"The Azorius Arsenal"

"The Azorius Arsenal"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

As a magic player I never liked Control. My style of play tends to be on the less constrained side. Control is the way to go though if you want to be successful in the top tier competitions. Well it was not my dream to be sucessful in the upper echelons of magic competition. My dream is to come up with deck concepts that are crazy , concepts that might not win all the time but when they do bring a smile to your face because you knew that no one would willingly say that this deck concept will work or would be hard to admit that they got beaten with it.

So back to control , The guild that represents it the most in Return to Ravnica is the Azorius. Being Blue and White gives it access to all sorts of spells that will break your opponents tempo , thwart any short and long term plans or just really put a cramp on their collective attacking style.

The Azorius were given the Detain Mechanic. A mechanic that states that Until your next turn target creature an opponent controls cannot attack or block and its activated abilities can't be activated. I have been looking at Azorius removal spells and they have the best of what White and Blue has to offer. Spot Removal using Bounce or Exiling creatures. Detain only works once unless it is the Enchantment Martial Law that Detains each upkeep but this mechanic alone is enough to ensure that Azorius creatures will be able to deal damage and prevent damage all at the same time. 

It seems like an overkill to give spot or mass removal to a guild that effectively stops a creature in its tracks but Magic still gave these do-gooders effective cards like Detention Sphere and Supreme Verdict. Supreme Verdict being uncounterable and Detention Sphere which is a stronger version of Oblivion Ring. Creatures of the same name on the battlefield are exiled. In standard that takes away 2 or 3 threats. In EDH that takes away the Massive swarm Of Relentless Rats and Shadow borne Apostles (in the future).

"Good bye tokens!!!"

Lavinia of the Tenth is another headache as she she becomes a mass Detain spell upon her arrival on the board. Anything below 3 mana cost will be Detained. Which means that all tokens and weenie creatures are frozen in time and with great timing Azorius creatures can swoop in for the kill unopposed.And if you need to cast Lavinia a 2nd or 3rd time there is always space for an Angel of Restoration or Deputy of Acquittals. This abusive cycle also applies to other Azorius creatures that also have the Comes into play ability of Detain like the Lyev SkyKnight or Soul Sworn spirit.

Facing this guild is frustrating because they also have access to counters. They can say no to what you are planning. They can disrupt anything that you have on the board. The moment you cast it they can say No. If it lands on the board , they can detain your creature to death and then bounce it back to your hand when it can no longer be detained. Azorius can also just out right destroy everything on the board. Total control in all aspects of the game once they are able to set up. All you need to do now is beat them with speed or control as well. If your deck lacks these then good luck. You really are going to need it. 

Sure and steady. Never panicking as they cream you with creatures. The Azorius has surely gotten the love at their end of the color pie.