First, a bit of lore: From MTG Salvation wiki:
"Azami Ozu grew up in the Kawabe Province. Her father was in the military while her mother studied soratami lore. Her parents were often busy with their work and had little time for either her or her brother.
Azami was fascinated with her mother's magical texts and would often take them and read them by the river, though her mother had forbidden her from reading them. On one of these occasion, the girl was visited by a river spirit whom she assumed was a much more important deity. Because of the kami's words, Azami became convinced that her future importance far outstripped the lives of those around her."
A boring librarian? As my COMMANDER? It's more likely than you think... Azami, Lady of Scrolls is a superb choice for Commander, and my personal favorite for many, many months. She provides an absurd card-draw source that doesn't make the deck solely dependent on her being alive. The fact that she can be utilized the moment she hits play makes her simply amazing. She's earned a lot of mixed reviews from people who will decry that she's a Tier 1 Commander to those who believe that she's way past her prime in the current meta of much faster, more ruthless Commanders. The truth is, Magic: the Gathering is cyclical. It's always in motion and what's hot one day will fall out of the pro's grace the next. Azami has the good fortune to be in the most powerful slice of color pie in the game, and it will take more then some harsh words from forum trolls to deter a good Azami deck.
Why?
Someone might like playing Azami, Lady of Scrolls if:
- They enjoy card draws and shuffling from tutors.
- They enjoy a multitude of combos in one package.
- They want to pose a severe threat to other players in their playgroup. Someone might not like playing Azami, Lady of Scrolls if:
- They want to play something more aggressive, or win by combat damage.
- They don't enjoy doing math, taking time to think about long-winded plays or have ADD.
- They hate Islands. I play Azami because:
- I enjoy Kamigawa lore
- I like her instant-gratification-esq ability
- I enjoy wizards as a tribe
- I am stubborn and believe old glory can rise again! Haha. Azami builds can vary!
-Combo-Esq Azami (What I play)
-Turn-gen Azami
-Wizard Aggro Azami Azami builds are interchangable!
You can change out Azami for other notable blue-generals without terribly disrupting the core deck engines
-Aboshan, Cephalid Emperor
-Arcanis the Omnipotent
-Empress Galina
-Ertai, Wizard Adept
-Heidar, Rimewind Master
-Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
-Memnarch
-Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
-Vendilion Clique
-Venser, Shaper Savant
How?
I like my eggs over-simplified.
Azami has been an evolution for me. I didn't start out using mono blue but the deck evolved in that direction during my search for more stability.
I originally started playing EDH with Jhoira of the Ghitu as my general. I enjoyed what blue had to offer, enjoyed what neat tricks Jhoira could do, but didn't enjoy the inconsistency. It was a one trick pony and that trick was watered down due to the inclusion of red (red being the worst of the colors for EDH IMO ) I liked Wizards, I enjoyed Jhoira, but took my search to mono blue to see what it had to offer.
I scoured Google, Salvation, TCGplayer and found lots of decklists and articles to read over. Blue was popular here too, who would have thought? Vendilion Clique threads abound, but they didn't do anything for me. While clique is powerful, it lacked something. It had some synergy with other cards, but not that leadership figure I envisioned as *my* general. A general I would use to rain terror and pain upon fellow cardfloppers. It wasn't long until I stumbled upon Fzian's thread and was taken in by his experiences. I wanted to see what the deck could do, so I built it. I built it, loved it, evolved it. Moved from Multiplayer to 1v1 using a Multiplayer ban list, over to a local ban list, then onto the French ban list. French, you say?...
French ban list builds and their damn French bread:
For many, many months I have been using a build that followed a very lax ban list from my local shop. With the emergence of the French Ban List and it's widespread popularity, I am officially retiring my more lax build. It's archive will be posted below for those interested, and I will start with a V1.00 build following the French Ban List and go from there.
So you've taken up arms with Azami, Lady of Scrolls by your side. She's not strong, she's not much of a looker, but she's literate and has all of her teeth. Momma always said those were good qualities in a woman.
You shuffle up your pile, you wink slyly at your opponent to both throw them off guard and make sure they know you're not afraid to get frisky.
You draw your seven. You keep these questions in mind:
Who am I playing against? Is this a fast deck? What is the focus? Will I need to counter more, or lay some creatures?
How much land did I draw into? Azami needs 3 lands to get started. That enables a lot of the wizards to come online as well as spells to both draw and counter. She will need more later on to win, but 3 is a good start. Sometimes I keep a hand with (2), perhaps if I've drawn a filter spell like Ponder, Hapless Researcher or Sage of Epityr. If I haven't, it's time to man up and mulligan. It's not easy to win a game when you miss a land drop or five.
Once you've considered those you begin your building. You lay your lands with this in mind; "Unless you are gaining direct benefit from playing a nonbasic land; play a Snow-Covered Island". It's very important to remember and follow that.
Then it's blue as usual. Counter the relevant threats, sustain your life, play your wizards to gain an edge now as well as be a warm brain-filled body for when Azami hits.
Once you hit 5 mana, don't immediately cast Azami. Think first. Blue is the thinking-mans color. There may be a better play. If you've not played any wizards by now and perhaps you have a feeling there's no artifact destruction available for your opponent to hit then the better play may be that Gauntlet of Might. It's going to make next turn that much more painful for your opponent and draw the end closer.
If you run into trouble calm down. Azami is littered with counters and bounces, sprinkled with creature theft, and can even muster enough energy to ignore threats on the board and go straight for the throat! YEAH TAKE THAT RED!
That being said, I want to begin right off with two of Azami's biggest weaknesses:
-Land Destruction
-Aggro
Each of these poses a seperate threat to the deck. One is quick, one is drawn out; both painful to deal with.
Land Destruction
Azami is tricky to pilot. The deck is incredibly reliant on consistent land drops, and getting mana flooded without proper filter can kill you. From over a year experience, I can tell you that without a doubt I worry more about land destruction then any combination of counter war, discard, alternate win, fatty summoning or spitballs. You are very dependent on your Snow-Covered Island's, and if they're blown up they not only set you back but they make it harder to pull off combos. The deck needs to keep colorless-land-lite because of how blue intensive the card choices are, so naturally land destruction pinpointing on your Islands will ruin your day. Keep vigilant.
-Conserve your counterspells. Ignore creatures that are cast which don't directly affect your mana producting capabilities. Obviously if they cast a Mox Monkey or equal pain in the butt and you're sitting on any number of mana-producing artifacts you'll want to stop it, but for the most part be aware that even on a single mana they could set you back.
-Take the shot. Don't worry about blocking. Chances are land destruction decks are not going to whittle you down by turn 6. It's a slow process, and if they're focusing on your resources then they're not trying as hard to take your life!
Aggro
Aggro. The bane of combo. The color of choice? Green. Elves have given me so many problems during my time as king of the hill here that every time I play one I shiver. I've lost every game to an Elf general online as well as almost every game to Rhys the Redeemed and Ezuri, Renegade Leader in person. Elves can pump out absurd amounts of mana, and in turn even more elves which tend to do one of two things; combo off into something greatly-absurd, or pump up to gigantic proportions and turn Azami into a floor mat.
