Sphinx's Tutelage
Enchantment
Whenever you draw a card, target opponent mills two cards. If two nonland cards that share a color were milled this way, repeat this process.
: Draw a card, then discard a card.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Magic Origins
- Price
- $2.34
- EDHREC rank
- #3618
Sphinx's Tutelage turns every card you draw into a mill trigger, and in a format where drawing ten cards in a turn is routine, that adds up to lethal fast. The cost is real — it does nothing without a draw engine behind it, and Opposition Agent punishes the self-mill on nonbasic tutors if you flip one — but in the right shell, this is one of the most efficient win conditions a blue deck can slot in for three mana.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Arjun, the Shifting Flame
Arjun, the Shifting Flame replaces your entire hand every time you cast a spell, meaning Sphinx's Tutelage fires repeatedly each turn — often milling an entire table out within two or three rotations of the wheel effect.
Bruvac the Grandiloquent
Bruvac the Grandiloquent doubles every mill trigger, so each Sphinx's Tutelage activation that would hit two cards instead hits four — a single wheel effect can end the game on the spot.
Phenax, God of Deception
Phenax, God of Deception runs a high creature count to tap for mill, and Sphinx's Tutelage layers on top as a passive win condition that punishes opponents for sharing a color in their library's top cards.
The Mindskinner
The Mindskinner deals damage equal to cards milled, which makes Sphinx's Tutelage's volume output directly translate to life loss — the two effects compound into a fast clock.
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind benefits from opponents having full graveyards, and Sphinx's Tutelage accelerates that graveyard fill while providing an independent win condition that doesn't require Lazav to connect in combat.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Sphinx's Tutelage is a legitimate win condition rather than a curiosity — wheel decks, spellslinger builds, and dedicated mill strategies all use it to close games that might otherwise stall. In Modern and Pioneer, it saw brief play in dedicated mill strategies before faster and more consistent mill pieces pushed it out; it's legal in both formats but not competitively relevant. Legacy and Vintage offer no meaningful home for it given the power level of alternatives. Oathbreaker is where it performs comparably to Commander, especially under a blue planeswalker that draws cards naturally.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Sphinx's TutelageOpposition AgentMana SeveranceHive MindPainter's Servant
Infinite mill for target opponent
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$2.34 cheap tier
At $2.34, Sphinx's Tutelage sits at exactly the right price for what it does — cheap enough to slot into any budget mill build without second-guessing, expensive enough that it hasn't been reprinted into bulk. It's held this range steadily and is unlikely to spike without a high-profile tournament moment that won't come from Commander.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.