She's widely regarded as EDH training wheels around here because if you play her, you're probably just throwing tons of money into an EDH deck that requires no skill and offers the most linear playstyle in the format. The only people who play it around here are the people who try to turn EDH into something as monotonous as standard. It's as obnoxious a general as Kaalia but at least Kaalia has some flavor. Honestly, it's just annoying. Turn 4, tooth and nail, avenger of zendikar, craterhoof behemoth, gg. EDH is about playing those cards we so desperately miss, not putting us on a 5 turn clock.
Contrary to claims, Azusa is not EDH on training wheels. Playing Azusa requires excellent mana management skills. I spend more time planning out a turn with Azusa than any of my other lists. There are usually several lines of play to generate mana, but there may only be one which generates what we need.
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
-Aristotle
The list originally started out with 2 toolboxes: lands and creatures. However as I tweaked the list I slowly cut out the less efficient answers and focused more on crushing the table faster. Speed is our greatest weapon. From T2 onwards, we can win. Our key cards for explosive turns are Lotus Cobra/Stone-Seeder Hierophant, Ramunap Excavator/Crucible, and Gaea's Cradle/Nykthos. Generally speaking 2-3 tutors by T5 is usually enough to get us a T5 win. 0-1 tutors will probably mean a longer game. The worst case is we get mana screwed.
If the game grinds our odds are a lot less rosy. We're hoping to get a draw engine in place and to hit our tutors. When this happens its a free-for-all race to win conditions. Dealing with wipes, particularly of our lands, is very painful. Anytime a board wipe clears away our creatures our hope of blowing out the table in one turn is severely diminished. Losing our lands neutralizes us for a very long time. LD is probably the best possible play against us (so long as Azusa or Crucible is not in play). Fog type spells and instant speed mass bounce/wipe are also annoying.
I'll add that the biggest difference between this list and the other Azusa lists I've seen is speed and consistency. The large amount of draw and tutors gets us there quite often. Our major pieces are all tutorable: Gaea's Cradle, Craterhoof Behemoth, Lotus Cobra, Ramunap Excavator, Stone-Seeder, and Titania. We're much faster than those other lists clogging up their hands by running Eldrazi. Being able to put a threat on the table is desirable but more often than not opponents will have enough time to react and neutralize it. The beauty with our strategy is they will have less time to shut us down. We go from a small board to critical mass in one turn. Opponents will often have a board wipe in hand but not know when the correct moment to play it is. We don't necessarily need Avenger in play to be lethal - with just a single active Stone-Seeder Hierophant on the board we can kill off all of our opponents that turn.
How the deck operates:
Abuse Landfall mechanic. Get Oracle of Mul Daya/Courser of Kruphix/Ramunap Excavator in play with Lotus Cobra, Stone-Seeder Hierophant, and Azusa. Break Gaea's Cradle or Nykthos. Ride Eternal Witness and a tutor to bring in Temur Sabertooth and get our landfall engine online to break open the game. Finish with Craterhoof that same turn. If the game grinds, the combo decks will probably get there. We run limited interaction.
The deck is designed for T1-2 Azusa to play 2 additional lands with a 2 cmc play that turn. With 10 ways to get a T1-2 Azusa into play and 45 lands this is quite consistent. After which, we find Ramunap Excavator/Crucible or Oracle and open up a large resource advantage. Once we have our landfall engine online burn a second tutor to bring in Eternal Witness->Temur Sabertooth->Titania. This can be done in one turn if we have a great start like an early Stone-Seeder and Cradle out. Tooth and Nail into Eternal Witness and Titania returning Tooth and Nail, fire second Tooth and Nail into Temur and Avenger etc. Otherwise a slower method say with just Chord is to bring in Eternal Witness returning Chord, fire Chord to bring in Temur, bounce Witness, recast Witness to bring back Chord, etc. Without Lotus Cobra/Stone-Seeder to generate sufficient mana this may have to be done across multiple turns which will leave you exposed. Ideally after the engine is brought online we can go off and win next turn.
Synergies:
1. Azusa + Horn of Greed + Lands
2. Eternal Witness + Tooth and Nail/Chord/Uncage/Natural Order/Weird Harvest/Summoner's Pact + Temur Sabertooth
3. Crucible of Worlds/Ramunap Excavator + (fetches or LD lands) + Stone-Seeder/Lotus Cobra
4. Titania + Stone-Seeder + Temur + Cradle/Nykthos + Fetch in yard
Card Choice Commentary:
Utility Lands:
1x Evolving Wilds - fetch land putting a forest into play tapped. It is still a fetch land, albeit much weaker, but in my mind essential
1x Terramorphic Expanse - fetch land putting a forest into play tapped. Synergizes with landfall triggers
1x Ancient Tomb - acceleration
1x City of Traitors/Crystal Vein - acceleration
1x Gaea's Cradle - one of our goals is to get this out ASAP with creatures in play. This and Lotus Cobra are the two premier accelerators available to us (besides Azusa) and can really break open games
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - big mana producer
1x Strip Mine/Wasteland - takes out troublesome lands and allows us the option of going with a land denial strategy with Crucible
1x Petrified Field - gets back Cradle
1x Mikokoro, Center of the Sea - draw
1x Deserted Temple - value
1x Dryad Arbor - Cradle count
1x Blinkmoth Nexus - Craterhoof finisher
1x Gemstone Caverns - turn 2 Azusa
Mana: 14
1x Mana Crypt - mana rock allowing first turn Azusa
1x Carpet of Flowers - alternative mana source and acceleration
1x Exploration - landfall synergy
1x Sol Ring - mana rock T2 Azusa
1x Earthcraft - accelerator, allows big turns to continue rolling along
1x Emerald Medallion - Enables big turns
1x Lotus Cobra - accelerator. Golden in an opening hand
1x Gatecreeper Vine - land
1x Sylvan Ranger - dork whom puts a forest in our hands and counts toward Cradle and Regal Force
1x Courser of Kruphix - with Azusa out he can filter out all the lands on top of our library
1x Oracle of Mul Daya - a bit slow but it can build up an impressive number of lands quickly
1x Stone-Seeder Hierophant - landfall synergy with Cradle/Nykthos
1x Nissa, Who Shakes the World - mana doubler, can untap and turn Cradle into a land for Temur
1x Rude Awakening - Enables a big turn
Draw: 9
1x Elvish Visionary - draw dork. Need 4-5 more of this guy
1x Sylvan Library - card advantage and card filtering
1x Wall of Blossoms - draw
1x Horn of Greed - draw
1x Tireless Tracker - draw
1x Harmonize - draw
1x Nissa, Vital Force - Draw engine, and Haste finisher
1x Shamanic Revelation - draw
1x Regal Force - draw
Tutors: 20
1x Summoner's Pact - instant speed creature tutor
1x Crop Rotation - instant speed land tutor for T2 Azusa, Cradle, Strip Mine, or fetch for Crucible/Ramunap
1x Expedition Map - land tutor
1x Green Sun's Zenith - puts a green creature in play. Early game Ramunap
1x Sylvan Tutor - Creature tutor
1x Worldly Tutor - Creature tutor
1x Finale of Devastation - Creature tutor and finisher
1x Survival of the Fittest - Creature tutor
1x Sylvan Scrying - gets us any land for 2. Getting Cradle/Deserted Temple/Strip Mine/fetch are priorities.
