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Main » Articles » Analyzing Azorius Control in Pioneer

Analyzing Azorius Control in Pioneer

Kyle Boggemes
Posted on June 1, 2022
 Reddit

Hey everyone!

Today I'm here to bring you a walkthrough of Azorius Control in Pioneer. There's a deck out there for most players in Pioneer that's capable of taking down a tournament and Azorius Control has been speaking to me. If you like playing control without going to time every round and going over the top with powerful spells, then Azorius is up your alley.

Before I share my list, let's begin with a stock version. This particular list went 3-1 in a Pioneer Prelim on MTGO by Simpleiquid.

Azorius Control | Pioneer | Simpleiquid, 3-1 Pioneer Prelim

Most of the Azorius Control decks today play Yorion, Sky Nomad. If you play a sixty-card deck you will be at a disadvantage against the eighty-card version without access to a powerful companion.

Yorion not only blinks out Omen of the Sea, but resets planeswalkers, too. A Narset with 1 loyalty is a threat that must be answered by an aggro deck or else it will be reset later in the game. Teferi can tuck a threat and go back to 4 loyalty at the end of turn. The Wandering Emperor can activate a second time because it enters the battlefield again at the end of turn.

I favor the overarching approach Azorius Control takes in Pioneer. This is not a deck that sits on counters, but plays to the board thanks to The Wandering Emperor and Shark Typhoon. Narset and Memory Deluge ensure your card drawing will chain and things get out of hand quickly.

I prefer this play style because I don't like to think too hard about threats my opponent can resolve each turn. If you lean on counters then it's difficult to remove threats from the battlefield and can fall behind quickly.

The biggest find I've had so far with this deck is that I rarely flood. Not only does a single Memory Deluge provide enough gas to keep the planeswalker train rolling, but Castle Vantress and Hall of Storm Giants are threats.

The Spells

Now for a quick card by card breakdown of the spells.

Portable Hole - I've loved having four because it ensures you don't fall behind against early prowess creatures and mana elves. It crucially exiles Voice of Resurgence against Winota. This artifact can also exile Wolfwillow Haven against Green Devotion. Targeting tokens or weaker creatures gives you the option to reset with Yorion.

March of Otherworldly Light - On the play the choice is clear to spend your second turn exiling mana elves and prowess creatures. On the draw I'll likely exile a White card to interact on the first turn. Azorius Control is very good at going over the top so I'm not concerned as much about the card disadvantage.

March combos with a hardcast Shark Typhoon because you can overpay for X to create a gigantic token. This is a great removal spell, but it critically misses planeswalkers.

Fateful Absence - I began with three copies, but there aren't many planeswalkers in the format. Since the opponent will get a clue, I don't want to draw multiple copies. Like March, it's not the end of the world to give your opponent card advantage with your removal spells because threat-heavy matchups won't be able to keep up with your planeswalkers in the mid-game.

Fateful Absence plays out better in Game 1 where you need broad interaction. Once both players have access to their sideboard the games speed up and the interaction is more specific making the card disadvantage less appealing.

Key planeswalkers to consider destroying are Karn, the Great Creator from Green Devotion, Chandra, Dressed to Kill from Mono-Red, the three walkers in the mirror, and Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Sorin, the Mirthless from Rakdos Midrange.

This won't come up often, but Fateful Absence can turn your own threats into clues when they are about to die to essentially cycle. There are games where I'm far ahead and won't cast Fateful Absence because I can beat the board without it.

Supreme Verdict - I think it's a mistake to play fewer than four Verdicts.

Settle the Wreckage is good against Winota; I wouldn't consider it before the playset of Supreme Verdict. This is because Winota plays Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Elite Spellbinder in the sideboard to foil your Settle turn. Verdict is able to kill mana dorks which is a realistic way to gain an advantage against Green decks. I can also time the powerful sweeper to hit a flipped Kiki-Jiki before it can activate.

I've been very low on Farewell. This sweeper costs six mana and most games against aggressive decks are already decided at that point. Pioneer decks use the graveyard, but not to the extent where it's worth it to pay two extra mana for a sweeper.

I prefer to play Settle the Wreckage in the maindeck because even when the opponent sniffs it out they must slow down into the mid game which is where Azorius shines. Playing around Settle the Wreckage also walks right into The Wandering Emperor or gives the time to cast a Memory Deluge.

Absorb - Gains life against Red decks and helps shut the door once you begin to accrue large advantages with planeswalkers. Once I have enough cards in hand and a strong board presence I use my library manipulation to find Absorb to remove all chances of losing.

Absorb is a clunky counterspell so it's easy for the opponent to sniff out, but it's the best we have in Pioneer. I don't want this card against Izzet because of their nimble counters after sideboard.

Dovin's Veto - Not every deck in Pioneer is creature-based and Veto can even hit Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki, Esika's Chariot, and Chandra, Dressed to Kill out of aggro decks. A critical counter to help protect Teferi the turn he enters the battlefield. I like having access to four Vetos in the 95 for blue decks.

Jwari Disruption // Jwari Ruins - Not only does this spell help you hit land drops, but it's generic interaction in the early game. I'm not concerned about the opponent playing around it because it gives me more time to get to the mid game. I have preferred three copies.

