Schemes in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards

Pedro Furtado (djorso) October 2, 2024 Collecting, MTG Cards, MTG Rules

Last updated on November 27, 2024

Plots That Span Centuries | Illustration by Septian Fajrianto

Magic's Archenemy format is all about schemes, as they allow players to face off in a really unbalanced game. Think of all the times your Commander pod has joined forces against you. With Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander products, Archenemy Commander is a thing, and Duskmourn even changed the Archenemy rules to spice up the format.

Knowing how the MTG scheme cards work is vital, as well as revealing the correct scheme at the right time. With more than 100 scheme cards released, it’s time to look at all of them and select the best ones.

Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents show

How Do Scheme Cards Work?

A Display of My Dark Power | Illustration by Jim Nelson

Schemes are the main gimmick of the Archenemy casual variant, and it’s what sets it apart from other MTG formats. Playing alone against three other players is an uphill battle, so you have your trusty evil scheme deck by your side to help you. Your scheme deck must have at least 10 cards, as per the new Duskmourn Archenemy rules, but you’re free to play more than 10 schemes in your scheme deck.

During your first main phase, you reveal the top card of your scheme deck and leave it face up in the command zone. This is called “setting the scheme in motion.” Here’s a few examples of what might happen.

All in Good Time lets you take another turn, although you can’t set a new scheme in motion during it.
Behold the Power of Destruction destroys all of one opponent's nonland permanents.
I Am Never Alone creates a nonlegendary copy of your commander.

You get a lot of help from your schemes when you set them in motion, but you need to even the odds against three players, after all!

After you set a scheme in motion, it’s then abandoned, and you put it under your scheme deck to draw another one on your next turn. There’s a special kind of scheme called Ongoing scheme. The main difference between this one and the regular scheme is that the ongoing scheme stays in the command zone until a certain condition makes you abandon that scheme.

The History of Schemes in MTG

Schemes were introduced to MTG in the first Archenemy product in 2010, and back then, it was the first official WotC product to support multiplayer MTG. Archenemy had 45 different scheme cards. At that time, we also got 5 DCI promo schemes.

Following the events of Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation, WotC brought Archenemy back in the form of Archenemy: Nicol Bolas, adding 20 new schemes and reprinting some of the old ones. 2024 gave us Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander, adding 32 new scheme cards to bring the total to 102.

What Are Ongoing Schemes?

Ongoing schemes are a special type of scheme. These are set in motion just like regular schemes, with the key difference that they remain face up in the command zone until a certain condition is met.

For example, I Am Duskmourn remains face up until it’s abandoned. It lets you cast a spell from your hand without paying its mana cost, and when you do that, you abandon the scheme. Another example is Mine Is the Only Truth, which makes you draw a card whenever a player casts a spell. However, you’ll abandon the scheme during your next turn (it'll count your previous draw step if no one cast a spell).

What Is a Scheme Deck?

Whenever you’re the Archenemy, you get to play your schemes in a separated, dedicated scheme deck, as seen in other casual variants with Contraption cards and Planechase planes cards. You’re free to choose whichever scheme cards you want to play, with a minimum of 20 schemes if you’re playing regular Archenemy, or at least 10 schemes if you’re playing Archenemy Commander. You’ll shuffle the scheme deck only once at the start of the game, and once a scheme is used (set in motion and abandoned are the correct terms), the card goes to the bottom of the scheme deck.

A scheme deck is singleton, meaning there can only be up to one copy of any given scheme in the deck.

How Many Cards Are in a Scheme Deck?

If you’re playing with Archenemy Commander rules, you need a minimum of 10 cards in your scheme deck. If you’re playing Archenemy with 60-card decks, the minimum goes up to 20 cards. These are the official recommended rules by WotC, but it’s a casual format, so feel free to experiment with other card counts.

Are Schemes Permanents?

They are not.

Cards like schemes, planes, vanguard cards, and the like aren’t considered permanents.

Where Do Scheme Cards Exist?

Scheme cards and the scheme deck exist in the command zone. As per rules 312.2, if a scheme card would leave the command zone, it stays in the command zone.

Can You Counter a Scheme?