1x Uncage the Menagerie - tutor engine. Get Eternal Witness, Ramunap into Temur
1x Chord of Calling - puts any creature in play with sufficient mana
1x Eldritch Evolution - creature tutor
1x Fierce Empath - I usually get Craterhoof or Bane with this
1x Weird Harvest - creature tutor
1x Natural Order - puts a green creature into play.
1x Reap and Sow - gets Cradle or a fetch
1x Tempt with Discovery - untapped Cradle and Deserted Temple is good
1x Ulvenwald Hydra - land tutor, needed a creature based land tutor
1x Woodland Bellower - toolbox tutor
1x Tooth and Nail - finisher
Removal/Stax: 3
1x Scavenging Ooze - Graveyard hate
1x Karn, the Great Creator - stops opponents' artifacts
1x Bane of Progress - mass removal
Recursion: 6
1x Crucible of Worlds - land recursion
1x Eternal Witness - recursion, good with tutors and Temur
1x Ramunap Excavator - land recursion
1x Noxious Revival - can stop some graveyard shenanigans and offers good utility
1x Temur Sabertooth - bounce enabler for a big turn
1x Titania, Protector of Argoth - brings back a land and produces tokens
Aggression: 2
1x Avenger of Zendikar - token producer
1x Craterhoof Behemoth - the finisher
You are missing the best Azusa card of all time; Horn of Greed. Literally every time I played that card and resolved Azusa the turn after, I won the game. I wish I were exaggerating but I'm really not. It is that good.
You are missing the best Azusa card of all time; Horn of Greed. Literally every time I played that card and resolved Azusa the turn after, I won the game. I wish I were exaggerating but I'm really not. It is that good.
I did not know that card existed! It is a sick, sick card
I also have foil versions of Petrified Field, Temple of the False God and Eye of Ugin if you're interested.
What did the rest of your list look like? I can guess you have like 30+ snow covered forests, but the rest?
Yet to get a game in with this list, so I'm grasping around in the dark blindly for strategies. How do you maintain a constant stream of cards to fuel Azusa? And what do you do to seal the game once you have like 15 lands in play?
Realms Uncharted will definately go in. I forgot about that card. Steel Hellkite, Lignify is a little slow but there aren't many options for creature removal. I'll think about them. Thawing Glaciers is that too slow? Rishadan Port to lock down Maze?
I'd be very much interested in your foils (Petrified and Eye) so long as they're NM. Just send me a PM with what you want for them (follow the link to my trade list)
How do you maintain a constant stream of cards to fuel Azusa? And what do you do to seal the game once you have like 15 lands in play?
the deck wins through a constant stream of eldrazi, a huge kamahl stike or just beats with random stuff over the game. you get there by mulling to a draw engine and riding it to victory. protect stuff like recycle and horn of greed to ensure you are drawing 4+ cards a turn and you will get there (pretty fast might i add)
Realms Uncharted will definately go in. I forgot about that card. Steel Hellkite, Lignify is a little slow but there aren't many options for creature removal. I'll think about them. Thawing Glaciers is that too slow? Rishadan Port to lock down Maze?
realms uncharted is pretty bad. there is no pile that nets you anything without an active crucible or loam. azusa is 1 land away from wanting this card. lignify is pretty bad as well. desert twister is a better option as the mana cost is irrelevant and the versatility is clutch. thawing glaciers is a slow grindy card. azusa wants fast tempo. i wouldnt bother with it. port just seems like its all kinds of bad. i would just add another strip effect over it.
the deck wins through a constant stream of eldrazi, a huge kamahl stike or just beats with random stuff over the game. you get there by mulling to a draw engine and riding it to victory. protect stuff like recycle and horn of greed to ensure you are drawing 4+ cards a turn and you will get there (pretty fast might i add)
realms uncharted is pretty bad. there is no pile that nets you anything without an active crucible or loam. azusa is 1 land away from wanting this card. lignify is pretty bad as well. desert twister is a better option as the mana cost is irrelevant and the versatility is clutch. thawing glaciers is a slow grindy card. azusa wants fast tempo. i wouldnt bother with it. port just seems like its all kinds of bad. i would just add another strip effect over it.
Realms into: Bazaar, Dust Bowl, Petrified Field, Eye of Ugin? Opponents will probably give us Bazaar and Petrified Field. That isn't too bad.
What do you think of Possessed Portal as a finisher? Kamahl seems a little slow and dependent on us having creatures in play? With Possessed Portal we can drop it and so long as we have Crucible, Loam, Genesis, It that Betrays, or Tokens we're good.
Realms into: Bazaar, Dust Bowl, Petrified Field, Eye of Ugin? Opponents will probably give us Bazaar and Petrified Field. That isn't too bad.
What do you think of Possessed Portal as a finisher? Kamahl seems a little slow and dependent on us having creatures in play? With Possessed Portal we can drop it and so long as we have Crucible, Loam, Genesis, It that Betrays, or Tokens we're good.
there is no combination of lands that make realms playable. reap and sow is better at finding nonbasics. you also get the added value of destroying something if need be.
i only like possessed portal if you can have multiple annoying effects out at once. something like portal + teferi,s puzzlebox + other annoying thing is really the only time it can shine. other than that it does not do much. if it is working for you when you finally get to test, then definitely play the card. kamahl (wayyyy quicker than portal) on the other hand makes an excellent finisher that either ends the game the turn he is played, or if you untap with him in play on your next turn. the fact that he can animate your lands is what makes him clutch. activate 4-5 lands, overrun 3 times, swing with azusa, oracle, kamahl and some lands and just win. he also has added flexibility of land control in the face of sweepers and things of that nature.
there is no combination of lands that make realms playable. reap and sow is better at finding nonbasics. you also get the added value of destroying something if need be.
i only like possessed portal if you can have multiple annoying effects out at once. something like portal + teferi,s puzzlebox + other annoying thing is really the only time it can shine. other than that it does not do much. if it is working for you when you finally get to test, then definitely play the card. kamahl (wayyyy quicker than portal) on the other hand makes an excellent finisher that either ends the game the turn he is played, or if you untap with him in play on your next turn. the fact that he can animate your lands is what makes him clutch. activate 4-5 lands, overrun 3 times, swing with azusa, oracle, kamahl and some lands and just win. he also has added flexibility of land control in the face of sweepers and things of that nature.
Played against Omnath last night, Dude almost killed me with Kamahl, If it was Asuza, i wouldnt have been left at 4 life. He double pumped i took 23 damage from 3 attackers and blocked 3 taking 12dam total.
There was also a Austere command choose Little guys and artifacts. As a revenge hit Kamahl turned 2 of the austere guys lands into creatures that died when it went off.
