I've been toying around with my Azami deck for quite a while. As per most mono-blue lists the deck is extremely potent and you can expect most of the hate to be directed towards you before the game even begins.
Early Game
Your first few turns are going to revolve around ramping and dropping as many low cost wizards as possible. I have made this deck with the intent of having a low mana curve such that I will have 2-3 Wizards out by the time Azami drops allowing us to draw around 7 cards should Azami untap. This is a substantial card advantage to have early game and will generally allow you to cruise into the mid game. Otherwise, your aim should be to establish board presence such that you have at least 2 Wizards before Azami is dropped. It is important to not overextend due to the frequency of board wipes in this format unless you have counter spell back up.
Mid Game
If by this stage Azami, Lady of Scrolls has managed to stick then you should have generated enough card advantage to counter any spells that prove to be a threat to your board. Whilst it may be tempting to counter big ramp spells and such, it is important to remember that you are a combo deck and counter spells should only be used for cards which both directly or indirectly disrupt your combo. If you're receiving alot of hate and Azami is not sticking, Future sight / Magus of the Future can also grant you alot of card advantage. Creature theft cards such as Treachery, Sower of Temptation and Vedalken Shackles can also carry you through the mid game.
Late Game
At this stage of the game you should be aiming to assemble your combo pieces as quickly as possible. Usually you would have drawn into at least one of your infinite colourless combos by now and will need to dig / tutor for the other piece. Due to the limitation of mono blue, the enchantment combo pieces can often be difficult to find. Usually the easiest way of doing so is to Mystical Tutor / Merchant Scroll into Long term plans. Artifact combo pieces can be found via Fabricate or Tezzeret the Seeker. When you finally go off, make sure you have counter spell back up.
Whether or not to include the combo which includes Temple Bell + Mind Over Matter + Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre in hand or in deck = Instantly destroy the entire table
I think the Laboratory Maniac win is a little better since it doesn't involve me putting 2 otherwise completely useless cards in my deck, but I'll keep this here for Record purposes.
Time Stretch - Extra turns are always good, but this just seems to be a 'win more' card to me
Tefari, Mage of Zhalfir - Great card, but too slow in my opinion, also contents with Azami for the 5 drop slot.
Rhystic Study - Another card that's quite popular in blue EDH, not as relevant here since we can get most of our draw through Azami, but still a viable card.
Psychosis Crawler - Whilst this card does have synergy with Azami, it has a few downsides in my opinion. I suppose it is an alternate win condition, but usually unnecessary since Azami rarely wins from reducing enemy life points to zero. If you're at a point where you can do so via card draw, then you're probably at the stage where you can draw your whole deck, in which case you won't even need the Crawler. The fact that it's not a wizard really breaks it for me though.
Hi. I too play(ed) Azami, though it wasn't very popular with my play group... Looking at your list, I only see one card missing that I would add: Psychosis Crawler. That's a staple in many Azami builds. I would probably cut Fact or Fiction for it, since you already have so much card draw.
Also, I am a big fan of Turbulent Dreams in Azami--that card has saved me many times.
"For me metaphysics means something more like realism. That there is a reality that escapes any of its manifestations. You can never be quite sure what it is, but you can offer some description of what the structures of reality are." Graham Harman, The Prince and the Wolf
Those are some extremely potent combinations, I realise in some situations they can lead to a blow out win. However, I can't help but feel that cards such as Temple Bell, Knowledge pool and Tunnel Vision are otherwise dead cards without their combo counter parts. Thanks for the suggestion though
Off cursory glance, notice you lack jace up in this house. Cost issues?
idk if i'd run time warp, i prefer bribery at 5cc
No Jace 2.0 due to cost issues, but hopefully I can obtain him soon.
I ran bribery for a while, but it seemed to be too situational and more of a meta call card.
Anyway, been a while since I played this deck, but I've made some small changes to my decklist. Feel free to comment or suggest anything
Those are some extremely potent combinations, I realise in some situations they can lead to a blow out win. However, I can't help but feel that cards such as Temple Bell, Knowledge pool and Tunnel Vision are otherwise dead cards without their combo counter parts. Thanks for the suggestion though
No Jace 2.0 due to cost issues, but hopefully I can obtain him soon.