-Cast wizards. They can block and make defending the early game easy. It's a few turns in when you notice that you're being far outpaced in the mana game. There's good news here though; while they outpace you early and steadily gain more and more, Azami picks up speed turn 3-5, then spikes towards infinity 5-7. Each turn you last past 5 tremendously increases your odds of victory.
-Bounce Priest of Titania or anything else with that level of power. They don't tap right away and will make your life a living hell the turn after. Power cards like that, S-ranked cards, Top Shelf Liquors of the Magic world need to be countered or bounced EOT. Save yourself; remove them. Even if you have to creature-theft them as a last resort, it's better then the alternative.
-Be aware of artifact/enchantment removal. Green's heavy in it and they will search out any of the elves that are capable of doing this. Even if all you need is one turn, one turn is all they need to fetch up a Viridian Shaman and ruin your Gauntlet of Power.
-Trinket Mage/Fabricate into a Pithing Needle and use it wisely. It's a silver bullet, but you're going against a color with a plethora of weapons at it's disposal to remove the needle. I will needle the general, generally (ha-ha!) but not right away if I don't feel particularly threatened. Since it only cost (1) to cast waiting a turn isn't a terrible option.
-Find your Wash Out asap. All the hard work green mages will put into amassing a zillion tiny elves to stomp your face in next turn will be for naught if you start off Main Phase 1 or 2 with a foiled out Wash Out. I mean, foil's not necessary but man it sure is pretty!
-Sideboard. The 10 card sideboard has plenty of cards to assist with the green threat. It evolves, but staples like Hibernation, Propaganda and Acid Rain (wtf?) can save you like non-other.
Matchups!
Azami has a great matchup against lots of popular generals now due to her rather spotting showings yet spontaneously brilliant clutch wins. I've had the (dis)pleasure of playing against the following generals, so I wanted to add some annotations of things to be aware of when facing them.
Edric, Spymaster of Trest: Lets begin with Edric, seemingly king of the hill in the French 1v1 Scene. He gatheres the best of both worlds; playing tempo like a pro and really showcasing how individule power cards can really shine brighter then a thousand suns when all gathered in one place. It's like The Expendables gone horribly right.
Edric will start off lightning fast with creatures. And by lightning fast I mean they may have Flash. These creatures will have some sort of evasion and a novice player may not think much of them at first. This is just the beginning of the brilliance that is Edric tempo. Soon Edric has a few evasive bodies out and he's either countering what you're playing, bouncing any potential threats you're laying, or laying in wait to lay down more instant speed creatures. Once Edric resolves, if you let him resolve, things take a turn for the worst. Edric will let his controller fill up their hand gaining an early card advantage that Azami can only dream of. While doing so he will whittle your health down and you'll be near powerless. The coup de grace may very well be him countering whatever you tap out to play, then him untapping and playing a Rising Waters / Winter Orb. Entering Scoop Phase?[/CARD]
Just remember to remove the threats. Taking 1-2 damage from each creature a turn doesn't seem like much, but it adds up. Keep Edric off the board, keep the amount of available threats down. Block if you can, bounce if you can. Time bounces with Edrics equipment so you get the most out of them.
Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Remember what I said about elves? This is their leader. He enables them, he powers them, he uses what they give and amplifies it three-fold. Primary target for a Pithing Needle, you should keep one eye on him and one eye on whichever creature is being tutored out of your opponents deck next. Azami will need to get to a combo asap and if you're playing a smart Ezuri player he'll come at you two ways. ONe will be to try to overwhelm you with little dudes, and the other will be to fetch out his utility cards that ruin your plans. Both can happen so please remember to save a counter for any last minute Viridian Zealot.
Karador, Ghost Chieftain
Luckily we have an easier time here. Karador requires three colors and as such requires more skill/luck/ and better deckbuilding to accomidate as such.
There's not a whole lot to worry about here, other then discarding combo pieces. Beware that Azami will be targeted, she will die quickly. Know that, and know that Karador may have some delicious fatty in deck to Bribery out!
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
A fun matchup. There's a good change that Grand Arbiter Augustin will have more counterspells in deck then you, along with land tax and bounce spells. If you can, use your clone-effect cards like Phyrexian Metamorph to drive up Augustin's cost and be aware of cards like Humility. Remember that there's a great chance he's packing a copy of whatever silver bullets your packing as well.
Jenara, Asura of War fits into the same builds as Rafiq of the Many. These end up being your cookie cutter Bant-good stuff, though some builds may go the Exalted route. Later on in this thread I have a quick writeup of Exalted gone wrong and it shows how fast Azami can have her face busted up. Just pay attention to what's played and what can be played. If you've got a ton of equipment sitting out like Lightning Greaves and a Sword of Fire and Ice, make sure that Rafiq or Jenara do not land!
They will likely have a counter or three, but nothing to focus on. They may be packing Armageddon, but that tends to be more up to personal preference. It will put up little fight to stop a combo if you're really intent on going off.
Rhys the Redeemed. Beautiful matchup. For Rhys. Rhys can go two ways that I've seen. It can act like Ezuri, Renegade Leader and power out elves to plow you over, or it can go an Enchanter route. This is fun because every game I've played against this build has proved that it draws cards faster and produces mana faster then Azami. Definitely a prime example of why you'd need to use a sideboard vs it.
Same rules apply here, be aware that it can and will search stuff out. The differences is that it usually searches out varying Enchantresses to further its card drawing, but it will find bullets if you start to threaten it.
Azusa, Lost but Seeking is easier then you'd think. This general powers out mana like a fiend in order to cast bigger things like kickered Tooth and Nail, or an Eldrazi. You know. Spells that you can counter, or creatures you can steal. Nothing big here, no real need to counter the land ramp, just what they use the ramp to cast. Be a smart player and Azami shouldn't have a loss here.
Card Interactions!
Azami, Lady of Scrolls + Mind over Matter = Filter your hand. Tap Azami to draw a card. Don't like it? Pitch it to Mind over Matter, untap Azami. Rinse and Repeat!
Magus of the Future // Future Sight + Etherium Sculptor // Helm of Awakening + Sensei's Divining Top = Draw your deck! Or as many cards as you feel. Always be sure that when drawing you remember all other ongoing effects. You don't want to dig down to deep, only to be forced to draw and lose when you can't! Don't get greedy. Find your wincon and leave the rest of the pile secure!
Palinchron + High Tide // Extraplanar Lens // Gauntlet of Power = Infinite Blue Mana! Now this requires thought. Without any cost reducers, you need to be able to make 12 mana with 7 lands in order to go infinite. With High Tide // Extraplanar Lens // Gauntlet of Power out, that means 6 Islands. Less with mana reducers like Helm of Awakening!
Snap // Treachery // Turnabout // Frantic Search + High Tide // Extraplanar Lens // Gauntlet of Power = Extra mana! More importantly though, these are NECESSARY to combo off of faster. If you can get down combo pieces and have 1-2 islands untapped after it's said and done, you can still win with these! Draw a ton of cards, Snap into Frantic Search into Turnabout into Win!
Diviner's Wand + One of the aforementioned infinite mana producing combos = Infinite draw! Again, be careful. Reckless players draw their deck. That can cost you!
