Celestial Consorts - Isperia EDH

Commander / EDH Casual Control WU (Azorius)

senrade

Instant (13)

Sorcery (8)

Enchantment (2)

Artifact (4)

Planeswalker (5)

Creature (24)

Land (43)

Commander (1)

Introduction

Enter the Senate, the seat of justice and the foundation of Ravnican society.

Isperia the Inscrutable is the commander of the first EDH deck I ever physically constructed. When my playgroup wanted to get into commander, most of them bought the 2013 precons but I wanted to construct a deck of my own from scratch. Isperia started off as being the most suitable legendary creature to pilot the pile of spare cards I had mashed into a deck before I had time to make one of my own. But I stuck with Isperia, and now the combination of her gorgeous art, very sphinx-like ability and unique game play secure her as my favourite creature in Magic.

This particular deck plays very defensively, using Isperia to tutor from among a small number of powerful flyers. Every creature with flying in this deck has a specific purpose and is useful in foreseen situations. This deck can be aggressive (although still not particularly fast) given the chance, but most of the flyers and non-flyers in the deck either suit a long game or help you reach that late stage.

Isperia

I serve only justice. But through that duty, I serve all of Ravnica.

Before the dissolution of the Guildpact in the plane of Ravnica, Isperia was the guild champion of the Azorius. Aloof and solitary, she manifested prophecies in the form of cryptic metaphors and riddles that only the high-ranking members of the Azorius Senate could decipher. Grand Arbiter Augustin IV in particular often sought her council.

After the events of dissension, the Azorius Senate was in ruin, and eventually Isperia decided that order and justice trumped her own preferences, and she agreed to become the new leader of the Azorius. Since the planeswalker's actions at the end of the Dragon's Maze, Isperia has been working with Jace, the Living Guildpact and his deputy, Lavinia of the Tenth to preserve peace on Ravnica.

My Commander Philosophy

Virtue is an inner light that can prevail in every soul.

Decks I make are a medium of expression. They follow particular themes and tell particular stories that I like, or even just contain particular cards I like. Because of this I heavily shy away from a deck full of staples and using all the most powerful cards. The more one constructs a deck to win at all costs, the more personality it loses.

Of all my decks, this is the most generic, since it follows a mechanical theme more than the rest. Nevertheless I avoid overpowered or overused cards as much as possible, using them only if they occupy a non-iconic spot and are necessary in keeping the deck afloat. Capsize, Mana Drain, the Swords of Protection and Value? No thanks. Too easy, too boring, too far from the theme.

So that having been said, if there's a format staple that I seem to have missed, there's a very good chance I am fully aware of it and choose not to run it. There are worse things than losing.

The Flyers

Your mind is too filled with foolish concerns to hear the subtle whispers that the breeze brings.

The most iconic and defining elements of this deck are the sphinxes, angels, archons and various other aerial entities with which Isperia rewards you for understanding her prophecies. All things considered, the tutor conditions of Isperia aren't all that constricting, flying creatures can do plenty of things. The ones I use are split into various categories:

The Answers:

I'd rather hear the screams of battle than the quiet that follows.

Since this deck isn't really in the business of running combos, probably the most useful advantage to having flyers on-demand is the ability to deal with specific problems and threats with which your opponents have rudely burdened you. The flyers in this deck that act as removal are:

