Anafenza, the Foremost Jerk (cEDH Stax Primer)

Commander / EDH* BGW (Abzan, Junk) Competitive Hatebears Midrange Primer Stax

SynergyBuild

Creature (33)

• 1x Arbor Elf
• 1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 1x Aven Mindcensor
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Bloom Tender
• 1x Boreal Druid
• 1x Containment Priest
• 1x Dark Confidant
• 1x Deathrite Shaman
• 1x Dryad Militant
• 1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
• 1x Elves of Deep Shadow
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Ethersworn Canonist
• 1x Faerie Macabre
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Gaddock Teeg
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Hushwing Gryff
• 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 1x Manglehorn
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Phyrexian Revoker
• 1x Qasali Pridemage
• 1x Scavenging Ooze
• 1x Spirit of the Labyrinth
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Sylvan Safekeeper
• 1x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
• 1x Vryn Wingmare
• 1x World Queller
• 1x Yisan, the Wanderer Bard

Land (33)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Bayou
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Brushland
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dryad Arbor
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Gaea's Cradle
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Horizon Canopy
• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Razorverge Thicket
• 1x Savannah
• 1x Scrubland
• 2x Snow-Covered Forest
• 2x Snow-Covered Plains
• 1x Snow-Covered Swamp
• 1x Tarnished Citadel
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Instant (8)

• 1x Abrupt Decay
• 1x Assassin's Trophy
• 1x Chord of Calling
• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Worldly Tutor

Commander (1)

Artifact (12)

• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Damping Sphere
• 1x Grafdigger's Cage
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Null Rod
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sphere of Resistance
• 1x Thorn of Amethyst
• 1x Torpor Orb
• 1x Trinisphere
• 1x Winter Orb

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Carpet of Flowers
• 1x Nether Void
• 1x Rest in Peace
• 1x Root Maze
• 1x Rule of Law
• 1x Stony Silence
• 1x Survival of the Fittest
• 1x Sylvan Library

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Armageddon
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Imperial Seal
• 1x Ravages of War

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What do you think of with cEDH? Hermit Druid, Protean Hulk, maybe The Gitrog Monster lists, Captain Sisay Combo, The Mimeoplasm, Meren of Clan Nel Toth, Ghave, Guru of Spores, Scion of the Ur-Dragon, Sidisi, Brood Tyrant, etc. All of these are powerful, graveyard-centric decks, that are able to abuse creatures in the yard, and what commander, which is considered one of the more casual ones, isn't just able to single-handedly shut them off, but is able to be an above-stats creature that is immune to Abrades, ligtning bolts, and is in amazing colors? Anafenza, the Foremost.

Anafenza is a powerful stax commander, helming an incredibly versatile hatebears deck with the ability to shut of tons of decks in the format with just a three-mana castable commander. With a toolbox between three great tutor colors, cards such as Worldly Tutor, Survival of the Fittest, Enlightened Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Imperial Seal, Eladamri's Call, and Demonic Tutor, this list gets what it needs when it needs it, and dang can it get an out to nearly any deck:

Worried about Breakfast Hulk? Rest in Peace, Anafenza, the Foremost, Grafdigger's Cage, Aven Mindcensor, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Containment Priest and dependent on the win-line, tons of other cards in the deck all shut the combo off. It is a fast deck though, and wins out of nowhere, so get something on the field that hates on it down fast. That is why Anafenza, the Foremost is a great commander.

Worried about Hermit Druid? Anafenza, the Foremost, Grafdigger's Cage, Rest in Peace, Aven Mindcensor, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Deathrite Shaman, Dryad Militant, Phyrexian Revoker, Faerie Macabre, Scavenging Ooze, Containment Priest and many other cards can obliterate Druid if you get them fast and soon.

Worried about Paradox Sisay/Arcum? Stony Silence, Aven Mindcensor, Null Rod, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Phyrexian Revoker, Damping Sphere, and other cards dependent on the line can break these decks down.

Worried about Consultation Kess? Grafdigger's Cage, Rest in Peace, Most Removal, Rule of Law, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Ethersworn Canonist, Dryad Militant, Deathrite Shaman, and other cards just damage their gameplan too much for them to recover.

Worried about Spell-based Storm (Kess/Jeleva/Yidris/High-Tide)? Damping Sphere, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Vryn Wingmare, Sphere of Resistance, Gaddock Teeg, Thorn of Amethyst, Glowrider, Nether Void, Rule of Law, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Ethersworn Canonist, Rest in Peace, Dryad Militant, Grafdigger's Cage, Scavenging Ooze, Deathrite Shaman, Nether Void and a lot of other cards really slow them to a halt.

Worried about Food Chain? Sphere of Resistance, Rule of Law, Ethersworn Canonist, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Nether Void got you covered, and many of our removal spells that hit Food Chain take them out for a while. Tazri lists get cutt off by Hushwing Gryff and Torpor Orb.

Worried about artifact based storm (Zur/Jhoira)? Null Rod, Stony Silence, Nether Void, Thorn of Amethyst, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Gaddock Teeg, Vryn Wingmare, Glowrider, Damping Sphere, Sphere of Resistance, Root Maze, etc. will all shut them down hard.

I could go on and on, but really, this deck is a powerhouse at stopping all of the other decks wincons, and even other stax decks are greatly hurt by unconventional cards like World Queller and Nether Void.

Date added	6 years
Last updated	6 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 61 - 0 Rares 13 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.00
Folders	Good Ideas