☀️💧 Updated BETTER Azorius Control | Ranked Innistrad Midnight Hunt | Standard MTG Arena

[@exile_the_13th]

48:45 CGB: "I dunno, man, I'm gonna gamble that they're not that aggressive." 58:54 Narrator: They were that aggressive.

[@mlsquared1567]

ahahaha

[@noobeater72]

honestly the blue deck videos are by far my favorite ngl

[@megalamoniacal]

The whole "I'll not block with my 1/1 tokens so next turn they have indestructible" drove me crazy. Sometimes I think CGB is so hell-bent on threading the needle he's basically losing against himself.

[@joshuaphillips1081]

I've been seeing lots more Azorius Control on the ladder in the last week. I normally play Jeskai Control, so the games have been LOOOOOONG, and with more control in the meta, the number of counters all the other control decks run has been increasing. I thought I could counter-battle with an Azorius player since I had 2 foretold Saw-It-Comings, a Negate, a Test of Talents, and a Divide. They had already played 2 counterspells this game, and I had enough mana and decided to fight. Turns out, the other player played 4 more counterspells to battle my counterspells, then got me with 2 more counterspells the next turn when I tried to resolve a spell backed with the Test of Talents I bounced back to my hand. I literally had every counterspell in my deck available to play, and they had more. I don't know how that deck beats Mono-white or Mono-green.

[@BouncingTribbles]

It doesn't. I went 11-2 today on stream with mono green, finished P3. So many izzet and azorius decks are conceding with full hands and lots of lands

[@estarriol7]

I play almost exclusively Azorius Control and it really doesn't do particularly well against any tier 1 decks, but it isn't hopeless against any of them. CGB's build in this video aside, it generally doesn't run enough countermagic to beat Epiphany Combo (despite having 7+ counters in most builds) and is too slow for most aggro decks. Epiphany Dragons is strangely a much better matchup for Azorius, as it better matches the number and range of answers Azorius Control tends to play. But in answer to Mono-White and Mono-Green - I run 7 sweepers (including 2 that destroy all permanents) and quite a lot of bounce. Mono-white is scarier than mono-green because it is faster, goes wider and plays more disruption. I'd much rather face either than Epiphany Combo as that is such a stressful and dull deck to play against and the win for them just feels cheap. With sideboarding I think Azorius Control would do pretty well against any of the upper tier decks. Then at least in games 2-3 you would know you were drawing the right half of your deck...

[@valentinloew]

i play azorius control, and the battles with jeskai are fun. i once indeed played 5 counterspelles to defeat a jeskai combo deck in a single turn... that was hilarious^^. The strategy is do nothing, play lands and memory deluge, find counters and wait for them to deck because i can win with devious cover up and they cant...

[@clrl936]

@@BouncingTribbles It depends on the build. If you are playing devastating mastery, the green matchup is rather easy (unless they do something ridiculous like playing 3 werewolves packleaders on the early game and be drawing 3 cards per turn). On this version here CGB decided to take out the devastating mastery for more counters for the izzet matchup, but since green seems to be much more prevalent, I personally wouldnt do it. At least leave 1 or 2 in the deck.

[@BouncingTribbles]

@@clrl936 agreed. I'm glad my first choice deck beat the patreon crowd XD

[@TheJwrich]

Loving how this deck is coming along! Keep up the good work!

[@sovietgreen9328]

CGB: "we don't need Mastery" Algorithm "how about a nice case of Esper curses?"

[@MrNbkelly]

"I don't know if I'd be reconnecting to this game if I were them".. lmao, I died

[@redwingdwulet]

Question: With Lier on the battlefield, can't you just decline to pay the Valkmira tax. Since Lier stipulates that spells can't be countered, wouldn't this nullify Valkmira's ability entirely?

[@necroknight3038]

Don't think so. Valkmira doesn't say "Counter unless opponent pays 2" it says "Spells cost 2 more to cast." The way I think about it is its basically making the CMC of your spells go up, so it'd be like trying to cast a 6 CMC spell with 4 mana available to you. Lier can't do anything about that.

