This is an Azami deck I built for my mostly competitive play group. Its a solid 75% list that I tune up relatively easily for Tournaments. I put in multiple win cons so if one plan gets foiled you have a back up to rely on.
More info will be added.
Pros:
Card Draw – The card draw engine Azami, Lady of Scrolls can create with just a few wizards can be backbreaking if opponents can’t remove her.
Quick Combo – Early mana rocks plus Azami’s draw engine can easily lead to T-3 / T-4 wins but it’s usually safer to combo off T-5 +.
Lots of Permission – Mono-blue’s staple ability is to just say no you can’t play that. Then once we’ve said no enough we combo out on a nice relatively clutter free board. We run a fair bit of permission spells along with our utility wizards that are counterspells which make locking down our opponents fairly easy.
Dependent on Azami … Kinda – While it is still very possible win without Azami, Lady of Scrolls through a longer game plan I like to try and keep her around to speed our combo time up. It doesn’t help us that she is a small body that dies to almost anything.
Card Choices
Creatures Spellstutter Sprite – Early wizards that is a Mental Misstep with a body . Deranged Assistant – He provides early ramp but with the cost of our top card but we have enough recurrence and different combos that it won’t be too big a problem if we lost a combo piece. Omenspeaker – Early wizard that lets us smooth out any awkward hands we may have kept. Snapcaster Mage – Conveniently one of the best blue creatures happens to be a wizard. He doubles instant or sorcery when we need it most. Voidmage Prodigy – Turns all of our wizards into counterspells. Stonybrook Banneret – Makes all our wizards 1 colorless mana less to cast. Sea Scryer – The best mana dork we have either taps for colorless or blue if you are having trouble casting the mana intensive Mind over Matter, Cryptic Command, Future Sight, or good ol Azami. Willbender – I love this card only for the purpose of stopping Krosan Grip when we are going off with our enchantments or artifacts. Lighthouse Chronologist – He is mainly used as bait for removal but if left unchecked he can turn any game into your favor. Vendalken Aethermage – I don’t think I have ever hard casted her; mainly I use her to tutor for which ever wizard I need in a specific moment. Jace, Vryn's Prodigy – Baby Jace is amazing. He comes down early; draws us cards and snaps back any instant/socery we need from the graveyard. Gilded Drake – Steal their commander and bounce him with Venser, Shaper Savant or Cyclonic Rift then steal something else. He is also can be tutored with Muddle the Mixture if we are in a pinch. Rayne, Academy Chancellor – I have debated cutting her on many occasions. When she is out she acts like a deterrent from people wanting to target any of our permanents but in this deck card draw is not a big issue. Daring Apprentice – If I have her in my opening hand I usually keep just for the fact that it allows me to tap out to play Azami, Lady of Scrolls (which is when we are most vulnerable) and still have a way to protect her. Sigil Tracer – She makes people think twice before they cast that Tutor/Removal Spell/Card Draw. Sea Gate Oracle – Cost 1 more than Omenspeaker but she replaces herself with a one of the two top cards while bottoming the other. Laboratory Maniac – Let’s be real this card alone is poo. Yet, paired with the myriad of ways to draw our deck he becomes one of our main combo pieces. Patron Wizard – He is definitely the most oppressive wizard in the deck and when he comes down you can bet you will hear grumbles. He is a necessary evil if your meta is as cut throat as mine but if your playgroup is friendlier he is easily cuttable. Vendilion Clique – I use clique to make sure my main enemy at the table doesn’t have an answer (Countespell or Krosan Grip) the turn before I go off. Venser, Shaper Savant – He can bounce aggravating permanents or return “un-counterable” spells. If that little sadist known as Gaddock Teeg hits the board and for some unknown reason I couldn’t counter him you can better believe Venser is coming for you. Sower of Temptation – Nice tempo card that steals a creature. She also gives the opponent a chance to get their creature back if she gets destroyed so your friends won’t get too mad at you. Glen Elendra Archmage – Another wizard with a built in negate that is hard for your opponent to interact with. Palinchron – He’s not a great card on his own but paired with High Tide he is an infinite mana machine.
Enchantments Back to Basics – Probably the most anti-fun card in the deck but its helps against the multicolor ramp decks. I’m looking at you Maelstrom Wanderer. If your group want you to be less oppressive cutting this or Patron Wizard would be your first move. Future Sight – Combo piece and just a genuinely a good card. Treachery – Steal someone’s best creature for free and continue on with our plans. Mind Over Matter – Combo’s with Azami quite easily and quite often it’s our 1st go to plan.