The nice thing about Possessed Portal is it hits multiple times a round. Everybody sacs. And no one gets to draw until it's removed. But if it is removed, I won't lose a draw. Azusa has a large advantage in a war of resources. Storm Cauldron, Possessed Portal, and LD will slow down opponents considerably
In my goldfishing I don't think I've ever been sorry to see Realms Uncharted in an opening hand. Azusa will run dry turn 3-4 without Loam, Crucible, or a draw engine up and running. Getting from 5 up to 7 lands is pretty important. Baru, Fist of Krosa and additional token producers are up next for consideration.
I've logged a fair number of games with Azusa, so I have a few comments to help you along.
For starters, I think there are stonger choices than a few of the creatures you run.
Deranged Hermit - if you want a guy that makes tokens, there are a few other options that I like much better than Hermit. I just don't fell 4 tokens a dieing the next turn justifies a slot in the deck. When it comes to tokens, I get the most mileage off Wolfbrier Elemental and his larger brother Verdeloth, the Ancient. Its not very hard to get out 10+ tokens when you play him assuming you have mana and if any deck does, this one does. If you would like a more permanent token maker, Ant Queen can sit back a make a few tokens every turn and with the right setup, you make dozens of tokens.
Baloth Woodcrasher - This guy was in my 1st draft of Azusa and I had high hopes. He didn't say in the deck for an extended period of time though. Worst case scenario on the draw, you are playing a 4/4 creature who could be 8/8 next turn if you draw a land. In this scenerio, he is a worse Terra Stomper. There are turns he can get big, but he is never a guarantee and unlike Rampaging Baloths his effect is not permanent. I prefer cards that I know exactly what I am getting from them. My favorite growth card is Chamelion Colossus. Its not difficult with the mana we generate to get him up to 30+ attack and I've had him over 100 before just for kicks. He (and the eldrazi and other big critters for that matter) play very well with Overwhelming Stampede and Trumph of Hordes
Garruk's Horde - Horde is great when you run a bunch of creatures. The more creatures the better. In your build, you just don't have that many creatures to wart this guy over a more powerful beater or utility card. Now there s 1 card that looks at your library that should be basically an auto include card in all Azusa builds: Oracle of Mul Daya. The Oracle gets much more mileage in this deck since you have > 50% lands and it bolsters Azusa and helps if she gets tucked. If you use top deck manipulaton like Sensei's Diving Top, Mirri's Guile, and Sylvan Library along with oracle you can work out several drawn cards and extra land drops per turn.
Hornet Queen - Azusa wants to be an agressive deck and this is a defensive card. There are much better token producers as I said before.
It that Betrays - Eldrazi are great in this deck, but not this one. He has no ETB ability to go with big size like the other Eldrazi and his ability is best suited to a Stax type deck. I would replace him with Worldspire Wurm. The wurm is bigger, mostly immune to removal and most importantly, her can be searched with Green Sun's Zenith. Another card you should add to play with Green Sun's Zenith is Dryad Arbor for another means to get turn 2 Azusa.
I've logged a fair number of games with Azusa, so I have a few comments to help you along.
For starters, I think there are stonger choices than a few of the creatures you run.
Deranged Hermit - if you want a guy that makes tokens, there are a few other options that I like much better than Hermit. I just don't fell 4 tokens a dieing the next turn justifies a slot in the deck. When it comes to tokens, I get the most mileage off Wolfbrier Elemental and his larger brother Verdeloth, the Ancient. Its not very hard to get out 10+ tokens when you play him assuming you have mana and if any deck does, this one does. If you would like a more permanent token maker, Ant Queen can sit back a make a few tokens every turn and with the right setup, you make dozens of tokens.
Baloth Woodcrasher - This guy was in my 1st draft of Azusa and I had high hopes. He didn't say in the deck for an extended period of time though. Worst case scenario on the draw, you are playing a 4/4 creature who could be 8/8 next turn if you draw a land. In this scenerio, he is a worse Terra Stomper. There are turns he can get big, but he is never a guarantee and unlike Rampaging Baloths his effect is not permanent. I prefer cards that I know exactly what I am getting from them. My favorite growth card is Chamelion Colossus. Its not difficult with the mana we generate to get him up to 30+ attack and I've had him over 100 before just for kicks. He (and the eldrazi and other big critters for that matter) play very well with Overwhelming Stampede and Trumph of Hordes
Garruk's Horde - Horde is great when you run a bunch of creatures. The more creatures the better. In your build, you just don't have that many creatures to wart this guy over a more powerful beater or utility card. Now there s 1 card that looks at your library that should be basically an auto include card in all Azusa builds: Oracle of Mul Daya. The Oracle gets much more mileage in this deck since you have > 50% lands and it bolsters Azusa and helps if she gets tucked. If you use top deck manipulaton like Sensei's Diving Top, Mirri's Guile, and Sylvan Library along with oracle you can work out several drawn cards and extra land drops per turn.
Hornet Queen - Azusa wants to be an agressive deck and this is a defensive card. There are much better token producers as I said before.
It that Betrays - Eldrazi are great in this deck, but not this one. He has no ETB ability to go with big size like the other Eldrazi and his ability is best suited to a Stax type deck. I would replace him with Worldspire Wurm. The wurm is bigger, mostly immune to removal and most importantly, her can be searched with Green Sun's Zenith. Another card you should add to play with Green Sun's Zenith is Dryad Arbor for another means to get turn 2 Azusa.
I thought about Crop Rotation and in the end I decided it shouldn't have a place in the list. It does not get anything that I must have for a win condition, nor does it generate card advantage as realms does. It is also better to get the land into my hand so as to trigger landfall effects and other land in to play triggers.
Worldspine Wurm's casting cost just doesn't make him very attractive. Missing annihilator
GSZ for Dryad Arbor appears to be a waste of a spell. Being able to tap for mana the turn a land enters is very important
In theory It that Betrays works very well with annihilator. As well as All is Dust and Possessed Portal.
Hornet Queen is a bit expensive for a defensive card but I figure it does have synergies with Skullclamp and Moldgraf Monstrosity as well as Artisan. And it's the only flying creature in the list.
Mirri's Guile, SDT: they take up a spot without offering card advantage. Not keen on filter effects which don't offer card advantage
Oracle of Mul Daya: Much like Garruk's Horde. She misses. Shines if a draw engine is up and running, other times can be useless. Hit and miss
Garruk's Horde: He does shine when a draw engine is up and running, but I can probably cut him without missing him too much.
Chameleon Colossus: Missing annihilator or ETB effect making clampable tokens
Wolfbriar Elemental: I like this guy. If only the tokens were 1/1 so they could work with Skullclamp. Verdeloth has the same problem. Hermit Druid doesn't.
Baloth Woodcrasher: I can cut him without missing him much
I thought about Crop Rotation and in the end I decided it shouldn't have a place in the list. It does not get anything that I must have for a win condition, nor does it generate card advantage as realms does. It is also better to get the land into my hand so as to trigger landfall effects and other land in to play triggers.