[@socrates7722]

@@necroknight3038 “whenever you or another permanent you control becomes the target of a spell or an ability an opponent controls, counter that spell or ability unless its controller pays 1” I believe this is what he is referring to on Valkmira, and I also believe Lier’s text would prevent it from being counteted. He’s not talking about the extra 2 cost tax

[@redwingdwulet]

@@socrates7722 yes you are correct, that is what I was referring to.

[@krimhorn]

@@necroknight3038 That's the Redaine side. The shield counters unless they pay 1. It's basically Kira, Great Glass Spinner on an artifact. And, yeah, with Lier on the battlefield that doesn't work (nor does Ward).

[@GD0nly]

I think because it actually uses the word "Counter" yes it would get blocked by Lier. MTG has a very "Rules as written" mindset for these things.

[@just_zohan]

The "on-the-draw-meter" is reaching critical levels!

[@RootZXZ]

My logs show over 70% "on-the-draw"! Close to 500 games too. Guess that means someone is riding that "going-first" train like crazy.

[@darreldorigatti862]

Dude. Its so rigged its stupid. Wanna know how im that sure? Why not have players play rock, paper, scizzors? Simple. Before Bo1 or 3. Rock paper scizzors for the right to choose. Simple. AF. And it would COMPLETELY solve this problem. But no. Then wizards could rig matches to control winrate.

[@NoLove4TheseHoes]

@@RootZXZ Someone posted on reddit and CGB is at around 50%.

[@daddykratos6022]

@@darreldorigatti862 Rigged or not I still like that idea. It would just be fun to have

[@darreldorigatti862]

@@daddykratos6022 Just think about it. You start up a game. Its decided. One goes first. Other 2nd. How? Algorithym gods. BS and riggable. Add in a stupid rock paper scizzors minigame. Its ONLY human input decided. Real rng. Honestly the cleanest answer and they wont do it. In real paper magic we roll for first. Everyone knows this. It isn't just decided. And you cant use a "digital" dice cause that's just algorithym dolled up to look legit. Rock paper scizzors is the easiest way.

[@mnemonaute]

I much better appreciate the Azorius you mentioned, the one with Mastery in it. Not only does it obliterates mono green, but also the Hook mono black control, the mono white Palladin and cleric class, the Izzet tons of treasures (I love that *poof* sensation). Lier to me as been too ambivalent yet. I could not get rid of Mastery. I’m currently Diamond tier-2, so my actual meta may not be the one in the top 500’s, but you are no there either. So a very BIG thank you for the Azorius with Mastery in it, and I really appreciated this version with Lier (that I tested) and could take an educated decision. Hop to play vs. soon, my account it Uriel.Angel Cheers and congrats on the 1000 streaks !

[@daqueen1312]

Lier counters shield. Shield says counter if you dont pay 1, but spells cant be countered so paying the 1 is unnecessary

[@Scribbl16]

Been watching your videos for about a month, and I just wanted to say that you’re easily my favourite magic streamer. You try to build your own decks and give insight about how they interact within the meta rather than just using the most common decks, you’re entertaining and have great energy without being loud or obnoxious, and you don’t get salty (or at least don’t show it). Super enjoyable to watch, thanks for all the great content 😄

[@normandygahn]

This is interesting. I was using starnheim unleashed in mine. People usually just assume it's doomskar and I was resolving for 5-6 angels pretty frequently, and you can protect them easily in later turns. I still think mastery has its uses against the stickier decks that you run into more than you think, like clerics/angels, the weird one-offs, and green.

[@ChaosForce08]

Mastery is not even bad against Mono-W, not as the first sweeper, but as the second one that puts the nail in the coffin or if you stall them out to 6 mana with Sunset Revelries. Agreed that it is good against random stuff like Skeletal Swarming as well.

[@estarriol7]

"Better Azorius Control" - these words are even more sexy than "Draw a card". Getting some popcorn.

[@comedyman4896]

Ngl I actually liked it when the music was turned up. I don't even normally like the music while playing but CBG somehow makes it work.

[@MG42Qlippoth]

I'm having a stressful day, saw the new video pop on YT and whispered to myself "yes Azorius" with a sigh of contentment.

