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Pioneer is one of the most open formats in all ofMagic: The Gathering. There are a ton of deck options that complement multiple playstyles. Among these is Control, which are decks that are built around stopping the opponent’s main plays and slowly grinding out the game by countering spells and removing threats.
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The best control variant for Pioneer is Azorius (white/blue) Control. This deck takes advantage of the plethora of control cards available in the color pairing. Games of Azorius Control can often be grindy, but it is capable of winning against just about every deck when it’s played right.
Key Cards
Teferi, Hero Of Dominaria
The face of the archetype -Teferi, Hero Of Dominariais one of its most important cards. Control wants to always have lands untapped so that you can keep mana up for interaction on your opponent’s turn. Teferi’s plus one ability lets you still cast spells during your turn and be able to untap enough lands to still be able to cast a counterspell. It also draws you a card; Azorius Control always wants to have a full hand, so this is appreciated.
Teferi, Hero Of Dominaria’s minus three ability is also handy for taking care of a permanent you are unable to remove naturally, such as if it has indestructibility. Though it is rare, if you do use the minus eight ability, you essentially win the game, as you can wipe your opponent’s entire battlefield just by drawing cards.
You can use Teferi’s -3 ability at sorcery speed to bait out a protection spell, to then use one of your instant speed removal spells to make sure you get rid of the targeted creature.
The Wandering Emperor
The Wandering Emperoris a fantastic planeswalker that acts as both removal and a way to build a board presence. Its best trait is its flash ability, allowing you to catch an opponent off-guard and suddenly exile an attacking creature if they’re not careful with their attacks.
Even if you are not using it for its minus two exile effect, you can still flash it in during the end phase when you no longer need mana up for interaction. Generally, you want all your cards to be castable at all times, and The Wandering Emperor fits right in.
Supreme Verdict
Azorius Control tends to toss in some board wipes to deal with large boards of creatures andSupreme Verdictis the best of the lot. It is rather easy to cast but more important itcannot be countered. This allows it to be cast safely into other blue decks that might have counterspells such as Spirits.
Since Azorius Control doesn’t actually play any creatures, it has no way to block them until the later stages of the game. As such,board wipes such as Supreme Verdict are must-includesto handle any creature decks.
Memory Deluge
Memory Delugeis one of the best ways to get cards into your hand for Azorius Control. It always gets you two cards into your hand, and lets you see either four or seven of the top cards of your library.
It has flashback, allowing you to take advantage of it twice. While the mana cost is rather high for this, it generally does not matter since Azorius Control tends to have a lot of lands on the battlefield in the latter stages of the game.
Memory Deluge is an instant card, allowing you to use it at the end phase when you no longer need mana for counterspells and removal. In a pinch, you can use Memory Deluge to dig for a counterspell you don’t have to prevent a powerful card from resolving.
Shark Typhoon
Shark Typhoonis a way to both draw a card and get a creature on the battlefield. There is almost no way to interact with this effect as it’s triggered off of its cycling ability. The token it makes has flying, allowing for it to more easily get in for damage. Shark Typhoon is one of the main ways Azorius Control gets a creature onto the battlefield.
If you have the mana up, though rare, you can cast it as an enchantment. This often leads to a game being won as it turns all of your counterspells and removal into a way to get creatures on the battlefield.
Hall Of Storm Giants
Hall Of Storm Giantsis frequently how Azorius Control closes out games. It can turn itself into a large 7/7 creature with ward three to make it hard to remove both with spells and through combat. Even if you’re not turning it into a creature it still provides youwith a source of blue mana.
Though it does cost six mana, you generally aren’t using Hall Of Storm Giants until the end stages of the game when you have an excess amount of mana. It is a good follow-up after casting a board wipe to get in for damage more consistently.
Hall Of Storm Giants synergises well with Teferi, Hero Of Dominaria. Teferi can untap two lands at the end step, which can help make Hall Of Storm Giants essentially cost four mana instead of six. Alternatively, you can untap Hall Of Storm Giants to be able to activate it again during your opponent’s turn to make a blocker.