Worldspine Wurm's casting cost just doesn't make him very attractive. Missing annihilator
GSZ for Dryad Arbor appears to be a waste of a spell. Being able to tap for mana the turn a land enters is very important
In theory It that Betrays works very well with annihilator. As well as All is Dust and Possessed Portal.
Hornet Queen is a bit expensive for a defensive card but I figure it does have synergies with Skullclamp and Moldgraf Monstrosity as well as Artisan. And it's the only flying creature in the list.
Mirri's Guile, SDT: they take up a spot without offering card advantage. Not keen on filter effects which don't offer card advantage
Oracle of Mul Daya: Much like Garruk's Horde. She misses. Shines if a draw engine is up and running, other times can be useless. Hit and miss
Garruk's Horde: He does shine when a draw engine is up and running, but I can probably cut him without missing him too much.
Chameleon Colossus: Missing annihilator or ETB effect making clampable tokens
Wolfbriar Elemental: I like this guy. If only the tokens were 1/1 so they could work with Skullclamp. Verdeloth has the same problem. Hermit Druid doesn't.
Baloth Woodcrasher: I can cut him without missing him much
Crop Rotation is there to play 1st turn when you have nothing else much to do to get Ancient Tomb although it can be used as a land tutor later in the game as well. One of the top goals of the deck is getting Azusa in to play fast and this is an engine to get Azusa on line turn 2. Green Sun's Zenith for Dryad Arbor is another 1st turn play to help power out Azusa on turn 2. If I have GSZ and niothing else to do turn 1, I will fetch for dryad arbor every time. Another thing of note, Crop Rotation most definitely triggers landfall. Landfall is triggered any time a land enters the battlefield, no matter where it came from.
You should really give Worldspine Wurm a chance. Its basically the biggest creature Azusa has access to. His ability come out with Green Sun's Zenith is huge as none of the eldrazi can do this. He will also make your opponents scared to wrath or use a kill spell unless they have a way to exile him since he just spews 15 power right back out. Also...Trample it a bigger threat than you may think. I've had games where I hit a player with a direct hit from both big eldrazi and still lost to them. Annihilator is great, it is, but its possible to still be blocked and deal no damage, especially if they are running some form of tokens or recursion. With Trample, they take damage. With the Eldrazi, I 've been a fan of Overwhelming Stampede precisely to give them Trample, and yeah make all the field bigger too.
When looking at Azusa you have to ask yourself 'what can I do with huge mana'? Wolfbriar Elemental to me fits in this category. I look at him more as a win condition; We can make stuffs bigger, and the more stuffs we have to make bigger, the better. Kick him for 20, which is totally possible, and you have enough attack to take out a player in your tokens. If you have a way to buff the tokens, next turn you just kill the table. You're Kamahl, Fist of Krosa, or Overwhelming Stampede that I mentioned would easily do the job. With some combination of turn 4 Vorinclex, turn 5 Wolfbrier Elemental, and turn 6 Kamahl on top of a good start, I once put out 140ish damage to kill the table. Everyone was like 'What just happened'.
Oracle of Mul Daya is arguably just as important to the deck as Azusa. When I ge both online and have draw power, I drop 4 lands per turn and just quickly smother the field. Even if the top deck portion does nothing that turn, the ability to play an extra land is still worthwhile. By themselves, Mirri's Guile and Sensei's Diving Top are terrible in this deck. However, when the are online with Oracle of Mul Daya, you can get a huge card drawing and mana generating engine on line when you set up the order of you cards so you see lands on top and Oracle lets you play them.
As far as flying creatures, your best option is Silklash Spider if they are an issue. She doesn't have flying herself, but she has reach and a large butt to block then. Since we don't run fliers, spider's ability is basically a one-sided board whipe if we have the mana, and we usually do.
Crop Rotation is actually a very integral card for the deck. the possibility of grabbing ancient tomb on turn 1 or 2 is actually one of the weaker lines of play you can do (but it is still pretty dang strong). the fact that you can get mikikoro, eye of ugin, glacial chasm or any other tech land on line twice as quickly by having a "second copy" is amazing. it is effectively a free landfall trigger since the land it gets comes into play untapped, and it is a shuffle effect for 1 mana. it is one of the most flexible cards the deck can run, and really should be included. the hardest thing to do when playing with the card though is knowing when to fire it off. the t1 crop rotation > ancient tomb play may look good, but it is not always correct.
Worldspine Wurm is another amazing card for the deck. its biggest selling point for me is its graveyard trigger (shuffle it back in). the fact that you have a third out to mill strategies is awesome. having one that does not reset your graveyard (agaisnt loam) is welcome. the second thing i love about the card is the trample. of course a 15/15 that leaves you with 15 power when it dies is awesome...but the fact that all of the dudes have trample is amazing. its a resilient guy thats tough for your opponents to abuse through reanimation... clutch card to me.
Oracle of Mul Daya is always my first creature tutor target. one of the top cards in the deck. its like having another azusa in play without the card disadvantage.
Wolfbriar Elemental is not really something i can get on board with. it seems less "consistently good" than the other creatures the deck can and should be running.
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa best finisher azusa can run, hands down. if he does not win you the game the turn you play him, your enemies better be praying you do not untap with him...because that will be your game.
Overwhelming Stampede seems like a trap to me. you need a bunch of guys in play to get value out of it, and while that is feasible...i can see it being dead a lot of times in any azusa build that is not at least 25% guys or token generators.
masticore is a saucy piece of tech i recommend to every azusa player, but it gets poor results from them. on the other hand, i have kept tables in check with nothing but a masticore in play.
So I took Azusa out for a spin. Only difference with the list was Mosswort Bridge in for a snow-covered forest. Played one game, a 4-way vs Godo, Ghave, and Kresh. Pretty quick start with a 4-land opening hand of Sol Ring, Beast Within, and Extraplanar Lens. Played Azusa and Mosswort Bridge turn 2 finding a Regal Force and hiding it. Turn 3 played Extraplanar Lens and played Beast Within on Ghave's Turn to kill his Necropotence. Drew and played Verdant Force turn 4. Drew Chord of Calling turn 5 and passed the turn. On Godo's turn 5 he played Boom or Bust (He had 3-4 mana rocks and Godo out) and chose to nuke all lands. Ghave played instant speed spot removal on Godo. In response I activated Mosswort Bridge to play Regal Force and drew 7. I then cast Chord of Calling for Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. Kresh had Lord of Extinction and Kresh out with the second strongest board position so I sent Ulamog his way the next two turns putting him down to 4 permanents. It was Archenemy and they took out my Verdant Force and Ulamog. What saved me was Godo playing Wildfire and crippling the other players mana bases. Otherwise Kresh tutors for a fling and chucks either his 40+/40+ Lord of Extinction or his 30/30 Kresh at me. Kresh casted a Wheel searching for help but it loaded my hand and I killed off Godo within 2 turns. Kresh saw the writing on the wall and killed off Ghave as I had lethal waiting for him on my turn.