Omen of the Sea - It's hard to overstate the importance of this card. I'm able to keep two land hands with Omen to help bridge to the mid game. It's the best blink target for Yorion. After Yorion blinks the Omens I'm looking to sacrifice them to scry 2 since I can only reset Yorion with my Otawara.

Narset, Parter of Veils - This card looks insane on the surface because of the static ability, but most card advantage spells don't actually draw. Expressive Iteration and Memory Deluge get around the static. Treasure Cruise, Teferi, and Ledger Shredder don't want to see Narset. Remember that Ledger Shredder's connive trigger is not optional. If the opponent plays two spells on their turn they will discard a card.

Narset is easily attacked in the early game so I like to play it later to dig for my big spells when possible. This means holding up Absorb instead of tapping out early. The fourth turn could be safer for Narset as it can find Portable Hole or March of Otherworldly Light.

Teferi, Hero of Dominaria - This is the primary top end threat. It's not the end of the world if the opponent is able to deal with it because there are so many other fantastic late game cards. This deck plays very differently than when Teferi was legal in Standard.

The -3 ability makes it so you technically won't deck, but won't come to that in a fifty minute match with eighty cards.

The Wandering Emperor - I'm surprised at how much I love this card. It's a nimble threat that punishes opponents who have some grandiose anti-control strategy. Spell Queller performed a similar role in my Blue decks in the past. This is the best threat against Mono-Red and Rakdos Midrange.

The flash threat of The Wandering Emperor and Shark Typhoon make Azorius mirrors less of a staring contest than usual. I really enjoy the gameplay.

Shark Typhoon - The secondary flash threat alongside The Wandering Emperor. It's hard to be punished for drawing too many lands with a full playset. In Game 1 against Rakdos Midrange I like to hardcast the Typhoon to play around Fatal Push that is rotting in hand. They have a harder time with the token after sideboard.

I can sit behind a wall of counterspells against Blue decks with all of my flash threats.

I don't like to hardcast Shark Typhoon in Azorius mirrors because they can tuck with Teferi or hit with March of Otherworldly Light. They can't cut March because Supreme Verdict and Portable Hole are worse and you only have so many cards to add.

Memory Deluge - Like Narset, it may require some setup before you're allowed to cast pure card advantage spells against aggressive decks.

Deluge plays very well with The Wandering Emperor; much like the Cryptic Command/Mistbind Clique conundrum in Faeries Standard back in 2008. If you play around one then you risk getting blown out by the other.

The Lands

The mana of Azorius Control is fairly stable. I'm more concerned with the quantity of lands rather than the colors. I want to hit my first four land drops and ideally the fifth to cast Teferi on time. My ideal mana base includes thirty-four lands and three Jwari Disruption // Jwari Ruins.

2 Field of Ruin - Important to fight creature lands from the D&D set. Most decks play a couple basics to account for Field being in the format. It notably misses Lotus Field.

I'm low on Castle Ardenvale because of the raw power in the mid game of Azorius Control. I prefer Castle Vantress because scrying to the key spells is more impactful. A tapped White land on the first turn doesn't play well with Portable Hole and March of Otherworldly Light.

The Sideboard

In classic control fashion, I have a handful of cards I want to board out against both aggro and control decks. For this reason, I want my sideboard to have generic interaction. Most of the top end threats are strong against both aggro and control so I need to focus on customizing my early plays. Narset, Dovin's Veto, Portable Hole, and Supreme Verdict are the cards that are cut the most often.

Aether Gust - This is exactly the type of card I want. It's able to interact with mana elves, prowess creatures, and even Winota. I can slam a Teferi on the fifth turn and cast Gust on the same turn cycle. I want four copies against Mono-Red, Green Devotion, and Naya Winota. They also come in against Rakdos Midrange as Portable Hole is weak to Kolaghan's Command.

Mystical Dispute - Same principle as Aether Gust, but against the opposite matchups. Blue decks have access to Spell Pierce and Mystical Dispute after sideboard so I need to be ready with my own nimble counters to protect Teferi and The Wandering Emperor. Again, I would like four copies in the sideboard.

Dovin's Veto - A no nonsense counter that rounds out your Blue interaction suite. It shines in mirrors, but can also stop Treasure Cruise and Expressive Iteration against Izzet.

Sunset Revelry - I like this card to augment Aether Gust as early interaction against Red decks. It's better than I expected, but three feels like too many. It doesn't generate a ton of card advantage, but helps bridge to the mid game.

Azorius Control Update | Pioneer | Kyle Boggemes

The suggestion of boarding a Behold the Multiverse over the fourth Memory Deluge came from a Twitter follower,@GalopinMTG. It's able to be hidden away from Thoughtseize against Rakdos Midrange, a close matchup, and the graveyard is under attack from Hive of the Eye Tyrant and Graveyard Trespasser // Graveyard Glutton to flash back Deluge.

That's all I have for today. Give Azorius Control a spin. The deck doesn't take a long time to play in paper despite having Yorion as a companion because fetch lands aren't legal.

Thanks for reading!

-Kyle

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TAGS articles, sideboard, metagame, constructed, analysis, decklist, kyle boggemes, azorius control, pioneer, 06012022

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