Artifacts Chrome Mox, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, and Sol Ring – I lump these all together because they all serve one purpose as early ramp. The faster we can get Azami, Lady of Scrolls out the faster we can start winning. Sensei's Divining Top – Amazing utility card and it combos with Future Sight + Cloud Key/Helm of Awakening. It can also be used to dig out that card you put 3rd from the top with Long-term Plans Sapphire Medallion – It’s almost a must in a mono blue deck acts as free mana we don’t have to tap for. Helm of Awakening – I usually only cast this win I’m going to win the game with the Sensei’s Diving Top combo. Extraplanar Lens – Makes our basics tap for double and since we are running Snow-Coverd Island we are the only one who gets to reap the benefits. It works like high tide as a combo piece with Palinchron that we can play a turn early if need be and the doubling effect won’t go away. Cloud Key – I have been debating cutting this card for something more proactive since we already have Helm of Awakening it seems like a redundant spell. Draw/Tutor Preordain/Ponder/Impulse – I lump these together because they provide us with early looting that can get us out of those questionable low mana count keeps. Merchant Scroll – I accidentally put this in from an old list should be Mystical Tutor. Fabricate – Tutors for artifact ramp or top if we are going for that route for winning. Long-term Plans – Tutors for whatever we need and puts it 3rd from the top. With Azami’s card draw engine it’s not hard to get that needed card into your hand. Blue Sun Zenith – Draws us a few cards if we need it or our/someone’s whole deck if we have infinite mana. Fact or Fiction – Helps us dig deep to find our combo pieces.
Protection/Utility/Counters High Tide – Combo piece with Palinchron and 6 lands or used to power out that Mind over Matter Cyclonic Rift – Blue’s ultimate I don’t like you having stuff but I’ll keep all my stuff card. This card has saved me more times than I can think of. Reality Shift – An exile removal spell in blue what’s not to like. Time Warp – Taking an extra turn may ruffle a few feathers but if it helps us win I’m in. Bribery – Steal the most powerful a card from anyone’s deck that helps whatever you current game plan is. I’ve grabbed Jin-Gitaxias Core Augur, Void Winnower, or Iona, Shield of Emeria which usually causes the table to scoop if no-one has an answer. Beacon of Tomorrow– Fun card easy to recur but will most likely get changed to streamline the deck more. Swan Song – Can counters a lot of important spells and the 2/2 they get is hardly a threat. Negate – Stops all non-creature threats so it’s a must Remand – Needs to be Mana Drain Arcane Denial – They get 2 cards and you get 1 …. Its ok it still a hard counter and we are playing Azami so card advantage will not be a problem. Counterspell – The original you can’t do that spell Muddle the Mixture – Counters if needed or tutor for mainly Helm of Awakening, Snapcaster Mage, or Cyclonic Rift. Dissolve – Will change Complicate – Need to cut this Cryptic Command – One of my favorite and one of the most versatile counters in the deck. Something feels good when you bounce [c]Gilded Drake after you stole someone’s favorite creature. Force of Will – Auto include in any combo deck
As I was writing this I noticed quite a few cards that I would like to change. I will keep this updated as much as I can. I’m also sorry about how messy everything looks I’m still figuring out the formatting and will try my best to make everything look pretty.
Glad to find even more people that enjoy commanderin' with Azami. I've seen that card alter around before and always thought it looked very well done; do you happen to have one?
Oh, and welcome to MTGSalvation. If you ever feel like discussing Azami I'm always interested in the topic and am curious in other people's deck choices. Have a great day
I do have one but it took me a good while to figure out how to use Photoshop to get it to fit on a card. I have read your primer several times before I built mine and it is very well written. I do need to pick up a Mana Drain to swap remand out with. I do appreciate you checking out my list though. Do you happen to see any cards that are questionable? Thanks again
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I do have one but it took me a good while to figure out how to use Photoshop to get it to fit on a card. I have read your primer several times before I built mine and it is very well written. I do need to pick up a Mana Drain to swap remand out with. I do appreciate you checking out my list though. Do you happen to see any cards that are questionable? Thanks again
Thank you very much Always glad to hear someone liked the thread.
I wouldn't presume to know what cards are not worth playing in your list. It's my opinion that there are a lot of variables in multiplayer EDH, with or without a set play group, that mold our style and deck choices. For all I know these could be the perfect choices for your meta
If I had to pick out a couple things that appear strange then Complicate sort of stands out. I've never really been a fan of counter spell with 3 or more CMC, but when I did run them I preferred hard counters like Dissipate or the Dissolve you already run. The cycle makes it difficult to react to, but personally I've never found Force Spike to catch too many people off guard. And since Azami is our commander I don't think we're struggling to find card draw. Since you're specifically going for a more "competitive" route I also think that Beacon of Tomorrows is a little slow. You get the chance to use it again, but speed is your ally against more tuned lists. Walk the Aeons is fairly cheap and and potentially recurrable through it's buyback in a pinch. It also sits around in your graveyard in case Snapcaster Mage wants to make extra use of it.
All in all the deck looks solid to me. We have slightly different styles of play, but I can appreciate what you're working with and your meta is most likely different from my own. Hope that helped a bit
I do have one but it took me a good while to figure out how to use Photoshop to get it to fit on a card. I have read your primer several times before I built mine and it is very well written. I do need to pick up a Mana Drain to swap remand out with. I do appreciate you checking out my list though. Do you happen to see any cards that are questionable? Thanks again
Thank you very much Always glad to hear someone liked the thread.