Cards I didn't like: Seer's Sundial (too costly)
Cards I needed: Oblivion Stone, more creature and artifact removal
Weaker cards on the cutting block:
Storm Cauldron
Seer's Sundial
Possessed Portal
Crop Rotation is actually a very integral card for the deck. the possibility of grabbing ancient tomb on turn 1 or 2 is actually one of the weaker lines of play you can do (but it is still pretty dang strong). the fact that you can get mikikoro, eye of ugin, glacial chasm or any other tech land on line twice as quickly by having a "second copy" is amazing. it is effectively a free landfall trigger since the land it gets comes into play untapped, and it is a shuffle effect for 1 mana. it is one of the most flexible cards the deck can run, and really should be included. the hardest thing to do when playing with the card though is knowing when to fire it off. the t1 crop rotation > ancient tomb play may look good, but it is not always correct.
Worldspine Wurm is another amazing card for the deck. its biggest selling point for me is its graveyard trigger (shuffle it back in). the fact that you have a third out to mill strategies is awesome. having one that does not reset your graveyard (agaisnt loam) is welcome. the second thing i love about the card is the trample. of course a 15/15 that leaves you with 15 power when it dies is awesome...but the fact that all of the dudes have trample is amazing. its a resilient guy thats tough for your opponents to abuse through reanimation... clutch card to me.
Oracle of Mul Daya is always my first creature tutor target. one of the top cards in the deck. its like having another azusa in play without the card disadvantage.
Wolfbriar Elemental is not really something i can get on board with. it seems less "consistently good" than the other creatures the deck can and should be running.
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa best finisher azusa can run, hands down. if he does not win you the game the turn you play him, your enemies better be praying you do not untap with him...because that will be your game.
Overwhelming Stampede seems like a trap to me. you need a bunch of guys in play to get value out of it, and while that is feasible...i can see it being dead a lot of times in any azusa build that is not at least 25% guys or token generators.
masticore is a saucy piece of tech i recommend to every azusa player, but it gets poor results from them. on the other hand, i have kept tables in check with nothing but a masticore in play.
If Masticore didn't require discarding a card it would be exceptional. Sadly the card disadvantage is a real killer
jmdt is really high on Overwhelming Stampede. I may pick one up and test it out. It's a win more type of card but it can finish the table in one turn - something I cannot do at a large table with my current list. So I think it's worth a look
Kamhal is very good. What do you think about his little brother Baru, Fist of Krosa?
Wolfbriar Elemental has some potential. I like the fact at 6-8 mana it can put in a reasonable amount of tokens early game while late game it can put in a significant amount of tokens.
Oracle of Mul Daya tests a lot better when I increased the amount of draw.
Worldspine Wurm - I don't understand his appeal. He's simply too costly. He has few if any synergies with the rest of the list. He is an overgrown Vorapede with trample. If I were to cast Natural Order I'd almost always pick Regal Force, Verdant Force, Terastodon, Kamahl, Oracle, or Vorinclex over him. He is a win-more card, but one which cannot finish off the table in one turn.
I don't like Crop Rotation. The only two lands worth getting with it in my list are Eye and High Market. Maybe Buried Ruin depending on what's in my graveyard. We don't net any cards by casting it. Playing in a meta with heavy LD makes it even less appealing.
Sol Ring looks really good when Godo blows up all my land 2-3x a game.
Seer's Sundial eats up a lot of our resources. While it does get us cards I had problems casting them.
Played a bunch of 1vs1 games yesterday vs Jarad and Ghave. I won most of the games but was disappointed. First problem was the lack of a quality finisher. In a large multiplayer game there is no way I see my board sticking till I can attack with an overwhelming army. Second problem I identified was the cards in my list do not have enough synergies with each other. I look at my Rafiq list and Azusa will just get run over. And the last major problem area was speed. The list doesn't explode as it should with the kind of acceleration available to Azusa. Mana Crypt, Forest, Azusa first turn and it's great but most starts are unbearably slow. I'll probably tear the list apart and try a rebuild
speaking of explosive opening, have you try turn1 greensun zenith + dryad arbor? dryad arbor is a good card if early sweep is not a big problem. The fact that it rolls into a turn 3 natural order is a big deal. A good target for natural order could be terrastadon. This land stompin elephant would greatly hamper whoever threaten to challenge ur early presence (often seals the game in 1v1) exploration and burgeoning are both good starters, worked out nicely for me.
I run my manavault&solring and currently planning to throw in emerald medallion just to speed things up. Defense of Heart is a good card, work as the less stable tooth and nails, my frequent targets are Avenger+Regal Force for gesture of friendliness (I m just drawing cards~), or Ulamog/Vorinclex+Terrastadon for land denial.
Have u considered Craterhoof Behemoth? it's an exciting card with rude awakening
speaking of explosive opening, have you try turn1 greensun zenith + dryad arbor? dryad arbor is a good card if early sweep is not a big problem. The fact that it rolls into a turn 3 natural order is a big deal. A good target for natural order could be terrastadon. This land stompin elephant would greatly hamper whoever threaten to challenge ur early presence (often seals the game in 1v1) exploration and burgeoning are both good starters, worked out nicely for me.
I run my manavault&solring and currently planning to throw in emerald medallion just to speed things up. Defense of Heart is a good card, work as the less stable tooth and nails, my frequent targets are Avenger+Regal Force for gesture of friendliness (I m just drawing cards~), or Ulamog/Vorinclex+Terrastadon for land denial.
Have u considered Craterhoof Behemoth? it's an exciting card with rude awakening
Ripped up the list and added lots of early accelerators and put Primal Surge as the finisher. Craterhoof is a good choice, it is in.
Decreasing amount of land in the list. Increasing draw. I do wish there was more draw available. Anvil of Bogarden, Howling Mine, Font of Mythos, Temple Bell are additional options but I hate letting opponents draw. May add them in to see how the list runs.
So the approach with Primal Surge is scrapped. Played about 10 games yesterday with Azusa and saw it just once. Simply not enough ways to put it in our hands. I can also see why Crop Rotation is in every other Azusa list. In about half my games the Eldrazi were stolen by Bribery. Craterhoof was a champ. He ended every game I won.
Contrary to claims, Azusa is not EDH on training wheels. Playing Azusa requires excellent mana management skills. I spend more time planning out a turn with Azusa than any of my other lists. There are usually several lines of play to generate mana, but there may only be one which generates what we need.
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
-Aristotle
The list originally started out with 2 toolboxes: lands and creatures. However as I tweaked the list I slowly cut out the less efficient answers and focused more on crushing the table faster. Speed is our greatest weapon. From T2 onwards, we can win. Our key cards for explosive turns are Lotus Cobra/Stone-Seeder Hierophant, Ramunap Excavator/Crucible, and Gaea's Cradle/Nykthos. Generally speaking 2-3 tutors by T5 is usually enough to get us a T5 win. 0-1 tutors will probably mean a longer game. The worst case is we get mana screwed.