I ran bribery for a while, but it seemed to be too situational and more of a meta call card.
Anyway, been a while since I played this deck, but I've made some small changes to my decklist. Feel free to comment or suggest anything
What's the motivation for thirty basics with no fetches?
A little late to the party I know.
But may I suggest Patron of the Moon. That card is busted in Azami. The land that you draw in excess that would normally be dead cards become actually useful. There are other things that I would suggest but it is a long list and in the end EDH is really down to personal preference.
ps. Deranged assistant is good because of those turn four Azamis.
Returned to Magic just recently and thought I'd make some changes to my Azami deck! Removed alot of the less consistent combos and added more counters.
Made a few changes to the formatting of the thread. Also, considering whether or not to decrease my wizzy count, but I just don't know which ones to cut!
I would recommend adding jace's archivist. I run it in my azami and it can draw some serious cards, and make opponents cry if you use it straight after an overloaded cyclonic rift
I would recommend adding jace's archivist. I run it in my azami and it can draw some serious cards, and make opponents cry if you use it straight after an overloaded cyclonic rift
It also combos with MoM for LabMan. Or with MoM and a good rock (Lotus) to produce insane amounts of mana.
I would recommend adding jace's archivist. I run it in my azami and it can draw some serious cards, and make opponents cry if you use it straight after an overloaded cyclonic rift
It also combos with MoM for LabMan. Or with MoM and a good rock (Lotus) to produce insane amounts of mana.
The problem I had alot of the time when I was running Jace's archivist was that I would have a combo card or a particular card that I did not want to get rid of in my hand alot of the time, thus rendering his ability quite useless.
I think it needs omniscience. It's almost an instant game win upon resolution.
Might look to test this card in the near future. I feel as though, whilst it seems amazing, by the time I'm able to cast Omniscience I either have a handful of cards and am well on my way to winning the game, or I've already been ganged up on and beaten out of the game.
Hey man, I like the changes. Fast mana and creature theft are always good things to see.
Have you considered Sigil Tracer? The applications for her/it are great and I've been deeply impressed with her. I won someone else's counter war by copying their counterspell with her and the idea of being able to copy someone's Tooth and Nail or Time Spell or, hell, even a simple Cultivate seems really, really good. You would have the potential to copy useful spells all the time, and your Wizard density seems high enough to really take advantage of it.
Hey man, I like the changes. Fast mana and creature theft are always good things to see.
Have you considered Sigil Tracer? The applications for her/it are great and I've been deeply impressed with her. I won someone else's counter war by copying their counterspell with her and the idea of being able to copy someone's Tooth and Nail or Time Spell or, hell, even a simple Cultivate seems really, really good. You would have the potential to copy useful spells all the time, and your Wizard density seems high enough to really take advantage of it.
Excellent recommendation, will give her a shot in the place of Temporal Adept, her ability was too expensive for me to use most of the time.
My Azami list is bit more casual, but I've had a lot of success with Foil as another free counter for when/if you tap out for Azami or to combo out.
I tested Foil for a short period of time but wasn't able to play it a few times due to a lack of an Island in my hand. Othertimes it just sat in my hand since I didn't want to risk the card disadvantage.
Fair point on the Spell Crumple, will test it out!
+ Spell crumple
- Dissolve
I tested Etherium sculptor for a bit which pretty much served the same role as Helm of awakening but more one sided. What I found was that aside from being combined with Sensei's divining top and Future sight the card had no use on it's own. Also generally not too much of a fan of 3 card combos.
Jace 2.0 is good as a consistent Brainstorm with the amount of shuffle effects I run. I will probably run some fetches in order to increase that synergy. The bounce is also great against some problematic creatures.
Intruder alarm looks great! Will test as soon as I figure out what to replace.
Alright, after doing some testing with Intruder alarm I've realised that the card is completely broken with Azami. Landing it with 3 wizards (including Azami) on the board and at least one in hand pretty much allows you to combo off. The only problem is... your turn takes forever!!! My opponents become extremely frustrated but refused to scoop. I'll probably be taking it back out just purely to maintain the spirit of the game.