I wouldn't presume to know what cards are not worth playing in your list. It's my opinion that there are a lot of variables in multiplayer EDH, with or without a set play group, that mold our style and deck choices. For all I know these could be the perfect choices for your meta
If I had to pick out a couple things that appear strange then Complicate sort of stands out. I've never really been a fan of counter spell with 3 or more CMC, but when I did run them I preferred hard counters like Dissipate or the Dissolve you already run. The cycle makes it difficult to react to, but personally I've never found Force Spike to catch too many people off guard. And since Azami is our commander I don't think we're struggling to find card draw. Since you're specifically going for a more "competitive" route I also think that Beacon of Tomorrows is a little slow. You get the chance to use it again, but speed is your ally against more tuned lists. Walk the Aeons is fairly cheap and and potentially recurrable through it's buyback in a pinch. It also sits around in your graveyard in case Snapcaster Mage wants to make extra use of it.
All in all the deck looks solid to me. We have slightly different styles of play, but I can appreciate what you're working with and your meta is most likely different from my own. Hope that helped a bit
I do like the Walk the Aeons idea a lot I also thought about cutting a card for Archaeomancer for when I need to see a pseudo second Snapcaster Mage. My meta is all over the place sometimes its competitive with Maelstromm Wanderer, Captain Sisay which I despise with a passion, and Prossh, Skyraider of Kher and other times not as competitive Mono white tokens, Wolf Tribal, and Aristocrats. I really need to find a secondary deck though for when my friends are fussing too much about Azami. I was thinking maybe Jori En, Ruin Diver storm/aggro but I'm not sure. All I do know is that blue is a must in any EDH deck I play because I don't feel right playing anything un-blue if that makes any sense.
I do like the Walk the Aeons idea a lot I also thought about cutting a card for Archaeomancer for when I need to see a pseudo second Snapcaster Mage. My meta is all over the place sometimes its competitive with Maelstromm Wanderer, Captain Sisay which I despise with a passion, and Prossh, Skyraider of Kher and other times not as competitive Mono white tokens, Wolf Tribal, and Aristocrats. I really need to find a secondary deck though for when my friends are fussing too much about Azami. I was thinking maybe Jori En, Ruin Diver storm/aggro but I'm not sure. All I do know is that blue is a must in any EDH deck I play because I don't feel right playing anything un-blue if that makes any sense.
I've always had a lot of success with Archaeomancer even without discussing the infinite loops it can get going. Recurring spells like Bribery can bring a tear to your eye.
If Captain Sisay grinds your gears then both Stifle and Trickbind can be powerful options. Also stops that Prosh cast trigger to delay a combo from going off.
I wouldn't recommend storm as a more casual alternative to Azami. From my own experience, even more deliberately slow storm decks demand early attention and can again warp the game into archenemy. Since your group already seems to hold Azami to that standard it might not help to have another deck that falls along those lines. Jori En, Ruin Diver is a very cool commander and probably has a lot of deck design paths you could go down.
I do like the Walk the Aeons idea a lot I also thought about cutting a card for Archaeomancer for when I need to see a pseudo second Snapcaster Mage. My meta is all over the place sometimes its competitive with Maelstromm Wanderer, Captain Sisay which I despise with a passion, and Prossh, Skyraider of Kher and other times not as competitive Mono white tokens, Wolf Tribal, and Aristocrats. I really need to find a secondary deck though for when my friends are fussing too much about Azami. I was thinking maybe Jori En, Ruin Diver storm/aggro but I'm not sure. All I do know is that blue is a must in any EDH deck I play because I don't feel right playing anything un-blue if that makes any sense.
I've always had a lot of success with Archaeomancer even without discussing the infinite loops it can get going. Recurring spells like Bribery can bring a tear to your eye.
If Captain Sisay grinds your gears then both Stifle and Trickbind can be powerful options. Also stops that Prosh cast trigger to delay a combo from going off.
I wouldn't recommend storm as a more casual alternative to Azami. From my own experience, even more deliberately slow storm decks demand early attention and can again warp the game into archenemy. Since your group already seems to hold Azami to that standard it might not help to have another deck that falls along those lines. Jori En, Ruin Diver is a very cool commander and probably has a lot of deck design paths you could go down.
I did have Trickbind in the list for a while but wound up cutting it for some reason that I can't remember. I was wondering your thoughts on your list not running Gilded Drake. I always find some use for him and I can always Muddle the Mixture when I'm in a pinch after something scary resolves. You also may be right about Jori En, Ruin Diver but I need to find something that fits me. I could just make him a control deck with the Splinter Twin combos and other shenanigans.
I did have Trickbind in the list for a while but wound up cutting it for some reason that I can't remember. I was wondering your thoughts on your list not running Gilded Drake. I always find some use for him and I can always Muddle the Mixture when I'm in a pinch after something scary resolves. You also may be right about Jori En, Ruin Diver but I need to find something that fits me. I could just make him a control deck with the Splinter Twin combos and other shenanigans.