Sunblast Angel
Angel of Serenity
Steel Hellkite
And, depending on circumstances:
Chancellor of the Spires or Diluvian Primordial .
Sunblast Angel is a strong deterrent to being attacked, especially if you've revealed it with Isperia. However as a one-sided board-wipe out of the blue it functions very well too. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and cast Sunblast Angel after tutoring for it with Isperia on the same turn if you really need the wrath. This creature can often be more useful when you obtain through hidden means (i.e. not revealed with Isperia).
Angel of Serenity is often the most useful creature on this list. It blocks a large number of things and its ability can be used to get your creatures back from the graveyard or to rid your opponents' from the battlefield, or both at the same time to make dealing with the angel an unattractive choice. In theory, cards like Mistmeadow Witch and Venser, the Sojourner can create a loop of getting creatures from your graveyard back and never letting opponents keep theirs for long, but in practice that never seems to happen. It also loops with Karmic Guide although that's narrower. Be careful with exiling creatures with abilities that trigger when entering or leaving the battlefield, obviously.
Steel Hellkite is not used as often, since it's so often killed and the deck has lots of boardwipes, but is brutal against anyone without flying blockers. Dumping your whole turn into destroying one permanent doesn't feel amazing, but once you untap and do it again you'll realise why this card is so powerful. Keep this thing alive against anything but hardcore control decks and you'll win. Fast.

Rattlesnakes

In dark times, Truth wears a blade.

As you may have noticed, the curve of this deck is high, we need ways to stay alive until we can take over with our heavenly attendants. Rattlesnakes refer to cards that discourage other players from taking action against you. In this deck, they are:

Archon of Justice
Keiga, the Tide Star
Yosei, the Morning Star
Sunblast Angel also falls in this category, though only before it is cast.
Archon of Justice is one the most common tutor candidates in this deck, able to be cast after Isperia even if you're missing mana. You can usually sit behind this thing for quite a while until someone's willing to smash past it. You can use your own boardwipes to kill this (and other things you don't control ideally) to deal with something else. This also works with Yosei. It also turns your opponent's kill spells into exiling a permanent, one of the few ways that this deck is interested in being political.
Our first legendary spirit dragon, Keiga, the Tide Star blocks better than the archon, and her trigger can be more devastating. She curves out nicely the turn after you cast Isperia if you answer the sphinx's riddle correctly on the first swing. She can either steal the attacker (or blocker, making her effectively unblockable) that kills her, or take it down with her and steal something else. Obviously she's less good with board-wipes than the archon or her brother. Keiga has the most variable power level of all the Rattlesnakes in this deck, and the rest of her spirit dragon cycle since her trigger doesn't follow their 5-theme. Which irks me. Moving on.
Yosei, the Morning Star is another attractive tutor option when you're not looking for something specific and don't want to make any enemies. Yosei is better in one versus one but still works fine as a deterrent in multiplayer. His death is much better against cluttered boards than his sister's, or the archon's, even if it does only get one player. If Yosei falls on an opponents turn, then you can accumulate quite the advantage from the two turns you'll have without their interference, especially if Isperia is on the battlefield.

Of course, both the archon and the dragons are weak to exile effects, but apart from Final Judgement and its ilk, your opponent generally has to specifically invest in them, and that makes them good for buying time.

Card Advantage

A riddle is nothing more than a trap for small minds, baited with the promise of understanding.

There's only so much flying creatures can do for you, sometimes you need to find one of the other 80-odd cards in your deck. Therefore there are flyers in this deck that help you do that:

Windreader Sphinx
Drogskol Reaver
Sphinx of Magosi
Sphinx of Uthuun
Sphinx of Lost Truths
And if you're against blue or black decks, Chancellor of the Spires or Diluvian Primordial will often help you in this category too.
Windreader Sphinx is definitely in here as a card I like, not a card that's very powerful. However just because other...more grotesque sphinxes do the job better, it doesn't mean that this card can't be useful. First of all, Windreader triggers off any flyers attacking, which usually means more in multiplayer than in 1v1 because of its next boon: 7 toughness is quite a lot and though 3 power isn't, the low power with very high toughness fits the defensive theme behind this deck. Finally, unlike Consecrated Sphinx, Windreader can't just be shoved in any blue deck, it has to have some dedication. This sphinx screams Isperia and I love it.
Drogskol Reaver attacks for more than the last sphinx and gains you a non-insignificant amount of life. It works if you leave it block too. True Conviction floats in and out of being in this deck, but the interaction is very silly. This isn't a dedicated life-gain deck, but having your Sejiri Refuge and Tranquil Cove cantrip is good, Miren, the Moaning Well gets a bit better and the interaction with Sphinx's Revelation is nothing if not cute. Like Windreader Sphinx and our next sphinx in the spotlight, this thing gets a lot better the longer it sticks around.
Sphinx of Magosi, staying true to its astonishing artwork, is intimidating and pressuring. Alone, a 6/6 with flying already is great in combat, but the ability can make this monstrosity from Zendikar quite terrifying indeed. You have to commit mana to this guy if you want to draw lots, but boy does he become difficult to deal with as you do it and having a lot of mana is something that this deck does as well, although by hitting land drops, not with endless artifacts and mana-doubling effects. Sphinx of Magosi is probably about the best option you have for finishing a game quickly with this deck, along with Gideon Jura, Medomai the Ageless and Steel Hellkite, although he usually sits back to block nearly anything while growing each turn.
Sphinx of Uthuun is one of the two flyers here that does its work as soon as it resolves (Torpor Orb effects notwithstanding), so he's the way to go if you need cards and you need them quickly and you don't have any of the other draw spells in your hand. Fact or Fiction is a powerful card and a 5/6 is a powerful body. He becomes nuts if you have a Venser, the Sojourner or a Mistmeadow Witch on the battlefield or on the way. Like with the next Sphinx, his ability putting cards into the graveyard can be useful with Karmic Guide.
Sphinx of Lost Truths at his best costs 7 mana like Sphinx of Uthuun, but in exchange for less selection, what you get is discrete. As a second copy of Sphinx of Uthuun, he's almost as good. But he has uses beyond that. Digging for lands usually won't work with any of the other card-advantage fliers here, since they require a higher mana or time investment in one way or another. If you would draw over your maximum hand size and would end up discarding anyway or have useless cards, this Zendikari sphinx gives you all you want for 5 mana, which is better than it sounds. You can choose with more freedom than Sphinx of Uthuun what you discard, making him better with Karmic Guide.

Utility Flyers

Through the haze of battle I saw the glint of sun on golden mane, the sheen of glory clad in mail, and I dropped my sword and wept at the idiocy of war.

A humble name for the cards that will very often win you the game. These creatures do something unique that doesn't quite fit into the other categories.

