The Master Of Keys Commander Deck Guide

For most Magic: The Gathering decks, the graveyard is the final destination for spent spells. But death is hardly the end. With the help of The Master of Keys and a wide assortment of enchantments, the graveyard becomes just another resource to fuel your arcane power.



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The Master of Keys is all about turning your graveyard into a font of possibility. Every enchantment in your graveyard gains an escape cost that allows it to return with a vengeance, enabling quite a few strategies for all levels of Commander play. If you’re ready to open the door, The Master of Keys is waiting.


The Commander: The Master Of Keys

Image of The Master Of Keys card.

The Master of Keys is a phenomenal commander. You get access to three colors, you can play it as early as turn three (sometimes earlier), and it scales into later turns thanks to its X-mana cost. But the big deal here is the combination of milling lots of cards and then giving every enchantment in your graveyard an escape cost.


Once you cast The Master of Keys at six or seven mana, you can start dumping your deck into your graveyard in search of particular enchantments. This allows The Master of Keys to enable two deck strategies: toolbox or combo. You can either create an enchantment-heavy deck with varied powers to control the game and respond to threats, or you can practically ignore the rest of the table as you use The Master of Keys to search for combo pieces that will win you the game.

How you decide to build your Master of Keys deck will say a lot about you as a player and the type of Commander games you play. If you’re more of a casual player who likes fun multiplayer Commander games, then you might want to build your deck with an enchantment toolbox for The Master of Keys to play with.

On the other hand, if you play competitive Commander or your multiplayer games feature decks priced in the thousands rather than dozens of dollars, you might want to lean more into the combo possibilities of The Master of Keys.


For this guide, we’re going to try and split the middle of these two extremes. We’re going to include a few combos that aren’t instant wins so they seem a bit more fair to a casual multiplayer table, and the rest will be helpful enchantments that will keep you from getting overwhelmed.

We’ll list
a few other combos in the tips section
later in this guide.

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Building Your The Master Of Keys Commander Deck

Image of Ghostly Dancers art by Josh Newton
Ghostly Dancers art by Josh Newton


Obviously, enchantments are going to be the mainstay of any Master of Keys deck. That said, there are quite a few black enchantments that can resurrect creatures in the graveyard, which allows you to throw in a few non-enchantment creatures safe in the knowledge you can bring them back if The Master of Keys mills them.

Being in black, white, and blue mana means having access to plenty of great spells to support an enchantment-loaded deck. Here’s how you should break it down.

Enchantments, Enchantments, Enchantments

Enchantments cover a wide range of abilities, but we can generally break them down into offensive, defensive, and utility.

On the offensive side, you’ve got enchantments like All That Glitters, Ethereal Armor, Sigil of the Empty Throne, and Starfield of Nyx. These enchantments give you immediate or increasing power as the game goes on, and can sometimes win the game outright.


Defensive enchantments include Sphere of Safety, Propaganda, Grasp Fate, Amphibian Downpour, Dress Down, Seal of Cleansing, and Blind Obedience. These are the spells that disrupt or debuff your opponents, making you a bit safer.

Utility enchantments cover everything else. There are card-draw enchantments like Mystic Remora, Monologue Tax, and Rhystic Study, there are enchantments that copy enchantments like Estric’s Invocation or Mirrormade, and there are enchantments that raise the dead like Animate Dead, Dance of the Dead, and Necromancy.

There’s also
The Meathook Massacre
and
Cacophany Unleashed
to
completely seize control of a game
.


Helpful Creatures

The Master of Keys can do a lot on its own, but it can’t do everything. To help mill your deck, you could throw in Sage of Mysteries, Scrabbling Skullcrab, or Mindwrack Harpy. You’ll still want cards to draw, which Enduring Curiosity, Overlord of the Floodpits, or Mesa Enchantress could help with.

There are also a bunch of dual-type enchantment creatures that get a hand from The Master of Keys, like Fear of Imposters, Gravebreaker Lamia, Doomwake Giant, and Overlord of Balemurk. Not only can these be easily reanimated with The Master of Keys, but they each provide their own special ability to help you maintain control of the game.

Don’t forget Inquisitive Glimmer and Starfield Mystic
! They reduce the cost of all enchantments, including The Master of Keys.


