Commander Kryptonite: Sefris of the Hidden Way

Posted on November 11, 2025

Hello everyone! I'm Levi from The Thought Vessel, and this is Commander Kryptonite, the series that looks at some of the strongest commanders in the format, how they work, their strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly, how to beat them. Today's topic comes from a reader request, so to that reader, hello from the United States! I hope I can be of some help. The commander in question is Sefris of the Hidden Ways. We'll look at Sefris as a commander, explore how her deck functions, and cover some hints based on what our reader shared.

The Commander: Sefris of the Hidden Way

Sefris of the Hidden Ways debuted in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, the Dungeons & Dragons crossover set. This commander was built to highlight the Venture into the Dungeon mechanic, which allows a player to move through rooms on a dungeon card for incremental effects. Among the available dungeons, Tomb of Annihilation is particularly interesting. It may not be as impactful, but because it only has three rooms on the right path, Sefris can complete it extremely quickly. On the other hand, Dungeon of the Mad Mage provides the most value overall. It can create tokens, generate card advantage, and even cheat spells at the end of the dungeon. Sefris focuses on venturing through dungeons with a graveyard twist. As an Esper commander using White, Blue, and Black, she has plenty of tricks up her sleeve.

The Deck

When we get a reader request, the first step is to understand as much context as possible before diving into decklists. Sefris decks usually fall into one of three categories: a full dungeon deck, a reanimator list, or a combo build. Each version presents its own challenges, but based on the reader's notes mentioning Agent of Treachery and Toxrill, the Corrosive, it sounds like we're dealing with a control and reanimator hybrid. With that in mind, we'll focus on that archetype while keeping some dungeon-related cards in the conversation. A reanimator version of Sefris aims to complete dungeons quickly, getting as much incremental value as possible while setting up reanimation loops. The goal is to fill the graveyard efficiently, bring powerful creatures into play ahead of the curve, and overwhelm opponents through recurring value. Here is an example of a Sefris deck you might see at your local game store.

Sefris of the Hidden Ways | Commander

Commander (1)
1 Sefris of the Hidden Ways

Enchantments (3)
1 Animate Dead
1 Fly
1 Tortured Existence

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Strengths

Like most reanimator strategies, Sefris excels at putting large creatures into play long before the rest of the table is ready. Since she can bring things back from the graveyard, even removing threats doesn't always solve the problem because they often return. The dungeons themselves add another layer of inevitability. Because opponents can't interact with dungeon progression, Sefris effectively gets a value engine that functions like an emblem, rewarding her pilot turn after turn.

Weaknesses

While Sefris generates strong long-term value, she tends to be slower to start. Explosive decks can often pull ahead before she's fully set up. Although Sefris decks can include counterspells, most lists don't dedicate many slots to them, which makes her vulnerable to fast combo or spellslinger strategies. The biggest threat to Sefris, though, is graveyard hate. A single Bojuka Bog or similar effect can completely derail her plan, setting her several turns behind.

Cards to Watch

Hama Pashar, Ruin Seeker
In any value-focused deck, you want to eliminate value engines before they spiral out of control. Hama Pashar doubles dungeon triggers, allowing Sefris to clear dungeons in half the time. Left unchecked, this card can push the game out of reach fast.

Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward
This creature is a dangerous combo piece. Combined with Radiant Solar, Abdel can create infinite dungeon ventures, effectively ending the game and handing Sefris the win. Abdel must be removed as soon as possible without hesitation.

Rona, Herald of Invasion
Rona synergizes beautifully with Sefris's ability, which triggers whenever a creature card is put into the graveyard from anywhere. Rona lets the Sefris player draw and discard on other players' turns, loading the graveyard with reanimation targets while triggering dungeon progress at the same time. There are several cards that function similarly, so keep an eye out for repeatable looting effects.

Dungeon Delver
Where Hama Pashar speeds up dungeon progression, Dungeon Delver doubles the value of each room. As long as Sefris is on the field, every dungeon room trigger happens twice. It's harder to set up but devastating when it works. Reaching the last room of the Undercity with Dungeon Delver in play can flood the board with creatures and swing the game completely.

Safana, Calimport Cutthroat
With Sefris's ability to repeatedly take the initiative and venture through rooms, this card essentially reads, "Once each turn, create three Treasure tokens." That's an absurd amount of value. Whenever Safana hits the board, try to steal or maintain the initiative to stop that snowball effect before it starts.

Defeating the Dungeon

When facing Sefris, it's important to know what your own deck can do. If you're piloting an aggressive deck, something Voltron or combo-based, your best bet is to close out the game before Sefris can get rolling. The longer the match goes, the harder it'll be to contain her. Use your removal early to clear blockers or eliminate key setup pieces that enable her recursion.

If your deck takes more time to develop, you'll need to be selective with your answers. Don't waste spot removal on small value creatures if you know something bigger is coming. Save your removal for when Sefris tries to reanimate a major threat. Graveyard hate is your best friend here, and anything that can exile key creatures before they return to play will make life much easier.

Whenever possible, encourage other players to focus removal on her value engines like Hama Pashar or Dungeon Delver. You can usually rally the table by pointing out that no one wants to sit through a ten-minute turn of dungeon triggers. Once those value pieces are off the board and the big reanimation targets are exiled or neutralized, the deck becomes far easier to manage.