Grand Arbiter Augustin IV runs a prison-control shell. The commander discounts every white and blue spell by one and taxes every opponent spell by one. The rest of the list stacks more of the same asymmetric pressure: spell taxes, cast restrictions, attack taxes, opponents' permanents entering tapped, and punishment for casting at all. Behind that lock it counters key threats, draws off opponents' attempts to pay through the tax, and eventually lands a large flier or a lifelink finisher. How it wins: Once opponents are choked on mana, attacks and spells, it closes with evasive threats like Medomai the Ageless taking extra turns, an Elesh Norn or True Conviction-boosted board, Luminarch Ascension angels, or a second cast of Approach of the Second Sun. Key roles: - Tax and cost asymmetry: These cards stack on top of the commander so opponents' spells grow expensive while its own stay cheap, often pricing opponents out of doing anything. The discounts make the deck's own artifacts and colorless taxes easy to deploy. (God-Pharaoh's Statue, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Sphere of Resistance) - Cast and action restrictions: These limit when and how opponents can act, through sorcery-speed only, one spell per turn, no graveyard casting, no creature abilities, and lockouts that force a choice between attacking and casting. (Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, Archon of Emeria, Angelic Arbiter) - Attack deterrence and tempo denial: Pillowfort taxes, a flying-only moat, and effects that make opposing permanents enter tapped keep the life total safe while the lock builds. Sunblast Angel and Armageddon can punish or reset a stalled board. (Propaganda, Magus of the Moat, Frozen Aether) - Tax-fed card advantage and punishment: These cards turn every opponent spell or draw into cards, Treasures, counters or forced sacrifices, so the tax itself becomes the engine. (Rhystic Study, Smothering Tithe, Spelltithe Enforcer) - Counter and interaction suite: Cheap counters, made cheaper by the commander, along with spot removal and resets, stop anything that breaks through the lock. (Mana Drain, Dovin's Veto, Cyclonic Rift) - Evasive and lifelink finishers: Fliers, an extra-turn sphinx, and a lifegain cluster close the game from behind the lock. Drogskol Reaver draws on lifegain, and Serra Ascendant and Luminarch Ascension both reward a high, untouched life total. (Medomai the Ageless, Drogskol Reaver, True Conviction)

Taxes & Staxes decklist

• Archetype of Imagination
• Drogskol Reaver
• Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker
• True Conviction
• Damping Sphere
• Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
• Armageddon
• Mana Drain
• Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
• Teferi's Protection
• Approach of the Second Sun
• Irrigated Farmland
• Windborn Muse
• Imprisoned in the Moon
• Void Shatter
• Rite of Replication
• Medomai the Ageless
• Burnished Hart
• Elite Arcanist
• Render Silent
• Blind Obedience
• Sphere of Safety
• Cyclonic Rift
• Isperia, Supreme Judge
• Supreme Verdict
• Glacial Fortress
• Ghostly Prison
• Propaganda
• Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• Norn's Annex
• Consecrated Sphinx
• Angelic Arbiter
• Serra Ascendant
• Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• Luminarch Ascension
• Path to Exile
• Magus of the Moat
• Frozen Aether
• Calciform Pools
• Spelltithe Enforcer
• Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
• Aether Barrier
• Sphere of Resistance
• Enlightened Tutor
• Swords to Plowshares
• Azorius Signet
• Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
• Tithe Taker
• Smothering Tithe
• Azorius Chancery
• Dovin's Veto
• God-Pharaoh's Statue
• Dovin, Hand of Control
• Grafdigger's Cage
• Prairie Stream
• Dance of the Manse
• Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea
• Drannith Magistrate
• Sunblast Angel
• Archon of Emeria
• 9× Island
• Sol Ring
• 9× Plains
• Rhystic Study
• Supreme Will
• Path of Ancestry
• Adarkar Wastes
• Seachrome Coast
• Skycloud Expanse
• Command Tower
• Opal Palace
• Mystic Gate
• Thraben Watcher
• Pearl Medallion
• Ornithopter of Paradise
• Azorius Guildgate
• Talisman of Progress
• Winds of Abandon
• Spell Syphon
• Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
• Mystic Sanctuary
• Hallowed Fountain
• Flooded Strand