[@ryantalbot5422]

Me too. He should just play this deck alone for a couple weeks. Just feels right.

[@wesleypollek4637]

I run something similar to this but with a simplified snow mana base to sneak in some faceless havens and 2 of the book of exalted deeds. The incidental life gain giving you a free angel from sunset revelry (I think I also added some revitalizes and have slightly fewer counterspells) is nice and gives the deck another way out when it can't get enough board wipes against green or white. UW control is my new favorite deck in standard right now it feels like it can answer anything

[@noscompusarme]

Ok, I'm gonna come clean and say I was the 1st player. I almost have a heart attack when I saw my nickname. I DIDN'T realise it was you during the game despite watching your videos on the daily. Jeez my deck sucked... 3rd time trying curses. I'm not the kind of going afk, so I presume I had to leave :( Not the best impression lol Maybe CGB could actually make a curse deck work? Do it!!

[@taylorfiksdal2895]

It's cool that you were trying something unique

[@MTGKami]

LVD made a curse deck that worked pretty well should check it out.

[@Dave965]

Malone also had a fun one recently.

[@mlsquared1567]

wp tho and nice deck

[@noscompusarme]

@@Dave965 Yeah, that was my inspiration. Sadly it's rather clunky and you're fucked vs hard control decks.

[@monodescarado]

Ha. I came to these realisations myself last night! I was getting frustrated with Blue-White control, so have been brewing a lot in recent weeks and seeing very little success. Last night I went back to my old blue-white deck, removed Devastating Mastery and tuned it a little with Wizard Class. Now I’m 14-0 and actually enjoying the game again… for now!

[@WaldosWorld]

No complaints here! More control decks = better 👍

[@ablerauer]

Love the tweaks CGB, nice work. I replaced a few cards with 'Maddening Cacophony' to change things up. It helped against life gain decks. Good times and makes for some long games.

[@ongboklichan]

I actually have all the cards to run this build and I gotta tell ya, it wrecks. I added in one Starnheim (dropped a Negate) just to add some personal spice and it worked well. You can dig for anything you want, gain a little life to keep you afloat and manage the opponent's board via bounce and Skars. Emeria and Jwari keep your land curve consistent. Lier gets your Skars and bounces most permanents back to buy time for Mascot E./Halls/Emeria/Starnheim to finish the game. I played several fast Boro burn/Ignition decks and it held its ground. Against mono black/Dimir, you really don't have a big board presence for them to dump their 234234 removal spells. If they get one off...Test, Divide, Negate or Disrupt it. Against Mono Green the bounces and Skars handle the onslaught of creatures in most cases. I keep a Negate in the pocket for Wrenn so the tokens can't stop your angels or Storm Giant. Against Izzet, if you can Test out their Saw It Comings/Alrund's nine times out of ten the opponent will dump the salt shaker and scoop it up. Get that gold and XP, fam. 10/10 Well done sensei.

[@lochlankrupa1945]

Great video! Learned a lot! 25:45 What about just animating the hall and dealing with the grandmaster there?

[@mathieujaillet5996]

How funny, I also happened to play against MITSU's mono white deck. I got the same reaction as you to see Grand Master and Halvar : Holy smokes ! Well, they didn't get him a better ending, haha

[@activityenjoyer]

dig the shades, self care is important. I'm a big believer in f.lux for screens

[@Kingofredeyes]

Multiple games I'm sitting here saying "man this would be so much easier on him if he had Devastating Mastery" :D

[@benistoneman9737]

Updated. Yeah. I have been loving the last version so much fun

[@julienpontus3225]

After a freaking shitty day at work, time for some therapeutic blue white control 💆🏼‍♂️

[@alexkeng67]

i tweaked the list from the Devastation vid and made 83% WR after 12 games with 9 of them meta decks. Decklist if anyone is keen. Mastery is still the party stopper no matter how i see it, saved me a game vs a GW good stuffs with those creatures, tokens, saga, wrenn7, chariot etc. Devious won me games vs esper and izzet by recycling those test of talents and cs. 4 Faithful Mending 4 Memory Deluge 1 Lier, Disciple of the Drowned 3 Fading Hope 4 Sunset Revelry 1 Fateful Absence 2 Test of Talents 2 Devious Cover-up 4 Divide by Zero 2 Devastating Mastery 4 Saw It Coming 3 Doomskar 4 Jwari Disruption 4 Plains 3 Island 4 Field of Ruin 3 Glacial Floodplain 4 Hengegate Pathway 2 Hall of Storm Giants 2 Deserted Beach Sideboard 1 Introduction to Annihilation 1 Academic Probation 1 Reduce to Memory 2 Mascot Exhibition 2 Environmental Sciences

