Welcome all to my Daxos the king of thieves decklist!

Daxos has always had a warm spot within my heart since he was first spoiled. The very idea of an evasive creature that steals my opponents threats when I swung in was too much to pass up. I've played around with a few styles of play, mostly similar to my Narset Control deck, but ultimately the answer was in a Voltron Shell. This deck was inspired by many lists around the internet such as Justin Parnel's list on Commander Versus and Cassidy Silver's Daxos to the Maxos

Lets begin with the creatures

Our creatures are designed to either

A. Be very evasive and hold swords like a boss

B. Provide benefits such as card advantage or mana acceleration

C. Be a complete game closer if left unchecked.

Meet the crew

Stoneforge Mystic -- There was a reason this card was banned in standard. This two mana powerhouse provides you with both a creature and a way of getting the heavy hitting equipment before your opponents can even set up their defenses Thada Adel, Acquisitor -- Thada is very sneaky, If left unchecked she can steal every mana rock that your opponent is hiding, as well as any hard hitting equipment. She is also a master spy in disguise, letting you know what your opponents have in their library very early on in the game. Clever Impersonator + Phyrexian Metamorph These agents of subterfuge are able to not only impersonate your enemy, but act as equipment or powerful game-changing permanents for you as well. Stonehewer Giant -- This guy has a soft spot in my heart. He is able to do some very sneaky combat tricks such as a midcombat Quietus Spike Daxos of Meletis -- Where do I even begin with Daxos. He does everything we want in this deck, as well as shorten the damage clock to 21 from 40. A turn three Daxos can be just the kick we need to provide some strong early pressure. I have considered Geist of Saint Traft as a replacement but in the end one very important piece was missing. The fun factor! Sun Titan -- Another personal favorite of mine. At six mana this creature provides the perfect amount of advantage. This creature can target 12 of our creatures and various other permanents, such as swords. Give this creature haste and you can refill your own board within a single turn. Medomai the Ageless -- I was on the fence about this creature. The first time I experienced the extra turn from a single combat step was the moment I realized how much I love this creature. This creature speaks for itself Blighted Agent -- I toyed with this slot for awhile between True-Name Nemesis and Invisible Stalker but in the end I realized that a ten turn clock is too valuable to pass up. If you combine this creature with certain equipment then you have a potential kill within a single swing. Cephalid Constable -- This guy is a complete beast. If we drop a sword on this creature we can return up to three lands of our choice a turn, provided he is able to make it through unblocked. This creature is likely to draw hate, but at three mana that is a risk we are willing to take. If you keep this creature alive however, you will be controlling the outcome of the game from that point forward. Wonder -- This is another slot that I had a hard time figuring out. I wanted a creature that provided a game changing benefit that moment it left my library/hand. Wonder flies on his own, so he/she is able to carry a sword gracefully. When wonder dies, it gives the gift of flight to all of our creatures who were otherwise left on the ground.

The spells

The counter spells are quite obvious. I chose these mainly for budget reasons, however I also wanted to keep with the theme of either very cheap or completely game changing. The notable spells are...

Desertion -- The first time I witnessed the power of Desertion was when I lost my Narset, Enlightened Master to a Grixis control deck. The fact that you can not only stop something game winning, but reap the benefits for yourself is absolutely mind-blowing.

Hinder -- Most of the time you hinder a spell, you generally put it to the bottom of your opponent's library. Daxos of Meletis allows for some more variety. Instead of locking that spell where they have very small chance of seeing it again, we can send it to the top of their library to steal it with Daxos.

Remand -- Remand is cheap. Remand is capable of turning a Tooth and Nail into a complete waste of a turn for your opponent. That extra turn is often just enough to kill an opponent while they are left tapped out. Remand also replaces itself by cantriping after it is cast.

Muddle the Mixture -- Our two drop slot is host to alot of hard answers and win more effects. Unexpectedly Absent, Cyclonic Rift, Blighted Agent, Grand Abolisher, Snapcaster Mage, Inquisitor's Flail, Nim Deathmantle, Strionic Resonator , Swiftfoot Boots, Stoneforge Mystic, and Rest in Peace

Memory Lapse -- A two mana counter-spell that allows us to steal goodies with Daxos. What more can you ask for?

Render Silent -- Sometimes we just are not ready for our opponents to go off just yet. This is the answer all to those game winning plays

We all have our vice's. Some like to play counter-spells, some like aggressive creatures. I like destroying things. Which brings me to...

Removal

Azorius Charm, Oust , Unexpectedly Absent, and Submerge -- These spells are specifically designed to steal away our opponents threats with Daxos

Rapid Hybridization, Path to Exile, and Swords to Plowshares --These spells are specifically just for answering problematic threats such as Thraximundar or Avacyn, Angel of Hope

Every now and then there comes a time when we have to just hit the panic button. The neat little spell that says, I want a do over! I'm talking about...

Mass destruction

Supreme Verdict -- Supreme Verdict is one of those catch all board wipes that is cheap and very difficult to answer.

Divine Reckoning -- Divine reckoning does what this deck does best, Leaves one beastly creature to continue doing the good work.

Day of Judgment -- Cheap, easy to cast and does the job.

Terminus Opponent have a board that is absolutely infuriating? Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, Avacyn, Angel of Hope, and Prophet of Kruphix come to mind. Try Terminus, those baddies will be gone for good. We can even keep this card floating underneath our Sensei's Divining Top for a quick easy answer whenever we need it. Problem... SOLVED

Of course all of these creatures and spells would be pointless without something to use them with. Something that really packs the punch and allows us to fight all in. We all know where this is going...

