GrixisLegendary Creature — Human WizardCecily, Haunted Mage
Mana value4Rank#11,921PartnerYes
The Commander
Your maximum hand size is eleven.
Whenever Cecily, Haunted Mage attacks, you draw a card and you lose 1 life. Then if you have eleven or more cards in your hand, you may cast an instant or sorcery spell from your hand without paying its mana cost.
Partner—Friends forever (You can have two commanders if both have this ability.)
Guide
Gameplan
Cecily builds toward an eleven-card hand, then attacks to draw a card and free-cast a big instant or sorcery each combat. You play a card-advantage spellslinger deck that hoards cards, protects Cecily, and converts a stuffed hand into free X-spells, finishers, or extra turns. The deck snowballs once you cross the eleven-card threshold and can chain free spells turn after turn.
Strengths
- Repeatable free spell casting from an enormous hand turns dead cards into explosive value.
- Grixis colors give the best card draw, removal, and instant/sorcery payoffs in the format.
- Friends forever lets you pair with any other Friends forever partner to fill color or strategy gaps.
- Built-in card draw on attack keeps refueling your hand toward the eleven-card cap.
Weaknesses
- Needs to attack and survive combat to trigger, making her vulnerable to removal and blockers.
- Wants exactly eleven-plus cards, so over-drawing or being forced to discard breaks the engine.
- Life loss on every attack adds up and stacks with your other draw spells.
- Without a wide hand or wheels, she's just a 4-mana 3/3-style attacker with no immediate impact.
Key Cards
- Reliquary Tower — Redundant insurance that you never discard, locking in the eleven-card hand more reliably than Cecily alone.
- Sphinx's Tutelage — Wheels and big draw stuffs your hand to eleven fast so Cecily can free-cast immediately.
- Time Warp — The ideal free cast off Cecily—an extra turn means another attack trigger and another free spell.
- Expropriate — Casting this nine-mana bomb for free off an attack is a game-ending swing of value and tempo.
- Aether Vial — Cheap card-advantage and selection spells help refill toward eleven cards each turn.
- Whispersilk Cloak — Unblockable and shroud guarantee Cecily connects and survives to keep the engine online.
Upgrade Path
Add cheap evasion and protection (Whispersilk Cloak, Rogue's Passage, Swiftfoot Boots) so Cecily reliably connects, plus fast mana like Mana Crypt and Sol Ring to deploy big free-cast targets early. Lean into high-value free casts—extra turns, Expropriate, big draw and tutor spells—and pick a Friends forever partner (Tymna, Thrasios, or Vial Smasher) to deepen card flow or add a closing engine. Tighten the curve and include hand-refill wheels so you consistently sit at eleven cards every combat.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Chaining extra-turn spells for free off attacks until you take over the game.
- ▸Free-casting massive X-spells or Expropriate-style bombs for overwhelming advantage.
- ▸Mill or burn payoffs like Sphinx's Tutelage grinding opponents out.
- ▸Commander damage and evasion on a buffed, protected Cecily.
Archetypes
- Spellslinger — Free-casting instants and sorceries from a max hand rewards a deck packed with high-impact spells.
- Control — Grixis card draw, counters, and removal let you stall while hoarding cards toward eleven.
- Extra Turns — Free-casting Time Warp effects chains attacks and additional free spells into a soft lock.
- Wheels/Big Hand — Draw-seven effects rapidly reach the eleven-card threshold to enable her free casts.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BRU), by popularity.