Brittle Effigy = Not every card in the stack needs to be devoted to pulling off the combo. There arn't enough worthy choices to do this, so we have filler. Filler should still be useful, even if not directly contributing to the cause. This is what Effigy does. You may tutor it up through numerous ways like Trinket Mage and Fabricate, and it's cheap enough to be cast early and used early on whatever ales you including (read: especially!) opposing Generals.
Pact of Negation = It's a 0 cost counterspell. It's obviously not going to be played early game, but held as your ace in the hole when you want to combo off. Obviously it's a step down in power from a card like Force of Will, but still nearly unequaled in power. Just be careful about the timing and use of this card as it shouldn't be tossed around lightly.
Hapless Researcher = a 1 CC wizard who could tap to Azami to draw a card, then sacrifice himself to filter a card. Not a whole lot of useful 1 CC wizards!
Sage of Epityr = a 1 CC wizard who lets you rearrange the top 4 cards. I will gladly keep a 1 land hand with him in it, knowing I should hit 1-2 more land on top.
Ponder = In the world of near-limitless 1 CC draw spells, the ability to look at 3, rearrange, and either draw from there or shuffle the pile and get a shot at something completely new is probably better to me then any alternative. Brainstorm just doesn't do it, when you need to dig past what you've already seen with your Sensei's Divining Top.
High Tide = A serious combo piece. A lot of older players, and players who play eternal formats know this cards power. On Turn 3, a High Tide alone could let you cast a 4 CC. On Turn 4, a 6 CC. Turn 5 a High Tide into a Gauntlet of Might into a Turnabout to untap your lands is even more brutal. As you can imagine, it can accelerate you to places blue probably shouldn't be able to see so early. It easily combos with cards like PalinchronSnap, and Frantic Search, which untap your lands basically paying for themselves while giving you a boost.
Speaking of..
Snap, Frantic Search, Turnabout, Palinchron = Amazing pieces of a larger machine. Each card has its own use, and then a secondary use to help interact with other pieces of the deck. They enable the player to avoid bad situations by doing things like casting High Tide, casting Snap to bounce a Snapcaster Mage, playing Snapcaster Mage targetting High Tide, playing High Tide, playing Frantic Search, drawing into a Palinchron, untapping and playing Palinchron for whatever desirable amount of mana you'd like. The weird part? The situation above isn't a god hand in any sense of the word. The nice thing about this deck is it's capable of drawing/tutoring into these cards and making this a reality!
Stroke of Genius Stroke of Genius takes the cake for me as far as pinpoint removal spells when comboing out. I find it a lot harder to pull off UUU needed for Blue Sun's Zenith, or I need that instant speed that Braingeyser just can't provide.
Grim Monolith = Mana acceleration. It's a large mana rock, very cheap, but shouldn't be used unless you can get a great benefit out of it (read: casting a Gauntlet of Might). It's main reason for inclusion is to combo with Power Artifact.
Snapcaster Mage = What if wizards printed a wizard, agressively costed, which could grant Flashback to an instant or sorcery in your graveyard at instant speed? Well, they did and it's amazing. This guy should be in nearly any deck that can run him, and his price tag confirms this! Playing him end of turn to flashback a draw spell, or playing him after casting High Tide just to recur and reuse the High Tide is crippling.
Merchant Scroll = Blue is known for a few things; counterspell, creature bounce, creature theft and draw. It's also known for tutoring, something shared across the color pie but something it can do well if built correctly. Merchant Scroll enables the player to search out those key combo pieces or in a clutch; a card to keep you alive! Key targets with Merchant Scroll tend to be High Tide, Snap/Frantic Search/Turnabout.
Phantasmal Image = This replaced Shapesharer. No activation cost, no targetting, can become copies of pretty much anything. Just an all around step up!
Vedalken Aethermage = Legit power card in the stack. It's a flashing wizard that can turn itself into a tutor for another wizard? When using this card it's very important to remember the following: Diviner's Wand is a Wizard, Memnarch is a Wizard, and it's Wizardcycling ability is colorless. If you've gotten your Grim Monolith + Power Artifact combo going it's pretty much game over.
Power Artifact = A combo piece. It's less useful in non combo situations then some other dual-purposed cards in the stack, but has it's uses none the less. It can lower the equip cost and draw cost of Diviner's Wand as well as make Memnarch's activated abilities cheaper. It's best use, of course, is with Grim Monolith.
Counterspell = This is EDH, and because of this we do have a great selection of countermagic at our disposal. Counterspell is the mold in which all other Counterspell-esq cards are made after. It's very cheaply costed and does what it does plain and simple. If you're going to add a counterspell to the deck make sure it's aggressively costed and has a wide variety of popular targets. There are reasons this is run over cards like Abjure or Bone to Ash.
Extraplanar Lense = A more risky Gauntlet of Power, the Lens can help or harm you depending on the matchup. You must remember that the manabase for this deck is the highest priority. By losing a land just to get this into play, you already set yourself back. It's a risky card that can pay off big if you're patient!
Vedalken Shackles = With a deck that's so heavy on basic Islands, this card should be an auto-include. Creature theft at a premium, it combo's amazingly with High Market letting you off creatures at a rate of one per turn. Since the deck does have a weakness to aggressive decks, a form of creature theft helps mitigate that.
Long Term Plans This is one of the most amazing tutors I've ever played with, and I see lots of lists that don't ever mention it. It explains why I snagged up a foil copy for under $1. This thing fetches any combo piece you need and the oh-so-bad? drawback of putting it third from the top is nullified by lots of cards in the deck. A well placed LTP with any number of card drawing engines on the board turns it into an instant-cast diabolic.
Sea Gate Oracle = Probably what a solid wizard should look like. His cost is reasonable, his effect is immediate and with a 3 defense he can hold up fairly well in early game against aggressive decks.
Trinket Mage = Another solid wizard. A 2/2 Wizard that can tutor a 1 cost artifact may not seem like much at first, but is very important in assisting you against a myriad of decks. Using him to grab a Brittle Effigy against Gaddock Teeg was the play seen the most a few months back, because it's one of the decks few ways out against that particular general. You can also fetch a Pithing Needle to help with pesky activated abilities.
Fabricate = Much like Long Term Plans, the ability to fetch out a key combo piece is very important. The deck has a good balance of draw, tutor, and counterspell and takes some practice to know when to let something hit (you) and when to stop (it). Fabricate solidifies itself in the ranks because of the artifacts it can find. Combo pieces like Vedalken Shackles, Grim Monolith, Mindslaver, Extraplanar Lens, Gauntlet of Power and Diviner's Wand all require additional methods of acquisition to make them worth running in a competitive deck. Cards like Fabricate make this a reality.
Hinder = A no brainer. Since French is more restrictive to blue you will need a way to defend yourself. One of the best concepts to come out of EDH is "Tucking" or the act of placing an opposing general on the bottom of that players deck. White and Blue both have a few ways to do this. Hinder is a marvelous and time tested way, along with alternatives Spell Crumple and Spin into Myth.
Patron Wizard = In such a Wizard-heavy deck, he's a shoo-in. The ability to (frequently) lock an opponent down while forming and ever growing board presence is nearly unmatched. There are many games in which he's been played turn 3 only to hold the fort down for several turns to follow.