Hey guys,
I've been toying around with my Azami deck for quite a while. As per most mono-blue lists the deck is extremely potent and you can expect most of the hate to be directed towards you before the game even begins.
//Creatures 21
//Wizards 21
1 Cursecatcher
1 Martyr of Frost
1 Aphetto Alchemist
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Omenspeaker
1 Stonybrook Banneret
1 Vedalken Æthermage
1 Sea Scryer
1 Voidmage Prodigy
1 Vedalken Mastermind
1 Laboratory Maniac
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Patron Wizard
1 Daring Apprentice
1 Sigil Tracer
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Trinket Mage
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Sower Of Temptation
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Magus Of The Future
//Counter magic 12
1 Pact Of Negation
1 Swan Song
1 Arcane Denial
1 Counterspell
1 Mana Drain
1 Negate
1 Trickbind
1 Muddle The Mixture
1 Forbid
1 Cryptic Command
1 Misdirection
1 Force Of Will
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Long-Term Plans
1 Fabricate
//Other Instants And Sorceries 6
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Capsize
1 Time Warp
1 Temporal Manipulation
1 Bribery
1 Stroke of Genius
//Enchantments 4
1 Power Artifact
1 Future Sight
1 Treachery
1 Mind Over Matter
//Artifacts 14
1 Mana Crypt
1 Chrome Mox
1 Sol Ring
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Meekstone
1 Grim Monolith
1 Sapphire Medallion
1 Basalt Monolith
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Diviner's Wand
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Paradox Engine
1 Tezzeret The Seeker
//Land 37
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Mutavault
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Academy Ruins
1 Minamo, School At Water's Edge
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Tolaria West
28 Snow-Covered Island
Game Plan:
Early Game
Your first few turns are going to revolve around ramping and dropping as many low cost wizards as possible. I have made this deck with the intent of having a low mana curve such that I will have 2-3 Wizards out by the time Azami drops allowing us to draw around 7 cards should Azami untap. This is a substantial card advantage to have early game and will generally allow you to cruise into the mid game. Otherwise, your aim should be to establish board presence such that you have at least 2 Wizards before Azami is dropped. It is important to not overextend due to the frequency of board wipes in this format unless you have counter spell back up.
Mid Game
If by this stage Azami, Lady of Scrolls has managed to stick then you should have generated enough card advantage to counter any spells that prove to be a threat to your board. Whilst it may be tempting to counter big ramp spells and such, it is important to remember that you are a combo deck and counter spells should only be used for cards which both directly or indirectly disrupt your combo. If you're receiving alot of hate and Azami is not sticking, Future sight / Magus of the Future can also grant you alot of card advantage. Creature theft cards such as Treachery, Sower of Temptation and Vedalken Shackles can also carry you through the mid game.
Late Game
At this stage of the game you should be aiming to assemble your combo pieces as quickly as possible. Usually you would have drawn into at least one of your infinite colourless combos by now and will need to dig / tutor for the other piece. Due to the limitation of mono blue, the enchantment combo pieces can often be difficult to find. Usually the easiest way of doing so is to Mystical Tutor / Merchant Scroll into Long term plans. Artifact combo pieces can be found via Fabricate or Tezzeret the Seeker. When you finally go off, make sure you have counter spell back up.
Combo List:
Azami, Lady of Scrolls + Mind Over Matter = Filter for Laboratory Maniac, draw your deck and win
Power Artifact / Rings of Brighthearth + Grim Monolith / Basalt Monolith = Infinite Colourless Mana
Add Stroke of Genius / Diviner's Wand to draw your deck
Play Laboratory Maniac with counter spell back up = win
Magus of the Future / Future Sight + Sensei's Divining Top = 1: Draw a card
Rationale behind certain omissions
Whether or not to include the combo which includes
Temple Bell + Mind Over Matter + Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre in hand or in deck = Instantly destroy the entire table
I think the Laboratory Maniac win is a little better since it doesn't involve me putting 2 otherwise completely useless cards in my deck, but I'll keep this here for Record purposes.
