Standard Azorius Control for RIW RCQ
The Standard RCQ season is in full swing and the metagame is looking healthy with a handful of decks realistically able to take down any tournament. The barrier to entry for paper Standard was a concern for me at the start of the season, but most of the valuable cards have multi-format utility. Being able to test each deck on Arena has also been a boon. Today I’m going to share my deck choice for RIW’s upcoming RCQ on March 9: Azorius Control.
Azorius Control is looking to run the opponent out of cards with removal and counters while getting ahead with Memory Deluge.
This is a fantastic time to be controlling the game as most of the tools in the Azorius arsenal are also played in Pioneer.
The Wandering Emperor is able to gain life against Mono Red while providing flash threats in midrange, ramp, and control matchups.
One of the strongest white cards in the format.
The +1+1 counters can also pump Restless Anchorage to create a resilient closer.
Memory Deluge is the premier card advantage outlet in the format. If you’ve been around long enough to cast Mystical Teachings then things will sound familiar: flash back Deluge to find another Deluge. Once you’re at this phase of the game it’s difficult to go over the top of Azorius Control.
Sunfall is perhaps the strongest sweeper in Standard. Not only does it exile pesky creatures, but it leaves behind an incubate token that can serve as a roadblock when the opponent deploys a second wave of threats. There’s also an artifact synergy with Disruption Protocol; incidental artifacts turn your Cancel into Counterspell.
Temporary Lockdown is another reason to get excited to play control. There are numerous ways to get aggressive in Standard; Mono Red, Bant Poison, and Boros Convoke are at the top of the list. Beware your clues, maps, and incubators may get swept up with poor sequencing. There can be a tension between leaving incidental artifacts on the battlefield for Disruption Protocol and keeping the board clear with Lockdown. Luckily these two cards are strong in polar opposite matchups so your priorities are clear.
Since Temporary Lockdown is such a hammer against aggressive strategies, beware of the opponent boarding in enchantment removal such as Get Lost and Destroy Evil.
Depopulate is the final sweeper. Some lists opt for a full playset of Sunfall instead of reaching for the third flavor of sweeper as they both have merits. While Depopulate doesn’t exile creatures it’s a full mana cheaper against aggressive decks. I prefer Sunfall against midrange as they may have gold and recursive creatures.
March of Otherworldly Light is the premier spot removal spell as it can take out a creature land for one mana and deals with nearly every non-planeswalker threat. It can even deal with opponent’s clue tokens from Deduce so beware in the mirror. The drawback of March is that it’s always trading down on mana and I don’t play a full playset for this reason.
Get Lost is slightly different from March because it’s able to destroy planeswalkers at the expense of providing the opponent card advantage in the form of maps. The card advantage can be mitigated with a timely Temporary Lockdown.
Horned Loch-Whale is the final piece of spot removal that also serves as a win condition. I’ve been impressed with the Whale because a 6/6 in the mid game can serve as a roadblock to entice the opponent to overcommit into a wrath. The other half of the coin is a 6/6 flash can help close the game where you want to hold up counters for large finishers. A key advantage of Azorius Control is you don’t need to dedicate slots to true win conditions. A cute combo is casting Lagoon Breach and then shuffling the opponent’s deck with Field of Ruin.
No More Lies is a huge upgrade for Azorius Control decks across formats. Not only is it Mana Leak, but exiles recursive threats. Watch out your Memory Deluge doesn’t get countered in the mirror.
The blue/white mana cost can be a hindrance with Field of Ruin so be mindful of planning out your first few land drops.
Disruption Protocol is Cancel in the early game and Counterspell in the mid-game to double-spell. Matchups that aren’t about resolving sweepers as quickly as possible have a high chance of dragging out and I want to be prepared for haymakers once No More Lies isn’t live.
Deduce is the early card advantage spell of choice to synergize with Disruption Protocol. Quick Study is the other option, but I prefer drawing cards on the second turn to ensure I hit my land drops. I was at first skeptical of Deduce, but it feels more powerful when compared to its predecessor, Think Twice. There are times where you should hold the clue on the battlefield to avoid discarding to hand size. Remember clues don’t tap to sacrifice.
Jace, the Perfected Mind serves as a roadblock for creatures to bait the opponent into a juicy sweeper while also being able to close game ones versus Ramp and the mirror. A single Jace in the maindeck provides inevitability you will be able to mill your slower opponents by fifteen cards at some point in the game. Jace’s milling becomes less relevant after sideboard since the games speed up with less removal spells in the deck.
Meticulous Archive is my pick for the most relevant land in Azorius Control.
You will often be faced with opening hands containing two lands and five spells that might be a mulligan; the surveil helps you mulligan less.
In game one finding extra land drops in slower matchups often dictate if you need to discard to hand size or continue developing smoothly. It also feels good to Surveil a Memory Deluge when there isn’t time to cast it twice.
There’s only so much room for lands entering the battlefield tapped so there are three copies of Restless Anchorage. I’ve also been impressed with Restless Anchorage as it generates the incremental map token to help cast Disruption Protocol. I’m less likely to activate Anchorage in game one against potential Cut Downs. Maps and The Wandering Emperor can pump the Anchorage out of Cut Down range when the shields are down.
Field of Ruin destroys creature lands, Cavern of Souls, and Mirrex. Three color decks typically play 1-2 basic lands so it will eventually wasteland the opponent. While Mirrex color fixes, most spells in Azorius Control are played on the opponent’s turn making it less relevant.
Adarkar Wastes can be painful, but it enters the battlefield untapped. The pain lands making the cut emphasize the importance of lands that can be immediately used.
Seven basic lands, four Islands and three Plains, not only enter the battlefield untapped but provide fuel for Field of Ruin.
The general flow of the sideboard is an approximate 50/50 split of anti-aggro and anti-control cards. I narrowly favor anti-aggro cards because creature removal gets better against control decks after sideboard.
Three Chrome Host Seedshark provide a transformational sideboard as opponents board out creature removal. A 2/4 flyer can block a fair amount of threats and the incubator tokens get out of hand quickly. I don’t want Seedshark against very aggressive decks because they will quickly be swept away by Sunfall and Depopulate.
Negate and Disdainful Stroke are for the mirror and Ramp decks. The four counters and three Seedsharks replace sweepers from the main deck in slower matchups.
Sunset Revelry provides early defenses against aggressive decks without having all of the value swept up by a turn three Temporary Lockdown.
Dennick can also block early creatures and gain life, but the entire card is locked down.
Elspeth’s Smite gets the nod over Knockout Blow because I want this slot to be relevant against Mono Red, Bant Poison, and Boros Convoke. A couple copies can also come in against Esper Control as it exiles Dennick for a single mana.
The sweeper suite is rounded out in the sideboard with a second Depopulate and fourth Temporary Lockdown. Again, remember not to try and milk too much value out of Lockdown and run into enchantment removal.
I’m looking forward to competing with Azorius Control at RIW’s upcoming RCQ. It has been a while since I felt a control deck was the right place to be in constructed so this will be a breath of fresh air.
Standard is very diverse and fun so I encourage you to give it a shot on Arena or a local RCQ.