Wash Out = A card that wasn't initially in the build but solidified itself for it's versitility and it's ability to save your butt in a bad spot! If you find yourself with plenty of mana to burn but are missing a key card or two, feel free to Wash Out for blue so you can recast your wizards and filter some more. The only way this card could get better is if it were instant cast.
Turnabout = Utility. This card can help keep your combo rolling, or even stall an opponent out for a turn.
Sower of Temptation = A flying, creature stealing wizard. She's got an immediate impact on the board state and will likely draw some hate in a desperate attempt to reclaim a stolen creature. Just be mindful of that enjoy abusing people with her!
Opposition = Give your wizards yet another utility. Instant speed tap out can often times save this deck from more aggressive decks.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor = One of the greatest blue cards ever printed, Jace is a mini player by most standards. Card draw, filter, manipulation, bounce and a win con rolled up into one beautiful mythic. If you can afford one, make sure he's included. There's no other way to fully explain why other then playing with one. His power is world renowned.
Cryptic Command = This card does it all. Instant speed card draw, creature bounce and tapping in addition to countermagic is just cake. The ability to pick 2 of those and go make this card even more nuts. The only drawback here is the heavy U casting cost, but the number of basic Islands run here should make it a non-issue.
Gauntlet of Power = Another combo piece that's very similar to High Tide. The longer a resolved Gauntlet of Power sits in play, the less and less likely it is for the opposition to recover. The +1/+1 is icing on a very sweet, mana rich cake.
Bribery Bribery is a card that began feared. That fear grew into a hatred. That hatred grew into distaste. Players hated a 5 mana win spell, so they did what any human does; adapt. Lots of players who know bribery is in their environment will only play creatures that they can deal with. The fact that this card has that much power warrants one of your 99 spots. It is a card that people build their deck around, and for that it shouldn't ever be discounted. It keeps players honest, and certainly makes them think twice about running Eldrazi mythics and the like!
Mindslaver = Another combo piece. There have been many times where Mindslaver has come into play and directly effected a game, and with enough mana and Academy Ruins out can keep an opponent locked down indefinitely. There has already been a game where i thought I may lose, but won because of this; an Iona, Shield of Emera set to blue is devestating however a Mindslaver can quickly turn those tides.
Time Spiral = What may end up being the road to a win-con in many cases. As soon as you kick off a High Tide and move into a Time Spiral, the odds of your opponent getting another turn become very low. One boosted Time Spiral will draw you a fresh hand of 7 cards while untapping lands that could equate to 12 mana. This is typically enough to pull one of many combos off. The only downside is that your opponent just got 7 cards as well but hey; you're playing blue. If you don't like something being cast; stop it!
Mind over Matter = Another combo piece and one of the oldest the deck has to offer. A MoM out with Azami, Lady of Scrolls on the field turns into endless card filtering as you tap Azami to draw a card, discard an unwanted card to untap her. Rinse and Repeat. It can lock down huge threats as well which can protect you long enough until you combo out.
Snow-Covered Island = The basis of the deck is the basic lands. Since blue is a popular color, the last thing you want to do is give another blue mage any benefit. Playing with Snow-Covered Island can help with cards like Extraplanar Lens, which will key off of that name.
Mutavault = Wow. The only downfall here is that the card only makes colorless mana. The fact that it can be animated in a clutch to become a wizard is a definite boon.
Ancient Tomb = Life is a resource; remember this. While you shouldn't go tapping the tomb every turn as much as possible, it's acceleration benefits to this deck are mind boggling. It enables cards like Eye of Ramos, Gauntlet of Power, Vedalken Shackles, Azami, Lady of Scrolls, and Bribery to see play earlier then they should, which can have huge power swings on the game.
Cards that just won't make the cut and why!
Island = Because Snow-Covered Islands, for the most part, are more rare and less often encountered. Last thing I want to do is give my opponent extra mana from my Extraplanar Lens.
Brainstorm = It's a 99 card deck. Sometimes you need to get past the top 3 in order to find an answer. If that's the case, Brainstorm is just recycled air. To get something fresh, we go with Ponder.
Brainfreeze = a 2 CC card that got cut after more testing. The combo's in deck are refined, and this along with Temple Bell were antiquated and no longer needed to win.
Counterbalance = quite the amazing 2 CC card... in legacy. In EDH, it's a lot harder to counter such a broad spectrum of CC's in opposing decks. Eventually it just becomes a card that is a waste of a slot when you could have something more useful and combo-orientated in its slot.
Seat of Synod = This deck needs Snow-Covered Islands to function properly. The less non-basics the better. Eventually the nonbasics in this build will be refined down to what is necessary and what can be expunged. Seat was expunged as too much of a liability for little added bonus.
Lightning Greaves = Good in about 95% of EDH decks. This is one of the exceptions. She doesn't need haste to use her ability, and the moment she hits play you gain card advantage. I'm OK with that. Greaves is paranoid overkill; you don't need it here.
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir = Another great card that may go into the sideboard again in the future. As of now there's no room mainboard for him. It's a combo deck, and it's blue. If it can't force a combo through via counters, then something is being done wrong. He's a bit overkill maindeck.
Gilded Lotus = Good mana producer, but the deck has a bunch of ways to make extra mana a reality. This card doesn't untap like a monolith, and since it's a mono colored deck it doesn't quite mesh.
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre = Generic eldrazi beater. It's not needed. This deck really isn't about winning by damage. Most games come from combo'ing off and winning with a Blue Sun's Zenith for 20,000. He's more of a liability if he's stolen.
Cards that should be here but arn't due to monetary restraints!
Again I want to point out fzian's thread, here . A fantastic read, a great deck. If you're really into Azami, Lady of Scrolls as your general you should read up
I also want to thank the fine folks at Heroes of the Plane Studio for the wonderful banner! The first one was beautiful and this most recently incarnation raised the bar!
Lastly, I want to throw a huge shout-out to all of our thread regulars. They make the push towards a stronger, more oppressive Azami a reality. Thanks to the likes of Mantxi, Handsome_Sailor, Fzian, Azami, Shadowboy, Sesstreets and the rest of your swell, swank fellas. Without your input this thread would be buried and meaningless!
The snow-covered suggestion is exactly why I'm tempted to do it. The only downside I see is my fancy Euro and APAC lands would go back to the binder, heh.
I passed on Seat of Synod. After a lot of testing, it becomes a big target for artifact removal, which I'm not cool with. Also, I wanted to limit the number of non-islands as to get a greater benefit from Gauntlet, Extraplanar and High Tide.
Teferi was one of those cards that I really enjoyed, but after playing the deck for so long it never really saw play. I may put him in the sideboard though. Need to think on that.
Coldsteel heart is a nice mana stone. I'm not opposed to adding, but I'm not sure what I'd cut for it. Open to suggestions here.
I'm against Lightning Greaves in this deck. Azami uses her abilities at instant speed, and it's more combo orientated. I'd probably run them in any other deck but this due to the nature of the deck's engine.