Tutors, Sweepers, And Mass Enchantment Revival

The Master of Keys is pretty good at giving you lots of options, but sometimes you need something specific, and you need it now. Moon-Blessed Cleric, Idyllic Tutor, Invasion of Theros, and Enlightened Tutor all find an enchantment and get it to where you want it (either in your hand or on top of your deck to be milled into your graveyard).

Once you have a bunch of enchantments in your graveyard courtesy of The Master of Keys, you can bring them all into play with Redress Fate, Resurgent Belief, or Dance of the Manse. And if you need a bit of help filling that graveyard, Windfall and Thirst for Meaning dump enchantments while refilling your hand.


Finally, you’re going to want some help keeping the board clear of pesky creatures. Supreme Verdict and Extinguish All Hope are great, but you can use Time Wipe, Austere Command, Farewell, Toxic Deluge, Damn, or any number of other board sweepers.

The Combos

The Master of Keys can enable a lot of combos, but we’re going to stick to the few that require enchantments to work.

First up is Abdel Adrian, Gorion’s Ward and either Animate Dead, Dance of the Dead, or Necromancy. With Abdel in your graveyard, cast or escape any of the three enchantments previously noted to bring back Abdel, then exile the enchantment that resurrected him. This causes Abdel to return to the graveyard, creating a 1/1 Soldier token and bringing back that enchantment that resurrected him in the first place.


Once Animate Dead (or the other two) returns to play, resurrect Abdel and repeat the process ad nauseum. This creates infinite 1/1 tokens that will win the game as soon as you can attack with them.

A similar infinite token combo happens with Secret Arcade / Dusty Parlor and either Ghostly Dancers or Ondu Spiritdancer. Since Secret Arcade turns every permanent you control into an enchantment, playing Ondu Spiritdancer allows it to create an infinite chain of self-copies. Ditto the 3/1 Spirit token created by Ghostly Dancers—the token arrives as an enchantment, which triggers another 3/1 token, which arrives as an enchantment, etc.

These combos are fair-adjacent as they
allow your opponents a turn to respond
. Less fair would be throwing in a Soul Warden for infinite life or a Grim Guardian to make your opponents lose infinite life immediately.

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The Master Of Keys Commander Deck List

Image of Scrabbling Skullcrab card art by John Tedrick.
Scrabbling Skullcrab art by John Tedrick

With all that in mind, here’s a sample decklist for a middle-of-the-road Master of Keys Commander deck.

The Master Of Keys Commander Deck List

Commander (1)

The Master of Keys

Creatures (19)

Sage of Mysteries

Scrabbling Skullcrab

Inquisitive Glimmer

Starfield Mystic

Fear of Imposters

Entity Tracker

Mesa Enchantress

Moon-Blessed Cleric

Enduring Curiosity

Abdel Adrian, Gorion’s Ward

Ghostly Dancers

Ondu Spiritdancer

Overlord of the Floodpits

Gravebreaker Lamia

Doomwake Giant

Demon of Fate’s Design

Overlord of Balemurk

Fear of Sleep Paralysis

Athreos, Shroud-Veiled

Battles(1)

Invasion of Theros

Sorcery (8)

Windfall

Idyllic Tutor

Sevinne’s Reclamation

Redress Fate

Resurgent Belief

Supreme Verdict

Dance of the Manse

Extinguish All Hope

Instants (4)

Swords to Plowshares

Arcane Denial

Enlightened Tutor

Thirst for Meaning

Enchantments (23)

Ethereal Armor

Mystic Remora

Sheltered by Ghosts

Dress Down

Animate Dead

Dance of the Dead

Ripples of Undeath

Rhystic Study

Estrid’s Invocation

Propaganda

Amphibian Downpour

Smothering Tithe

Secrets of the Dead

Grasp Fate

Touch the Spirit Realm

Exquisite Blood

The Eldest Reborn

Sphere of Safety

Secret Arcade / Dusty Parlor

Sigil of the Empty Throne

Starfield of Nyx

The Meathook Massacre

Cacophony Unleashed

Artifacts (6)

Sol Ring

Arcane Signet

Felwar Stone

Wayfarer’s Bauble

Keys to the House

Chromatic Lantern

Lands (38)

Hall of Heliod’s Generosity

Command Tower

Hallowed Fountain

Watery Grave

Godless Shrine

Exotic Orchard

Morphic Pool

Sea of Clouds

Vault of Champions

Arcane Sanctum

Raffine’s Tower

Valgavoth’s Lair

Flooded Strand

Polluted Delta

Marsh Flats

Bojuka Bog

Deserted Beach

Plains (8)

Swamp (6)

Islands (7)



Budget Substitutions

Image of Sheltered by Ghosts card art by Mirko Failoni.
Sheltered by Ghosts art by Mirko Failoni

Admittedly, there are a few pricey cards in the above decklist, but don’t worry! Here are a few cheaper cards you can substitute if you’re playing on a budget.