[@PatentlyAwesome]

16:01 "Salt or Circumstance." Hmm, when I open my Michelin star restaurant, I think that is what I will name it.

[@ZeeGamingMTG]

Great video. I vote for the old outros. I miss them

[@seanyboymccabe]

Goddamnit. I've been having a lot of fun u/w control. Now I'm going to see more and more mirror matches

[@clagen86]

Good. You monsters deserve it.

[@adamburston4487]

I appreciate the in-depth coverage at the beginning, but I wish it didn't end so abruptly. The ending characterized by regret, yet the deck was great and game play was (mostly) good. I would have liked to go on a positive note, even if it only lasts 10 seconds.

[@Whiskeymoth]

I see CGB playing UW, I snap click.

[@Ktwitch88]

“Updated Better Azorius Control” my new favorite 4 words!

[@Knoxmortis187]

My favorite magic games are the ones where you watch paint dry till the opponent quad casts Alrund's Epiphany. It's either that or wait while someone who thought they were smart builds a Teleportation Circle, and Healing Potion, in to a aggro white build, and proceeds to mill themselves. Thrilling gameplay lately. 😆 (Standard event)

[@bear_6875]

Always love to see you playing blue white

[@williamwalton9154]

Holding on to Devistating is what has held me back from going Esper. Going to give it a go while waiting for new goodies from VOW.

[@RipAndShip]

I played against CGB playing this deck yesterday. It's a great deck that is very difficult to beat.

[@zoggoth]

Ebondeath pronounced like ebony Chinese, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish versions of the card all use the word for ebony. Japanese and Korean both keep the name "Ebondeath" and write it with a short e

[@darchangelous]

DIVE IN! LET THE NONSENSE BEGIN!!! dont miss it out bro! please!

[@hcgtrplaya92986]

I think that second match shows just how powerful Thalia coming back will be. The tax is real.

[@Joseph125]

Ooh, I've been looking forward to this! Moist White = instant like!

[@MWBowen403]

Does the shield work if you don’t pay because spells couldn’t be countered with the wizard guy?

[@mrmikef4721]

Do you need to pay the shield tax with Lier on the battlefield? Wouldn’t her ability prevent the shield from countering a spell if you declined to pay?

[@ryanliesandy4988]

"... As always, thank you for watching this video. You're cool." *reflectively closed KZbin app

[@metalsurgeon9196]

Got a version of this I call the spring, what can't get bounced gets dead, and finish with man lands. Snow land and giant and dragon. It's hateful.

[@dcnole]

This is way out of leftfield, but if we're ditching Devastating Mastery (the reasons you cite make good sense), then I'm finding a way to sneak in a copy of Ondu Inversion into my manabase. I think 1 more tap land is a worthy sacrifice to have potential access to essential answer against Green. However, I recognize that I am the only person who likes this card at all.

[@acouelec]

46:19 - Wouldn't the play be Doomskar then bounce the Faceless Haven with Divide when they power it up?

[@lasseribergardrasmussen7823]

Divide by zero only works for permanents and spells with mana value 1 or more. Haven has mana value 0.

[@acouelec]

@@lasseribergardrasmussen7823 Ahh, that's what I was missing, thank you.

[@KChaos005]

I never noticed the board moves so much until I saw those editor cuts

[@256bassfishing]

Hey! I would like to see you build and play a B/G midrange deck. I've had fairly good success in standard using one that's great against aggro and has enough speed to put control on its heels. I almost broke into Mythic, just don't know what else I could add using the cards I had available. I believe if I had the cards to build a more consistent deck, I could've broke into Mythic. However, I'd love to see what you come up with.

