Zur the Eternal Schemer is a powerful and versatile commander in Magic: The Gathering’s Commander (EDH) format. As a legendary creature from the set Dominaria United, Zur offers a unique strategy that revolves around enchantments, lifegain, and card advantage. With his ability to animate enchantments into creatures, Zur allows for innovative gameplay that balances control, value, and combo potential. Building a Zur Eternal Schemer deck requires a thoughtful approach to synergy, mana base, protection, and win conditions. This topic explores how to build, pilot, and optimize a Zur deck for casual and competitive EDH tables.
Commander Overview: Zur the Eternal Schemer
Zur the Eternal Schemer costs three mana: one white, one blue, and one black (WUB), and comes with flying, lifelink, and a game-changing ability. He allows you to give enchantments you control the ability to become creatures with power and toughness equal to their mana value, while keeping their enchantment types. This means auras, shrines, curses, and more can become attacking or blocking threats under Zur’s influence. His low cost and synergy with many enchantment-based strategies make him an attractive commander for control and combo players alike.
Key Attributes of Zur the Eternal Schemer
- Mana Cost: WUB (3 mana total)
- Creature Type: Human Wizard
- Keywords: Flying, Lifelink
- Primary Ability: Animates enchantments into creatures
Core Strategy and Game Plan
A Zur Eternal Schemer deck is centered on enchantments. These include utility enchantments that generate value over time, defensive options to protect your board state, and combo pieces that enable game-ending scenarios. The general idea is to develop a strong enchantment-based board state, then use Zur’s ability to animate enchantments or tutor key pieces to control the pace of the game.
Main Game Plan
- Use low-cost enchantments to stabilize early game
- Leverage Zur’s ability to cheat in enchantments or turn them into attackers
- Gain incremental advantage through lifegain, card draw, and control
- Finish with overwhelming board presence or combo win
Key Enchantments to Include
Since the deck revolves around enchantments, selecting the right ones is essential. Some enchantments act as value engines, while others can be animated into combat threats or combo enablers. The following list covers enchantments that synergize exceptionally well with Zur’s ability and game plan.
Value Generators
- Phyrexian Arena– Draws extra cards each turn at the cost of life.
- Rhystic Study– Taxes opponents and offers card draw.
- Imprisoned in the Moon– Disables problem creatures or lands.
- Necropotence– Excellent draw engine when managed correctly.
Protection and Utility
- Greater Auramancy– Gives your enchantments shroud.
- Ghostly Prison– Slows down aggressive decks.
- Sphere of Safety– Makes attacking you nearly impossible with a large enchantment count.
- Darksteel Mutation– Disables commanders or large creatures.
Win Conditions
- Starfield of Nyx– Animates all your enchantments and can overwhelm opponents.
- Heliod, Sun-Crowned– Combos with lifegain for infinite damage with the right setup.
- Enchanted Evening + Aura Thief– Steal all permanents when Aura Thief dies.
Creature Base and Support
While enchantments are the heart of the deck, a few key creatures are crucial for support. These creatures enhance your strategy by helping with tutoring, recursion, or defense. Because Zur animates enchantments, you often don’t need many traditional creatures, but a small, efficient creature base adds flexibility.
Important Creatures
- Academy Rector– Tutors enchantments directly into play when it dies.
- Scholar of the Lost Trove– Reanimates enchantments or important spells.
- Solemn Simulacrum– Provides ramp and card draw.
- Spellseeker– Tutors essential instant or sorcery spells.
Interaction and Removal
A successful Zur deck needs a balanced suite of interaction to deal with opposing threats. Both enchantment-based and traditional removal spells are important to answer various board states. Zur’s colors give access to the best control tools in the game, especially white and black spot removal, and blue counterspells.
Top Removal Options
- Swords to Plowshares– Exiles creatures efficiently.
- Vindicate– Destroys any permanent.
- Generous Gift– Versatile removal in white.
- Counterspell– A simple but effective blue answer.
- Disenchant– Targets opposing enchantments or artifacts.
Mana Base and Ramp
As a three-color deck, a stable mana base is critical for consistent gameplay. Zur’s cost demands access to all three of its colors as early as turn three, making mana-fixing essential. Include a blend of shock lands, fetch lands, and utility lands along with a suite of ramp spells or rocks to ensure smooth progression through the game.
Recommended Lands
- Godless Shrine, Hallowed Fountain, Watery Grave– Shock lands for color fixing.
- Polluted Delta, Flooded Strand– Fetch lands that access needed colors.
- Command Tower– Auto-includes in any multi-color EDH deck.
- Hall of Heliod’s Generosity– Recurs enchantments from graveyard.
Ramp and Acceleration
- Arcane Signet– Provides any color needed.
- Fellwar Stone– Consistent mana in multiplayer games.
- Chromatic Lantern– Fixes mana issues entirely.
- Smothering Tithe– Generates treasure and ramps explosively.
Playstyle Tips and Mulligan Strategy
Zur the Eternal Schemer rewards careful planning and long-term strategy. Early hands should contain at least three lands or two lands and a ramp piece, along with at least one enchantment to start building your board. Because your deck thrives on synergy, keeping hands with enablers like Rhystic Study or Ghostly Prison is preferable over reactive-only hands.
Key Playstyle Tips
- Don’t rush Zur into the field without protection wait for the right moment.
- Focus on assembling multiple enchantments to control combat and card advantage.
- Use Zur’s ability strategically to animate enchantments when safe.
- Don’t forget his lifelink it can swing games if used well.
Upgrades and Power Scaling
Zur decks can range from casual to competitive, depending on your meta. For higher power levels, you can include cards likeDemonic Tutor,Force of Will, orMana Crypt. These upgrades offer faster combo assembly and better interaction. However, in a mid-power or casual setting, focus more on thematic synergy, balance, and game experience over raw efficiency.
Zur the Eternal Schemer offers an elegant and tactical approach to Commander gameplay. His unique interaction with enchantments makes deckbuilding creative and rewarding. Whether you enjoy locking down the board with control pieces or building toward a clever combo finish, Zur provides the tools to shape your deck to your playstyle. With the right balance of enchantments, removal, and support, your Zur deck can stand tall in any pod and deliver exciting games filled with strategy and flair.