If the game grinds our odds are a lot less rosy. We're hoping to get a draw engine in place and to hit our tutors. When this happens its a free-for-all race to win conditions. Dealing with wipes, particularly of our lands, is very painful. Anytime a board wipe clears away our creatures our hope of blowing out the table in one turn is severely diminished. Losing our lands neutralizes us for a very long time. LD is probably the best possible play against us (so long as Azusa or Crucible is not in play). Fog type spells and instant speed mass bounce/wipe are also annoying.
I'll add that the biggest difference between this list and the other Azusa lists I've seen is speed and consistency. The large amount of draw and tutors gets us there quite often. Our major pieces are all tutorable: Gaea's Cradle, Craterhoof Behemoth, Lotus Cobra, Ramunap Excavator, Stone-Seeder, and Titania. We're much faster than those other lists clogging up their hands by running Eldrazi. Being able to put a threat on the table is desirable but more often than not opponents will have enough time to react and neutralize it. The beauty with our strategy is they will have less time to shut us down. We go from a small board to critical mass in one turn. Opponents will often have a board wipe in hand but not know when the correct moment to play it is. We don't necessarily need Avenger in play to be lethal - with just a single active Stone-Seeder Hierophant on the board we can kill off all of our opponents that turn.
1x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
Land: 45
1x Windswept Heath
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Wooded Foothills
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Prismatic Vista
1x Ancient Tomb
1x City of Traitors
1x Crystal Vein
1x Gaea's Cradle
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Deserted Temple
1x Dryad Arbor
1x Blinkmoth Nexus
1x Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1x Wasteland
1x Strip Mine
1x Petrified Field
1x Gemstone Caverns
25x Forest
Mana: 14
1x Mana Crypt
1x Carpet of Flowers
1x Exploration
1x Sol Ring
1x Earthcraft
1x Emerald Medallion
1x Gatecreeper Vine
1x Lotus Cobra
1x Sylvan Ranger
1x Courser of Kruphix
1x Oracle of Mul Daya
1x Stone-Seeder Hierophant
1x Nissa, Who Shakes the World
1x Rude Awakening
1x Elvish Visionary
1x Sylvan Library
1x Wall of Blossoms
1x Horn of Greed
1x Tireless Tracker
1x Harmonize
1x Nissa, Vital Force
1x Shamanic Revelation
1x Regal Force
Tutors: 20
1x Summoner's Pact
1x Crop Rotation
1x Expedition Map
1x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Sylvan Tutor
1x Worldly Tutor
1x Survival of the Fittest
1x Sylvan Scrying
1x Weird Harvest
1x Chord of Calling
1x Eldritch Evolution
1x Fierce Empath
1x Uncage the Menagerie
1x Finale of Devastation
1x Natural Order
1x Reap and Sow
1x Tempt with Discovery
1x Ulvenwald Hydra
1x Woodland Bellower
1x Tooth and Nail
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Karn, the Great Creator
1x Bane of Progress
Recursion: 6
1x Crucible of Worlds
1x Eternal Witness
1x Noxious Revival
1x Ramunap Excavator
1x Temur Sabertooth
1x Titania, Protector of Argoth
Aggression: 2
1x Avenger of Zendikar
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
Tappedout: Updated 05/28/19
Lands: 45
Creatures: 23
Artifacts: 6
Sorceries: 14
Instants: 5
Enchantments: 5
Planeswalkers: 3
Avg CMC: 3.11
How the deck operates:
Abuse Landfall mechanic. Get Oracle of Mul Daya/Courser of Kruphix/Ramunap Excavator in play with Lotus Cobra, Stone-Seeder Hierophant, and Azusa. Break Gaea's Cradle or Nykthos. Ride Eternal Witness and a tutor to bring in Temur Sabertooth and get our landfall engine online to break open the game. Finish with Craterhoof that same turn. If the game grinds, the combo decks will probably get there. We run limited interaction.
The deck is designed for T1-2 Azusa to play 2 additional lands with a 2 cmc play that turn. With 10 ways to get a T1-2 Azusa into play and 45 lands this is quite consistent. After which, we find Ramunap Excavator/Crucible or Oracle and open up a large resource advantage. Once we have our landfall engine online burn a second tutor to bring in Eternal Witness->Temur Sabertooth->Titania. This can be done in one turn if we have a great start like an early Stone-Seeder and Cradle out. Tooth and Nail into Eternal Witness and Titania returning Tooth and Nail, fire second Tooth and Nail into Temur and Avenger etc. Otherwise a slower method say with just Chord is to bring in Eternal Witness returning Chord, fire Chord to bring in Temur, bounce Witness, recast Witness to bring back Chord, etc. Without Lotus Cobra/Stone-Seeder to generate sufficient mana this may have to be done across multiple turns which will leave you exposed. Ideally after the engine is brought online we can go off and win next turn.
Synergies:
1. Azusa + Horn of Greed + Lands
2. Eternal Witness + Tooth and Nail/Chord/Uncage/Natural Order/Weird Harvest/Summoner's Pact + Temur Sabertooth
3. Crucible of Worlds/Ramunap Excavator + (fetches or LD lands) + Stone-Seeder/Lotus Cobra
4. Titania + Stone-Seeder + Temur + Cradle/Nykthos + Fetch in yard
Card Choice Commentary:
Utility Lands:
1x Evolving Wilds - fetch land putting a forest into play tapped. It is still a fetch land, albeit much weaker, but in my mind essential
1x Terramorphic Expanse - fetch land putting a forest into play tapped. Synergizes with landfall triggers
1x Ancient Tomb - acceleration
1x City of Traitors/Crystal Vein - acceleration
1x Gaea's Cradle - one of our goals is to get this out ASAP with creatures in play. This and Lotus Cobra are the two premier accelerators available to us (besides Azusa) and can really break open games
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - big mana producer
1x Strip Mine/Wasteland - takes out troublesome lands and allows us the option of going with a land denial strategy with Crucible
1x Petrified Field - gets back Cradle
1x Mikokoro, Center of the Sea - draw
1x Deserted Temple - value
1x Dryad Arbor - Cradle count
1x Blinkmoth Nexus - Craterhoof finisher
1x Gemstone Caverns - turn 2 Azusa
Mana: 14
1x Mana Crypt - mana rock allowing first turn Azusa
1x Carpet of Flowers - alternative mana source and acceleration
1x Exploration - landfall synergy
1x Sol Ring - mana rock T2 Azusa
1x Earthcraft - accelerator, allows big turns to continue rolling along
1x Emerald Medallion - Enables big turns
1x Lotus Cobra - accelerator. Golden in an opening hand
1x Gatecreeper Vine - land
1x Sylvan Ranger - dork whom puts a forest in our hands and counts toward Cradle and Regal Force
1x Courser of Kruphix - with Azusa out he can filter out all the lands on top of our library
1x Oracle of Mul Daya - a bit slow but it can build up an impressive number of lands quickly
1x Stone-Seeder Hierophant - landfall synergy with Cradle/Nykthos
1x Nissa, Who Shakes the World - mana doubler, can untap and turn Cradle into a land for Temur
1x Rude Awakening - Enables a big turn
Draw: 9
1x Elvish Visionary - draw dork. Need 4-5 more of this guy
1x Sylvan Library - card advantage and card filtering
1x Wall of Blossoms - draw
1x Horn of Greed - draw
1x Tireless Tracker - draw
1x Harmonize - draw
1x Nissa, Vital Force - Draw engine, and Haste finisher
1x Shamanic Revelation - draw
1x Regal Force - draw
Tutors: 20
1x Summoner's Pact - instant speed creature tutor
1x Crop Rotation - instant speed land tutor for T2 Azusa, Cradle, Strip Mine, or fetch for Crucible/Ramunap
1x Expedition Map - land tutor
1x Green Sun's Zenith - puts a green creature in play. Early game Ramunap
1x Sylvan Tutor - Creature tutor
1x Worldly Tutor - Creature tutor
1x Finale of Devastation - Creature tutor and finisher
1x Survival of the Fittest - Creature tutor
1x Sylvan Scrying - gets us any land for 2. Getting Cradle/Deserted Temple/Strip Mine/fetch are priorities.