[@adriandelarosa6502]

Now, do you think it can work against extra turns when they have four more extra turn spells in their deck, better card draw, better ways to get it back from their graveyard, etc......?

[@Kazz1187]

You have shown me the ways of the control mage

[@Keltair13]

Interesting. Game 1 it looks like your opponent is playing MTG Malone's Curses deck. Malone's Esper deck today appeared to go against your previous Azorius Control deck.

[@quaroismynamehere]

I think I saw that deck too on legenvd. Also had a version with triskaidekaphile and used curses to complete the combo

[@tomikvrona1681]

Personally I like the closing thoughts at the end of the video. Also maybe instead of putting the games win-win-lose-lose, maybe do them win-lose-lose-win? Feels nice for the video to end with a win.

[@crazyclir]

Any good ideas for Jeskai control in current meta?

[@kaemonbonet4931]

Kinda want to see this standards control decks vs last standards yorion decks

[@SLDaher]

what if your win-con was MILL tasha + cacophony + teach by example + crabs to block?

[@dreamwalking]

I'd be happy with pretty much just Azorius gameplay on this channel.

[@TommyPrivette]

Any chance you can do a deck with Xanathar Guild Kingpin?

[@andrewbetz535]

That card is just never going to get there 😥

[@manetarofl]

Honestly, you could play control decks everyday... no prob

[@zantharian57]

What ever happened to your Dimir Control, that one looked better in a lot of ways. Is the early heal and 2 blockers from sunset really what seals the deal?

[@yoshu4221]

I'm really curious why you ran 3 mascot exhibitions in your sideboard. It was so tough for me to watch you bounce that Dracolich so many times when you could have had an option to exile it.

[@antonfahlgren2723]

A sneaky Bag of Holding for the Faithful Mending discard?

[@farpasmasterfarpador9092]

I appreciate seing the defeats and what does not work

[@ScorchedRusalka]

LOVE the changes and LOVE no Epiphany in the deck!

[@ongboklichan]

Agreed. I HATE Epiphany and refuse to run it. I know it has its place and takes top positions at tourneys, but I just don't vibe it. I take a victory swig when the opponent tries to drop 3 in a row and still get waxed haha

[@TimeWalk936]

Portable hole will be a staple for control due to Thalia and Monogreen explosion

[@kaemonbonet4931]

You had ebondeaths pronunciation right the first time. Like ebony.

[@davidds445]

I love this archetype but it takes forever and I dont really have that much time on the ladder, specially if I play Bo3

[@vanniscripts7257]

I think you should fit in either 1 celestus or 1 bag of holding and take out 1 revelry

[@nomadichero12]

Sooo when you have lier out against the shield you dont have to pay for it cause spells can't be countered

[@yyglsiirrequiredtohavealas7254]

Dang this video just made me even more hype to try out my pauper edh soulherder list when the cards arrive. Nothing like good ol azorius control!

[@jbruner6397]

Does lier make it so shield tax doesn't work? I think it does!

[@vincentbigras1515]

bitter from mono black back to the thing you love :D

[@Th3os7]

Just letting you know..that decision to turn off or down the volume on the music was not a good one. Especially in a match that is shaping up to be 30 min +

[@savagecraft1551]

I absolutely looove control, but man does it feel bad running into this with Rakdos control xD

[@SickOfItAll1988]

I really was afraid that you would take a break from uploading after that streak, thanks for bringing me continuous joy, really brings me through some hard times

[@Knoxmortis187]

Circumstantial salt? 😆 I test of talents their brawl and veil. Usually makes a BIG defence.

[@gludington2002]

BTW, CGB, the glasses are 100% normal now. You'd literally look funny without them. That didn't take long.

[@Chaoslorden]

Aha. This is why I'm facing this alot with my new try on orzhov clerics. I beat this deck more than I lost and izzet pretty good, after I added a bit of discard into the pile. Duress and the black inscription plus Elite Spellbinder bouncing back helps. 👍🏻

[@geoffprice9583]

Speaking of blue/white... I've seen a crazy combo recently that I'd love to get more feedback on because I don't think it should work. It's Skyclave App > Geistwave/Divide/Fading. The Apparition exiles the target, then it is returned to hand and leaves nothing behind. It seems to me that if the Apparition "enters" the battlefield then it has to "exit" battlefield, at which point it should create the token. This guy plays Skyclave Apps with Geistwave/Divide/Fading and a few other control things and just keep reusing them over and over until eventual Alrund's. It's ridiculous.

