Atraxa, Grand Unifier: The Ultimate Magic Commander Deck Guide

Players can elevate the excitement of the Commander format in Magic: The Gathering by incorporating the formidable Atraxa, Grand Unifier. As a Phyrexian Angel, she represents the devastating fall of Mirrodin to the Phyrexian threat and the disturbing allure of "compleation." Atraxa's presence on the battlefield allows for the use of fetch cards, which can lead to game-changing draws and potential victory conditions.

However, Atraxa's high cost may hinder her effectiveness when players lack control over their deck, and the presence of three opponents can easily foil her plans. To fully utilize Atraxa's potential, players must learn how to maximize her abilities and dominate the table.

The Lore: Who Is Atraxa?

Atraxa's story in the Magic: The Gathering lore begins with her as an angel in Mirrodin, where she played a crucial role in helping the Mirrans resist the Phyrexian corruption. However, her efforts ultimately led to her capture by the Phyrexians, and Praetor Elesh Norn, Mother of the Machines, decided to "compleate" her instead of destroying her. This decision had devastating consequences, as Atraxa became one of Elesh Norn's most powerful generals and played a key role in the conquest of Mirrodin.

Atraxa's most notable mission was to lead the Phyrexian efforts to assimilate the crime plane of Capenna, which was protected by a divine Halo that proved to be damaging to the Phyrexians. While Atraxa's angelic nature made her resistant to the Halo's effects, her encounter with the beauty-focused Maestros family left her obsessed with the same concept. This obsession ultimately led to her downfall, as the Capellan crime families were able to unite and defeat her in a fierce battle.

Grand Unifier Atraxa's Key Characteristics

As the embodiment of Phyrexia’s successful conquests, the Grand Unifier has the following characteristics:

When building a Commander Deck with "Atraxa, Grand Unifier" in Magic: The Gathering, it's important to understand her strengths. This iteration of Atraxa has a high mana cost of 7, but boasts impressive abilities including flying, vigilance, deathtouch, and lifelink. Additionally, Atraxa's enters-the-battlefield effect allows players to draw 10 cards and select one of each card type to add to their hand.

- Weaknesses: Expensively Generic

Atraxa's ability to fill up the deck with one of each useful card type, such as Artifact, Battle, Creature, Enchantment, Instant, Land, Planeswalker, and Sorcery, makes her a valuable card draw alternative. Her high-powered stats of 7/7 mean she can wipe out enemies rapidly, especially with consistent attacks. With Flying, only those with Flying and Reach can stand against her, and Indestructible units can withstand her Deathtouch. Atraxa's Lifelink also provides much-needed Life to her players. Additionally, Atraxa can bypass the need for fetch cards with her ability to send cards straight to the player's hand, leaving room for more useful spells.

Atraxa, the Grand Unifier's variant, has a high Mana cost of 7, which increases by 2 whenever she leaves the field. This makes it crucial for players to find ways to supplement their available Mana. Unfortunately, Atraxa lacks Haste, giving other players at least a turn to deal with her before she can attack. While she may have an immediate 7/7, her high cost and lack of Haste make her a difficult option in combat. A more practical aggro option would be Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, whose Proliferate ability can transform the mere 4/4 card and its companions into juggernauts. This ability is common among Phyrexian builds, making it a more aggressive option both cost-wise and thematically.

Grand Unifier Strategies: Versatility

Utilizing Atraxa’s four-color variety can be a strategic advantage rather than a hindrance. By focusing on draws, protections, and ramps, players can slow down their opponents and capitalize on Atraxa’s abilities. Additionally, players can use Atraxa’s abilities to complement a separate win condition, ensuring that the cards she provides lead into a cohesive strategy.

Fans of Magic: The Gathering lore would undoubtedly include "Atraxa, Grand Unifier" in their deck, given her origins as a compleated Phyrexian Angel. In this Poisonous Phyrexian Tribal deck, players can utilize "Grand Unifier" as a card-fetcher to obtain crucial Phyrexian Tribal effects like Infect, Proliferate, and Toxic. While not as thematic as her "Praetors' Voice" variant, this deck can secure a victory with the help of cards like "Venerated Rotpriest" and "Contaminant Grafter," which give opponents Poison counters and force them to lose the game upon reaching 10 counters. Players can also use "Evolution Sage" to Proliferate during Landfall, adding one more counter of every kind of counter whenever Lands appear, making it easier to achieve the victory condition.