I used to run Gilded Drake in my list and bring it up in my 'Change Log' over on my thread. The simple answer is that it was, from my point of view, another form of Patron Wizard. It is an amazing card that worked perfectly as intended, but in a lot of cases could feel overbearing. People don't like there things stolen so I tried to minimize those effects in the deck once I noticed the sentiment from my play group. With Sower of Temptation and Treachery they can always just remove the controlling permanent and retrieve their card back under their control. The drake forced them to use THEIR removal to deal with THEIR creature which is amazing from a pure power standpoint, but is less so from a "feel bad" sort of view. Basically it was just a meta call
There are a lot of potential commanders with blue in their color identity to choose from for a new deck to build. Hanna, Ship's Navigator for artifact/enchantment theme. Phenax, God of Deception for mill. Or are you like me and just really enjoy drawing cards? haha. Damia, Sage of Stone does that pretty well too. What attracts you to Jori En, Ruin Diver?
I did have Trickbind in the list for a while but wound up cutting it for some reason that I can't remember. I was wondering your thoughts on your list not running Gilded Drake. I always find some use for him and I can always Muddle the Mixture when I'm in a pinch after something scary resolves. You also may be right about Jori En, Ruin Diver but I need to find something that fits me. I could just make him a control deck with the Splinter Twin combos and other shenanigans.
I used to run Gilded Drake in my list and bring it up in my 'Change Log' over on my thread. The simple answer is that it was, from my point of view, another form of Patron Wizard. It is an amazing card that worked perfectly as intended, but in a lot of cases could feel overbearing. People don't like there things stolen so I tried to minimize those effects in the deck once I noticed the sentiment from my play group. With Sower of Temptation and Treachery they can always just remove the controlling permanent and retrieve their card back under their control. The drake forced them to use THEIR removal to deal with THEIR creature which is amazing from a pure power standpoint, but is less so from a "feel bad" sort of view. Basically it was just a meta call
There are a lot of potential commanders with blue in their color identity to choose from for a new deck to build. Hanna, Ship's Navigator for artifact/enchantment theme. Phenax, God of Deception for mill. Or are you like me and just really enjoy drawing cards? haha. Damia, Sage of Stone does that pretty well too. What attracts you to Jori En, Ruin Diver?
He isn't set in stone that I must use him. I just like the simplicity of the twin package that I could toss into the build without a problem. I really enjoy Jeskai Control the commanders other than Narset, Enlightened Master(who is borderline OP) are all just kinda blah. I know I will find my secondary commander eventually. Hell I might try Animar, Soul of Elements he is a little out of my comfort zone but hey it's comboish and has blue.
He isn't set in stone that I must use him. I just like the simplicity of the twin package that I could toss into the build without a problem. I really enjoy Jeskai Control the commanders other than Narset, Enlightened Master(who is borderline OP) are all just kinda blah. I know I will find my secondary commander eventually. Hell I might try Animar, Soul of Elements he is a little out of my comfort zone but hey it's comboish and has blue.
I can see that. I was just curious so that maybe I could get a better feel for what styles of play you enjoy if I was going to suggest a certain commander. I'll agree that there aren't that many Jeskai commanders and, for me personally, they all feel a little lackluster (except for Narset of course). If you really like combo builds then Animar, Soul of Elements can be a very potent choice and if you feel like it you can still run the Splinter Twin for sweet value.
He isn't set in stone that I must use him. I just like the simplicity of the twin package that I could toss into the build without a problem. I really enjoy Jeskai Control the commanders other than Narset, Enlightened Master(who is borderline OP) are all just kinda blah. I know I will find my secondary commander eventually. Hell I might try Animar, Soul of Elements he is a little out of my comfort zone but hey it's comboish and has blue.
I can see that. I was just curious so that maybe I could get a better feel for what styles of play you enjoy if I was going to suggest a certain commander. I'll agree that there aren't that many Jeskai commanders and, for me personally, they all feel a little lackluster (except for Narset of course). If you really like combo builds then Animar, Soul of Elements can be a very potent choice and if you feel like it you can still run the Splinter Twin for sweet value.
In every format I run some type of combo/control. I just really enjoy sitting back stopping anything I need too and waiting for my opponent to mess up or put their guard down. In Modern I've ran Splinter Twin(RIP), Geist Control, Ad Nauseam, and Infect. In Legacy I play Storm and Infect. I'm just all around loads of fun to play in any format.:D
Haha. I'm sure your opponents are always thrilled to see you. I play 'Miracles' in legacy so I can't really judge
I can see why Azami appeals to you. Is she the first EDH deck you've built?
No I've played Oloro and Maelstrom Wanaderer but Azami is just the first one I've just fell in love with. I know I would probably love Zur but Azami is a big enough target. For 1v1 I usually use Clique because why should my opponents have fun right. I want to make a GP sometime this year to play some side events.