Adarkar Valkyrie
Blazing Archon
Karmic Guide
Medomai the Ageless
Tidespout Tyrant
And this is where Chancellor of the Spires and Diluvian Primordial belong when considering them in a void.
Adarkar Valkyrie is pretty good on its own, I love the fact that she has vigilance. If you have other creatures, it allows infinite blocking against creatures without trample, it saves your creatures from destruction and it can steal any attackers or blockers that you would destroy in combat even on its own. In the context of this deck, there are a few other things it can do. The destroy boardwipes in this deck will let you save something of your own, or take the best thing an opponent controls. With the rattlesnakes it makes you a very unattractive target for attacking. With Karmic Guide, you can choose not to pay its echo cost, and then revive it with the Valkyrie, allowing you to reanimate something every turn. An Emeria, The Sky Ruin without having to get all the plains onto the battlefield is very good but the angel won't be available for attacking or blocking.
Blazing Archon. What a card. It costs nine mana, the most expensive card in the deck, it has amazing art, beautiful flavour text and an ability that represents the awe it inspires. In one-versus-one, where Isperia usually does the most tutoring, if you can hit nine mana and get this guy you're in very good shape. The more aggressive a deck is, the less removal they tend to have, so it often just sits around looking nice and winning you the game. In multiplayer, it will usually need protection, although sometimes your opponents will let it sit around if they personally don't plan to attack you any time soon. He's not an attractive thing to see in your opening hand, unless you plan to discard him and bring him back with karmic guide, but more on that in the next paragraph. I don't think I could bring myself to take this card out of the deck, no matter how I changed it. It's one of the most beautiful cards of all time and I almost feel honoured for the opportunity to include it.
Karmic Guide is about as powerful a proactive threat as I'm willing to use in this deck. It fits the theme just well enough that I don't replace it. Sometimes you'll be disappointed to have a Reliquary Tower because you want to discard a Blazing Archon or a Tidespout Tyrant in your cleanup, but that's what Sphinx of Lost Truths and Sphinx of Uthuun are for. Having a reanimation spell for which you can tutor with Isperia is as least as good as it sounds, and probably better. I won't go into the details of what you can get back with her because pretty much every creature in the deck is a decent candidate, it depends entirely on what you need. Karmic Guide makes a nice loop with Angel of Serenity if they're both dying (Sheoldred, Whispering One, Grave Pact, Sorin, Solemn Visitor are all popular). Venser, the Sojourner and Mistmeadow Witch make her insane, and returning a Tidespout Tyrant does something similar, as long as you have spells to cast.
Oh boy. Okay, in my experience, people don't like Medomai the Ageless. Taking extra turns can be good, but even if your board state is terrible prepare to be hated for playing this guy, especially if you already have Isperia out, because two free turns can turn into a Steel Hellkite and smash or something equally horrifying. A turn sequence of Isperia into Medomai into two more flyers is about as brutal as it gets with this guy, although you'll only usually manage that sort of nonsense in one-versus-one. Don't be too afraid of tutoring for Medomai, but if you don't have anything to do on your extra turns anyway, you're probably better finding a Sphinx of Uthuun or something.
I think Tyrant is an appropriate title for this watery djinn. Tidespout Tyrant is an unstoppable monster once you start reaching high amounts of mana. As long as you have a constant supply of spells, your opponents' threats will start creeping away, and after that, so too do their lands. If you have a Future Sight or something similar, then all hope is lost. He protects himself if you have mana open and any instants. I think his flavour text is a reasonable description of what he does in a game. Tutoring for him early before you're ready to use it can paint a target on your head or allow your opponents to prepare, so await his time and you shall be rewarded.
Our Memory Plunder siblings, the Chancellor of the Spires and Diluvian Primordial have variable power levels. A 5 power flyer with an added Utter End or Opportunity is obviously very good, but sometimes you'll just be taking ramp spells, which is still fine if you need the body. In a pinch they can be seven mana board-wipes as well, and if that's what you need, you don't feel bad about doing it at all. Because the Chancellor doesn't exile spells she casts she has the added bonus of being able to reuse them if you can bounce or flicker her, making Evacuation or Devastation Tide lots of fun. This also makes her a very strong disincentive for your opponents to cast Rite of Replication. Ultimately these creatures scale with what your opponents have been using, but there are some very powerful instants and sorceries out there, and these things are in your library for you to find if you need them. These two are the most meta-dependent creatures in the deck so I adjust accordingly, but more on the sideboard later.

The Non-Flyers

Let the knowledge of absolute law inspire you to lead a life of absolute order.

And here are the rest of the cards. As I said before, flying creatures can only get you so far, and this is where the deck begins to merge with other white/blue decks with a focus on defence and control. I won't necessarily go into as much detail for every card as I did for the flyers, since you usually won't be specifically searching your library for these.

Board Wipes

The clashing warriors turned to face O-Kagachi, the greatest kami, and their sigh of awe was their last breath.

Being overwhelmed is a frequent occurrence for this deck since it's so slow, so I run seven things that will deal with a large number of permanents:

Supreme Verdict
Final Judgement
Hallowed Burial
Austere Command
Akroma's Vengeance
Cyclonic Rift
Planar Cleansing
And as previously discussed, Sunblast Angel
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, but more on him in the planeswalkers section.
The fact that Supreme Verdict can't be countered is often very relevant against blue/green decks, and good riddance to them. Other than that, it's a four-mana creature sweeper and does what you would expect it to do.
Final Judgement is two more mana than Supreme Verdict for being able to deal with indestructible creatures and stonewalling graveyard shenanigans (which includes the ones in this deck, but honestly they're minor, despite how much detail their descriptions contained).
Hallowed Burial has a few bonuses compared to things like day of judgement and Wrath of God. Like Final Judgement , it deals with indestructible creatures, and any flyers that you lose can be retrieved with Isperia. This doesn't actually come up very often, but it's still very much worth it.
Akroma's Vengeance and Austere Command don't require much explaining. You can cycle Akroma's Vengeance if you have no need for it, and Austere Command can be cast to avoid getting something you don't want it to. Planar Cleansing gets planeswalkers too, which this deck can have trouble with because although it obviously has a lot of evasion it also doesn't attack well under pressure.
Cyclonic Rift might seem slightly better in this deck, simply because you can name one of the million permanents you bounce with Isperia, but often you just won't have that many permanents of your own when you cast it so it can just be a Devastation Tide with flash. Sometimes I feel sick using this card but I suppose I have no shame for this card in particular.

Targeted Removal and Counterspells

Do not react to force in kind. Turn it aside. Direct it to where it can do no harm.

Cheaper removal is needed to fill in the gaps between boardwipes or to keep your permanents alive.:

Return to Dust exiles and grants card advantage if used ideally. This can be so very important so very often against so very many decks.
Dismantling Blow doesn't exile but the kicker makes it good enough anyway. Artifacts and enchantments are popular and you need lots of ways of dealing with them.
Swords to Plowshares has nice flavour to it, but mainly I use it because the deck needs this effect, and I actually don't own a Crib Swap or something similar with a more appropriate power level. If I get one I may well use both. Who knows?
Gideon Jura serves this function, among others, but I'll discuss him in the planeswalkers section.

Counterspells are necessary for immediate game-winning spells that some people just can't help but run. Think Time Stretch, Armageddon, Tooth and Nail and their ilk. Of course you can use counterspells for any problem spell, their diversity is their strength.

Counterspell. Too good for standard. Just right for Commander.
Dismiss is occupying an effectively open slot. Any counterspell can be good here.
Hinder is still playable even though the rules committee is literally SatanHitlerStalin. The graveyard might possibly be a powerful resource for some decks. You didn't hear it here though. You can also save your own spell in a way that makes Remand cringe if their counterspell can't be countered. That's never happened to me, just a thought.
Negate is cheap and instants and sorceries need counterspells in a way that permanents don't.
Render Silent another open slot. Dissolve or Cryptic Command might be better but this deck doesn't really care about incremental card advantage, it does it in devastating waves. I also just like this card more.

Card Drawing

Those gifted with the sight have one eye in the present and the other in the future.

There are countless ways to draw cards since we're in blue. These are just a few of my favourites:

Magus of the Future
Future Sight
Jace Beleren and Tamiyo, the Moon Sage will be discussed in the planeswalkers section.
Tidings
Dragonlord's Prerogative
Blue Sun's Zenith
Sphinx's Revelation
Fact or Fiction
Dismantling Blow does count, but I've talked about it already.
Can you tell I like future sight? Magus of the Future and Future Sight are among my favourite blue cards. I like the effect enough to put it in the deck twice. The Magus is vulnerable but I just love him too much to replace him with something else. The Future Sight effect is the most powerful way we have of generating card advantage, but it takes a long time to get there. If you sit uninterrupted with one of these cards under your control, you will win.
Tidings is an elegant card. This deck does have reasons to want to hold up mana, but it generate breathing room for itself in so many ways that I won't turn such a lovely card down.
I ran Opportunity before Dragonlord's Prerogative came out. We have three dragons: Yosei, the Morning Star, Keiga, the Tide Star and Steel Hellkite. Dragonlord Ojutai and Ojutai, Soul of Winter are all possible inclusions, so there wasn't a reason not to upgrade.
Blue Sun's Zenith is usually a Stroke of Genius, but games last so long that it and Mistveil Plains can keep me from losing to decking indefinitely. This deck never wants to miss a land drop, so this and Sphinx's Revelation become really good before long.
Sphinx's Revelation has Isperia on it, of course I'm running it. (Don't mention Riot Control to me.) In Commander, the cards will usually matter more than the life, but it can't be redirected unlike Blue Sun's Zenith and I almost never want to use it on an opponent.
Fact or Fiction might be a bit good. Forgive me Padre I have sinned.