1x Uncage the Menagerie - tutor engine. Get Eternal Witness, Ramunap into Temur
1x Chord of Calling - puts any creature in play with sufficient mana
1x Eldritch Evolution - creature tutor
1x Fierce Empath - I usually get Craterhoof or Bane with this
1x Weird Harvest - creature tutor
1x Natural Order - puts a green creature into play.
1x Reap and Sow - gets Cradle or a fetch
1x Tempt with Discovery - untapped Cradle and Deserted Temple is good
1x Ulvenwald Hydra - land tutor, needed a creature based land tutor
1x Woodland Bellower - toolbox tutor
1x Tooth and Nail - finisher
Removal/Stax: 3
1x Scavenging Ooze - Graveyard hate
1x Karn, the Great Creator - stops opponents' artifacts
1x Bane of Progress - mass removal
Recursion: 6
1x Crucible of Worlds - land recursion
1x Eternal Witness - recursion, good with tutors and Temur
1x Ramunap Excavator - land recursion
1x Noxious Revival - can stop some graveyard shenanigans and offers good utility
1x Temur Sabertooth - bounce enabler for a big turn
1x Titania, Protector of Argoth - brings back a land and produces tokens
Aggression: 2
1x Avenger of Zendikar - token producer
1x Craterhoof Behemoth - the finisher
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
I did not know that card existed! It is a sick, sick card
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
I've yet to take the list for a spin. It's still very rough. The lack of tutors and draw for green is a problem.
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary helps get you there
Lignify
Realms Uncharted
Mouth of Ronom
Scrying Sheets
Rishadan Port
Temple of the False God
Thawing Glaciers
Vesuva
Tooth and Nail
Steel Hellkite
I also have foil versions of Petrified Field, Temple of the False God and Eye of Ugin if you're interested.
What did the rest of your list look like? I can guess you have like 30+ snow covered forests, but the rest?
Yet to get a game in with this list, so I'm grasping around in the dark blindly for strategies. How do you maintain a constant stream of cards to fuel Azusa? And what do you do to seal the game once you have like 15 lands in play?
Realms Uncharted will definately go in. I forgot about that card. Steel Hellkite, Lignify is a little slow but there aren't many options for creature removal. I'll think about them. Thawing Glaciers is that too slow? Rishadan Port to lock down Maze?
I'd be very much interested in your foils (Petrified and Eye) so long as they're NM. Just send me a PM with what you want for them (follow the link to my trade list)
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
the deck wins through a constant stream of eldrazi, a huge kamahl stike or just beats with random stuff over the game. you get there by mulling to a draw engine and riding it to victory. protect stuff like recycle and horn of greed to ensure you are drawing 4+ cards a turn and you will get there (pretty fast might i add)
realms uncharted is pretty bad. there is no pile that nets you anything without an active crucible or loam. azusa is 1 land away from wanting this card. lignify is pretty bad as well. desert twister is a better option as the mana cost is irrelevant and the versatility is clutch. thawing glaciers is a slow grindy card. azusa wants fast tempo. i wouldnt bother with it. port just seems like its all kinds of bad. i would just add another strip effect over it.
Realms into: Bazaar, Dust Bowl, Petrified Field, Eye of Ugin? Opponents will probably give us Bazaar and Petrified Field. That isn't too bad.
What do you think of Possessed Portal as a finisher? Kamahl seems a little slow and dependent on us having creatures in play? With Possessed Portal we can drop it and so long as we have Crucible, Loam, Genesis, It that Betrays, or Tokens we're good.
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
there is no combination of lands that make realms playable. reap and sow is better at finding nonbasics. you also get the added value of destroying something if need be.
i only like possessed portal if you can have multiple annoying effects out at once. something like portal + teferi,s puzzlebox + other annoying thing is really the only time it can shine. other than that it does not do much. if it is working for you when you finally get to test, then definitely play the card. kamahl (wayyyy quicker than portal) on the other hand makes an excellent finisher that either ends the game the turn he is played, or if you untap with him in play on your next turn. the fact that he can animate your lands is what makes him clutch. activate 4-5 lands, overrun 3 times, swing with azusa, oracle, kamahl and some lands and just win. he also has added flexibility of land control in the face of sweepers and things of that nature.
Played against Omnath last night, Dude almost killed me with Kamahl, If it was Asuza, i wouldnt have been left at 4 life. He double pumped i took 23 damage from 3 attackers and blocked 3 taking 12dam total.
There was also a Austere command choose Little guys and artifacts. As a revenge hit Kamahl turned 2 of the austere guys lands into creatures that died when it went off.
Point is he is soooooo kool
Kamahl looks good. Are there any other ways to get haste to all our guys besides Concordant Crossroads and Akroma's Memorial?
I do think you are underestimating Realms Uncharted. It nets a card and the utility lands it fetches can help get you there faster
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
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Sydri's Magical Castle WUB
Chainer, Dementia Master: "Bring out your dead!" BBB
Riku Because Copying Decimate URG
Xira Arien, Jund StaxBRG
The Sylvan-Primordial-PlasmBUG
Trostani ComboGW
Vizkopa Guildmage - Peasant VariantBW
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
For starters, I think there are stonger choices than a few of the creatures you run.
As a side note, you really want Crop Rotation so you can grab Ancient Tomb turn 1.
G Azusa, Lost but Seeking G
WU Grand Arbiter Augustin IV WU
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftan WBG
B Korlash, Heir to Blackblade B
RU Tibor and Lumia RU
'He tasks me! He tasks me, and I shall have him!' - Khan Noonien Singh
I thought about Crop Rotation and in the end I decided it shouldn't have a place in the list. It does not get anything that I must have for a win condition, nor does it generate card advantage as realms does. It is also better to get the land into my hand so as to trigger landfall effects and other land in to play triggers.
Worldspine Wurm's casting cost just doesn't make him very attractive. Missing annihilator
GSZ for Dryad Arbor appears to be a waste of a spell. Being able to tap for mana the turn a land enters is very important
In theory It that Betrays works very well with annihilator. As well as All is Dust and Possessed Portal.