Expensive Card

Budget Substitution

Overlord of the Floodpits

Soaring Lightbringer, Midwrack Harpy, Silent Hallcreeper

Overlord of Balemurk

Archetype of Imagination, Enduring Tenacity, Arvinox, the Mind Flail

Idyllic Tutor

Plea for Guidance, Frantic Search, Demonic Counsel

Enlightened Tutor

Brainstorm, Otherworldly Gaze, Ponder, Preordain

Mystic Remora

Seal of Removal, Bottomless Pool / Locker Room, Phyrexian Reclamation, Tinybones Joins Up, Underwater Tunnel / Slimy Aquarium

Dance of the Dead

Chthonian Nightmare, Jace’s Erasure

Rhystic Study

Phyrexian Arena, Timely Ward, Derelict Attic / Widow’s Walk, Bident of Thassa, Court of Cunning, Monologue Tax

Smothering Tithe

Ghostly Prison, Meat Locker / Drowned Locker, Monologue Tax

Exquisite Blood

Cramped Vents / Access Maze, Defiled Crypt / Cadaver Lab

Starfield of Nyx

Shark Typhoon, Cemetary Tampering

The Meathook Massacre

Damn, Time Wipe, Austere Command, Restricted Office / Lecture Hall

Hallowed Fountain, Flooded Strain, Sea of Clouds

Temple of Enlightenment, Glacial Fortress, Adarkar Wastes, Prairie Stream, Thriving Isle

Godless Shrine, Marsh Flats, Vault of Champions

Temple of Silence, Isolated Chapel, Caves of Koilos, Thriving Heath

Watery Grave, Polluted Delta, Morphic Pool

Temple of Deceipt, Drowned Catacomb, Underground River, Sunken Hollow, Thriving Moor

Raffine’s Tower

Obscura Storefront, Contaminated Landscape, Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse



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Tips For Playing The Master Of Keys In Commander

Image of Touch the Spirit Realm card art by Marta Nael.
Touch the Spirit Realm art by Marta Nael

  • Whether you play The Master of Keys early or later in the game depends on whether you draw some repeated mill effects (like Ripples of Undeath or Scrabbling Skullcrab) and whether your opponents are willing to leave you alone. If you do draw some mill, feel free to drop The Master of Keys for its base mana cost of three and just rely on that mill to find enchantments to pay the escape cost.
  • Six mana is the ideal price to pay for The Master of Keys. You get a nice 6/6 flying creature and enough cards in your graveyard to pay the escape price twice.
  • Your two best strategies for victory are to set up one of your combos or to mass reanimate a ton of enchantments using Redress Fate, Dance of the Manse, or Resurgent Belief. Both these strategies require time, so try to play defensively until you get to the late game.
  • Frequent board clears will get you to the late game. You’ve got a bunch of tutors to find The Meathook Massacre and Cacophony Unleashed if you can’t escape them with Master of Keys, and you’ve also got several other options in Doomwake Giant, Supreme Verdict, and Extinguish All Hope.
  • With The Master of Keys being great for searching your deck, it’s a great commander for any number of combos. A few worth mentioning (but not utilized in the above decklist) are Thassa’s Oracle and Demonic Consultation (for an instant win), Hullbreaker Horror and any two mana rocks that tap for more mana than they cost (for infinite mana), or Displacer Kitten and Lurrus Dream-Den along with a zero-priced mana source such as Lotus Petal (again, creating infinite mana).
  • You’ll need to add more reanimation spells, such as Reanimate and Necromancy, as well as other spells to help find combo pieces like Demonic and Vampiric Tutors, Inspiration, and Necropotence. As such, a combo-focused Master of Keys deck is wildly expensive in monetary terms.


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