I ordered a foil Brittle Effigy. It just arrived, so I need to find room for it in mainboard. I will also begin to switch from Islands to Snow-Covered Islands. I have Mouth of Ronam and Scrying Sheets waiting to be put in. I could probably pull out Lonely Sandbar and Temple of the False God for them.
@BiNiaRiS
I agree with you, but the deck can get pretty U intensive. I worry about having too many colorless sources. While I like Wasteland and Dust Bowl, I'm not sure what I'd pull out for them.
I would also suggest adding 2 more islands, 36 doesn't seem like enough to me but I could be wrong.
Cards I don't like:
Magus of the Bazaar Enclave Cryptologist Hapless Researcher Frantic Search Bribery is a maybe, I don't like relying on my opponents decks to win and it's a 5 mana sorcery. Wash Out is a maybe, I've never used it before so I don't know how good it is. Extraplanar Lens I'm not really a big fan of, but it works well with your combo / High Tide so maybe. Gauntlet of Power is just too slow and stupid, I'd cut that in a heart beat. Counterbalance is meh, I don't think you run enough shuffle effects to make use of it and it's kind of hit or miss in EDH.
Things I'd like to see added:
A few more/better wizards Temporal Adept please.
A few more counterspells
More land hate like biniaris said.
How do you deal with Pithing Needle on Azami?
I have had good results with Hapless Researcher and Enclave Cryptologist. Frantic Search is good with High Tide effects. Bribery is not in the deck as a wincon; it's more of a punishment to players who play with high-powered creatures. Simply too good to cut.
Extraplanar Lens is a must, as a second High Tide. Gauntlet of Power is less useful, certainly, and could be cut for the right card. Obviously something to replace it's effect, though that seems unlikely.
Wash Out I'm on the fence about. I've gotten good use out of it, but not being an instant hurts.
Pithing Needle on Azami, Lady of Scrolls doesn't worry me. She has synergy with the deck, but is not required for it to function. If you can suggust something here that may serve to functions, one being saving her from Pithing Needle; I'm all ears.
Temporal Adept I like. I may try to integrate it into the deck.
Sea Scryer may be a good replacement to Magus of the Bazaar. Blue Mana ramp? Sold hehe. I'll make changes to get these replacements ordered tonight to test.
I agree on Wasteland and Force of Will, though if I could raise the money I'd certainly pick them up. Sometime
If this list is primarily 1v1 oriented, then I think it's best to play Azami as cutthroat as possible.
At least as far as my testing went, even Palinchron bordered on being cut (it stayed in only since it served as a free defender against aggro).
The only win condition Azami needs is a 2/2 flyer like Sower.
With that in mind.
-Fabricate
-Memnarch
-Chrome Mox
-Mind Over Matter
-Temple Bell
-Jushi Apprentice
-Ertai, Wizard Adept
-Etherium Sculptor
-Brain Freeze
-Counterbalance
I'm not really sure I understand what you accomplish by removing Fabricate, Memnarch, Mind over Matter, Temple Bell, Etherium Sculptor and Brain Freeze. Each one is a part of another combo piece in the deck. While additions like Force of Will, Stifle, Cryptic Command are worth noting and considering cutting cards for, I don't see how gimping combos for them make them worth it? Do you have a list you're running that I could check over? I am curious.
The artifact acceleration package works amazing when you get tolarian academy or an early mana vault, but otherwise its starting to seem sub-optimal. I might switch it out for more counters.
I found that the more counters I added, the more unstable the combos became. Once I added Power Artifact, I removed Thran Dynamo and Gilded Lotus. Basically the approach I took was less counter, more tutor. The faster I could hit some kind of combo, the better off my board position became.
From your lists, things I will probably consider are Mutavault and Capsize.
What types of decks do you find yourself playing against? You could probably streamline the deck a bit more if your playgroup opts to use a 10-card Sideboard, that way you can move some of your maindeck over to the sideboard.
Also thinking of removing Revoker from SB, putting Crypt to the SB and MD the Brittle Effigy.
I'm inclined to agree. The deck isn't going to win by permission. Those afformentioned cards are staying.
I've updated the original posts. Added back Capsize to the list to debate. I like it, but it's not needed if I hit Memnarch. I'd rather steal everything then bounce everything Mutavault and Ancient Tomb are two colorless lands I'd seriously consider adding. I'm not sure where. Cut some Snow-Covered Island ?
It also combos with Sensei's Divining Top and can be fetched with Muddle the Mixture, however I find myself wanting a more aggressive combo instead of something like that. It's been maindeck for about a week and has never seen play.
sense's divining top does not work nearly as well as scroll rack.
It obviously hasn't worked for you because your not using the other half of the combo. How can you pass judgement on it if A. you havent seen it in play and B. your not using it to it's fullest.
That is not Aggressive enough? What would you call it?
just draw into one lol and Muddle the Mixture or sift for the other.
Scroll Rack is IMO the answer and its not a combo that happens every single match, but when it does I have never seen it broken. Perhaps there is a bit of surprise factor as well!
@mantxi
I actually own a foil Time Stretch, and would love to use it if I could see it winning the game. What happened was, early on it was cut for things to either enable a combo or search combo pieces out. Hardcasting a 10 CC Sorcery for 2 turns still doesn't win me the game. It just gives me 2 turns to find other cards to win, heh. I'm still mulling this over.
I think I will place an order for an Ancient Tomb now, and try to figure out how to include it later. I've got Mutavaults, but I'm not convinced there is any more room for a non-blue producting land.
On the subject of Turnabout, I've been playing this deck for about a Month now. I've never actually drawn it in an opening hand. I think I've been fortunate enough to only get it after tutoring for it, in which case it's been a lifesaver. I think almost every cast has followed a High Tide esq effect, to untap all my land to continue on to combo that turn.
@Albus Severus
Let me mull over Scroll Rack. If anything, I can see running it to help find combo pieces. I'm not sold, but it is a solid suggestion. Thanks!
I had a Spin into Myth in my deck, but ultimately didn't use it. At 5CC I was either trying to combo off or control the board. I've got a foil sitting aside should I choose to reintroduce it
Meishin, the Mind Cage seemed way too expensive to include. I think I'd rather have propaganda to deal with aggro because it drops a whole lot earlier. Maybe something like Porticullis, since they're cheaper and run off of colorless?
I suggust that because if you decide to go and include Power Artifact, the tremendous amount of colorless mana can be filtered through the Eye of Ramos to produce an additional UU, which can be a game breaker for the rest of a combo.
Cryptic Command is solid, but I have yet to make room for it. How does it work for you?
Opposition lets you tap down your opponents side of the board obviously and is stronger then surge spanner IMO.
Equilibrium lets you get more out of your own creatures, and lets you do creative things with a high tide out, Palinchron can be bounced for 1+creature cost.
Cloud of Faeries again works well with Equilibrium or just building up mana when you combo off.
Great Whale is iffier but can give you a big boost to try to search for your combo or combo off with cloud of faeries high tide and equilibrium...
Don't you see that the whole aim of Moderators is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make infractions literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed, will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten.
I think that great whale is iffy but it enables for more ways to go infinite and it is a 5/5 for free at the least.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Don't you see that the whole aim of Moderators is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make infractions literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed, will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten.
