hey this looks like a really solid deck! long term plans is amazing and i play it in my version found here https://archidekt.com/decks/368865#A_Riddle_of_Sphinx

i put a brief description of what my deck is looking to do in there.

rite of replication is certainly worth it, it can win you the game most often if you play it as you will have so many cards in hand people will just scoop. If you kick it on unesh its 30 triggers which goes 120 cards deep and that would leave me with nexus of fate with the only card in my deck.....

id suggest sphinx of enlightement and windreader, then do alot of extra drawing for you. phyrexian metamorph has great utility and if you run any bounce type spells you can reset him.

my secret weapon is Mind Over Matter which is just insane if you land it with nykthos or nyx lotus you can just go nuts and usually storm off. highly recommend it as you will usually have plenty of cards to dump to it to keep chaining spells together. also Dream Halls is neat here and can do some serious work.

oh and add mystic sanctuary its amazing here!

back to basics also is nice if your meta plays the right manabases for it.

i need some upgrades like mana crypt, opal and mana drain but otherwise the deck has been really smooth since the paradox engine ban :(

let me know if you have any questions!

smashadams83 Thanks for the input!

Rite of Replication: Is that how that works? I'm a little fuzzy on how the legendary rule applies here. I view Rite of Replication as a copy of a sphinx which I think is good, and the kicker option can be huge. The slot that it would have to take I think would be Clever Impersonator or Phyrexian Metamorph. But I prefer the versatility of those cards to the kicker ability. Perhaps its time to take out my trusty Serra Sphinx.

Windreader Sphinx && Sphinx of Enlightenment: I should definitely look into squeezing them in there, to help with draw, drawing cards is probably one of the most important themes of the deck.

Mystic Sanctuary: I agree with you on this one, I should probably take out an Isalnd for it.

Back to Basics: I have thought about this one before, I think its an excellent card that could take the propoganda slot in some matchups. Typically I don't run it because I don't have fun with it, but it definitely deserves a spot. HOWEVER I don't know how to get rid of it when I want to start using my Shrine to Nykthos. There is a little anti synergy here.

I'll have to do more thinking on Mind Over Matter && Dream Halls, I think they have potential. IDK what slot they would take yet, but I can see them putting in work if I include more card draw into the list. What's holding me back from these cards is that they are basically worse versions of Omniscience.

I like Cursed Totem in my deck. It slow down all Fast Dork decks.

Since snow lands have been reprinted relatively recently they're pretty cheap. They make it so your opponents don't get the double mana from Extraplanar Lens, easy trade out for much more of an upside.

RECENT CHANGES Playtesting still in progress

• Serra Sphinx replaced by Rescuer Sphinx to assist BFOF's
• Amoeboid Changeling replaced by Shapesharer for better ability while on the battlefield
• Master of Predicaments replaced by Sphinx of Lost Truths to assist card filter/draw
• Disallow replaced by Ghostly Flicker to assist BFOF's and mana gain with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and protection from targeted removal
• Island(x1) replaced by Mystic Sanctuary to keep answers like counterspells in hand

RECENT CHANGES

• Rogue's Passage replaced by Myriad Landscape. Thinning the deck is good, but being able to put Islands on the battlefield is invaluble. The active ability on Rogue's Passage is expensive and I normally don't use it. The other unblockable effects in the deck are sufficient for what the deck needs. Also, with the addition of the Thassa's Oracle wincon, the unblockable affect becomes less valuable.

• Phyrexian Metamorph replaced by Rite of Replication. Phyrexian metamorph is a good card, don't get me wrong. But Rite of Replication is OP in this deck and it combo's with Thassa's Oracle. When you cast the kicked version targeting UNESH, the 30 BFOF's always get you through the entire deck. 2 more mana to play Thassa's oracle and you will win the game unless the opponent has some interaction. In the early game you can always use the unkicked version of Rite of Replication for value.

• Herald's Horn replaced by Wayfarer's Bauble. Herald's horn is always underwhelming when I have it. The tribal ability is usually not important, because the rest of the deck gets through enough cards without the help of Herald's Horn. Putting Islands on the battlefield is invaluble which makes Wayfarers Bauble amazing. The ramp you get from bauble is better than the horn.

• Propaganda replaced by Thassa's Oracle. Propaganda is a more defensive card and is too situational most of the time. Competitive decks need ways to focus there own strategies as well as dealing with opponent's via interaction. I would rather spend the early turns advancing my wincons by filtering my draws better with the oracle. Also, the oracle is another win condition.

LONG TIME SINCE AN UPDATE, BUT HERE ARE SOME UPDATES:

• Kozilek, Butcher of Truth replaced by Sphinx of the Second Sun . I recently realized that Kozilek can sometimes really hinder your strategy to deck yourself with. If you pull Thassa's Oracle and Kozilek in the same BFOF, it can be real sad sometimes. Sphinx of the second sun offers immediate value the turn you play it, has a lower CMC, AND it is a sphinx. The only downside is if you are trying to win with Nexus of Fate combo, he can't be on the field, but you could set this up with relative ease.

• Mind Stone replaced by Jeweled Lotus . This one hardly needs an explanation. Jeweled Lotus is SO good in Unesh, because it allows you to play him really fast sometimes. Mind Stone is really lack luster compared to it, the draw effect doesn't make it worth keeping in the slot.

• Thassa, God of the Sea replaced by Thassa, Deep-Dwelling . After play testing this, I like the value that Deep dwelling generated mor than God of the sea, even at the increased CMC. If your hand is somehow dead at the end of the turn, Deep-dwelling's ability will really save you (provided a sphinx is on the table).

• Lonely Sandbar replaced by Glasspool Mimic  ^Flip. The cycling on sandbar is underwhelming, I'd prefer to have the versatility of being having another potential sphinx instead.

