Commander Collection: Control Freak

Commander / EDH Bracket 4 Control WU (Azorius)

Jurrane

Land (39)

• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Ancient Tomb PGC
• 1x Glacial ChasmGC
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Halls of Mist
• 1x Hengegate Pathway  ^Flip
• 11x Island
• 1x Kor Haven
• 1x Maze of Ith
• 1x Nimbus Maze
• 11x Plains
• 1x Port Town
• 1x Prairie Stream
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Scavenger Grounds
• 1x Skycloud Expanse
• 1x Urza's Cave
• 1x War Room

Card Draw (6)

• 1x Archmage Emeritus
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Pull from Tomorrow
• 1x Rhystic StudyGC
• 1x Sphinx's Revelation
• 1x Trouble in Pairs

Ramp (4)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Progress
• 1x Thought Vessel

Heliod Combo (2)

• 1x Heliod, Sun-Crowned P
• 1x Walking Ballista

Removal & Boardwipes (14)

• 1x Cleansing Nova
• 1x Cyclonic RiftGC
• 1x Day of Judgment
• 1x Excise the Imperfect
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Hour of Revelation
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Pongify
• 1x Rapid Hybridization
• 1x Stroke of Midnight
• 1x Supreme Verdict
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Tragic Arrogance
• 1x Wrath of God

Countermagic (11)

• 1x An Offer You Can't Refuse
• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cryptic Command
• 1x Disallow
• 1x Dovin's Veto
• 1x Fierce GuardianshipGC
• 1x Force of Negation P
• 1x Mana Drain *f-etch* P
• 1x Render Silent
• 1x Strix Serenade

Other Win Conditions (3)

• 1x Approach of the Second Sun
• 1x Luminarch Ascension
• 1x Starnheim Unleashed

Protection (2)

• 1x Orim's Chant
• 1x Teferi's Protection PGC

Commander (1)

Stax Pieces (13)

• 1x Aura of Silence
• 1x Authority of the Consuls
• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Crawlspace
• 1x Cursed Totem
• 1x Dissipation Field
• 1x Drannith MagistrateGC
• 1x Fatespinner
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Pendrell Mists
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Rule of Law
• 1x Suppressor Skyguard

Tutors (5)

• 1x Enlightened TutorGC
• 1x Idyllic Tutor
• 1x Mystical TutorGC
• 1x Personal Tutor
• 1x Solve the Equation

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{W}{U} Introduction: Just Say No {W}{U}

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Welcome to my primer for “Control Freak”, the first of two Azorius decks in my collection. It’s a reworked attempt of an Azorius deck as its first iteration (Spirits tribal) turned out to be a bit one dimensional. There seems to be a shortage of interesting Azorius commanders at the moment, so until one gets printed, I've gone full control with Grand Arbiter Augustin IVGC.

For this build I mostly stayed away from hard Stax lock and mana denial effects and kept it as an old-school control deck with a medium amount of Stax-y elements. It offers plenty of board control options and has answers for nearly everything, with the aim of stalling the game and grinding out card advantage. Once the board is secure, it wants to use its various tutor and dig effects to find its win conditions, which are:

• The Heliod, Sun-Crowned // Walking Ballista infinite damage/lifegain combo;
• Angel beatdown from Luminach Ascension or Starnheim Unleashed;
• Casting Approach of the Second Sun twice to win the game.

Power Level

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I categorise decks in my collection according to four tiers of power, from 1 (most powerful) to 4 (least powerful):

Tier 1: Higher powered decks with fast mana, free spells, and infinite combos or instant wins that are searchable with tutors.
Tier 2: Well tuned decks which may have infinite combos or instant wins that are searchable with tutors, but not many fast mana sources and/or free spells.
Tier 3: Reasonably well tuned casual decks that are capable of powerful plays. May occasionally have infinite combos or instant wins but don't generally use tutors to find them.
Tier 4: Lower powered or linear decks, weak enough to play against other casual decks.

I would categorise this deck as one of my Tier 3 builds. It's pretty well optimised for a casual control deck, features powerful cards in most categories but doesn't use the hard Stax lock cards often found in more competitive decks. It can hold its own against a variety of opponents up to around mid to high power casual but faster, aggressive or more competitive decks might overwhelm it. It's a good choice against most unknown opponents but be warned, it wants to play the long game so if you're looking for a quick match at the end of a Commander night, this probably isn't the deck to go for. But it's fun to play if you're looking for a more controlling style and can be pretty effective at locking down the game.