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How To Play Azorius Control
Azorius Control is built around using your instant spells to respond to anything your opponent does and shut it down. The deck is often very grindy, and games take a while to win, but once your planeswalkers start hitting the battlefield it is often when you begin to snowball.
Don’t use your counterspells immediately. It is important to judge how threatening a card will be if it resolves. It is better to let a creature hit the battlefield if it is not dangerous to remove with a board wipe later so you can save a counterspell for something that would be more impactful on the gamestate.
Temporary Lockdownis a great way to deal with low-mana permanents at any point. There is not much enchantment removal being played in Pioneer, so odds are these permanents are going to stay exiled.Farwellis a strong late-game board wipe that can deal with problems more permanently as it exiles instead of just destroying. It also handles the graveyard to push back graveyard-based strategies which there are plenty of in Pioneer.
The lands that make creatures are vital for keeping the pressure on.Castle Ardenvaleis a consistent source of 1/1 tokens that can be made at instant speed. Hall Of Storm Giants is another way to turn a land into a creature and this one is a much larger threat.
You can use Castle Ardenvale twice when mixed with Teferi, Hero Of Dominaria as it can untap Castle Ardenvale after using it to make a token.
Removal spells should be reserved for the most threatening creatures on the battlefield. Creatures with low power should generally be kept alone and stronger ones should be removed. Azorius Control does not mind taking damage as it can turn things around in the late game. It wins after a long grind, so it is important to not zero in on doing damage.
An ideal opening hand will have at least three lands and a few interaction spells you can cast early on. You don’t need your large game enders likeTeferi, Hero Of DominariaandShark Typhoonearly in the game so even if they aren’t in your hand it is fine to wait to draw them naturally. Mulligans can hurt Azorius Control significantly, as it is about a lot of one-for-one trades until your game-winners start hitting the battlefield. As such, you generally want to avoid mulligans unless you open one or fewer lands. Though keeping a two-land hand is risky, if the rest of your hand has a low curve as well it’s worth keeping at the risk of falling too far behind. Otherwise, it is best to take the mulligan to try for a more acceptable hand.
Sideboarding
Azorius Control’s sideboard is fairly straightforward. It mostly consists of other counters that you can board in against certain matchups.Disdainful Strokeis a useful counterspell to ensure a large payoff spell doesn’t resolve - something that is common in Pioneer.
Pithing Needleis good to bring in against decks that run activated abilities like Mono Green Devotion and Rakdos Sacrifice.Rest In Peacecompletely shuts down multiple graveyard decks as everything is exiled when they’re sent to the graveyard. Against decks that put a lot on the stack,Summary Dismissal is a good way to shut that down as it wipes the stack away and exiles them all.
Tech options likeHullbreaker Horrorare excellent for the control mirror match as not only can it not be countered, it has flash as well to cast at any point. Once it hits the battlefield, since you cast so many spells it’s easy to bounce multiple spells and permanents back to the hand with its effect.
Aether Gustis an anti-red and green card that slows them down greatly and should be brought in as a pseudo-counterspell for decks playing those colors.
Mystical Disputeis another color hate card, this time for blue which gives you a counterspell you may cast for just one blue mana. Against control mirrors, this is especially useful in winning counterspell wars.Chome Host Seedsharkis useful against matchups where you need a bit more of a board presence, as it turns all your noncreature spells - which almost your entire deck consists of - into token generators as well to have a large battlefield of tokens you can make into creatures.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Azorius Control is amazing atholding back whatever the opponent does. Its plethora of interaction generally lets it win against combo decks with ease and there are a plethora of ways to stop their main combos from going off. It is alsogreat against most variants of midrange decks,as those tend to play a fair bit of creature removal - something you don’t have to worry about since you barely play any creatures.
Where Azorius Control struggles the most is against Aggro decks. Since Aggro decks are built around winning as fast as possible, it’s not uncommon for them to win the game by the time you draw enough mana to start interacting with them.
While board wipes can shut them down, many creatures in Aggro decks have haste that can finish the job despite this setback. To beat Aggro decks, Control requires being very selective with low-mana removal to stop the bleeding. However, sometimes this is too much of an ask, and that is why it’s Azorius Control’s worst matchup.