No I've played Oloro and Maelstrom Wanaderer but Azami is just the first one I've just fell in love with. I know I would probably love Zur but Azami is a big enough target. For 1v1 I usually use Clique because why should my opponents have fun right. I want to make a GP sometime this year to play some side events.
An Azami list tuned for speed makes a great choice for competitive EDH pods at larger events. The only sad part about side events like those is every once in a while you'll run into a few people that just wanted a "normal" game of commander and you can accidentally steam roll over them. My personal play group aside, random groupings like that are why my list looks the way it does and goes for more utility over quick execution of the combos in the deck.
When I do happen to play 1v1 it usually just stick to Azami for fun, but I hear Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is extremely good in a duel commander setting as your commander. Many people would like to see that card banned apparently.
On the note of your list. For more degenerate interactions have you tried Intruder Alarm? Sometimes a do nothing in a bad board state. Other times it generates obscene amounts of value. It ended up falling out of favor with me, but maybe your list and meta is a better fit.
No I've played Oloro and Maelstrom Wanaderer but Azami is just the first one I've just fell in love with. I know I would probably love Zur but Azami is a big enough target. For 1v1 I usually use Clique because why should my opponents have fun right. I want to make a GP sometime this year to play some side events.
An Azami list tuned for speed makes a great choice for competitive EDH pods at larger events. The only sad part about side events like those is every once in a while you'll run into a few people that just wanted a "normal" game of commander and you can accidentally steam roll over them. My personal play group aside, random groupings like that are why my list looks the way it does and goes for more utility over quick execution of the combos in the deck.
When I do happen to play 1v1 it usually just stick to Azami for fun, but I hear Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is extremely good in a duel commander setting as your commander. Many people would like to see that card banned apparently.
On the note of your list. For more degenerate interactions have you tried Intruder Alarm? Sometimes a do nothing in a bad board state. Other times it generates obscene amounts of value. It ended up falling out of favor with me, but maybe your list and meta is a better fit.
I've never though about Intruder Alarm it seems like it would be crazy once Azami is out. I will definitely give it a try though.
I really appreciate everyone stopping by to check out my list. If anyone has any recommendations for the deck or just any questions please don't hesitate to comment or PM me. Thanks and I apologize for the messy layout I'm still working on everything.
I'm slowly getting this formatting thing down. I will have to change some wording and post decklist changes but so far I think it is coming along anything you see that I should adjust?
Thanks
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1 Spellstutter Sprite
1 Deranged Assistant
1 Omenspeaker
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Voidmage Prodigy
1 Stonybrook Banneret
1 Sea Scryer
1 Willbender
1 Lighthouse Chronologist
1 Vendalken Aethermage
1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 Gilded Drake
1 Rayne, Academy Chancellor
1 Daring Apprentice
1 Sigil Tracer
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Laboratory Maniac
1 Patron Wizard
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
Enchantments
1 Back to Basics
1 Future Sight
1 Treachery
1 Mind Over Matter
Artifacts
1 Chrome Mox
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Sapphire Medallion
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Cloud Key
1 Helm of Awakening
Draw/Tutor
1 Preordain
1 Ponder
1 Impulse
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Fabricate
1 Long-term Plans
1 Blue Sun Zenith
1 Fact or Fiction
1 High Tide
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Reality Shift
1 Time Warp
1 Bribery
1 Beacon of Tomorrow's
1 Swan Song
1 Negate
1 Remand
1 Arcane Denial
1 Counterspell
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Dissolve
1 Complicate
1 Cryptic Command
1 Force of Will
Lands
30 Snow-Covered Island
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Academy Ruins
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Wasteland
This is an Azami deck I built for my mostly competitive play group. Its a solid 75% list that I tune up relatively easily for Tournaments. I put in multiple win cons so if one plan gets foiled you have a back up to rely on.
More info will be added.
Pros:
Creatures
Spellstutter Sprite – Early wizards that is a Mental Misstep with a body .
Deranged Assistant – He provides early ramp but with the cost of our top card but we have enough recurrence and different combos that it won’t be too big a problem if we lost a combo piece.
Omenspeaker – Early wizard that lets us smooth out any awkward hands we may have kept.
Snapcaster Mage – Conveniently one of the best blue creatures happens to be a wizard. He doubles instant or sorcery when we need it most.
Voidmage Prodigy – Turns all of our wizards into counterspells.
Stonybrook Banneret – Makes all our wizards 1 colorless mana less to cast.
Sea Scryer – The best mana dork we have either taps for colorless or blue if you are having trouble casting the mana intensive Mind over Matter, Cryptic Command, Future Sight, or good ol Azami.
Willbender – I love this card only for the purpose of stopping Krosan Grip when we are going off with our enchantments or artifacts.
Lighthouse Chronologist – He is mainly used as bait for removal but if left unchecked he can turn any game into your favor.
Vendalken Aethermage – I don’t think I have ever hard casted her; mainly I use her to tutor for which ever wizard I need in a specific moment.
