Azorius Tempo

User avatar
benjameenbear
Posts: 1112
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

After seeing the new Lofty Denial, I realized that there is a pretty solid Counterspell-like effect in Pioneer. Being a fan of the Mono-Blue Curious Control decklist that did really well last year, I am revisiting the deck idea with the idea of potentially participating in MTG Arena when they release Pioneer to it.
Decklist
Approximate Total Cost:



Basic idea of the deck is to play a 1 drop Flyer and control the tempo of the game with Counterspells and Instant speed effects. Curious Obsession puts pressure and accrues Card Advantage so I don't run out of fuel and is supplemented by Sea-Dasher Octopus as well. Rattlechains offers instant speed protection from removal effects and is a decent Flyer on its own. Spell Queller needs no explanation. Supreme Phantom shortens the clock and has good toughness to block and survive damage based removal effects. Brazen Borrower // Petty Theft is a known card at this point. Opt for consistency and the Flyers were chosen for their synergy with each other and with Lofty Denial.

I expect this deck to do well against Control and Combo lists and struggle against other Aggro lists. I expect Gruul Aggro to be the most straightforward and hardest list to beat followed closely by Mono-White variants. Inverter could be an interesting match depending on how many Discard effects they get.

User avatar
The Fluff
Le fou, c'est moi
Posts: 2398
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: Gradius Home World
Contact:

Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

list looks solid.

the only critic I could say is there seems to be not enough land. There are only 4 cantrips for finding extra land = opt, and curious obsession is not guaranteed card draw. Maybe add one more land, to be sure on reaching two mana?
Image
AnimEVO 2020 - EFZ Tournament (english commentary) // Clearing 4 domain with Qiqi
want to play a uw control deck in modern, but don't have Jace or snapcaster? please come visit us at the Emeria thread

User avatar
benjameenbear
Posts: 1112
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

That's a fair point. From what I remember from Arena, flooding out was the bane of Curious Control's strategy, so 20-21 land seem reasonable. I don't think I've ever goldfished hard-casting the Octopus, so I count that as a 2 drop. I'll probably cut an Absorb for a 21st land because the deck does struggle with mana-screw more often than not. I do like the Absorb though since it builds Tempo in my favor, so I don't want to cut them entirely.

User avatar
The Fluff
Le fou, c'est moi
Posts: 2398
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: Gradius Home World
Contact:

Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

I considered the octopus as a 2 drop when making the suggestion to go 21 land.
because this deck has a second color, and no reliable fetches in pioneer.

have no objections to the absorb, 3 cmc can be our top of the curve. Having fun playing a deck is important too.

ah, and lastly... if your meta has plenty of mono red prowess, I suggest using spell pierce in the sideboard, only one mana to cast make it easier to counter their burn spells. :)
Image
AnimEVO 2020 - EFZ Tournament (english commentary) // Clearing 4 domain with Qiqi
want to play a uw control deck in modern, but don't have Jace or snapcaster? please come visit us at the Emeria thread

User avatar
motleyslayer
Posts: 1127
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Contact:

Post by motleyslayer » 3 years ago

my friend was on a UW tempo list before Smuggler's Copter got banned. Selfless Spirit seems really good, have you considered that?

User avatar
robertleva
Posts: 582
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by robertleva » 3 years ago

should be in the spirits thread?

should be the spirits thread.

EDIT: Fixed. Spirits is a thing.
Robert Leva
Creator of Modern's 8Rack Deck
Image

User avatar
benjameenbear
Posts: 1112
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

@robertleva I didn't see a Spirits thread for Pioneer, so I made this one. I agree that Spirits is definitely a thing and I hope that it does well.

@motleyslayer Wow, can't believe I forgot about Selfless Spirit. I like it in the sideboard, so I'll add 2-3 copies there and replace the pump effects. Good look.

User avatar
motleyslayer
Posts: 1127
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Contact:

Post by motleyslayer » 3 years ago

what I love about Selfless Spirit is that it often requires control players to answer it before they can wrath everything else

let me know how the list works though

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Developing”