New update:

Making the deck more competitive with lower average CMC and more interaction.

• Replace Clever Impersonator with Rapid Hybridization. In general Clever Impersonator is good with a good target. We have some good targets in this deck, but if the best targets are on the field, then the deck is already doing what it needs to do. Relying on your opponnent to have good targets is generally not a good strategy, the deck needs to be self sufficient. Although clever impersonator is a great card, it is too casual to keep in the deck. Therefore we are taking out this 4 CMC clunker and replacing it with 1 CMC interaction.

• Replace Thassa, Deep-Dwelling with Swan Song. The effect on Thassa is too delayed to make effective use of it. There aren't many situations where the deck needs it to keep going because there are enough sphinx's to do that by itself. Therefore we are taking out the awkward 4 CMC clunker for 1 CMC interaction.

Made Updates for testing:

• Replaced Reality Shift with Pongify. Lower CMC on pongify, a little easier to cast.
• Replaced Panharmonicon with Force of Negation. Lower CMC more interaction, one less clunky win more cards
• Replaced Sphinx of the Final Word with Enigma Thief. Final Word's ability rarely comes into play, adds more direct interaction potential, can potentially cast enigma thief for much cheaper.

ACTUALLY

• Panharmonicon is too good for several reasons. Primarily, the value it gets while it's on the field invaluable. It will absorb at least one removal piece, because if it can't be removed the value train is pretty unstoppable. Secondly, its a great target for Sphinx of Enlightenment. I am taking out one card I find to be underwhelming, Arcane Denial, to make room for Panharmonicon again. I can justify this because I also just recently added 2 other counter spells (Force of Negation & Swan Song).

I have been running an Unesh Tribal as my main deck for quite some time. Your guide has been wonderfully helpful since I found it two years ago and it is my #1 reference so thank you. My local meta is budget with a few high powered card here and there. I have one card for other budget Unesh players to consider. Curator of Mysteries. This Sphinx may be the most underrated sphinx of all time! Here's why - Let's say you have Curator on the battlefield and you manage to trigger Unesh 12 times but somehow you didn't get Reliquary Tower, Thought Vessel or any other "no maximum hand size cards" so at your end step you have to discard 10 cards - discarding at end of turn sucks but with Curator that's scry 10! Go and find that combo piece, counter or removal you need. And if you don't need it cycle it away for one blue. What do you have to lose?

@LessonSmith WOW I hadn't thought about that interaction before that is really cool! It's also pretty nice that Curator is so inexpensive mana-wise. I am glad that this guide has been helpful to somebody, thank you for the comment! :)

I am currently building a Unesh deck, and your guide has been EXTREMELY helpful. It's the first tribal deck I'll ever make, and I am very excited for it. Such a underrated commander for such a underrepresented tribe! Thank you so much for the awesome decklist and the super helpful guide!

Wishmeister thank you for the kind words! I am glad that it was helpful!

Defiler of Dreams is a new auto include. The text on this card is busted.

• Previously there was no way to reduce the amount of blue mana you pay for sphinxs (outside Omniscience), and now there is. INSANE value here. Lets play black while we play blue!

• Drawing an extra card for casting blue spells is the cherry on top. While this is on the field when you cast a sphinx, you draw a card. The main reason this is great is because your opponents who are used to seeing all the cards you put in your hand from BFOFs, don't see this one. I'll reiterate from the guide above, information disparity is important.

I am taking out Prognostic Sphinx out for now, but I am not sure this ius the best one to take out yet.

Cool deck! I’ll try this out with my friends sometime soon. I’m on a bit of a mono-blue trip right now.

I just made a Thassa, God of the Sea deck. Lemme know what you think: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/QZXpLLPilUW0zZ6rk7vMXQ

How about Champion's Helm?

Sughes thank you for the recommendation! I think Champion's Helm could be a great addition. I'll need more time to carefully consider though.

Sughes your thassa deck looks REALLY fun, I love all the big blue creatures with ETB's :)

Dominaria Remastered Gave me a couple of goodies! Also I made some subs to favor early game power of the deck rather than greeding the later game. CEDH decks are powerful because they are fast. I want UNESH to play as fast as possible.

I updated the version of Urza's Incubator and High Tide because they have foil prints now! Now just waiting for foil prints of Enigma Thief, Riddlemaster Sphinx, and Fierce Guardianship to have a full foil deck!!

I put Sphinx of Lost Truths back in for Sphinx of Clear Skies because it feels better to draw the 3 cards right away rather than waiting for the attack, even if you do have to discard 3 after.

Vexing Sphinx instead of Argent Sphinx due to lower mana cost, early survivability, and card draw that isn't necessarily reliant on UNESH being in play. Further testing needed to see if the discard from vexing sphinx hurts too much or not.

Mystic Remora instead of Kefnet's Monument. Kefnet's monument always feels too slow for what it is actually doing. It is clearly the lowest powered artifact in the deck. In the two turns waiting to play Kefnets monument, Mystic Remora could draw you several cards. These cards could be the difference between winning or losing, being able to ramp in to UNESH or not, having an additional answer faster than you would otherwise. I had a personal crutch with Kefnet's monument because it fit the theme. However Mystic Remora is the clearly stronger card (and has a foil print for the very first time).

Ope and I forgot to mention Sapphire Medallion doesn't have a foil printing either.

I was sleeping on Helm of Awakening, I don't know why I have never heard of it.

In the theme of making the deck faster I replaced Thran Dynamo with Helm of Awakening

Alright I realize why Helm of Awakening isn't as good as I thought it was. The helm makes ALL spells including your OPPONENTS spells less mana, which IMHO is undesirable. I am going to swap Thran Dynamo back in.