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy – Baby Jace is amazing. He comes down early; draws us cards and snaps back any instant/socery we need from the graveyard.
Gilded Drake – Steal their commander and bounce him with Venser, Shaper Savant or Cyclonic Rift then steal something else. He is also can be tutored with Muddle the Mixture if we are in a pinch.
Rayne, Academy Chancellor – I have debated cutting her on many occasions. When she is out she acts like a deterrent from people wanting to target any of our permanents but in this deck card draw is not a big issue.
Daring Apprentice – If I have her in my opening hand I usually keep just for the fact that it allows me to tap out to play Azami, Lady of Scrolls (which is when we are most vulnerable) and still have a way to protect her.
Sigil Tracer – She makes people think twice before they cast that Tutor/Removal Spell/Card Draw.
Sea Gate Oracle – Cost 1 more than Omenspeaker but she replaces herself with a one of the two top cards while bottoming the other.
Laboratory Maniac – Let’s be real this card alone is poo. Yet, paired with the myriad of ways to draw our deck he becomes one of our main combo pieces.
Patron Wizard – He is definitely the most oppressive wizard in the deck and when he comes down you can bet you will hear grumbles. He is a necessary evil if your meta is as cut throat as mine but if your playgroup is friendlier he is easily cuttable.
Vendilion Clique – I use clique to make sure my main enemy at the table doesn’t have an answer (Countespell or Krosan Grip) the turn before I go off.
Venser, Shaper Savant – He can bounce aggravating permanents or return “un-counterable” spells. If that little sadist known as Gaddock Teeg hits the board and for some unknown reason I couldn’t counter him you can better believe Venser is coming for you.
Sower of Temptation – Nice tempo card that steals a creature. She also gives the opponent a chance to get their creature back if she gets destroyed so your friends won’t get too mad at you.
Glen Elendra Archmage – Another wizard with a built in negate that is hard for your opponent to interact with.
Palinchron – He’s not a great card on his own but paired with High Tide he is an infinite mana machine.
Enchantments
Back to Basics – Probably the most anti-fun card in the deck but its helps against the multicolor ramp decks. I’m looking at you Maelstrom Wanderer. If your group want you to be less oppressive cutting this or Patron Wizard would be your first move.
Future Sight – Combo piece and just a genuinely a good card.
Treachery – Steal someone’s best creature for free and continue on with our plans.
Mind Over Matter – Combo’s with Azami quite easily and quite often it’s our 1st go to plan.
Artifacts
Chrome Mox, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, and Sol Ring – I lump these all together because they all serve one purpose as early ramp. The faster we can get Azami, Lady of Scrolls out the faster we can start winning.
Sensei's Divining Top – Amazing utility card and it combos with Future Sight + Cloud Key/Helm of Awakening. It can also be used to dig out that card you put 3rd from the top with Long-term Plans
Sapphire Medallion – It’s almost a must in a mono blue deck acts as free mana we don’t have to tap for.
Helm of Awakening – I usually only cast this win I’m going to win the game with the Sensei’s Diving Top combo.
Extraplanar Lens – Makes our basics tap for double and since we are running Snow-Coverd Island we are the only one who gets to reap the benefits. It works like high tide as a combo piece with Palinchron that we can play a turn early if need be and the doubling effect won’t go away.
Cloud Key – I have been debating cutting this card for something more proactive since we already have Helm of Awakening it seems like a redundant spell.
Draw/Tutor
Preordain/Ponder/Impulse – I lump these together because they provide us with early looting that can get us out of those questionable low mana count keeps.
Merchant Scroll – I accidentally put this in from an old list should be Mystical Tutor.
Fabricate – Tutors for artifact ramp or top if we are going for that route for winning.
Long-term Plans – Tutors for whatever we need and puts it 3rd from the top. With Azami’s card draw engine it’s not hard to get that needed card into your hand.
Blue Sun Zenith – Draws us a few cards if we need it or our/someone’s whole deck if we have infinite mana.
Fact or Fiction – Helps us dig deep to find our combo pieces.
Protection/Utility/Counters
High Tide – Combo piece with Palinchron and 6 lands or used to power out that Mind over Matter
Cyclonic Rift – Blue’s ultimate I don’t like you having stuff but I’ll keep all my stuff card. This card has saved me more times than I can think of.
Reality Shift – An exile removal spell in blue what’s not to like.
Time Warp – Taking an extra turn may ruffle a few feathers but if it helps us win I’m in.
Bribery – Steal the most powerful a card from anyone’s deck that helps whatever you current game plan is. I’ve grabbed Jin-Gitaxias Core Augur, Void Winnower, or Iona, Shield of Emeria which usually causes the table to scoop if no-one has an answer.
Beacon of Tomorrow– Fun card easy to recur but will most likely get changed to streamline the deck more.
Swan Song – Can counters a lot of important spells and the 2/2 they get is hardly a threat.