Planeswalkers

A Planeswalker's chronicle spans worlds and civilizations, each page a lifetime.

I really like planeswalkers. I like Magic's story, and planeswalkers are very much part of it. I like repeatable effects and card advantage. I like protection and defensive gameplay, and planeswalkers go well with that. They're just cool.

Gideon Jura
Jace Beleren
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Venser, the Sojourner
At a glance, Gideon Jura might not seem completely appropriate for a control deck, however I think he perfectly compliments this deck, moreso than any of the other planeswalkers. This may be a control deck, but it's still a creature deck, with lots of very good blockers (the Rattlesnakes and big toughness creatures). He can indefinitely eat smaller creatures by forcing them into your blockers repeatedly, and he can kill whatever attacked him but didn't get killed by your creatures. His last ability can be used for closing out, but he's also good at dealing with opposing planeswalkers which can often sneak in before the large flyers get going. He also protects your other planeswalkers and works well with Azorius Guildmage, Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, Sunblast Angel and all the other Rattlesnakes. Probably my favourite monowhite card of all time.
Jace Beleren can come out early and survive for a long time. The board is often kept clear and this deck blocks well. In multiplayer, you can try using his first ability to keep him around but honestly that rarely works. There's not much else to say, he's simple and that's why I like him.
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage like me is a scientist and I like everything about her. As I said with Jace Beleren, this deck does a good job of protecting planeswalkers, although she does a decent job of protecting herself. Keeping one creature out of the equation can often be enough. The threat of her ultimate usually means you keep using her first ability but he second can be very good too. You can just effectively sacrifice her against a hoard that just attacked you, or if you're the aggressor you can target yourself and get yourself further ahead. Her ultimate is about the most game-winning one there is, apart from Venser, the Sojourner's, since there aren't all that many instants and sorceries in this deck. Either way I love her and I'll never take her out.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon is such a wonderful embodiment of this deck. He clears out most things that matter, although a lot of the 6+ cost flyers sometimes soar over his wrath. After clearing the board he quickly gains enough loyalty to threaten to do it again, or to go ultimate. This deck uses permanents to establish control so it's especially effective here. His first ability will kill more creatures than you might expect, but he can just serve as an exiling planar cleansing and that's amazing as it is.
Venser, the Sojourner is my favourite card in Magic, no competition. I don't quite know why. I like flickering as a mechanic, I love his art, his ultimate and his story, but I love him more than the sum of my love for his parts. He's so versatile that I'll describe his uses in list form but his ultimate is so powerful that you can play him for none of the advantages below against an empty board and you could just win in four turns. I don't know if I'll ever make a deck with blue and white without including him.
- He can give your creatures, particularly Isperia, effectively vigilance so that they can protect him while still getting damage or attacking abilities or damaging enemy planeswalkers. Isperia the Inscrutable, Drogskol Reaver , Windreader Sphinx, Steel Hellkite.
- He allows for reusing abilities that trigger upon entering or leaving the battlefield is the most famous one: Angel of Serenity, Diluvian Primordial or Chancellor of the Spires, Karmic Guide, Solemn Simulacrum, Sphinx of Lost Truths , Sphinx of Uthuun, Sunblast Angel, Venser, Shaper Savant
- He can let you deal damage to your opponents or their planeswalkers or allow you to activate or trigger attacking abilities which you otherwise couldn't do because of blockers with his second ability: Isperia the Inscrutable, Drogskol Reaver , Windreader Sphinx, Steel Hellkite, Medomai the Ageless.
- He can save a permanent (including himself) you own from a boardwipe by exiling it before you cast it.
- He can get you back a permanent that was stolen from you by an effect like Bribery, Control Magic or Olivia Voldaren.
- He can allow you to continually use minus-abilities of your other planeswalkers by flickering them and resetting their loyalty.