Time Stretch - Extra turns are always good, but this just seems to be a 'win more' card to me
Tefari, Mage of Zhalfir - Great card, but too slow in my opinion, also contents with Azami for the 5 drop slot.
Rhystic Study - Another card that's quite popular in blue EDH, not as relevant here since we can get most of our draw through Azami, but still a viable card.
Psychosis Crawler - Whilst this card does have synergy with Azami, it has a few downsides in my opinion. I suppose it is an alternate win condition, but usually unnecessary since Azami rarely wins from reducing enemy life points to zero. If you're at a point where you can do so via card draw, then you're probably at the stage where you can draw your whole deck, in which case you won't even need the Crawler. The fact that it's not a wizard really breaks it for me though.
Other cards to consider
1 Hapless Researcher
1 Lighthouse Chronologist
1 Augur of Bolas
1 Deranged Assistant
1 Sage of Fables
1 Aether Adept
1 Frontline Sage
1 Jace's Archivist
1 Merchant of Secrets
1 Palinchron
1 Kira, Great Glass-spinner
1 Logic Knot
1 Daze
1 Memory Lapse
1 Miscalculation
1 Dissipate
1 Dream Fracture
1 Evasive Action
1 Faerie Trickery
1 Mana Leak
1 Power sink
1 Prohibit
1 Syncopate
1 Spell Crumple
1 Rhystic Study
1 Time Spiral
1 Sage's dousing
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Caged Sun
1 Mindslaver
1 Diviner's Wand
//Enchantments
1 Omniscience
1 Propaganda
//Lands
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
Changelog:
29/07/2017
+ Paradox Engine
+ Mana Drain
+ Aphetto Alchemist
- Stifle
- Deprive
- Sage of Epityr
05/04/15
+ Stroke of Genius
- Blue Sun's Zenith
03/04/15
+ Rings of Brighthearth
+ Basalt Monolith
- Spell Crumple
- Hinder
24/03/15
+ Bribery
- Jace, the Mind Sculptor
13/03/15
+ Temporal Manipulation
- Bribery
05/03/15
+ Diviner's Wand
+ Snow Covered Island
- Intruder Alarm
- High Market
01/03/15
+ Spell Crumple
+ Sigil Tracer
+ Intruder Alarm
- Temporal Adept
- Dissolve
- Frantic Search
19/02/15
+ Chrome Mox
+ Bribery
- Propaganda
- Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
12/02/2015
+ Tolaria West
+ Swan Song
- Snow covered Island
- Sage's dousing
15/01/2015
+ Arcane Denial
- Phantasmal Image
23/12/2014
+ Mutavault
+ Cavern of souls
+ Cyclonic Rift
+ Deprive
+ Negate
+ Stifle
+ Trickbind
+ Propaganda
+ Sage's Dousing
- Tolaria West
- Snow Covered Island
- Palinchron
- High Tide
- Diviner's Wand
- Gauntlet of Power
- Mindslaver
- Spell Crumple
- Time Spiral
24/11/2013
+ Jace, the Mind Sculptor
- Fact or Fiction
7/11/2013
+ Daring Apprentice
+ Sea Gate Oracle
+ Martyr of Frost
+ Dissolve
+ Sapphire Medallion
+ Omenspeaker
- Phyrexian Metamorph
- Etherium Sculptor
- Time Stretch
- Jace's Archivist
- Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
- Eye of Ramos
Comments and suggestions are much appreciated, thanks for reading!
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn
Also, I am a big fan of Turbulent Dreams in Azami--that card has saved me many times.
WG Gaddock Teeg and the Reveillark Experience [M][c]
U Azami Draws You Crazy [M][$]
WBVish Kal, the Patient [M]
WRGUBScion of the Double Dragon [M]$
WGBTeneb, the Home Wrecker [M]$
"For me metaphysics means something more like realism. That there is a reality that escapes any of its manifestations. You can never be quite sure what it is, but you can offer some description of what the structures of reality are." Graham Harman, The Prince and the Wolf
The Illusion of Control
idk if i'd run time warp, i prefer bribery at 5cc
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Those are some extremely potent combinations, I realise in some situations they can lead to a blow out win. However, I can't help but feel that cards such as Temple Bell, Knowledge pool and Tunnel Vision are otherwise dead cards without their combo counter parts. Thanks for the suggestion though
No Jace 2.0 due to cost issues, but hopefully I can obtain him soon.