Negate – Stops all non-creature threats so it’s a must
Remand – Needs to be Mana Drain
Arcane Denial – They get 2 cards and you get 1 …. Its ok it still a hard counter and we are playing Azami so card advantage will not be a problem.
Counterspell – The original you can’t do that spell
Muddle the Mixture – Counters if needed or tutor for mainly Helm of Awakening, Snapcaster Mage, or Cyclonic Rift.
Dissolve – Will change
Complicate – Need to cut this
Cryptic Command – One of my favorite and one of the most versatile counters in the deck. Something feels good when you bounce [c]Gilded Drake after you stole someone’s favorite creature.
Force of Will – Auto include in any combo deck
Lands
30 Snow-Covered Island – I chose Snow-Covered so most of the time only we would get the Mana doubling effect of Extraplanar Lens.
Ancient Tomb -
Academy Ruins – Grabs us a mana rocks if we need it or returns Sensei’s Diving Top if we are planning to combo with it.
Cavern of Souls – Makes our wizards un-counterable so we don’t have to waste our own permission spells to protect them.
Minamo, School at Water's Edge – This lets us get multiple draws off the same legendary creature when Azami, Lady of Scrolls is out.
Reliquary Tower – Hey sometimes we draw a lot of cards and want to keep them in our hand.
Riptide Laboratory – The Palinchron infinite mana loop and this land can make you end the game instantly or make you not want you to play with you again. If you can loop Venser, Shaper Savant infinitely bouncing everyone’s permanents and slowly beating each player down with 1/1s will make even the most cut throat players tear up.
Wasteland – We used this get rid of our opponent’s utility lands because Homeward Path is aggravating when we play so many steal spells and this deals with it.
Infinte Combos
Azami, Lady of Scrolls + [c]Mind over Matter[c/c] = Draw deck then Lab man for win
Palinchron + High Tide = Infinite Mana (6 Islands in play)
Palinchron + Extraplanar Lens = Infinite Mana
Infinite Mana + Blue Sun Zenith = Draw deck or Deck someone
Riptide Laboratory + Palinchron’s Infinite Mana = Untap Laboratory bounce then play Azami draw deck
Future Sight + Sensei’s Divining Top + Helm of Awakening/Cloud Key = Draw Deck
Beacon of Tomorrow + infinite mana + any draw deck combo = infinite turns
As I was writing this I noticed quite a few cards that I would like to change. I will keep this updated as much as I can. I’m also sorry about how messy everything looks I’m still figuring out the formatting and will try my best to make everything look pretty.
Glad to find even more people that enjoy commanderin' with Azami. I've seen that card alter around before and always thought it looked very well done; do you happen to have one?
Oh, and welcome to MTGSalvation. If you ever feel like discussing Azami I'm always interested in the topic and am curious in other people's deck choices. Have a great day
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls - Knowledge is Power U [Primer]
R Heartless Hidetsugu - The Art of Ending Games R
GB Ishkanah, Grafwidow - The Cluster HungersBG
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Thank you very much Always glad to hear someone liked the thread.
I wouldn't presume to know what cards are not worth playing in your list. It's my opinion that there are a lot of variables in multiplayer EDH, with or without a set play group, that mold our style and deck choices. For all I know these could be the perfect choices for your meta
If I had to pick out a couple things that appear strange then Complicate sort of stands out. I've never really been a fan of counter spell with 3 or more CMC, but when I did run them I preferred hard counters like Dissipate or the Dissolve you already run. The cycle makes it difficult to react to, but personally I've never found Force Spike to catch too many people off guard. And since Azami is our commander I don't think we're struggling to find card draw. Since you're specifically going for a more "competitive" route I also think that Beacon of Tomorrows is a little slow. You get the chance to use it again, but speed is your ally against more tuned lists. Walk the Aeons is fairly cheap and and potentially recurrable through it's buyback in a pinch. It also sits around in your graveyard in case Snapcaster Mage wants to make extra use of it.
All in all the deck looks solid to me. We have slightly different styles of play, but I can appreciate what you're working with and your meta is most likely different from my own. Hope that helped a bit
P.S. - The card tags for Stonybrook Banneret and what I believe is Sapphire Medallion are broken. I think just a simple typo.
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls - Knowledge is Power U [Primer]
R Heartless Hidetsugu - The Art of Ending Games R
GB Ishkanah, Grafwidow - The Cluster HungersBG
I do like the Walk the Aeons idea a lot I also thought about cutting a card for Archaeomancer for when I need to see a pseudo second Snapcaster Mage. My meta is all over the place sometimes its competitive with Maelstromm Wanderer, Captain Sisay which I despise with a passion, and Prossh, Skyraider of Kher and other times not as competitive Mono white tokens, Wolf Tribal, and Aristocrats. I really need to find a secondary deck though for when my friends are fussing too much about Azami. I was thinking maybe Jori En, Ruin Diver storm/aggro but I'm not sure. All I do know is that blue is a must in any EDH deck I play because I don't feel right playing anything un-blue if that makes any sense.
