Rise from the Graveyard!
Art:Syrix, Carrier of the Flame
by Brian Valeza
Table of Contents
Todays Featured Commander is:
Syrix is an awesome rakdos commander who focuses and cares about Phoenixes, Phoenixes are definitely an underrepresented creature type in magic so it is very nice to have a commander who interacts so well with them! Syrix being rakdos also allows for a reanimation package as well as more kill spells / interaction. There are almost no phoenixes in Black but it allows us to play a bunch of LTB payoff effects! Syrix is a really fun deck to pilot!
The Deck:
Syrix Phoenix Reanimator!
Why Syrix, Carrier of the Flame?
Syrix is one of the best commanders for Phoenixes since not only can Syrix be recurred they also give a benefit for creatures leaving our graveyard which is very common amongst all phoenixes. Syrix is also in rakdos which is great since it allows us to play a reanimator package as well as taxing effects on creature deaths like Zulaport Cutthroat
. Since Syrix is rakdos we are also able to play awesome recursion cards like Living Death
and Patriarch's Bidding
. Syrix’s ability to deal damage equal to a phoenixs power to any target if a creature left the graveyard this turn, this is very easy to trigger and can be good to finish off or target opponents key creatures!
Deck Overview:
We are a phoenix deck so our deck is packed full of phoenixes, additionally we have payoffs to the frequent deaths of our phoenixes. One of the phoenixes I want to highlight Everquill Phoenix
since when mutated can create a feather token which gives us a free Syrix trigger and a free phoenix back to the battlefield. Skyfire Phoenix
is another great phoenix since if they are in the graveyard and we cast Syrix we not only get Skyfire back but we also get a 3 damage Syrix trigger at the end of the turn! Firestorm Phoenix
is a very old card but is really strong in our deck, it does have quite a high mana cost but we are able to recur it on death and play it on the next turn. Skarrgan Firebird
is a very good creature because we can reliably trigger its bloodthirst ability, easily return it from the graveyard. Skarrgan is also great on the battlefield since we can use it to deal 6 damage to any target! As far as some of our non-phoenixes Blood Artist
and Zulaport Cutthroat are both great when phoenixes die and are also combo pieces! Neheb, the Eternal
is a great way for us to generate mana and cast some of our higher cost spells or X spells. Garna, the Bloodflame
is one of our greatest pieces of protection against board wipes since we can recur all of our creatures! Archpriest of Shadows
is another great card that allows us to reanimate creatures from the graveyard and we almost always choose phoenixes. Reassembling Skeleton
is one of the most important cards in our deck combined with a sac outlet we can trigger Syrix’s ability on any end step! which is a great way to kill problematic opponents or just damage our opponents.
Our spell package is mostly full of reanimation / damage spells. For our reanimation spells we of course have Reanimate
but we also have Living Death and Patriarch's Bidding. The main reason that we do not have a ton of direct reanimation spells is how often our creatures can reanimation themselves. We have a decent of amount of targeted kill spells to deal with our opponents problematic permanents such as Hero's Downfall
, Terminate
and Hideous End
. Kindred Charge
is one of the most important spells in our deck as in testing I often used it as a way to finish off opponents.
Our artifact package is full of mana and payoffs for all of the phoenixes we have! One of the most important pieces that I feel like no one talks about is Cryptic Gateway
which allows us to tap 2 phoenixes and get one in play for free! We also have creature focused deck staples like Urza's Incubator
and Door of Destinies
. We are of course packing mana rocks like Sol Ring
, Arcane Signet
and Gilded Lotus
There is nothing too out of the ordinary or crazy in our artifacts they are all just great cards that are very helpful!
One of the enchantments I would like to highlight is Braid of Fire
which is a very cool designed deck and perfect if we can play it on turn 2 since it gives us a large mana advantage. While braid of fire is best on turn 2 it is good at really any stage of the game. Warstorm Surge
is great way to deal damage to our opponents or remove creatures since we have so many creatures entering and the leaving the battlefield. City on Fire
enables us to win through combat since a lot of our creatures are pretty small as well as all of the noncombat damage sources we have! Cover of Darkness
gives all of our phoenixes fear which makes them super evasive and when combined in conjunction with our other enchantments can allow us to do a ton of damage. Shared Animosity
is one of the best cards in our deck and allows us to buff all of our creatures. Oversold Cemetery
is a another way to trigger Syrix and get a creature back!
Our land base is a very typical rakdos land base, but we do have some lands that are notable like Phyrexian Tower
which is a great sac outlet for mana. We play Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
mostly due to the fact that a lot of phoenixes are RR and looking at our deck stats we are primarily a red deck! We typically play Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
as a land but if we draw it late we can use it as way to trigger Syrix and get a card back!
Strengths of the Deck:
- Easy to constantly recur creatures
- Decent amount of interaction
- Infinite combos when combat wins are not an option
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- Phoenix’s don’t have a ton of support compared to other creature types
- Weak to Graveyard Hate
- Without buffs our phoenixes aren’t very threatening
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
We typically win through combat, recursion and Syrix’s ability but we do have a few infinite combos!
Syrix, Carrier of the Flame + Skyfire Phoenix + Ashnod's Altar
+ Pitiless Plunderer
Result: Infinite colorless mana. Infinite ETB. Infinite LTB. Infinite death triggers. Infinite sacrifice triggers.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Syrix is your commander.
Steps: Activate Ashnod’s Altar by sacrificing Syrix, adding 2. Choose not to move Syrix from your graveyard to the command zone. Syrix dies, triggering Pitiless Plunderer, creating a Treasure token. Activate Ashnod’s Altar by sacrificing Skyfire Phoenix, adding 2. Skyfire Phoenix dies, triggering Syrix and Pitiless Plunderer. Resolve the Pitiless Plunderer trigger, creating a Treasure token. Activate both Treasure tokens by tapping and sacrificing them, adding BR. Resolve the Syrix trigger, causing you to pay 2BR to cast Syrix from your graveyard. Skyfire Phoenix triggers, returning itself from your graveyard to the battlefield. Repeat.
Reassembling Skeleton + Ashnod's Altar + Pitiless Plunderer + Zulaport Cutthroat
Result: Infinite ETB. Infinite death triggers. Infinite LTB. Infinite colorless mana. Infinite lifegain. Infinite lifeloss. Infinite lifegain triggers.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield.
Steps: Sacrifice Reassembling Skeleton to Ashnod’s Altar, generating 2. Pitiless Plunderer and Zulaport Cutthroat trigger. Pitiless Plunderer generates a Treasure token; crack it to float B. Zulaport Cutthroat drains each opponent for 1. Activate Reassembling Skeleton for 1B, returning it to the battlefield from the graveyard. Repeat the sacrifice-recursion loop, floating 1 with each iteration and draining opponent infinitely with Zulaport Cutthroat triggers.
Conclusion:
In conclusion Syrix is a fun commander that highlights a very underrepresented creature type in magic, As time goes on and we get more phoenixes I think that this deck gets better and better! Being able to play this as a hybrid creature / reanimator deck allows it to be quite powerful and works perfectly with the rising from the ashes that phoenixes are known for!
Thanks for reading to the end!