In terms of WotC's new brackets system for EDH power levels, this is very definitely a Bracket 4 list. It runs no less than eight game changer cards (Grand Arbiter Augustin IVGC, Enlightened TutorGC, Ancient TombGC, Glacial ChasmGC, Fierce GuardianshipGC, Cyclonic RiftGC, Rhystic StudyGC and Drannith MagistrateGC), together with a powerful Stax strategy and infinite combo win condition. But it falls short of cEDH level, mainly due to its lack of fast mana and lack of dedicated focus on the cEDH metagame. It's definitely still a casual deck, albeit an increasingly strong one.

Budget

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The average price for this deck on Card Kingdom is around $400. That puts it at the higher side of casual, largely due to premium card selections including Rhystic StudyGC, Fierce GuardianshipGC and Cyclonic RiftGC. Most of the other cards - such as Stax pieces, counterspells, removal and creatures - aren't that expensive in themselves so, if you're looking to build Azorius control on a budget, it can definitely be done. It's straightforward to upgrade into more expensive cards later if needed.

Does Control Work?

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I’ve seen quite a few articles questioning whether hard UW control is a viable strategy in EDH. Based on my experience with this deck, I think it is but, like many of my decks, it probably only works at lower/mid-powered tables and you have to get lucky with the opponents you’re facing. I find this deck surprisingly fun and interactive to play as it definitely forces you to think and to manage your resources properly. We’re not a counterspell-heavy deck so we can’t counter everything, especially when we’re facing three other players. We have to think strategically about what we can allow to hit the board; we have to consider which threats we want to remove and how; and we have to be patient enough to go for the right win condition when the time is right. If you enjoy these sort of decisions, then this is a really good deck to play.

Our Game Plan

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We’re a classic control deck, so we want to control the board and stop other players doing their thing. We stop them casting spells that are likely to impact us and we remove permanents that are likely to cause us problems. The longer the game goes, the stronger we are so we’re like legendary snooker player Cliff Thorburn, grinding away in a war of attrition until we’re finally in a position to press the advantage and go for the win.

The great irony of being a control deck, however, is that we’re not going to be in control all the time. We’ll usually have three opponents, so responding to everything they do is not an option, and there will be plenty of times when our removal effects or counterspells don’t line up with our enemies’ actions. During those times, control seems like a bit of a misnomer: we’re barely in control at all, we’re being attacked by creatures, our life total is shrinking rapidy and we’re often hanging on to find the right card at the right time, hoping our opponents focus their attacks on each other rather than us.

Because of this, our game plan usually focuses around three key stages: stall for time, develop a presence and take over the game. These stages – particularly the first two – aren’t distinct in and of themselves, and often blur together, and the final stage will usually only happen when our opponents are low on threats, perhaps one or two players have already been removed, and we’ve built up enough of a critical mass of defensive measures that we’re able to shift our emphasis from reactive to proactive measures.

Each of these stages is covered in a bit more detail below.

Stalling for Time

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Time is our most important resource. The longer the game goes, the greater the chance we have of gaining an advantage. Our biggest fear is getting removed early as nearly every other deck is more aggressive than us. Our strategy therefore is to buy ourselves as much time as possible in the early/mid game, in order to be able to develop later on. We do this by countering and removing threats generated by our opponents, and by putting up barriers that make us difficult to interact with.

To achieve these goals, we run the strongest possible removal package. Our spot removal is efficient, flexible and versatile, using the best 1-for-1 cards that blue and white has. This is backed up by a series of mass removal cards that enable us to gain card advantage by taking out multiple threats at once: Cleansing Nova, Day of Judgment, Hour of Revelation, Supreme Verdict and Wrath of God. In addition, we have numerous counterspells to deal with threats that our spot or mass removal cards can’t answer.

We also have a series of permanents intended to make life difficult for our opponents. Their principal purpose is to slow things down and prevent stuff happening. Grand Arbiter Augustin IVGC of course falls into this category, and we also have Authority of the Consuls, Aura of Silence, Ghostly Prison, Propaganda, Pendrell Mists, Norn's Annex, Dissipation Field and Rule of Law. Maze of Ith, Kor Haven, Halls of Mist and Glacial ChasmGC are handy ways of nullifying attacks against us.