Utilizing the fetching abilities of “Atraxa, Grand Unifier” can be a winning strategy for Magic: The Gathering players. One budget-friendly option is to construct a deck that incorporates Atraxa to enable Blink and Copy effects. This Commander Deck requires players to activate Atraxa’s ETB effect at least once, which grants access to cards that can Copy other cards and generate additional Blink effects.

The Budget Copy Blink deck relies on cards like “Planar Incision” and “Momentary Blink” to temporarily Exile and then return cards to the field, triggering their ETB abilities. Other cards, such as “Croaking Counterpart” and “Spitting Image,” utilize Copy effects to multiply the number of ETBs and overwhelm the opponent. Although Budget Copy Blink typically relies on aggro tactics to win through sheer numbers, players can tailor the deck to incorporate their preferred ETB effects.

Deck 3: Practical Mana Spread

To make the most out of expensive fetch cards such as “Atraxa, Grand Unifier,” it's essential to prioritize securing her Mana cost before constructing a deck strategy around her. This is where Practical Mana Spread comes in, with a focus on spreading the deck into 40 Lands and 10 of each card type (including 9 Planeswalkers). Beginning with ramp cards like “Cultivate” and “Circuitous Route,” players gain access to multiple Mana sources without relying on rare Magic: The Gathering cards. To further boost the deck's potential, cards like “Cloudblazer” provide extra draw options.

Deck 3: Practical Mana Spread

Atraxa's deck should have versatile card removal options like "Utter End" and "Damn" to eliminate threats on the opponent's side. To enhance Atraxa's fetching abilities, players can use "Sensei's Divining Top" to anticipate which cards she will draw and protect her with "Whispersilk Cloak." This deck provides a glimpse into Atraxa's potential and is a great starting point before exploring more complex synergies.

Deck 4: Mill And Reanimate

Mill and Reanimate decks add an extra layer of viciousness to Blue (U) control decks in Magic: The Gathering. With Atraxa's Black color coding and fetch mechanic, players can maximize the potential of a Blue-Black (UB) mill deck. This strategy not only forces opponents to destroy their cards (mill), but also ensures that creatures can be brought back into play (reanimate) when opponents are still able to summon them. Self-mills such as Nyx Weaver can turn weak creatures like Graveblade Marauder into formidable opponents, as the latter forces enemies to lose life equal to the number of cards in the player's graveyard. With Atraxa's ETB ability, players no longer need extra fetch cards to set up combos as she can reveal any of these cards from the graveyard. Additionally, cards like Doomed Necromancer and Eternal Witness can transport creatures from the graveyard back to the hand or the field, further enhancing the deck's strategy.

Deck 5: Anti-Card Mayhem

Atraxa's ability to fetch cards in Magic: The Gathering makes it easier for players to secure their win-cons, given that the right cards are chosen. Additionally, Atraxa's powerful stat block allows for an aggressive assault. The Anti-Card Mayhem strategy supports this plan by focusing on Atraxa drawing multiple blockers to hinder enemy advances, while using Atraxa's combat prowess to slowly kill them - similar to a Red deck. The deck is designed to counter any advantage on the opponent's side of the field, rendering searches and fetches useless with mills from "Ashiok, Dream Render." Meanwhile, "Narset, Parter of Veils" and "Spirit of the Labyrinth" limit card-draw for all parties, and "Collector Ouphe" and "Ground Seal" stop artifacts from working and prevent movement from the grave, respectively.

Playing as "Thalia, Guardian of Thraben" or "Teferi, Time Raveler" can result in punishment for enemies as both cards interfere with spell-casting and counterspells. While it may take some time for Atraxa to enter the field, the disruption caused by these cards can give players ample time to bring their Commander into play. Notably, Magic: The Gathering's March of the Machines expansion was released in April 2023.