Hello everyone! Recently, my colleague Julian Sison wrote a wonderful article about some very spicy Rakdos commanders to heat things up this summer. As much as I respect all the guilds of Magic, no list would be complete without the Glorious Azorius. Despite being underappreciated, the guild boasts a variety of commanders that can produce some truly amazing decks. So, without further ado, I'm Levi from The Thought Vessel Show, and this is the Top 5 Coolest Azorius Commanders to try this summer.

5) Hylda of the Icy Crown

Starting us off is this wonderful hybrid token/control deck. You can't have a list of cool commanders without the ice queen Hylda. This commander is one of the first legendary creatures to take advantage of tapping down opposing creatures by converting them into surprisingly efficient 4/4 elemental tokens, +1/+1 counters for the entire team, or additional card advantage. This might be one of the only decks that truly takes advantage of cards like Sleep, Verity Circle, and a new addition from the Assassin's Creed set, Mjolnir, Storm Hammer.

The best part of this card is its versatility. If you want to play the card advantage game, that's absolutely on the table. Flood the board with tokens? You bet! Voltron? Against the right opponent, there could be a situation where Hylda becomes big enough to pull that off. This is a cool commander!

4) The Council of Four

With a special build that I like to call reverse stax, this commander wants your opponents to draw two cards and cast two spells per turn. For every second card drawn, you get to draw a card. Every second spell puts a 2/2 knight into play. You wouldn't believe how much work this card can put in. By adding more cards like Trouble in Pairs, Rhystic Study, Mangara the Diplomat, and Sunscorch Regent, you put your opponents in a very strange position where the more they do, the more you benefit. This means they can either let you capitalize or limit themselves as though they were playing against stax. If you want to force value, you can add effects like Howling Mine to make the second draw a sure thing. As the game goes on, your opponents will beat themselves by the rate of value they have given. Quite unique.

3) Esior, Wardwing Familiar and Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist

No list is complete without a good Voltron strategy. This pair is excellent at the helm of an equipment-themed commander deck. Esior provides flying and some protection while Ardenn provides free equipment. What this deck lacks in Boros equipment staples, it makes up for with artifact synergy pieces like Shimmer Dragon that lets you tap your equipment for card draw, and tutors like Trophy Mage, Fabricate, and Whir of Invention. You also have access to counterspell magic and excellent value pieces like Urza, Lord High Artificer, and Robe of the Archmagi. This deck might be slightly slower than your average Voltron build, but I can guarantee it provides a lot more resiliency. And besides, it's an owl wearing armor. You really can't go wrong.

2) Grand Arbiter Augustin IV

There are a lot of different ways you can take this particular deck. There are lists for Persistent Petitioners, Stax, you name it. What I would suggest trying out is superfriends, aka planeswalkers. There are a lot of high-quality planeswalkers like Teferis and Dovins that, when put into play at a reduced mana value while also taxing your opponents, become incredibly difficult to deal with. In addition to the planeswalkers, you can also play some of the strongest value cards Azorius has to offer like Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Medomai the Ageless, and Isperia, Supreme Judge. If you want to add a little spice, add in some clone effects like Sakashima of a Thousand Faces and Spark Double to either copy Grand Arbiter Augustin IV and really bog down your opponents or double down on your strongest effects. Though Grand Arbiter Augustin is considered a salty commander, this discount is sweet!

1) Brago, King Eternal

Of all the commander decks I have ever played, this is probably my favorite. The value that Brago can provide over the course of the game is unmatched. Enter the battlefield effects, leave the battlefield effects, and even mana rocks coming back in untapped to be used again. With effects like Strionic Resonator, these effects can easily go infinite with win conditions abound to close out the game. Depending on the power level you want, this deck can turn from a fast combo win plan into a grindy control fest on a dime. Due to the untapping nature of these effects, you could even build Brago as a stax deck, though my build is quite strong without having to rely on it. But the best part about Brago is the versatility. Since Brago works with so many cards, you can constantly switch out the ramp, draw, remove, etc., pieces for new cards you want to try out. I can't state enough how amazing this commander is.

And there you have it! I hope among these five super cool Azorius decks you find one that you will really enjoy and give it a try. By all means, though, with Azorius, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. There are still several powerful commanders out there just waiting to be tried. Until next time!