@mantxi
I referred to Power Artifact and Eye of Ramos because you'll find yourself with excess colorless. Having an Eye of Ramos will help net UU to help combo off further. Just something I've discovered while playing
@BurningPaladin
Of your suggestions, I think I like Opposition over Surgespanner. While Surgespanner is good, i find myself using that mana for other things. Opposition feels more appealing and may help against aggro matchups which tend to be the worst.
I've updated the original post. I've ordered a batch of cards which I will consider the first revision of the list. I'll update the list, and then move forward from there. Testing tonight will be with V 000 as I'm still awaiting the new cards in the mail.
EDIT:
First set of changes have been reflected in the original post. By next week I'll have the cards to swap out for the physical change, and report on my results. I hope it runs smoother.
This is how my deck looks like. I think that all of you have some good ideas but I think this is about as good as this deck can be. If I have missed something please give me a heads up on what to change.
@Azami
I think it's a bit too brash to make any claim about any deck being the best it can be. There are too many variables, especially in this format. Probably a good idea to check that stale thought process at the door
Cards I see in your list I would avoid:
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre: I have a fear of running large creatures maindeck. Ulamog can be stolen by a myriad of means, and staring down your own Eldrazi would be pretty terrifying. Are you using this for it's shuffle effect?
Cards that I'd like to get your feedback on so I understand better:
Lotus Petal: One-shot mana producer. I was curious as to how this works for you? Wouldn't you prefer a more consistent mana stone?
Coalition Relic: Would you consider playing Eye of Ramos, since it's a mono-colored deck? When I had Coalition Relic in my build, I found myself needing that extra U at random times. Being limited to MP1 for the relic charge mana may hinder you.
Scroll Rack: This is one I'm on the fence about. If you've read through this short thread, you may have found another user who was adamant about using it. The 2 colorless cost has it's pros and cons, mainly being un-Trinket Mage-able but being able to be transmuted in by Muddle The Mixture. I don't care a single bit about how it looks in the deck; only how it functions. Tell me about your experience with it?
Mox Diamond: I've been heavily contemplating adding it in. Flat out amazing card, and if I'm drawing my deck having an extra U mana available can be the final nail in my opponents coffin. Working well for you?
Mutavault: There's a nice chunk of land that would fit well into this build. I am not running Mutavault, but am curious as to how it works out for others. What is your experience with this? Did you make any decisions to include this over other candidates? Were you on the fence about any land cuts?
Time Warp / Temporal Manipulation / Capture of Jingzhou / Walk the Aeons: How do these factor in with the deck? Is there a combo for infinite turns that I'm overlooking? It seems like this build went a different path then ones I've used or have seen others use. Along the lines with the push towards extra turns, how do you use these turns to win?
Forbid: Hinder? Maybe not even replace forbid as the dirth of extra card advantage you get can make it an all-star, but Hinder definitely!
Hehe ok I think my build is one of the best Azami builds It was not my intention to be rude.
I can start with explaining the concept of the deck. As you mentioned, this deck is all about taking extra turns and finally you take infinite turns. The timewarps are the best cards in the deck; you have 4 wizards in play? Well draw 4 cards, take an extra turn and draw 4 more cards. When you have Mind over Matter and Azami in play and a few cards in hand you have won the game. You can draw your entire deck, untap a few lands and play a timewarp. Discard Ulamog to Mind Over Matter or (if you have the mana) play and sac Elixir of Immortality to shuffle your graveyard into your deck. Take the next turn and repeat. When you go infinite you can just play Into The Roil once each turn to bounce all other non land permanents and kill everybody with a random wizard
Each way that will give you the opportunity to play Azami on turn 3 or 4 is awsome! So Lotus Petal and Mox Diamond is nice.
The thing with Coalition Relic is that it produce blue mana the turn it hits play, so its good enough. Eye of Ramos was news to me! I will strongly consider it, thanks.
In this build (or any combobuild) the Scroll Rack is an auto-include. If you have 9 cards in hand and you dont have the win, pay one mana and draw 9 new. After that you can just fetch away the 9 undesirable on the top of your deck.
Mutavault taps for mana and can draw a card thanks ta azami. What is it not to like?
Hinder over Forbid is a good question, its a coinflip.
You dont need Memnarch because you have the combokill. Fabricate is good but a bit to slow. Stroke of Genius and friends are superfluous, just play azami and a few wizards to draw more then enough cards. Etherium Sculptor was one of the last card i took out of the deck, but it is not good enough.
And yes, 36 lands is the correct number.
Thanks for your inputs!
/Azami
Why?
How?
What?
Archived Decklists:
Again I want to point out fzian's thread, here . A fantastic read, a great deck. If you're really into Azami, Lady of Scrolls as your general you should read up
I also want to thank the fine folks at Heroes of the Plane Studio for the wonderful banner! The first one was beautiful and this most recently incarnation raised the bar!
Lastly, I want to throw a huge shout-out to all of our thread regulars. They make the push towards a stronger, more oppressive Azami a reality. Thanks to the likes of Mantxi, Handsome_Sailor, Fzian, Azami, Shadowboy, Sesstreets and the rest of your swell, swank fellas. Without your input this thread would be buried and meaningless!
The snow-covered suggestion is exactly why I'm tempted to do it. The only downside I see is my fancy Euro and APAC lands would go back to the binder, heh.
I passed on Seat of Synod. After a lot of testing, it becomes a big target for artifact removal, which I'm not cool with. Also, I wanted to limit the number of non-islands as to get a greater benefit from Gauntlet, Extraplanar and High Tide.
Teferi was one of those cards that I really enjoyed, but after playing the deck for so long it never really saw play. I may put him in the sideboard though. Need to think on that.
Coldsteel heart is a nice mana stone. I'm not opposed to adding, but I'm not sure what I'd cut for it. Open to suggestions here.
I'm against Lightning Greaves in this deck. Azami uses her abilities at instant speed, and it's more combo orientated. I'd probably run them in any other deck but this due to the nature of the deck's engine.
Thank you for your input!
I ordered a foil Brittle Effigy. It just arrived, so I need to find room for it in mainboard. I will also begin to switch from Islands to Snow-Covered Islands. I have Mouth of Ronam and Scrying Sheets waiting to be put in. I could probably pull out Lonely Sandbar and Temple of the False God for them.
@BiNiaRiS
I agree with you, but the deck can get pretty U intensive. I worry about having too many colorless sources. While I like Wasteland and Dust Bowl, I'm not sure what I'd pull out for them.
I would also suggest adding 2 more islands, 36 doesn't seem like enough to me but I could be wrong.
Cards I don't like:
Magus of the Bazaar
Enclave Cryptologist
Hapless Researcher
Frantic Search
Bribery is a maybe, I don't like relying on my opponents decks to win and it's a 5 mana sorcery.
Wash Out is a maybe, I've never used it before so I don't know how good it is.
Extraplanar Lens I'm not really a big fan of, but it works well with your combo / High Tide so maybe.
Gauntlet of Power is just too slow and stupid, I'd cut that in a heart beat.
Counterbalance is meh, I don't think you run enough shuffle effects to make use of it and it's kind of hit or miss in EDH.
