Magic: The Gathering Officially Reveals the Ur-Dragon's New Commander Replacement
Magic: The Gathering introduces The Ur-Sphinx as a new Commander in the Reality Fracture set, replicating the controversial Eminence ability from The Ur-Dragon to enable powerful persistent effects from the Command Zone.
The Ur-Sphinx debuts in the upcoming Reality Fracture set as a new Commander card, featuring an Eminence ability that reduces the cost of sphinx spells by one colorless mana. This mirrors the design of The Ur-Dragon, which grants similar discounts for dragon spells and has been one of the most popular Commanders in Magic: The Gathering. The Ur-Sphinx costs nine mana and is a 10/10 flying sphinx that mills players when it or other sphinxes attack, allowing free casting of milled cards. The card’s inclusion in the Multiverse Reforged preconstructed deck ensures widespread availability, making it accessible to players without rare single-card purchases.
Gavin Verhey, the designer of The Ur-Dragon and The Ur-Sphinx, acknowledged in a January 2025 video that Eminence was an overly powerful mechanic that should not have been created. Despite this, Eminence returns in Reality Fracture through The Ur-Sphinx, which also introduces a milling strategy that rewards self-milling by enabling free spell casting. The Ur-Sphinx’s abilities are designed to provide persistent advantages from the Command Zone, a concept originally intended to offset risks in creature-type-focused decks but now widely regarded as unbalanced.
The Reality Fracture set’s narrative centers on Jace’s fractured mind creating the Echoverse, where Elder Sphinxes lead Hexhaven instead of Elder Dragons as seen in Strixhaven. This thematic shift justifies The Ur-Sphinx’s role as a counterpart to The Ur-Dragon, both serving as primordial progenitors of their respective creature types. The Multiverse Reforged precon deck, led by Jace, Multiverse Architect, focuses on polymorph strategies, using small tokens to cast more powerful creatures from the library.
Wizards of the Coast previously released Eminence abilities in Commander 2017’s precons, with The Ur-Dragon and Edgar Markov emerging as the most dominant due to their uncounterable, persistent effects. The Ur-Sphinx expands this controversial mechanic with a more extreme version, allowing players to mill opponents and cast spells for free, further amplifying its power level in Commander formats.