commander · Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
Mind Seize (C13).
A Grixis exile-cast and control deck from Commander 2013, led by Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge — exile instants and sorceries from all libraries when she enters, then cast them for free whenever she attacks.
The Commander
Mind Seize is Commander 2013's Grixis deck and Jeleva is one of the most unique commanders in the set. She exiles cards from the top of each player's library equal to her mana value when she enters — so recasting her later means more cards exiled. Whenever Jeleva attacks, you may cast any instant or sorcery exiled with her for free. She scales on recast: a seven-mana Jeleva exiles seven cards and provides seven free spells to cast on attacks.
Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge gets progressively more powerful every time she's killed and recast. The deck supports this with high-impact instants and sorceries — Cruel Ultimatum, Spelltwine, and other high-cost spells that would normally be difficult to cast multiple times. Nekusar, the Mindrazer serves as the alternate commander for a wheel-and-punish strategy.
Key Cards
Nekusar, the Mindrazer
At the beginning of each player's draw step, Nekusar deals one damage to that player. Whenever a player draws a card, Nekusar deals one damage to that player. In a pod with three opponents, the upkeep trigger alone deals three damage per turn cycle. Force players to draw cards with wheel effects and the damage multiplies with each card drawn. Nekusar is the alternate commander for a dedicated wheel-and-punish strategy — each Wheel of Fortune in the deck deals seven damage to each opponent.
Cruel Ultimatum
Target opponent discards three cards and sacrifices a creature. You draw five cards, return a creature from your graveyard to your hand, and gain five life. One of the most one-sided seven-mana spells ever printed. Cast for free off Jeleva's attack trigger and you immediately swing the card advantage by eight, the board state by one, and your life total by five. In a deck where Jeleva casts this repeatedly from the exile zone, it's a game-defining spell that compounds with each additional cast.
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Spelltwine
Exile target instant or sorcery from your graveyard and target instant or sorcery from an opponent's graveyard. Copy both and cast them without paying mana costs. In a deck with Jeleva exiling opponents' instants and sorceries into your accessible exile zone, Spelltwine chains the most powerful spells from the table in one activation. Cast it for free off Jeleva's attack and copy both the best spell in your graveyard and the most powerful spell in an opponent's bin simultaneously.
Baleful Strix
A two-mana 1/1 flying deathtouch creature that draws a card on entry. The best two-drop in Esper and a natural fit for Grixis control. Strix defends against flyers, deters any ground attacker with deathtouch, and draws a card the moment it lands. In a control deck that needs to survive until Jeleva gets her attack triggers, Strix is the speed bump that buys you the time to develop your hand and mana base through the critical early turns.
Jace's Archivist
Pay two and tap: each player discards their hand and draws cards equal to the greatest number of cards discarded. A wheel on a creature. In a deck with Nekusar, each Archivist activation deals seven damage to each opponent — the wheel draws seven cards, Nekusar triggers for each card drawn. In a Jeleva build, the Archivist fills graveyards for Spelltwine while refilling your hand. Against players holding counterspells, forcing a hand discard removes the interaction before the next Jeleva attack.
How to Play
Cast Jeleva by turn four and connect combat damage as soon as possible. Her first entry exiles four to five cards — always at minimum one valuable instant or sorcery. Attack, cast the best exiled spell for free. If Jeleva dies, recast her for a higher mana value to exile more cards the next time she enters. The deck's primary game plan is to cast Jeleva repeatedly, each death advancing the exile pool with more cards from higher mana costs. Keep Baleful Strix and counterspells as interaction, and close the game by casting Cruel Ultimatum for free multiple times through Jeleva's attack triggers. Against opponents running Nekusar as a threat, switch to the wheel strategy — each Jace's Archivist activation with Nekusar deals seven damage to all opponents.