Where is Candelabra of Tawnos?
Things I'd like to see added:
A few more/better wizards
Temporal Adept please.
A few more counterspells
More land hate like biniaris said.
How do you deal with Pithing Needle on Azami?
That's it for now, take care.
Oh and I wouldn't run Cosi's Trickster or Solemn Simulacrum. Muddle the Mixture yes though. Also, Memnarch seems too cute.
kbai
WAIT. WHERE IS FORCE OF WILL
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
I'm debating ordering the Ancient Tomb now. I may click "buy" heh.
36 isn't too bad. It's not often I find myself really needing that extra land.
On your list of cards you dislike, I'll agree with the following:
Magus of the Bazaar
Counterbalance
I have had good results with Hapless Researcher and Enclave Cryptologist. Frantic Search is good with High Tide effects. Bribery is not in the deck as a wincon; it's more of a punishment to players who play with high-powered creatures. Simply too good to cut.
Extraplanar Lens is a must, as a second High Tide. Gauntlet of Power is less useful, certainly, and could be cut for the right card. Obviously something to replace it's effect, though that seems unlikely.
Wash Out I'm on the fence about. I've gotten good use out of it, but not being an instant hurts.
Candelabra of Tawnos is not in the deck because Tolarian Academy is banned. I didn't see a real good use for it.
Pithing Needle on Azami, Lady of Scrolls doesn't worry me. She has synergy with the deck, but is not required for it to function. If you can suggust something here that may serve to functions, one being saving her from Pithing Needle; I'm all ears.
Temporal Adept I like. I may try to integrate it into the deck.
Thank you for your feedback!
Sea Scryer may be a good replacement to Magus of the Bazaar. Blue Mana ramp? Sold hehe. I'll make changes to get these replacements ordered tonight to test.
I agree on Wasteland and Force of Will, though if I could raise the money I'd certainly pick them up. Sometime
At least as far as my testing went, even Palinchron bordered on being cut (it stayed in only since it served as a free defender against aggro).
The only win condition Azami needs is a 2/2 flyer like Sower.
With that in mind.
-Fabricate
-Memnarch
-Chrome Mox
-Mind Over Matter
-Temple Bell
-Jushi Apprentice
-Ertai, Wizard Adept
-Etherium Sculptor
-Brain Freeze
-Counterbalance
+Mana Leak
+Force of Will
+Miscalculation
+Stifle
+Dismiss
+Condescend
+Arcane Denial
+Cryptic Command
+Cursecatcher
+Dissipate
+Capsize
I'm not really sure I understand what you accomplish by removing Fabricate, Memnarch, Mind over Matter, Temple Bell, Etherium Sculptor and Brain Freeze. Each one is a part of another combo piece in the deck. While additions like Force of Will, Stifle, Cryptic Command are worth noting and considering cutting cards for, I don't see how gimping combos for them make them worth it? Do you have a list you're running that I could check over? I am curious.
The artifact acceleration package works amazing when you get tolarian academy or an early mana vault, but otherwise its starting to seem sub-optimal. I might switch it out for more counters.
I found that the more counters I added, the more unstable the combos became. Once I added Power Artifact, I removed Thran Dynamo and Gilded Lotus. Basically the approach I took was less counter, more tutor. The faster I could hit some kind of combo, the better off my board position became.
From your lists, things I will probably consider are Mutavault and Capsize.
What types of decks do you find yourself playing against? You could probably streamline the deck a bit more if your playgroup opts to use a 10-card Sideboard, that way you can move some of your maindeck over to the sideboard.
Also thinking of removing Revoker from SB, putting Crypt to the SB and MD the Brittle Effigy.
I'm inclined to agree. The deck isn't going to win by permission. Those afformentioned cards are staying.
I've updated the original posts. Added back Capsize to the list to debate. I like it, but it's not needed if I hit Memnarch. I'd rather steal everything then bounce everything Mutavault and Ancient Tomb are two colorless lands I'd seriously consider adding. I'm not sure where. Cut some Snow-Covered Island ?
it is a soft lock that can start as early as T2
The rack lets you sift for combo pieces as well
It also combos with Sensei's Divining Top and can be fetched with Muddle the Mixture, however I find myself wanting a more aggressive combo instead of something like that. It's been maindeck for about a week and has never seen play.
It obviously hasn't worked for you because your not using the other half of the combo. How can you pass judgement on it if A. you havent seen it in play and B. your not using it to it's fullest.
That is not Aggressive enough? What would you call it?
Scroll Rack is IMO the answer and its not a combo that happens every single match, but when it does I have never seen it broken. Perhaps there is a bit of surprise factor as well!
I actually own a foil Time Stretch, and would love to use it if I could see it winning the game. What happened was, early on it was cut for things to either enable a combo or search combo pieces out. Hardcasting a 10 CC Sorcery for 2 turns still doesn't win me the game. It just gives me 2 turns to find other cards to win, heh. I'm still mulling this over.
I think I will place an order for an Ancient Tomb now, and try to figure out how to include it later. I've got Mutavaults, but I'm not convinced there is any more room for a non-blue producting land.
On the subject of Turnabout, I've been playing this deck for about a Month now. I've never actually drawn it in an opening hand. I think I've been fortunate enough to only get it after tutoring for it, in which case it's been a lifesaver. I think almost every cast has followed a High Tide esq effect, to untap all my land to continue on to combo that turn.
As an aside; I've only caught myself activating Riptide Laboratory once; to return a Venser, Shaper Savant. Perhaps cut that for Ancient Tomb? Thoughts?
@Albus Severus
Let me mull over Scroll Rack. If anything, I can see running it to help find combo pieces. I'm not sold, but it is a solid suggestion. Thanks!
Ohh, thanks for a decklist. I'll look over it.
I had a Spin into Myth in my deck, but ultimately didn't use it. At 5CC I was either trying to combo off or control the board. I've got a foil sitting aside should I choose to reintroduce it
Meishin, the Mind Cage seemed way too expensive to include. I think I'd rather have propaganda to deal with aggro because it drops a whole lot earlier. Maybe something like Porticullis, since they're cheaper and run off of colorless?
I see you're running All is Dust. Doesn't this concern you? Losing your wizards? Could you run Inundate instead? How is Minamo, School at Water's Edge working for you? I was also wondering, since you mentioned Coldsteel Heart over Sky Diamond since you're running snow-covered Island s and Scrying Sheets, would you consider dropping the Sky Diamond for an Eye of Ramos?
I suggust that because if you decide to go and include Power Artifact, the tremendous amount of colorless mana can be filtered through the Eye of Ramos to produce an additional UU, which can be a game breaker for the rest of a combo.
Cryptic Command is solid, but I have yet to make room for it. How does it work for you?
Again, thanks for your list!
Opposition lets you tap down your opponents side of the board obviously and is stronger then surge spanner IMO.
Equilibrium lets you get more out of your own creatures, and lets you do creative things with a high tide out, Palinchron can be bounced for 1+creature cost.
Cloud of Faeries again works well with Equilibrium or just building up mana when you combo off.
Great Whale is iffier but can give you a big boost to try to search for your combo or combo off with cloud of faeries high tide and equilibrium...