Equipment

Argentum Armor -- This is a neat one, I remember back in the days of white weenie quest this little beauty was able to do some very vile work. +6/+6 and Destroy a permanent is pretty brutal. However it does equip for 6 mana which can be quite gross at times. This is one of the first equipment I will switch out when I acquire the remainder of my maybeboard.

Fireshrieker -- Never underestimate the power of double strike, especially on a creature that triggers with combat damage. I picked up a Japanese version so I decided to roll with it, have not been disappointed yet!

Inquisitor's Flail -- I feel that this is an undiscovered beauty. I have seen this card take out games because of how overlooked it really is. Double damage with double strike is a recipe for absolute disaster. I love it!

Nim Deathmantle -- This is another Niche card. The ability to save creatures after they die is neat but the equip cost alone makes it very difficult to manage appropriately

Quietus Spike -- The name says it all. This card is what I imagine any good assassin would use. If you manage to sneak this in mid combat it can be absolutely detrimental to our opponents health.

Strata Scythe -- Sometimes you just need an equipment that makes your creatures huge. Maybe you want to leak through that last bit of commander damage, or maybe you want to sneak that Inkmoth Nexus across the finish line. either way, this equipment does the job nicely

Swiftfoot Boots -- Most of you are wondering why not Lightning Greaves. The answer is very simple. Hexproof is worth the one mana over shroud. This deck wants to stack up equipment onto our creatures, and the greaves make that very difficult to do so.

Sword of Body and Mind This sword is actually not as bad as I had originally thought. Although it is still the worst of the lineup, it can pack quite a punch in the end. Also providing us with a blocker while were constantly left open is very nice side effect.

Sword of Feast and Famine -- I always thought this was the most broken equipment every produced by Wotc. The ability to drop our hand, swing, and then have all of our mana available to react with! This is far too strong for only three mana!

Sword of Vengeance -- We all know this sword, it turns the small fragile soldiers into complete spartan warriors! A little weak compared to the hard hitters, but still gets the job done

Sword of War and Peace -- This sword is severely underrated! Especially when you combine it with Cyclonic Rift. This sword not only does tremendous damage but it also provides adequate protection in EDH. Not too mention it actually does a fairly decent job stabilizing our life totals.

Trepanation Blade -- This card is going to get a lot of hate but hear me out. This card is hit and miss on the damage aspect but it does do one thing very nicely if it don't do damage. It denies top deck land! On one hand I can guarantee an opponent misses land and on the other I can do some decent commander damage. I feel like this card belongs with Daxos on that regard.

Commander is all centered around who's hand is bigger. The more cards we have the more we can effect the game. Since we are running blue we should feel shame if we ever run empty. This brings me to the next category and probably the most important...

Card Advantage

When I say card advantage it can easily be misinterpreted! I'm talking about cards that if left unanswered can be absolutely life saving for bringing us back into the game, or even to let us reach our bombs early on.

Augury Adept -- To start off with this creature does a multitude of things this deck wants to do. First off it holds a sword. Secondly it provides us with a card every time it sneaks through the ranks. Third it can stabilize our life total to decent extent. It's the kind of creature that pairs perfectly with....

Well of Lost Dreams This card snuck under my radar for quite some time. The first time I noticed it used was with Oloro, Ageless Ascetic. In retrospect, this deck has alot of life-gain and stabilization which is perfect for the Well of card advantage!

Consecrated Sphinx -- In commander if this creature is left unchecked then you are going to be drawing alot of cards. The more cards you have, the more freedom you have to control the outcome of the game.

Bident of Thasa -- This card is neat. It draws us cards with our evasive creatures. It also allows us to force an opponent to leave themselves vulnerable to our intentions.

Puresteel Paladin -- I played with this card for awhile in standard. It was a complete card advantage engine during its prime. In this deck it is effective, but nothing to the extent of it's former glory.

Trinket Mage -- This little guy can fetch a multitude of options. We have included artifact lands such as Ancient Den and Seat of the Synod . We also have Sol Ring and the infamous...

Sensei's Divining Top This card is an absolute staple in commander. If you don't have one I highly suggest picking one up as soon as you possibly can. It is nigh-unanswerable and provides a great deal of insight when compared with cards that crack your library such as fetch lands.

Blue Sun's Zenith -- I never understood why everyone loved this card so much until I started playing with it myself. The ability to restock my hand and know that I have the reassurance to do it again later is absolutely fantastic!

Sphinx's Revelation -- Similar to blue sun's, this card is a control player's dream.

Snapcaster Mage -- This little beauty needs no introduction. By having snapcaster we effectively double the usefulness of our otherwise one-trick-pony spells such as board wipes and counter-spells.

More on this is coming later, as I am creating this guide from work =P

Of course not magic deck can function with out the most stable component...

Noteworthy land

Reliquary Tower Every control player knows that having a gigantic hand means we are having a good time!

Thespian's Stage There is an immense amount of land in commander, and sometimes we want to take our opponents lands for our own advantage!

Moorland Haunt A land that makes evasive sword holders? Sign me up!

Inkmoth Nexus A land that provides a ten turn clock with relative ease. Even smaller clock when we add our multitude of equipment

Thawing Glaciers White and blue don't have the best methods of obtaining land easily. This land makes sure we never miss our necessary land drops each turn!

Hall of the Bandit Lord This land can be the cause of a single turn devastation. A Medomai the Ageless can steal the game with haste! A Sun Titan with haste can refill our board]]. A Stonehewer Giant with haste can bring an opponent to absolute tears. I think you get my point.