Mastering the Zur, Eternal Schemer Commander Deck in Magic: The Gathering: A Comprehensive Guide

Zur, Eternal Schemer is a compelling commander in the world of Magic: The Gathering. This Esper (white/blue/black) commander excels in using enchantments and enchantment-based creatures. The Esper color combination provides a robust selection of enchantments and support cards, making Zur an ideal leader for a deck centered on enchantments.

Zur has the unique ability to transform non-Aura enchantments into creatures, allowing for a more offensive approach compared to other enchantment decks, which often lean towards defense. If you enjoy maximizing the potential of each permanent you control, building a Zur, Eternal Schemer deck will suit you perfectly.

Decklist

The deck features one battle, 24 creatures, nine sorceries, ten instants, eight artifacts, 13 enchantments, and 34 lands. Most creatures in this deck are enchantments or cards designed to reduce the cost of enchantments.

Key Cards

Zur, Eternal Schemer

Zur, Eternal Schemer is the centerpiece of the deck, enhancing all your enchantment creatures with powerful keywords to make them serious threats. Its ability to convert enchantments into creatures for only two mana is extremely valuable, especially in the late game when you have plenty of mana available for multiple activations.

You can activate Zur’s ability at any time, but it’s often best to do so during your end step, allowing you to utilize the mana you have on your turn.

Focus on using Zur’s effect on enchantments with high mana values, as the creature’s stats correspond to the original mana values (for instance, an enchantment with a cost of four would become a 4/4 creature).

Overlord Cycle

The Overlord cycle comprises creatures that typically have high mana costs, but their impending ability allows for casting at a discount, entering as enchantments instead of creatures. When they enter or attack, they trigger abilities that greatly enhance your board presence.

Usually, you’d need to wait several turns to remove time counters before they animate. However, with Zur’s ability, you can turn them into creatures immediately, enabling you to use their effects and attack for triggers right away.

Starfield of Nyx

Starfield of Nyx acts as a duplicate of your commander. Although it doesn’t grant abilities like Zur does, it does transform your enchantments into creatures, giving them stats equal to their mana values. You just need a minimum of five enchantments for this to activate, which is easy to achieve given the deck’s focus.

Additionally, Starfield of Nyx serves as an important source of recursion. During each upkeep, you can return an enchantment to the battlefield; this makes it easier to use enchantments for blocking since you can retrieve them after combat.

Enduring Cycle

The Enduring cycle consists of enchantment creatures with different effects that return to the battlefield as enchantments after being destroyed (losing their creature type). Each card in this cycle is powerful and helps you maintain a positional advantage.

The Enduring cycle forces your opponents to expend multiple removal spells to eliminate them (excluding exiling). However, their effects still occur as long as they die when they are creatures, meaning if Zur animates them after using their effects, they will revert to being enchantments upon death.

Ondu Spiritdancer

Ondu Spiritdancer allows you to duplicate enchantments on the battlefield. When one enters, it creates a token copy (limited to once per turn). Since this effect only triggers once per turn, make sure to cast your strongest enchantments first to maximize this ability.

One of the advantages of Ondu Spiritdancer is that it becomes a primary target for removal. Its effect is potent and can escalate quickly, forcing your opponents to respond to it while having to neglect other enchantments on the battlefield.

How to Play the Deck

The goal of a Zur, Eternal Schemer deck is to establish strong defenses while turning enchantments into aggressive creatures. Stall tactics like Ghostly Prison, Propaganda, and Sphere of Safety effectively deter opponents from mounting attacks against you by requiring them to pay mana to do so.

Sometimes, your battlefield may seem short on creatures, so cards that create creature tokens are extremely beneficial; many of these are generated when enchantments enter the battlefield, such as Archon of Sun’s Grace, Sigil of the Empty Throne, and Hallowed Haunting. Additionally, since many enchantments come at a higher mana cost, cards that reduce costs are crucial to playing your strategy smoothly. Look for cards like Inquisitive Glimmer, Starfield Mystic, and Starnheim Courser.

The primary win condition for a Zur, Eternal Schemer deck is to deal damage through combat. Quickly swing your enchantments into creatures to start putting pressure on your opponents. Furthermore, token generators can help build a stronger board state, allowing you to overwhelm your opponents while maintaining your defenses.

The biggest challenge associated with a Zur, Eternal Schemer Commander deck is that it requires time to set up. You need enchantments on the battlefield for your deck to execute its strategy effectively. If you’re not drawing enchantments, winning becomes difficult. Fortunately, this deck includes enough draw engines to help you find the necessary cards to gain momentum.