Utility

Olka collected the evening mist for years, studying its secrets. Once she learned its essence, she could vanish with a thought.

Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
Mistmeadow Witch
Venser, Shaper Savant
Walk the Aeons
Lightning Greaves
Leyline of Anticipation
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails is such an interesting card, it almost seems blue. This deck likes having excess mana and it has lots of things worth protecting. He costs two but you'll usually be playing him later on. He keeps your planeswalkers alive, he stops targeted removal and he can give your creatures what amounts to unblockable. I like versatility and this cleric certainly gives us that.
Speaking of versatility, Mistmeadow Witch generates advantage in most of the ways that Venser, the Sojourner does with his first ability, but she can also exile your opponent's creatures in a Mystifying Maze sort of way. This is more powerful than it sounds. With excess mana she can become very disruptive and difficult to deal with.
I don't use Venser, Shaper Savant to bounce a permanent to name with Isperia as often as I thought I would when I decided to use him, but he's versatile too and I really like the card so I keep him in. He can save permanents, nullify counterspells, buy you a turn, reset planeswalkers and anything else useful that bouncing a permanent can do. If you're using him you better be using the Future Sight version or I will cull you.
Walk the Aeons is often the reward for lasting 20 turns and getting 16 lands out. Paired with a planeswalker you can buy it back several times and go ultimate. You can buy it back to be able to attack with Isperia enough to get what you need and cast it. Sometimes you need another combat step or two to do what you need to do. Extra turns are powerful but I'm only willing to run one, and this suits the deck the best.
Lightning Greaves really doesn't require much explanation. I don't run Swiftfoot Boots as well since it's a bit boring to use both, I replaced it with Eight-and-a-Half-Tails .
Giving everything flash with Leyline of Anticipation is great with pretty much everything except planeswalkers, although it's still good with them. Instant-speed boardwipes are very good, and even though I don't run that many counterspells the knowledge you get from playing your spells after your opponent is extremely valuable.

Ramp

The maze-like design embodies the core of Azorius law-strict structure to test wills and stall change

This deck doesn't rely on getting obscene amounts of mana too quickly unlike...another decks for which I have a distaste. But some ramp helps out for casting Isperia a bit more quickly. The ramp cards that hit lands don't help to cast Isperia, but this deck does like having lots of lands eventually. Sol Ring should be banned.

Azorius Signet and Talisman of Progress both help fix mana and gracefully fit the theme.
Darksteel Ingot survives my boardwipes.
Solemn Simulacrum is value-town and lands > artifacts.

Lands

Prahv, where much work is done to make sure nothing is accomplished

Dual lands and basics need no explanation really, so I'll discuss the utility lands only. I will note that although the deck is somewhat more blue oriented in terms of spells, the mana sources don't reflect that because Isperia cost 5 and needs 2 blue and 2 white. Matching the mana risks not being able to play her as soon as you have 5 mana which isn't worth it as far as I'm concerned. So that's why the mana sources are equal.

Boseiju, Who Shelters All
Emeria, The Sky Ruin
Ghost Quarter
Miren, the Moaning Well
Mistveil Plains
Mystifying Maze
Prahv, Spires of Order
Reliquary Tower
Tolaria West
Boseiju, Who Shelters All can be horrifyingly unfair, however the worst we can do in this deck is have an uncounterable Walk the Aeons, and what we usually do is have an uncounterable boardwipe against a Simic player's unfair board, so really it's a paragon of righteousness.
Emeria, The Sky Ruin. We're not in mono-white, so it will take a long time to hit those plains, but this deck lasts for a long time, so it can often come online. And once it does I don't think I need to explain why it's good.
Ghost Quarter. Some lands are good. Lands like the ones on the list.
Miren, the Moaning Well is largely free, and lifegain is good. You can activate it in anticipation of your boardwipe, or in response to removal. The creatures in this deck have high toughness, making it better.
Mistveil Plains is good on several levels. It can put a flyer back in your deck for tutoring, it can shuffle any card back into your deck since the commander is a shuffler, and it can stop you from losing to decking. This has come up more than once.
Mystifying Maze, a lot of dangerous attackers aren't "enters the battlefield" utility creatures by design, so sitting behind this for a long time is often a good strategy. Very helpful to make it to the lategame and shuts of equipment very pleasingly.
Prahv, Spires of Order, does a similar job to mystifying maze, except it can get noncreature sources and it doesn't target, but it costs quite a lot more. But sitting behind this is still a good way to buy time.
Reliquary Tower every deck should have one.
Tolaria West, these other lands are good and the tapped drawback usually doesn't matter.