Hornet Queen is a bit expensive for a defensive card but I figure it does have synergies with Skullclamp and Moldgraf Monstrosity as well as Artisan. And it's the only flying creature in the list.
Mirri's Guile, SDT: they take up a spot without offering card advantage. Not keen on filter effects which don't offer card advantage
Oracle of Mul Daya: Much like Garruk's Horde. She misses. Shines if a draw engine is up and running, other times can be useless. Hit and miss
Garruk's Horde: He does shine when a draw engine is up and running, but I can probably cut him without missing him too much.
Chameleon Colossus: Missing annihilator or ETB effect making clampable tokens
Wolfbriar Elemental: I like this guy. If only the tokens were 1/1 so they could work with Skullclamp. Verdeloth has the same problem. Hermit Druid doesn't.
Baloth Woodcrasher: I can cut him without missing him much
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
Crop Rotation is there to play 1st turn when you have nothing else much to do to get Ancient Tomb although it can be used as a land tutor later in the game as well. One of the top goals of the deck is getting Azusa in to play fast and this is an engine to get Azusa on line turn 2. Green Sun's Zenith for Dryad Arbor is another 1st turn play to help power out Azusa on turn 2. If I have GSZ and niothing else to do turn 1, I will fetch for dryad arbor every time. Another thing of note, Crop Rotation most definitely triggers landfall. Landfall is triggered any time a land enters the battlefield, no matter where it came from.
You should really give Worldspine Wurm a chance. Its basically the biggest creature Azusa has access to. His ability come out with Green Sun's Zenith is huge as none of the eldrazi can do this. He will also make your opponents scared to wrath or use a kill spell unless they have a way to exile him since he just spews 15 power right back out. Also...Trample it a bigger threat than you may think. I've had games where I hit a player with a direct hit from both big eldrazi and still lost to them. Annihilator is great, it is, but its possible to still be blocked and deal no damage, especially if they are running some form of tokens or recursion. With Trample, they take damage. With the Eldrazi, I 've been a fan of Overwhelming Stampede precisely to give them Trample, and yeah make all the field bigger too.
When looking at Azusa you have to ask yourself 'what can I do with huge mana'? Wolfbriar Elemental to me fits in this category. I look at him more as a win condition; We can make stuffs bigger, and the more stuffs we have to make bigger, the better. Kick him for 20, which is totally possible, and you have enough attack to take out a player in your tokens. If you have a way to buff the tokens, next turn you just kill the table. You're Kamahl, Fist of Krosa, or Overwhelming Stampede that I mentioned would easily do the job. With some combination of turn 4 Vorinclex, turn 5 Wolfbrier Elemental, and turn 6 Kamahl on top of a good start, I once put out 140ish damage to kill the table. Everyone was like 'What just happened'.
Oracle of Mul Daya is arguably just as important to the deck as Azusa. When I ge both online and have draw power, I drop 4 lands per turn and just quickly smother the field. Even if the top deck portion does nothing that turn, the ability to play an extra land is still worthwhile. By themselves, Mirri's Guile and Sensei's Diving Top are terrible in this deck. However, when the are online with Oracle of Mul Daya, you can get a huge card drawing and mana generating engine on line when you set up the order of you cards so you see lands on top and Oracle lets you play them.
As far as flying creatures, your best option is Silklash Spider if they are an issue. She doesn't have flying herself, but she has reach and a large butt to block then. Since we don't run fliers, spider's ability is basically a one-sided board whipe if we have the mana, and we usually do.
Hope that helps some.
G Azusa, Lost but Seeking G
WU Grand Arbiter Augustin IV WU
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftan WBG
B Korlash, Heir to Blackblade B
RU Tibor and Lumia RU
'He tasks me! He tasks me, and I shall have him!' - Khan Noonien Singh
Worldspine Wurm is another amazing card for the deck. its biggest selling point for me is its graveyard trigger (shuffle it back in). the fact that you have a third out to mill strategies is awesome. having one that does not reset your graveyard (agaisnt loam) is welcome. the second thing i love about the card is the trample. of course a 15/15 that leaves you with 15 power when it dies is awesome...but the fact that all of the dudes have trample is amazing. its a resilient guy thats tough for your opponents to abuse through reanimation... clutch card to me.
Oracle of Mul Daya is always my first creature tutor target. one of the top cards in the deck. its like having another azusa in play without the card disadvantage.
Wolfbriar Elemental is not really something i can get on board with. it seems less "consistently good" than the other creatures the deck can and should be running.
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa best finisher azusa can run, hands down. if he does not win you the game the turn you play him, your enemies better be praying you do not untap with him...because that will be your game.
Overwhelming Stampede seems like a trap to me. you need a bunch of guys in play to get value out of it, and while that is feasible...i can see it being dead a lot of times in any azusa build that is not at least 25% guys or token generators.
masticore is a saucy piece of tech i recommend to every azusa player, but it gets poor results from them. on the other hand, i have kept tables in check with nothing but a masticore in play.
Cards I didn't like: Seer's Sundial (too costly)
Cards I needed: Oblivion Stone, more creature and artifact removal
Weaker cards on the cutting block:
Storm Cauldron
Seer's Sundial
Possessed Portal
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
If Masticore didn't require discarding a card it would be exceptional. Sadly the card disadvantage is a real killer
jmdt is really high on Overwhelming Stampede. I may pick one up and test it out. It's a win more type of card but it can finish the table in one turn - something I cannot do at a large table with my current list. So I think it's worth a look
Kamhal is very good. What do you think about his little brother Baru, Fist of Krosa?
Wolfbriar Elemental has some potential. I like the fact at 6-8 mana it can put in a reasonable amount of tokens early game while late game it can put in a significant amount of tokens.
Oracle of Mul Daya tests a lot better when I increased the amount of draw.
Worldspine Wurm - I don't understand his appeal. He's simply too costly. He has few if any synergies with the rest of the list. He is an overgrown Vorapede with trample. If I were to cast Natural Order I'd almost always pick Regal Force, Verdant Force, Terastodon, Kamahl, Oracle, or Vorinclex over him. He is a win-more card, but one which cannot finish off the table in one turn.
I don't like Crop Rotation. The only two lands worth getting with it in my list are Eye and High Market. Maybe Buried Ruin depending on what's in my graveyard. We don't net any cards by casting it. Playing in a meta with heavy LD makes it even less appealing.
Sol Ring looks really good when Godo blows up all my land 2-3x a game.
Seer's Sundial eats up a lot of our resources. While it does get us cards I had problems casting them.
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
exploration and burgeoning are both good starters, worked out nicely for me.
I run my manavault&solring and currently planning to throw in emerald medallion just to speed things up.
Defense of Heart is a good card, work as the less stable tooth and nails, my frequent targets are Avenger+Regal Force for gesture of friendliness (I m just drawing cards~), or Ulamog/Vorinclex+Terrastadon for land denial.
Have u considered Craterhoof Behemoth? it's an exciting card with rude awakening
Ripped up the list and added lots of early accelerators and put Primal Surge as the finisher. Craterhoof is a good choice, it is in.
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL