Lavinia of the Tenth seems to have gotten somewhat less attention than the other guild champions. Although not particularly impressive while on the battlefield, Lavinia does have a powerful enters-the-battlefield ability. Unfortunately, this ability only lasts for one turn, with no permanent impact. However, there is a way to change that. Conjurer's Closet can flicker Lavinia every turn, allowing you to stop most of your opponent's creatures from attacking. Here's the list I put together to take advantage of this interaction.

[Cardlist Title="Closet Control - Standard | Mike Cannon]

• Lands (24)
• 4 Azorius Guildgate
• 4 Evolving Wilds
• 8 Island
• 8 Plains

• Creatures (13)
• 4 Lavinia of the Tenth
• 3 Azorius Justiciar
• 4 Archaeomancer
• 2 Mist Raven

• Spells (23)
• 4 Conjurer's Closet
• 4 Azorius Charm
• 4 Supreme Verdict
• 2 Blind Obedience
• 4 Dissipate
• 3 Detention Sphere
• 2 Cyclonic Rift

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Purify the Grave
• 2 AEtherize
• 3 Erase
• 4 Dispel
• 2 AEtherling

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The Creatures

Azorius Justiciar is like a miniature version of Lavinia, detaining two creatures of any size. It can buy you time by detaining two creatures and trading with another, or can be flickered with Conjurer's Closet to repeatedly detain your opponent's largest threats.

Mist Raven is also an effective way to buy time, since it usually forces your opponent to spend a turn casting his creature again. With flying, it also functions as an effective way to kill your opponent once you have him locked down with Lavinia.

Archaeomancer compares unfavorably to Snapcaster Mage at first, but if you can flicker it with Conjurer's Closet, you can get back a counterspell or bounce spell every turn. Threatening to cast Azorius Charm every turn can stop your opponent from attacking at all, and if he builds up a board presence strong enough to be dangerous, you can get back a Supreme Verdict to clear the board.

The Spells

Dissipate is the standard counterspell of choice at the moment, countering anything that can be countered and preventing any graveyard shenanigans from flashback or Unburial Rites. In this deck, the card's main purpose is to stop creatures too large for Lavinia to detain, or removal spells that might kill her.

Azorius Charm has proved itself to be an excellent tool for fighting creature decks, not only stopping a creature from dealing damage to you, but often forcing your opponent to effectively skip his next turn, drawing the creature and casting it again just to get back to where he was.

Supreme Verdict can often win the game almost single-handedly against hyper-aggressive decks, clearing the board just in time to save you from a lethal attack. When retrieved with Archaeomancer the following turn, any creature-based strategy will have a difficult time presenting an effective offense.

Blind Obedience stops hasty creatures from sneaking in for damage before you can flicker Lavinia and detain them. Extort also gives you a win condition you can count on regardless of how many blockers your opponent has.

Detention Sphere deals with any permanents that cost more than 4 mana. Thundermaw Hellkite and Wolfir Silverheart are prime targets which escape Lavinia's detain ability, and Detention Sphere can help make sure they don't kill you.

The Sideboard

AEtherling and Dispel are valuable tools for fighting other control decks. AEtherling is unblockable, unkillable, and with some help from Dispel, uncounterable. It provides an almost surefire way to win the game in short order. Dispel also protects your key spells from your opponent's Dissipates, only requiring you to leave up a single blue mana.

Erase is a valuable tool against Bant Hexproof. Hexproof creatures are immune to all the bounce and detain save Lavinia's ability, but without their Auras, they are far less dangerous. AEtherize can be an even more devastating tool against these decks, getting around Hexproof by bouncing each attacking creature. Whatever Auras your opponent used to suit up those creatures are also gone forever, save Rancor. AEtherize is also effective against other creature decks, serving as a less effective Supreme Verdict that can give you a few more turns to find the real thing.