I ran bribery for a while, but it seemed to be too situational and more of a meta call card.
Anyway, been a while since I played this deck, but I've made some small changes to my decklist. Feel free to comment or suggest anything
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn
What's the motivation for thirty basics with no fetches?
optimal hightide, fetches are unnecessary, but if you're running scroll rack I'd add them.
Back to basics is a strong stall card.
Edit: I'd add scroll rack and replace the sapphire medallion with stonybrook banneret.
Sig and Avatar Credit: Heroes of the Plane Studios
A little late to the party I know.
But may I suggest Patron of the Moon. That card is busted in Azami. The land that you draw in excess that would normally be dead cards become actually useful. There are other things that I would suggest but it is a long list and in the end EDH is really down to personal preference.
ps. Deranged assistant is good because of those turn four Azamis.
+ Mutavault
+ Cavern of souls
+ Cyclonic Rift
+ Deprive
+ Negate
+ Stifle
+ Trickbind
+ Propaganda
+ Sage's Dousing
- Tolaria West
- Snow Covered Island
- Palinchron
- High Tide
- Diviner's Wand
- Gauntlet of Power
- Mindslaver
- Spell Crumple
- Time Spiral
Comments and suggestions appreciated as usual!
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn
Suggestions appreciated as usual!
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn
It also combos with MoM for LabMan. Or with MoM and a good rock (Lotus) to produce insane amounts of mana.
EDH Decks:
WUBOloro, Combo ControlWUB
UBOona Reanimator ComboUB
BRGProssh, Eater of the Blue MageBRG
UBRGrixis StormUBR
Rebuilding Jenara (stealyourstuff.dec)
Pauper Deck:
UBInspired SirenUB
The problem I had alot of the time when I was running Jace's archivist was that I would have a combo card or a particular card that I did not want to get rid of in my hand alot of the time, thus rendering his ability quite useless.
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn
Good suggestion! Adding it in the place of Sage's dousing, thanks!
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn
Might look to test this card in the near future. I feel as though, whilst it seems amazing, by the time I'm able to cast Omniscience I either have a handful of cards and am well on my way to winning the game, or I've already been ganged up on and beaten out of the game.
A few more small changes
+ Chrome Mox
+ Bribery
- Propaganda
- Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn
Have you considered Sigil Tracer? The applications for her/it are great and I've been deeply impressed with her. I won someone else's counter war by copying their counterspell with her and the idea of being able to copy someone's Tooth and Nail or Time Spell or, hell, even a simple Cultivate seems really, really good. You would have the potential to copy useful spells all the time, and your Wizard density seems high enough to really take advantage of it.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls - Knowledge is Power U [Primer]
R Heartless Hidetsugu - The Art of Ending Games R
GB Ishkanah, Grafwidow - The Cluster HungersBG
Excellent recommendation, will give her a shot in the place of Temporal Adept, her ability was too expensive for me to use most of the time.
+ Sigil Tracer
- Temporal Adept
I tested Foil for a short period of time but wasn't able to play it a few times due to a lack of an Island in my hand. Othertimes it just sat in my hand since I didn't want to risk the card disadvantage.
Fair point on the Spell Crumple, will test it out!
+ Spell crumple
- Dissolve
I tested Etherium sculptor for a bit which pretty much served the same role as Helm of awakening but more one sided. What I found was that aside from being combined with Sensei's divining top and Future sight the card had no use on it's own. Also generally not too much of a fan of 3 card combos.
Jace 2.0 is good as a consistent Brainstorm with the amount of shuffle effects I run. I will probably run some fetches in order to increase that synergy. The bounce is also great against some problematic creatures.
Intruder alarm looks great! Will test as soon as I figure out what to replace.
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn
+ Intruder Alarm
- Frantic Search
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn
EDH
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
GBGlissa, the Traitor
Modern
X Affinity
EDH
BUGTasigur, the Golden Fang (French 1v1)
Modern
RWG Burn