Developing a Presence

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While we’re stalling for time, we’re also quietly trying to develop a presence in the game. In the case of a control deck like this, developing a presence is a bit of an abstract concept as we’re not running many permanents that hit the board. Instead, we’re developing our hand by drawing cards and finding the right cards that will allow us to shift from defence to attack later on. Developing a presence can also mean stopping our opponents from doing things, or running them out of threats by destroying their stuff, especially with mass removal that trades one of our cards for many of theirs.

We want to be regularly drawing cards to ensure we don’t run out of the answers we need to deal with our opponents’ stuff. Hitting our land drops is absolutely essential for this deck, so we want to make sure we’re drawing enough cards to achieve this. We love to see Sphinx's Revelation, Mystic Remora, Pull from Tomorrow, Trouble in Pairs or Rhystic StudyGC, especially in the mid/late game, and Archmage Emeritus is a great source of card draw for us.

Taking Over the Game // Win Conditions

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Through a combination of patient play, stalling for time and (sometimes) dumb luck, if we make it into the late game, we’re usually in a good position to try and take over, by shifting from defence to attack. You’ll know this is happening if the board has few or no threats to harm us, our opponents are top decking and/or we have a hand full of counterspells and removals ready to deal with whatever comes our way. If one or more of these conditions are true then it’s all systems go and we can try for the win.

The roots of this deck – and a myriad of control decks in every MtG format before it – go all the way back to Brian Weissman’s seminal “The Deck" in the late 90s. Weissman recognised a control deck, of which “The Deck" was the first, didn’t need to run many win condition cards at all, as it only needed to draw them in the late game and therefore multiple copies were redundant at most other times. This deck takes the same approach: out of its 100 cards, only seven or eight can really be called win conditions. We don’t want to draw them until the very end (although Starnheim Unleashed works a little bit differently) and if we do, we’ll just hang on to them until the time is right.

Our win conditions are as follows:

Heliod Combo
The inclusion of an infinite combo gives us a rapid and resilient attack line. All we need are both Heliod, Sun-Crowned and Walking Ballista in play, with two or more counters on Ballista and {1}{W} to activate Heliod's lifegain ability. We can then deal infinite instances of 1 damage to our opponents and (if needed) all their creatures, thereby winning the game. We have Enlightened TutorGC and Idyllic Tutor to find our combo pieces.

Angel Beatdown
Starnheim Unleashed is the perfect card for our gameplan. We can foretell it for {2} any time and then cast it for its far more efficient cost later on when it benefits us. Staring down a host of Angels is rarely ideal for any opponent, especially if we have enough counterspells in hand to protect them and/or removal cards to ensure they can force through the damage. If we need to tutor for it, we have Mystical TutorGC, Personal Tutor or Solve the Equation to do so.

Our other option for generating Angels is to use Luminarch Ascension, usually as a more incremental approach. Our defences are usually strong enough that it's fairly easy to accumulate quest counters and, once we have the four counters we need, we can start sinking unspent mana into its activated cost (this will generally be at the end of the preceeding opponent's turn). The Angels we make are excellent for attack or defence, and a critical mass of them can close out games quite quickly. Either Enlightened TutorGC or Idyllic Tutor will also find Luminarch Ascension.

Approach of the Second Sun
Approach of the Second Sun has become the classic W/x control deck finisher. Once we’ve successfully cast it the first time (protecting it with counterspells if needed), we only need its cast trigger once more to win the game. We have several cards to help dig for it when it goes back to our library seven cards down, and we can use Mystical TutorGC, Personal Tutor or Solve the Equation to find it either for the first or second time.

Future Improvements

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Reflecting on this deck's journey over the past few years, it's evolved into a far more Stax-y list than I first envisaged. It's still retained its roots as an old-school control deck but I've added in more Stax pieces, although I'm stopping short of hard locks and full mana denial (Winter Orb for example). With the recent addition of the Heliod, Sun-Crowned // Walking Ballista infinite combo, I'm now at the stage where I'm happy with the deck and consider it being in close to its final form.

Thanks for reading and I hope you've found this write-up useful.