You can’t use counterspells against schemes. Schemes aren’t cast, as per rules 312.2. They’re “set in motion.”

However, setting a scheme in motion usually causes a trigger to happen, which does use the stack, and can be interacted with Stifle effects.

Are Scheme Cards Legal in Commander?

Only if you’re playing by the Archenemy variant rules. Scheme cards are tied to Archenemy rules, which you can mix and match in casual settings within the Commander format. It’s noteworthy that all the Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander precons were released with scheme cards, so it’s indicative of the compatibility between the systems. If you get a Duskmourn Commander precon, just add the respective scheme decks to play with the additional Archenemy rules.

How Many Scheme Cards Are There in MTG?

There are 102 scheme cards in total, across many Archenemy sets.

45 Archenemy Schemes
5 Promo DCI Schemes
20 Archenemy: Nicol Bolas Schemes
32 Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander Schemes

Gallery and List of Scheme Cards

Best Scheme Cards

As a casual variant, the concept of best scheme cards is very relative, but here’s a few schemes that are really scary when the Archenemy player reveals them. Many schemes are powerful but not very consistent or trustworthy, so I’m taking that into consideration.

#22. Introductions Are in Order

With Introductions Are in Order, you’re getting a very nerfed Tooth and Nail, getting either a creature you need or putting a creature you already have onto the battlefield. The flexibility in the scheme is good because it's hard to plan around getting it.

#21. Evil Comes to Fruition

Getting seven 0/1 Plant tokens is a nice way to gum up the board, and if your deck has any sacrifice synergies, it’s even better. Evil Comes to Fruition is good if you have Avenger of Zendikar around, too. And sometimes, you’ll get your private army of 3/3s.

#20. My Wish Is Your Command

The efficacy of My Wish Is Your Command depends 100% on the cards in your opponents' hands. But there’s a few advantages here: You get to see all their hands and get the best card, but also, if they don’t have good cards, all the better for you.

#19. Only Blood Ends Your Nightmares

This scheme would be so much better if it said “nontoken creature.” Only Blood Ends Your Nightmares is nice when you force them to discard two cards from their hand or a sizable creature, and it’s also good that every opponent loses something. At least you can try to kill their tokens before the scheme is set in motion.

#18. My Wealth Will Bury You

Dockside Extortionist scheme is good. My Wealth Will Bury You gets you some Treasures, between two and three consistently, I’d say. That’s free ramp and mana fixing for you.

#17. My Genius Knows No Bounds

Getting an improved Sphinx's Revelation is nice, and you can gain some life to use the extra cards you’ve acquired. Even on turn 2, paying 2 mana to get two cards and 2 life isn’t a bad deal. My Genius Knows No Bounds shows that paying just X for drawing X cards is huge.

#16. Every Last Vestige Shall Rot

Every Last Vestige Shall Rot is like Behold the Power of Destruction, except that you get a Terminus variant. It’s better in some cases, but having to pay mana will sometimes be a hurdle.

#15. Behold the Power of Destruction

If all your opponents are stronger than you, this scheme won’t be of much help. But in most situations, the player targeted by Behold the Power of Destruction is pretty much done for.

#14. Dance, Pathetic Marionette

If Dance, Pathetic Marionette targeted only one player, sometimes you’d whiff badly on this one. Getting to choose between the best outcome from one of the three players helps a lot, and that’s what makes this scheme really good.

#13. A Reckoning Approaches

Like Perhaps You've Met My Cohort, A Reckoning Approaches allows you to cheat an incredibly expensive and impactful creature into play, but it can fail. It’s better in green+ decks filled with good creatures, and even getting a 4-drop is a good income.

#12. No One Will Hear Your Cries

No One Will Hear Your Cries allows you to even the numbers a bit, especially if your opponents love tokens. That can save your bacon in many scenarios.

#11. My Will Is Irresistible

With My Will Is Irresistible, you gain control of one of three good permanents. You’re not choosing, and it’s totally board-dependent, but you’ll at least get something average to good.

#10. Mine Is the Only Truth

The best use from Mine Is the Only Truth is if you run some kind of combo deck or spellslinger deck. You’ll draw so many cards by casting cantrips, and this works on your opponents’ turns too, so at least they’ll be slowed down.

