands and I’m not paying the $500 for the lands I’d need to mitigate this disadvantage.

Oh, of course I’ve included Necrologia and Peer into the Abyss because duh. I’ve not included Lich's Mastery or Drogskol Reaver, or similar cards, because that’s not how I like to play a game with my friends.

Anyway thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. For real though if you have any questions about my card choices, possible tempo plays etc. please feel free to ask. I do really enjoy This deck and cycling in general so I’d be happy to share my experiences with the theme!

Leave an upvote please!!! My ego needs it haha.

Smooches

Top Ranked	Achieved #51 position overall 1 year ago Achieved #39 position in Commander / EDH 1 year ago Achieved #2 position in Commander / EDH WUB (Esper) 1 year ago
Date added	1 year
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	5 - 0 Mythic Rares 32 - 0 Rares 31 - 0 Uncommons 20 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.78
Tokens	Bird 1/1 W, Kraken 8/8 U, Timeless Dragon 4/4 B
Folders	Attention, Cmdr, Deck Ideas