How can we make Daxos the Returned a good commander?
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Nov. 4, 2015, 3:16 p.m. by RedUndead40
He seems like the most underwhelming of the XP commanders... how can we make him a good commander?
Obviously good white enchant support like Karmic Justice, Greater Auramancy, Mesa Enchantress, Opalescence, Sigil of the Empty Throne, etc.
A few decent Constellation cards like Doomwake Giant or Thoughtrender Lamia would pair well with cards like Flickering Ward or Mourning.
Maybe Illusionist's Bracers for double tokens from Daxos?
What else can we do to make him shine?
Tiny Leaders.
Blessed Spirits Daybreak Coronet Ethereal Armor Lingering Souls Mesa Enchantress
I'm really excited to use him.
November 4, 2015 3:38 p.m.
RedUndead40 says... #4
How about for us non-TL players? I just think he needs too much mana and time investment to really become a threat.
November 4, 2015 3:43 p.m.
Cards like Opal Caryatid Opal Acrolith and Opal Champion would work well
November 4, 2015 3:46 p.m.
RedUndead40 I don't see him being good enough for an EDH commander. Athreos, God of Passage is so much better in 
November 4, 2015 3:50 p.m.
KillDatBUG says... #7
He's busted when paired with Nether Void- It stops your opponents from casting spells, while you can just make a bunch of small creatures every turn to win the game with.
November 4, 2015 4:58 p.m. Edited.
I'm working on an enchantment prison deck with him. The best part about his ability is that it doesn't require him to tap. He's an awesome late game mana sink.
November 4, 2015 5:07 p.m.
This is what I've worked up. There are two version I'm looking at. One is what I've posted. The second, would be the cards in the maybe board -- essentially going BW Tokens.
November 4, 2015 5:30 p.m. Edited.
Enchantments matter. Lots of synergistic, protection orientated enchantments. Think pillowfort-ish stuff. Add in your general utility package form B/W, your spot removal, mana rocks, sweepers, tutor effects, and draw. Add in minor protection for Daxos. You don't necessarily have to win with his tokens. Sigil of the Empty Throne, Opalescence, Luminarch Ascension, etc. You've got yourself a mid-level EDH deck with nifty interactions and synergies that combines for a good end game.
November 4, 2015 5:46 p.m.
UNDERWHELMING...?
You've got to be kidding me. If Mizzix wasn't suddenly enabling storm decks I'd say that he is by far the most powerful. White and Black are the best colors for using creature tokens to control the board, and the fact that they have variable P/T just gives you an easy win condition late game.
You can use Attrition, Mind Slash, Stronghold Assassin, and Grave Pact effects to trade his tokens for cards; Vampiric Rites and Smothering Abomination to net you cards yourself; Phyrexian Altar and Ashnod's Altar to get back mana from them; Teysa, Orzhov Scion and Ajani's Chosen can get you extra tokens since Daxos's tokens are W/B and are enchantments; and you can use cards that play off of the enchantment type like Sphere of Safety, Martyr's Bond, Doomwake Giant, Extinguish All Hope, Fountain Watch, Serra's Sanctum, Greater Auramancy, Helm of the Gods, Skybind, and Thoughtrender Lamia. (I would, however, avoid Starfield of Nyx and Opalescence, as they'll set your tokens P/T to 0.) Not to mention that Heartstone enables his ability, and any infinite colored mana combo is almost a guaranteed win when he's your commander.
Daxos is anything but underwhelming, Kalemne on the other hand...
November 4, 2015 6:04 p.m.
sonnet666 I agree. I think he's either the best or second best Commander.
November 4, 2015 6:10 p.m.
you could just play white / black control type deck with few enchantments, and only cast them when Daxos is not in play. This would let you spend 3 mana to put a 0/0 into play, which goes well with things that care about creatures/enchantments going into play or leaving play. I would play 3 while Grave Pact is out to make everyone sac a creature. Or pay 3 while Martyr's Bond is in play in order for your opponents to sac a creature or an enchantment. Academy Rector would be good in this type of deck.
I know probably not the best route to take, just a different one.
November 4, 2015 7:20 p.m.
Not at all sure how this seems like the most underwhelming commander. He's instantly taking the spot of Athreos in my B/W Stax deck. You just need to run enchantments, token generators, and sac effects, and the guy is awesome.