#9. I Will Savor Your Agony

I Will Savor Your Agony has that “confluence” feel, where you can have three different effects or the same effects more than once. Choosing one of each is nice, since you’ll be up on cards, stabilize, and wreck their best creature. The effects themselves aren’t that fancy for a scheme, but at least you get three.

#8. Your Fate Is Thrice Sealed

Here you basically get to Explore three times, and the lands don’t even enter untapped. Your Fate Is Thrice Sealed is exceptional when you’re ramping in the early game while not being a bad scheme later, giving you late-game fuel.

#7. My Tendrils Run Deep

With My Tendrils Run Deep, you get a free Exploration with upside. When you don’t need to keep making land drops, you’ll get extra cards.

#6. My Crushing Masterstroke

Speaking about incentives to play a sacrifice deck, here’s an Insurrection. When you put My Crushing Masterstroke in motion, you might just win the game on the spot.

#5. Tooth, Claw, and Tail

Getting three removal spells for free is good. Tooth, Claw, and Tail can destroy one of each of your challenger’s threats, or three from the same player, your choice. It’s almost always going to be a good scheme, except maybe in the first couple of turns.

#4. Plots That Span Centuries

Plots That Span Centuries can give you three schemes at once next turn, so your opponents are pretty much done for. There’s not a single point in the game that this is bad, unless you desperately need something else to survive.

#3. Perhaps You’ve Met My Cohort

If you put this scheme in your scheme deck, you must, by all means, have an expensive planeswalker in your main deck. Perhaps You've Met My Cohort can get you Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, Karn Liberated, Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh, you name it. It’s good at all stages of the game but imagine cheating one of these on turn 1 or 2.

#2. Time Bends to My Will

Here’s a direct comparison between Time Bends to My Will and All in Good Time. Both allow you to get an extra turn, and here you don’t untap your permanents but you get to play an extra scheme. I’d say it’s slightly worse, but sometimes it will be better based on the scheme revealed and your board.

#1. All in Good Time

Time Walk is always welcome, especially if it’s free. You won’t get another scheme during the next turn, but getting a free hit in the late game is good. Even in the beginning of the game, All in Good Time is always a nice reveal from the scheme deck.

Decklist: Scheme Deck in Archenemy

Tooth, Claw, and Tail | Illustration by Paul Bonner

Scheme (10)

All in Good Time
Perhaps You've Met My Cohort
Plots That Span Centuries
Tooth, Claw, and Tail
A Reckoning Approaches
My Tendrils Run Deep
Your Fate Is Thrice Sealed
No One Will Hear Your Cries
Behold the Power of Destruction
My Will Is Irresistible

Here I made a little compilation of what I’d like to play with a Golgari commander () or Sultai commander () in a midrange deck. I have ways to ramp with Your Fate Is Thrice Sealed, ways to cheat big creatures from my deck into play with A Reckoning Approaches, and a powerful scheme to get big planeswalkers like Garruk, Apex Predator or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon in Perhaps You've Met My Cohort. Of course, to stay alive, you also need removal, and that’s where schemes like Tooth, Claw, and Tail come in.

Wrap Up

Time Bends to My Will | Illustration by Eli Minaya

Archenemy can be a very fun and wild way to play Magic. In fact, some of the schemes lead to various shifts in power across the table, and by getting the Duskmourn Commander precons, you’ll be able to fit in some schemes to be the final boss at your MTG table.

It’s interesting to play Archenemy with Cube decks and Standard decks, too, as well as kitchen table casuals. It’s also fun to try to predict the Archenemy plans and act accordingly.

What are your experiences with Archenemy and schemes? Which ones do you think are the best? Let me know in the comments section below, or over Draftsim Discord.

Stay safe folks, and use schemes wisely so those pesky players can't get an advantage over you.

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Pedro Furtado (djorso)

Pedro started playing Magic way back when in Fourth Edition. After a long hiatus, he now plays mostly MTG Arena Standard and Limited. His biggest MTG regret is trading a bunch of Force of Wills for Serra Angels.

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