Finding A Azorius Control Commander (or mono U) [That doesn't get instantly hated out of the game?]
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on July 13, 2017, 11:18 p.m. by TheEDHKid
Hey all.
Lemme first start off by saying I LOVE control decks. Not letting people resolve big threats pleases me yet I still love creatures with great utility (see Venser, Shaper Savant) and I'm trying to find a commander. I currently use Brago, King Eternal, but he actually gets hated out in my pod.... alot. I hardly find a time where I can cast him w/o him being killed then or the next turn. I also like infinite combos such as Deadeye Navigator + Peregrine Drake . So my question is, what commander sounds best to take his place? Here are 2 options I was mulling over:
Geist of Saint Traft: A cool card flavor wise but also power wise. His hexproof makes him hard to target and in a control deck he could be a powerful finisher I can use from the command zone. Sadly doesn't do much for combos.
Lavinia of the Tenth: Being pro red is good against one of my pods Land destruction Deretti deck so that's a plus. Also the detaining is good against so many creatures, especially when I can blink her with Mistmeadow Witch. Sadly she has no combo she's really a part of besides a soft board lock.
NOTE:There is ALSO the option of going mono blue. I just don't like how many cards I'll lose from my Brago deck by doing that, but it's also an option and with mono blue comes an easier landbase ( I don't have any fetches or shocks in brago).
All in all, I just REALLY don't wanna stay with Brago. People hate him and therefore hate me (mainly my brothers). Any help guys?
Hey I just wanted to throw out Ephara, God of the Polis as a option. I ran into a guy running it with flickers and lots of removal/denial. It's a fun looking deck and with creatures like Saltskitter you are drawing a lot of cards. Just wanted to throw that out there, good luck!
July 13, 2017 11:49 p.m.
SteelSentry says... #4
+1 for Ephara, God of the Polis. She's really open-ended, and pretty innocent-looking compared to Grand Arbiter or Brago. It's like how nobody wastes removal on Phyrexian Arena
July 14, 2017 12:39 a.m.
I don't wanna toot my own horn, but TOOT TOOT! My Mono Blue EDH deck has a ton of fun control elements without being a typical control deck. It also has big fatties to swing with. Maybe it can inspire you. That MASTERLESS Little Kami
July 14, 2017 12:41 a.m.
Daxos of Meletis! You can play plain old WU control, Lantern Control, or Voltron! Or all of the above, he seems super sweet and I've been trying to write a decklist for a while.
July 14, 2017 2:53 a.m.
landofMordor says... #7
I think Ephara and Gwafa Hazid are both excellent choices, reason being that they are more subtle commanders that might evade some hate. It might help you to evade hate if you leaned toward a style of control that is more subtle or political in nature, rather than hard locking with Brago. People like to play the game when they play EDH, and hard locks are frustrating when they happen every game. So, somebody like Ephara with very little infinite combo potential, or Gwafa Hazid with some group hug, could help you make some alliances in your pods and therefore evade the hate.
July 14, 2017 6:22 a.m.
I'll look at him!
I might have Gwafa lying around... maybe he will do.
Currently from also a Reddit post these are the ones I'm looking into:
July 14, 2017 9:32 a.m.
landofMordor says... #9
If you're getting hated out of your meta already, I don't think you'll find the solution by just controlling harder. That will just escalate the kinds of hate players run against you.
Sadly, even though they're cool, Teferi and GAAIV fall under that "escalation" category. They have the capability to create even harder locks than Brago. Depends, of course, on whether you're running stax or not -- if you can avoid locking players out, you'll keep your group happy, even if you run more control than they like.
On the other hand, a sideways step, like Gwafa Hazid or Daxos, means that you can preserve your competitiveness without escalating, by just dodging the situations that make players hate out your decks. Building a group-huggy Gwafa or an aikido Daxos deck can still have heavy control elements without making other players frustrated. That's what I would advocate, but it's your choice in the end. Maybe a good way to test my hypothesis would be running your Brago deck with Gwafa at the helm, and changing little else about the deck. But I dunno.
July 14, 2017 10:01 a.m.
True... those two should be off the list I suppose. I have both daxos and Gwafa so maybe I'll try both of them at the helm and see which one is more me. Thanks for all your help man, I appreciate it!
July 14, 2017 10:10 a.m.
landofMordor says... #11
No problem, friend! Let me know how it goes. If you get a decklist together or need any other help, mention me and I'll be happy to assist.
July 14, 2017 10:47 a.m.
I back the Ephara idea. Since you're just playing things like 3/4s, you don't really look threatening and can still do your control thing while drawing tons of cards. I haven't personally played the deck, but I've seen it do exactly that.
July 14, 2017 11:51 a.m.
Azami, Lady of ScrollsGreat mono blue commander, loads of card advantage, counters and just general control magic. Once you get Azami down with protection ( which is quite easy) you can lock out your oppenents before they inevitably notice, way too late, that because of you card advantage you have locked them out of the game. It got some fun win cons like Laboratory Maniac and when you say you're playing wizard tribal people will just look at you with envy and wish they could be as cool. I've made an Azami deck that is pretty cheap if you're worried about that because it's mono blue but if not the upgrades are just some of the more expensive wizards like sanpcaster and stuff.
DrukenReaps says... #2
Well that is the first time I have ever been to the WU page on edhrec lol. A great way to deal with hate I found is just speed everything up, I've done it a few times and lose some great cards in the process but taking a decks average CMC from ~4-5 down to ~2-3 is just something that can put you miles ahead of your opponents.
Since you seem set on changing commanders I really like Geist of Saint Traft takes boardwipe or anti hexproof cards to kill and comes out turn 3 so you always have a creature then. He is small and other than control I don't know what your plan is. He is also very different from brago. They both like to attack but brago flickers your stuff this guy just hits harder.
Lavinia of the Tenth seems kinda meh. You can flicker her which if you can do that consistently every turn then she turns pretty good but I feel like you would be much better off going to GW and playing Gaddock Teeg so the big scary stuff is hampered rather than the small silly stuff.
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV doesn't seem like he would be directly hated. I play a karn deck with some mana reducers that are ignored because my opponents are busy with a turn 3 wurmcoil engine. So I wouldn't expect augustin to get hated off the board a lot. He slows your opponents and speeds you up. pretty nice and feels low key.
Isperia, Supreme Judge likes to swing into your opponents and is a decent body with evasion and makes people hesitate to swing at you. needs Swiftfoot Boots or Lightning Greaves or similar. much like brago does.
Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer can they really be mad at you when you give them cards? ;) (I jest they will be mad and this guy will die...)
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun this one is new and interesting to me. I think this is one of your better options just load up on things like Stolen Identity, Phyrexian Rebirth, Rite of Replication and swing with scary unshockable tokens. Strionic Resonator should be great here. I really like this one for his cheap cost and you almost want him to die so that you can embalm him. that threat should keep him around a bit more.
July 13, 2017 11:48 p.m.