November 4, 2015 7:51 p.m.
canterlotguardian says... #15
sonnet666 thanks for the ideas. I've been looking for a stax shell to build around him and you just gave me a lot of really good ideas.
November 4, 2015 8:19 p.m.
I'm going to be going for more of a tokens focused deck, then use the support of anthems to make his ability stronger. I think he has the potential to be abused, but I'm not sure if he'll be more of a build around commander, or a supportive commander.
November 4, 2015 8:43 p.m.
Enchantment abuse is a given. The only question is how to go about abusing it.
Some obvious staples:
Necropotence, Necropotence, and more Necropotence
Grave Pact (meh, usually bad, but let's see what happens)
Contamination (combod with above)
Three Dreams / Plea for Guidance (again, meh)
The three on-color Theros gods, because why not.
I could see running Enduring Ideal as an alternate win condition. It would be tricky without the usual five-color package, but I think Daxos could pull it off in Orzhov. He could immediately go for Confinement into Necropotence for iron-clad pillow fort. There are a few other possible strong strings of enchantments he could pull. Eidolon of Rhetoric could prove backbreaking in this scenario. This would be my first choice for trying to max Daxos decent. Playing a very strong slew of enchantments that both play well with Daxos and can be easily chained together through multiple tutor lines for disgusting board locks. The only hard part is ramping into it. You could also try loading him up with voltron auras like Daybreak Coronet, Ethereal Armor, and Phyresis, but at that point, you're playing a slightly weaker Uril, The Mistalker and an infinitely weaker Zur the Enchanter.
November 5, 2015 3:44 a.m.
Whoops, that should have been Starfield of Nyx, not Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Apologies. I have a bad habit of not proof reading beyond making sure I spelled the bracketed cards correctly.
November 5, 2015 3:46 a.m.
As I mentioned earlier, Starfield of Nyx will set Daxos' tokens to 0/0's. Also, if you think Grave Pact is bad, you've clearly been using it wrong.
November 5, 2015 4:05 a.m.
@sonnet666 You're nitpicking, but I'll humor you anyway. At 1BBB, Pact is already pushing the envelope in terms of both CMC and color investment. Many competitive decks that could make use of it like Prossh stay away due to its intense investment and general slowness. Thus it's consigned more to a slow midrange / stax archetype, where it still usually hurts to cast even with a very solid mana base. Even then, it does not always justify casting because A, it doesn't do anything on its own. It requires sac outlets and loop fodder to function, and B, it only hits creatures, meaning its impact can often end up being small. At best, you wipe the board for a turn or two until someone resolves enchantment hate. It doesn't see too much use at high levels of competitive play too much due to the above mentioned restrictions. I've seen a few Karador lists running it, and several tier two decks like Shattergang Brothers, but it's by no means widely used. It's bad or mediocre in too many decks. Stax and low-tier reanimator are the only ones who can really abuse it.
November 5, 2015 4:56 a.m.
just so you know, Opalescence will turn any enchantment tokens into 0/0s and they'll die
November 5, 2015 10:50 a.m.
@NarejED: I'll take a 
investment to wipe my opponent's field and give myself an assurance that aggro strategies can't touch me. Having sac engines and loop fodder is a given in more decks than stax and midrange. And even if you find yourself in a meta that doesn't support it, all that means is you have an easy choice on what to sideboard out. It's a good card.
However I doubt either of us are going to convince the other of it's merits or failings purely through this thread, so maybe we should just agree to disagree.
November 5, 2015 4:38 p.m.
RedUndead40 says... #23
Plus if color investment is your problem then Dictate of Erebos may fit better. Plus the Flash can make for more interesting shenanigans.
November 5, 2015 5:16 p.m.
Here's a Dictate of Erebos shenanigan: Flash it in and sac creatures during your upkeep so you get extra mana off of Black Market to use during your main phase.
There are plenty more if you look out for them, but that's my favorite that I've pulled off.
canterlotguardian says... #2
Use a lot of enchantment anthems, e.g. Spear of Heliod, Crusade, Glorious Anthem, Honor of the Pure, Intangible Virtue, etc.
November 4, 2015 3:27 p.m.