With Equilibrium, and 7 Snow-covered Island out:
Tap 1 Snow-Covered Island (1 mana floating)
Cast High Tide
Tap 6 Snow-Covered Island (12 mana floating)
Cast Cloud of Faeries (10 Mana Floating)
Untap 2 Snow-Covered Islands
Tap 2 Snow-Covered Islands (14 mana Floating)
Cast Great Whale (7 mana floating)
Trigger Equilibrium bouncing Cloud of Faeries (6 mana floating)
Untap 7 lands from Great Whale
I think that explains the infinite cycle.
I think that great whale is iffy but it enables for more ways to go infinite and it is a 5/5 for free at the least.
I referred to Power Artifact and Eye of Ramos because you'll find yourself with excess colorless. Having an Eye of Ramos will help net UU to help combo off further. Just something I've discovered while playing
@BurningPaladin
Of your suggestions, I think I like Opposition over Surgespanner. While Surgespanner is good, i find myself using that mana for other things. Opposition feels more appealing and may help against aggro matchups which tend to be the worst.
I've updated the original post. I've ordered a batch of cards which I will consider the first revision of the list. I'll update the list, and then move forward from there. Testing tonight will be with V 000 as I'm still awaiting the new cards in the mail.
EDIT:
First set of changes have been reflected in the original post. By next week I'll have the cards to swap out for the physical change, and report on my results. I hope it runs smoother.
EDIT EDIT:
Some more brainstorming. This includes Sideboard.
Back to the Basics in SB?
Mana Vortex?
Energy Field?
Invoke Prejudice?
Land Equilibrium?
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Sea Scryer
1 Aether Adept
1 Cursecatcher
1 Enclave Cryptologist
1 Hapless Researcher
1 Inspired Sprite
1 Voidmage Prodigy
1 Martyr of Frost
1 Merrow Levitator
1 Sage of Epityr
1 Spellstutter Sprite
1 Stonybrook Banneret
1 Thought Courier
1 Trinket Mage
1 Vedalken Aethermage
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Mind Over Matter
1 Time Warp
1 Temporal Manipulation
1 Capture of Jingzhou
1 Walk the Aeons
1 Preordain
1 Timetwister
1 Time Spiral
1 Brainstorm
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Frantic Search
1 Personal Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Long-Term Plans
1 Intuition
1 Relearn
1 Call to Mind
1 Force of Will
1 Mana Drain
1 Counterspell
1 Remand
1 Forbid
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Into the Roil
1 Snap
1 Repeal
1 Turnabout
1 High Tide
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Scroll Rack
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Sapphire Medallion
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt
1 Grim Monolith
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Opal
1 Mox Diamond
1 Chrome Mox
1 Lotus Petal
1 Prismatic Lens
1 Coalition Relic
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Mutavault
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Strip Mine
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Minamo, School at Water’s Edge
1 Polluted Delta
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Flooded Strand
1 Scalding Tarn
27 Snow-Covered Island
I think it's a bit too brash to make any claim about any deck being the best it can be. There are too many variables, especially in this format. Probably a good idea to check that stale thought process at the door
Cards I see in your list I would avoid:
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre: I have a fear of running large creatures maindeck. Ulamog can be stolen by a myriad of means, and staring down your own Eldrazi would be pretty terrifying. Are you using this for it's shuffle effect?
Cards that I'd like to get your feedback on so I understand better:
Lotus Petal: One-shot mana producer. I was curious as to how this works for you? Wouldn't you prefer a more consistent mana stone?
Coalition Relic: Would you consider playing Eye of Ramos, since it's a mono-colored deck? When I had Coalition Relic in my build, I found myself needing that extra U at random times. Being limited to MP1 for the relic charge mana may hinder you.
Scroll Rack: This is one I'm on the fence about. If you've read through this short thread, you may have found another user who was adamant about using it. The 2 colorless cost has it's pros and cons, mainly being un-Trinket Mage-able but being able to be transmuted in by Muddle The Mixture. I don't care a single bit about how it looks in the deck; only how it functions. Tell me about your experience with it?
Mox Diamond: I've been heavily contemplating adding it in. Flat out amazing card, and if I'm drawing my deck having an extra U mana available can be the final nail in my opponents coffin. Working well for you?
Mutavault: There's a nice chunk of land that would fit well into this build. I am not running Mutavault, but am curious as to how it works out for others. What is your experience with this? Did you make any decisions to include this over other candidates? Were you on the fence about any land cuts?
Time Warp / Temporal Manipulation / Capture of Jingzhou / Walk the Aeons: How do these factor in with the deck? Is there a combo for infinite turns that I'm overlooking? It seems like this build went a different path then ones I've used or have seen others use. Along the lines with the push towards extra turns, how do you use these turns to win?
Forbid: Hinder? Maybe not even replace forbid as the dirth of extra card advantage you get can make it an all-star, but Hinder definitely!
Cards I see being useful, but were not listed:
Etherium Sculptor
Power Artifact
Stroke of Genius or Braingeyser or Blue Sun's Zenith.
Fabricate
Memnarch
Cards I see here that I enjoy:
Inspired Sprite
Sage of Epityr
Cursecatcher
These three I thought about heavily, but they never made the cut. I was really enjoying Sage of Epityr. How do they work for you?
Also, 36 land. I believe that's the count I use. I've been happy with that number so far. Your findings confirm?
Thank you very much for posting your deck! I look forward to hearing back from you.
-Farchyld
EDIT:
Also, I played V 1.00 last night. Went 5-1, with my loss being my own fault. I tried to combo off T5 and ran out of gas. Live and learn I suppose
I can start with explaining the concept of the deck. As you mentioned, this deck is all about taking extra turns and finally you take infinite turns. The timewarps are the best cards in the deck; you have 4 wizards in play? Well draw 4 cards, take an extra turn and draw 4 more cards. When you have Mind over Matter and Azami in play and a few cards in hand you have won the game. You can draw your entire deck, untap a few lands and play a timewarp. Discard Ulamog to Mind Over Matter or (if you have the mana) play and sac Elixir of Immortality to shuffle your graveyard into your deck. Take the next turn and repeat. When you go infinite you can just play Into The Roil once each turn to bounce all other non land permanents and kill everybody with a random wizard
Each way that will give you the opportunity to play Azami on turn 3 or 4 is awsome! So Lotus Petal and Mox Diamond is nice.
The thing with Coalition Relic is that it produce blue mana the turn it hits play, so its good enough. Eye of Ramos was news to me! I will strongly consider it, thanks.
In this build (or any combobuild) the Scroll Rack is an auto-include. If you have 9 cards in hand and you dont have the win, pay one mana and draw 9 new. After that you can just fetch away the 9 undesirable on the top of your deck.
Mutavault taps for mana and can draw a card thanks ta azami. What is it not to like?
Hinder over Forbid is a good question, its a coinflip.
You dont need Memnarch because you have the combokill. Fabricate is good but a bit to slow. Stroke of Genius and friends are superfluous, just play azami and a few wizards to draw more then enough cards. Etherium Sculptor was one of the last card i took out of the deck, but it is not good enough.
And yes, 36 lands is the correct number.
Thanks for your inputs!
/Azami