Sideboarding

Most people don't sideboard in commander, including me. I have around 10 cards which I swap around in decks, but that's usually between play sessions, not between games. However because of what she is, Isperia can quite easily support a sideboard of flying creatures to suit more specific needs. I don't really use it much, but this decks sideboard is:

Voidstone Gargoyle
Blinding Angel
Angelic Arbiter
Roil Elemental
Angel of the Dire Hour
Sphinx Ambassador
Consecrated Sphinx
Venser's Journal and True Conviction often flit in and out of the deck so you could say that they're in the sideboard too.
Voidstone Gargoyle dies fairly easily, but it still demands an answer and if it doesn't receive one it can shut down a planeswalker, a really problematic commander or all sorts of other cards. Versatile but fragile.
Blinding Angel is good against aggressive ground decks, particularly token strategies. It's very easily blocked in the sky so it's a bit too narrow for the main deck. Arguably. It used to be main deck, it's really not that bad.
Angelic Arbiter slows down all but control decks, but it's pretty slow itself at 7 mana. Not a problem in and of itself but I can't see it being good enough for the main deck, and I'm not really sure when I'd bring it in. Worth considering anyway.
Roil Elemental is good against non-wide creature strategies. It's vulnerable but it can steal so many things. I can easily see myself bringing it in against lots of decks.
Angel of the Dire Hour is Sunblast Angel version 2. Having flash is good to stop you from taking damage, but you do have to have your mana ready for the attack. They could be interchanged, but I prefer Sunblast mainly because it's cheaper.
Sphinx Ambassador is fun and riddle-y, a tricky bribery that could be brought in against the decks that you'd bring in Roil Elemental against. Seeing an opponent's deck is useful and people don't know their decks as well as they think they do, you're pretty likely to get a card with it. Expect long deliberation from each trigger though. The amount of slow play this causes might be enough not to use it.
Consecrated Sphinx is too powerful and boring for the maindeck, but it does hang around to help me against competitive decks. It's still a sphinx, it still draws cards, so it's there if I need it.
True Conviction. Medomai the Ageless, Isperia the Inscrutable. Need I say more? If there were more combat damage triggers perhaps this would be main-board, but it's too often dead or boring. Beating down with it isn't very satisfying.
Venser's Journal has saved me from the brink of doom multiple times, and no maximum hand size effects are nice, but I'd rather just not let myself get so close to death and unlike Reliquary Tower, this isn't really a free inclusion.

Mulligans

I vocally disagree with the partial paris mulligan, I think it warps curves and deckbuilding in unfair ways and gives far too much digging for free. However my playgroup disagrees with me and still uses it so this deck is built with it in mind, since I'm not going to be left behind. If you use standard mulligans (On Magic Online, this is your only choice) you will want to play at least 43 lands for a deck like this. Just be aware.

END

My past holds only pain and loss. I will conquer it by creating the perfect future.

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Date added	10 years
Last updated	2 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 39 - 0 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.70
Tokens	Emblem Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, Emblem Venser, the Sojourner
Folders	EDH , EDH, Isper-y, EDH- Deck Ideas, Commander Primers, Primers - All of them
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