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All My EDH Decks

{W} Giada, Font of Hope {W}
S(i)erra Sidewinder: Mono-White Angel Tribal

{U} Orvar, the All-Form {U}
Clone Zone: Mono-Blue Shapeshifters Combo

{B} Sidisi, Undead Vizier {B}
Swamp Thing: Mono-Black Midrange Combo

{B} Ayara, First of Locthwain {B}
Black Diamond: Mono-Black Aristocrats Combo

{R} Torbran, Thane of Red Fell {R}
Red Force: Mono-Red Group Slug

{R} Rionya, Fire Dancer {R}
Firebird: Mono-Red Storm/Tokens

{G} Titania, Protector of Argoth {G}
Timber Terror: Mono-Green Land Sacrifice

{W}{U} Grand Arbiter Augustin IVGC {W}{U}
Control Freak: Azorius Control

{W}{U} Elminster {W}{U}
Crystal Wing: Azorius Skies & Scry

{U}{B} Oona, Queen of the Fae {U}{B}
Dreamcatcher: Dimir Faeries Tribal

{U}{B} Narfi, Betrayer King {U}{B}
Ice Breaker: Dimir Snow/Zombies

{U}{B} Lord of the Nazgul {U}{B}
The Black Gate Opens: Dimir Spellslinger

{B}{R} Rakdos, Lord of Riots {B}{R}
Steamin’ Demon: Rakdos Life Loss

{B}{R} Juri, Master of the Revue {B}{R}
Pandemonium: Rakdos Sacrifice

{R}{G} Wort, the Raidmother {R}{G}
Barnstormer: Gruul Conspire

{W}{G} Sigarda, Font of Blessings {W}{G}
Stampida: Selesnya Humans Tribal

{W}{G} Captain Sisay {W}{G}
Legendia: Selesnya Legendary

{W}{G} Sythis, Harvest's Hand {W}{G}
Diamondback: Selesnya Enchantress

{W}{B} Daxos the Returned {W}{B}
Curse of Novgorod: Orzhov Constellation

{W}{B} Kambal, Consul of Allocation {W}{B}
Oblivion: Orzhov Lifegain & Lifedrain

{W}{B} Eriette of the Charmed Apple {W}{B}
Flight of the Wicked Witch: Orzhov Auras

{U}{R} Firkraag, Cunning Instigator {U}{R}
Dragon’s Fury: Izzet Dragons/Goad

{B}{G} Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons {B}{G}
Scorpion Express: Golgari Deathtouch

{B}{G} Nath of the Gilt-Leaf {B}{G}
Outlaw Run: Golgari Elves/Discard

{W}{R} Bruenor Battlehammer {W}{R}
Steel Force: Boros Equipment

{W}{R} General Ferrous Rokiric {W}{R}
Gatekeeper: Boros Multicoloured

{U}{G} Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres {U}{G}
Toxic Garden: Simic Infect

{W}{U}{B} Tivit, Seller of Secrets {W}{U}{B}
Steel Vengeance: Esper Artifacts

{W}{U}{B} Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign {W}{U}{B}
Riddler’s Revenge: Esper Topdeck

{U}{B}{R} Marchesa, the Black Rose {U}{B}{R}
Revenge of the Mummy: Grixis Dethrone/Combo

{B}{R}{G} Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire {B}{R}{G}
Dragon Wagon: Jund Dragons Tribal

{W}{R}{G} Pantlaza, Sun-Favored {W}{R}{G}
Raptor Attack: Naya Dinosaurs Tribal

{W}{U}{G} Galadriel, Light of Valinor {W}{U}{G}
Vapour Trail: Bant Flicker

{W}{B}{G} Karador, Ghost Chieftain {W}{B}{G}
Hair Raiser: Abzan Reanimator

{W}{B}{G} Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant {W}{B}{G}
A Long-Expected Party: Abzan Lifegain/Combo

{W}{U}{R} Kykar, Wind's Fury {W}{U}{R}
Storm Runner: Jeskai Tokens

{W}{U}{R} Hinata, Dawn-Crowned {W}{U}{R}
Phantom’s Revenge: Jeskai Control

{U}{B}{G} Yarok, the Desecrated {U}{B}{G}
Boomerang: Sultai ETB Triggers

{W}{B}{R} Kaalia of the Vast {W}{B}{R}
Abyssus: Mardu Angels & Demons

{U}{R}{G} Omnath, Locus of the Roil {U}{R}{G}
Boulder Dash: Temur Landfall

{U}{R}{G} Eshki, Temur's Roar {U}{R}{G}
Thunder Striker: Temur Power Matters

Date added	5 years
Last updated	2 days
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	6 - 0 Mythic Rares 51 - 0 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 5 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.67
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Angel Warrior 4/4 W w/ Vigilance, Ape 3/3 G, Bird 2/2 U, Elephant 3-3 G, Foretell, Frog Lizard 3/3 G, Human 1/1 W, Incubator, Phyrexian 0/0 C, Treasure
Folders	Decks?