I've always had a lot of success with Archaeomancer even without discussing the infinite loops it can get going. Recurring spells like Bribery can bring a tear to your eye.
If Captain Sisay grinds your gears then both Stifle and Trickbind can be powerful options. Also stops that Prosh cast trigger to delay a combo from going off.
I wouldn't recommend storm as a more casual alternative to Azami. From my own experience, even more deliberately slow storm decks demand early attention and can again warp the game into archenemy. Since your group already seems to hold Azami to that standard it might not help to have another deck that falls along those lines. Jori En, Ruin Diver is a very cool commander and probably has a lot of deck design paths you could go down.
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls - Knowledge is Power U [Primer]
R Heartless Hidetsugu - The Art of Ending Games R
GB Ishkanah, Grafwidow - The Cluster HungersBG
I did have Trickbind in the list for a while but wound up cutting it for some reason that I can't remember. I was wondering your thoughts on your list not running Gilded Drake. I always find some use for him and I can always Muddle the Mixture when I'm in a pinch after something scary resolves. You also may be right about Jori En, Ruin Diver but I need to find something that fits me. I could just make him a control deck with the Splinter Twin combos and other shenanigans.
I used to run Gilded Drake in my list and bring it up in my 'Change Log' over on my thread. The simple answer is that it was, from my point of view, another form of Patron Wizard. It is an amazing card that worked perfectly as intended, but in a lot of cases could feel overbearing. People don't like there things stolen so I tried to minimize those effects in the deck once I noticed the sentiment from my play group. With Sower of Temptation and Treachery they can always just remove the controlling permanent and retrieve their card back under their control. The drake forced them to use THEIR removal to deal with THEIR creature which is amazing from a pure power standpoint, but is less so from a "feel bad" sort of view. Basically it was just a meta call
There are a lot of potential commanders with blue in their color identity to choose from for a new deck to build. Hanna, Ship's Navigator for artifact/enchantment theme. Phenax, God of Deception for mill. Or are you like me and just really enjoy drawing cards? haha. Damia, Sage of Stone does that pretty well too. What attracts you to Jori En, Ruin Diver?
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls - Knowledge is Power U [Primer]
R Heartless Hidetsugu - The Art of Ending Games R
GB Ishkanah, Grafwidow - The Cluster HungersBG
He isn't set in stone that I must use him. I just like the simplicity of the twin package that I could toss into the build without a problem. I really enjoy Jeskai Control the commanders other than Narset, Enlightened Master(who is borderline OP) are all just kinda blah. I know I will find my secondary commander eventually. Hell I might try Animar, Soul of Elements he is a little out of my comfort zone but hey it's comboish and has blue.
I can see that. I was just curious so that maybe I could get a better feel for what styles of play you enjoy if I was going to suggest a certain commander. I'll agree that there aren't that many Jeskai commanders and, for me personally, they all feel a little lackluster (except for Narset of course). If you really like combo builds then Animar, Soul of Elements can be a very potent choice and if you feel like it you can still run the Splinter Twin for sweet value.
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls - Knowledge is Power U [Primer]
R Heartless Hidetsugu - The Art of Ending Games R
GB Ishkanah, Grafwidow - The Cluster HungersBG
In every format I run some type of combo/control. I just really enjoy sitting back stopping anything I need too and waiting for my opponent to mess up or put their guard down. In Modern I've ran Splinter Twin(RIP), Geist Control, Ad Nauseam, and Infect. In Legacy I play Storm and Infect. I'm just all around loads of fun to play in any format.:D
I can see why Azami appeals to you. Is she the first EDH deck you've built?
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls - Knowledge is Power U [Primer]
R Heartless Hidetsugu - The Art of Ending Games R
GB Ishkanah, Grafwidow - The Cluster HungersBG
No I've played Oloro and Maelstrom Wanaderer but Azami is just the first one I've just fell in love with. I know I would probably love Zur but Azami is a big enough target. For 1v1 I usually use Clique because why should my opponents have fun right. I want to make a GP sometime this year to play some side events.
An Azami list tuned for speed makes a great choice for competitive EDH pods at larger events. The only sad part about side events like those is every once in a while you'll run into a few people that just wanted a "normal" game of commander and you can accidentally steam roll over them. My personal play group aside, random groupings like that are why my list looks the way it does and goes for more utility over quick execution of the combos in the deck.
When I do happen to play 1v1 it usually just stick to Azami for fun, but I hear Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is extremely good in a duel commander setting as your commander. Many people would like to see that card banned apparently.
On the note of your list. For more degenerate interactions have you tried Intruder Alarm? Sometimes a do nothing in a bad board state. Other times it generates obscene amounts of value. It ended up falling out of favor with me, but maybe your list and meta is a better fit.
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls - Knowledge is Power U [Primer]
R Heartless Hidetsugu - The Art of Ending Games R
GB Ishkanah, Grafwidow - The Cluster HungersBG
I've never though about Intruder Alarm it seems like it would be crazy once Azami is out. I will definitely give it a try though.
Thanks