[@zantharian57]

Okay so here is why it works the way you describe. You play the skycalve apparition, it has now entered the battlefield, which puts the exile on the stack. Then you fading hope the apparition, which goes on the stack and resolves before the exile effect. The apparition leave trigger would now go on the stack but there is currently nothing exiled by the apparition yet. Now the apparition is back in his hand, and the exile effect on the stack finally resolves, simply exiling the original target.

[@geoffprice9583]

@@zantharian57 I don't know. Makes my head hurt, but it seems to me like something that shouldn't work. The card should be designed in a way that if it ever exiles, it always leaves a token, no way to use the exile without creating a token. Even if it did leave tokens the tactic is still extremely powerful. Without leaving tokens is just insane.

[@zantharian57]

@@geoffprice9583 I agree with you, but as written, that is the way the card works. But look at it this way, it essentially turns his unsummon cards into black death spells. It would be no different than if you faced a black control mage killing all your creatures. In either case he only has a certain amount in his deck. It's just more annoying because it's unexpected and clever in a way that seems like it shouldnt work which makes it seem unfair.

[@mcbescheiden725]

Three exhibitions and 4 emerias calls? Way to many wincons!

[@jamesmooney6472]

But CGB, why do you need to pay the one for shield if Lier is on the board?

[@dkres82]

With DCs you never know if they’re just on mobile and got booted happens to me a lot.

[@andrewbetz535]

"I'm not a roper I'm just on wifi I swear"

[@dkres82]

@@andrewbetz535 it’s whatever when I crash when losing my favorite though is I just need to Untap and I’ll win but phones like nope we got other plans...

[@Ketoinvestor]

PLEASE LET MY PAIN instruct you. Just because CGB posts this deck and smokes the ladder like a brisket, when I tried playing this deck in Gold (2) I did quite poorly. To be frank, I became a hammered shingle of Azor excrement, first by Orzhov Clerics, then monowhite 😭 I will now return to my own monowhite refuge and try to work thru the mental wreckage that I have brought upon myself. LET IT BE KNOWN, AGAIN, there can be only 1 in the BO1

[@xanlikes6146]

if only whirlwind denial was in standard again exclusively for these shenanigans (correct me if I'm wrong but it counters all the double nonsense right?)

[@ChaosForce08]

Yes, Denial would work against all the copied Epiphanies. Wish it was in Standard, but at least we have Test of Talents.

[@FalconStrikeGames]

I miss the YoRyan intro 😔

[@SphinxMTN]

@54:46 Grab a land Every time.

[@barney3444]

Ohh yes this is beautiful

[@erikwhite4351]

There was a point where CGB's life total was 4 and the opponent's was 20. I'll let you do the math ;)

[@imemoria8144]

Congrats, but I miss the stats at the end of the video

[@wiliyantoadinata9170]

so magic:the counter still a game ?

[@davihspaiva]

OK, now it's considered a vicious. You're addicted to azorious control.

[@MrBreakmind]

CGB did you forget the outro?

[@kaerustation]

No post game wrap for the cool kids?!

[@Bdot1588]

Haven't watched yet. But this is why I sub to the kid

[@samrlbarton2722]

So spells can be countered by the shield even if Lier is on the battlefield? I thought that you could just not pay it and it can't be countered.

[@agm20121]

You’re correct, spells can’t be countered so he should just ignore the shield tax as long as it’s a spell being taxed. Could still counter something like field of ruin though.

[@samrlbarton2722]

@@agm20121 Thanks

[@mawoh3027]

That win rate: (Let's all say it together!) NICE!

[@ostrogodo]

I was already playing this cuz i could not craft the prior versions. nice.

[@gerard2383]

tried the deck, did not get good matchups i would usually die with a hand full of negates and test of talents with nothing to target i would discard them to mending but i rarely drew them