Play-Testing

Bant Hexproof – Game 1

My opponent paid 2 life for a Breeding Pool, cast Avacyn's Pilgrim, and passed the turn. I sacrificed my Evolving Wilds for an Island, then drew an Island for my turn. I played a Plains, cast Blind Obedience, and passed the turn.

My opponent paid 2 life for a Temple Garden and cast Geist of Saint Traft. He ended his turn. I drew Lavinia of the Tenth, played my second Evolving Wilds, and passed.

My opponent cast Ethereal Armor on Geist of Saint Traft and attacked for 7. He then ended his turn, and I sacrificed Evolving Wilds for a Plains. I cast Azorius Charm to draw a card, and drew Dissipate.

I drew a Plains for my turn, played my Island, and passed. My opponent cast Unflinching Courage, but I countered it with Dissipate, using the extra mana to extort. He dropped me to 7 with Geist of Saint Traft and ended his turn.

I drew Conjurer's Closet and cast Lavinia of the Tenth, detaining everything. I passed the turn, and my opponent played a land and passed back. I drew Supreme Verdict and cast Conjurer's Closet, flickering Lavinia at the end of my turn. My opponent conceded.

Sideboarding

+3 Erase

+2 AEtherize

-3 Azorius Justiciar

-2 Mist Raven

Game 2

He played Glacial Fortress and ended his turn. I drew a Plains, played it, and passed again.

My opponent played another Sunpetal Grove and cast Invisible Stalker. He ended his turn. I drew another Dissipate, played my Island, and passed the turn.

My opponent attacked for one and cast Geist of Saint Traft. He passed the turn, and I drew an Island, played my Plains, and killed his creatures with Supreme Verdict. I passed the turn. He cast another Geist of Saint Traft and ended his turn.

I drew AEtherize, cast Lavinia of the Tenth to detain the Geist, and passed. My opponent played Temple Garden and cast Unflinching Courage on Geist of Saint Traft and passed the turn.

I drew a Plains, played it, and passed back. My opponent played a land and enchanted Geist of Saint Traft with another Unflinching Courage and Spectral Flight. He attacked, and I cast AEtherize. He ended his turn.

I drew Blind Obedience, cast it, and attacked for 4. My opponent cast Geist of Saint Traft again, and I countered it with Dissipate, using extort to drain for 1. He cast Invisible Stalker and passed the turn.

I drew Erase and attacked for 4 with Lavinia. My opponent took the damage, and I ended my turn. My opponent cast Rancor on Invisible Stalker and attacked for 3. I cast Erase on Rancor, extorting for 1 life as well. He cast another Stalker and ended his turn.

I drew Evolving Wilds, played it, and dropped my opponent to 6 with Lavinia. I passed the turn. He cast Loxodon Smiter and attacked for 1 with a Stalkers. He ended his turn, and I sacrificed Evolving Wilds for a Plains.

I drew Supreme Verdict and attacked with Lavinia again. He blocked with the Stalker, and I passed the turn. My opponent cast Voice of Resurgence, and I countered it with Dissipate, paying 1 to extort. He passed the turn, and I cycled Azorius Charm, extorting again and drawing an Island. I drew Evolving Wilds and attacked with Lavinia. My opponent blocked with Avacyn's Pilgrim, and I played my land and passed the turn.

My opponent passed the turn with no play, and I drew another copy of Lavinia. I attacked with the first, and he bounced her with Simic Charm. I cast her and extorted for 1. My opponent cast an Avacyn's Pilgrim, but thanks to Blind Obedience it entered the battlefield tapped, and I attacked for the win.

Wrap-Up

Flickering Lavinia every turn with Conjurer's Closet is a powerful thing, and there are some decks that just have no way to win after that, as evidenced by my opponent's concession. Even without the combo, this deck performs fairly adequately as a normal control deck as well. If you like the idea of shutting down every creature your opponent has or will ever have, give this deck a shot.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, you can find me on the forums under Twinblaze, on Twitter under @MTGCannon, or simply leave a comment below.