The Pioneer Regional Championship in Atlanta has come to a conclusion, and there are a lot of interesting takeaways from the event. The metagame, at large, was dominated by four specific decks. Rakdos midrange, Abzan
Amalia Benavides Aguirre
Amalia Benavides Aguirre
Ward—Pay 3 life.
Whenever you gain life, Amalia Benavides Aguirre explores. Then destroy all other creatures if its power is exactly 20. (To have this creature explore, reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
combo, Izzet Phoenix, and Azorius control were the most played decks at the event, and all performed reasonably well. The top eight of the event featured two of each of the decks above, further showcasing their dominance above the rest of the field.
The deck that emerged victorious ended up being Azorius control which, despite having a smaller representation than Rakdos midrange and Izzet Phoenix in the tournament, had a noticeably higher win rate. Further, the Azorius control decks that seemed to perform the best specifically utilized
Yorion, Sky Nomad
Yorion, Sky Nomad
Companion — Your starting deck contains at least twenty cards more than the minimum deck size. (If this card is your chosen companion, you may put it into your hand from outside the game for {3} as a sorcery.)
Flying
When Yorion enters, exile any number of other nonland permanents you own and control. Return those cards to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step.
as a Companion. The winning decklist played 80 cards in the maindeck, as did the 9th place and 12th place lists. Azorius control is certainly on the rise, and for good reason.
Temporary Lockdown in the Current Metagame
One of the more notable card choices that remained consistent between the three Yorion control players in the top 12 was the inclusion of a full playset of
Temporary Lockdown
Temporary Lockdown
When this enchantment enters, exile each nonland permanent with mana value 2 or less until this enchantment leaves the battlefield.
in the maindeck. Temporary Lockdown is exceptionally well-positioned right now and has a ton of utility in this style of deck. Of the top five decks most played decks in Atlanta, Temporary Lockdown is incredibly strong again two decks specifically: Abzan Amalia combo and Boros Convoke.
Against Abzan Amalia, Temporary Lockdown is significantly more effective than
Supreme Verdict
Supreme Verdict
This spell can't be countered.
Destroy all creatures.
for a number of reasons. First, Temporary Lockdown is more efficient, which is vital against the speed of Boros Convoke, too. Being able to meaningfully interact early is extremely important, especially on the draw. Second, the Creatures your opponent controls get exiled, diminishing the effect of
Return to the Ranks
Return to the Ranks
Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.)
Return X target creature cards with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
,
Extraction Specialist
Extraction Specialist
Lifelink
When this creature enters, return target creature card with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. That creature can't attack or block for as long as you control this creature.
, and even
Voice of Resurgence
Voice of Resurgence
Whenever an opponent casts a spell during your turn and when this creature dies, create a green and white Elemental creature token with "This token's power and toughness are each equal to the number of creatures you control."
out of the sideboard.
Knowing the important role that Temporary Lockdown plays in these matchups, using Yorion as a Companion makes a lot of sense. Getting to blink Temporary Lockdown at will is an amazing option to have. This means that you can slam Lockdown early in the game without having to worry about the threat of your opponent rebuilding. While you do lose a bit of consistency by playing an 80 card deck, the synergy between Yorion and Temporary Lockdown is undeniable.
There are also some shenanigans to be had with Lockdown and
Omen of the Sea
Omen of the Sea
Flash (You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant.)
When this enchantment enters, scry 2, then draw a card.
{2}{U}, Sacrifice this enchantment: Scry 2. (Look at the top two cards of your library, then put any number of them on the bottom and the rest on top in any order.)
. For instance, if you play Omen before Lockdown, Omen will get exiled. Then, if you ever blink Lockdown or your opponent removes it, you get Omen to trigger once again.
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Strong Top Tier Matchups
Temporary Lockdown truly is a great insurance policy against Amalia combo and Boros Convoke that can help win games that no other card would. The concern with Temporary Lockdown, though, is that it can be a bit narrow. After all, the card is relatively weak against Izzet Phoenix and Rakdos midrange. That being said, part of the reason Azorius control is super well positioned is that it has a decent matchup against both of these archetypes, especially with Yorion in the mix.
Izzet Phoenix presents a rather slow clock, relying on removal, card draw, and recursive threats to cross the finish line. The issue against Azorius control is that removal spells like
Fiery Impulse
Fiery Impulse
Fiery Impulse deals 2 damage to target creature.
Spell mastery — If there are two or more instant and/or sorcery cards in your graveyard, Fiery Impulse deals 3 damage instead.
are relatively useless, while
Arclight Phoenix
Arclight Phoenix
Flying, haste
At the beginning of combat on your turn, if you've cast three or more instant and sorcery spells this turn, return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
can simply get exiled via
The Wandering Emperor
The Wandering Emperor
Flash
As long as The Wandering Emperor entered this turn, you may activate her loyalty abilities any time you could cast an instant.
+1: Put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target creature. It gains first strike until end of turn.
−1: Create a 2/2 white Samurai creature token with vigilance.
−2: Exile target tapped creature. You gain 2 life.
. With counter magic at the ready for
Treasure Cruise
Treasure Cruise
Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.)
Draw three cards.
, it can be difficult for Izzet Phoenix players to pull ahead.
With regards to Rakdos midrange, once again the clock the deck presents is pretty slow, and removal like
Fatal Push
Fatal Push
Destroy target creature if it has mana value 2 or less.
Revolt — Destroy that creature if it has mana value 4 or less instead if a permanent left the battlefield under your control this turn.
is ineffective. There are quick draws backed up by
Thoughtseize
Thoughtseize
Target player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card. You lose 2 life.
that certainly have game against Azorius control, but without early pressure and disruption, it can be tough. Azorius control has a lot of built-in card advantage, especially with Yorion at the ready, so the deck is prepared to play a longer game.
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The Effects of the Bans
A huge part of the reason for Azorius control’s rise in popularity and why it has a solid position in the metagame has to do with the recent ban announcement. One of the decks that had a reasonably decent Azorius control matchup was mono-green Devotion. Mono-green Devotion played so many haymakers that could be devastating when they hit the board. Cards like
Old-Growth Troll
Old-Growth Troll
Trample
When Old-Growth Troll dies, if it was a creature, return it to the battlefield. It's an Aura enchantment with enchant Forest you control and "Enchanted Forest has '{T}: Add {G}{G}' and '{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this land: Create a tapped 4/4 green Troll Warrior creature token with trample.'"
and Cavalier of Thorns matched up well against Supreme Verdict.
Ever since the banning of
Karn, the Great Creator
Karn, the Great Creator
Activated abilities of artifacts your opponents control can't be activated.
+1: Until your next turn, up to one target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its mana value.
−2: You may reveal an artifact card you own from outside the game or choose a face-up artifact card you own in exile. Put that card into your hand.
, though, this deck has fallen out of favor immensely. That, in part, contributed to the massive rise of Rakdos midrange. Not to mention, the unbanning of
Smuggler’s Copter
Smuggler’s Copter
Flying
Whenever this Vehicle attacks or blocks, you may draw a card. If you do, discard a card.
Crew 1 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 1 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
further pushed players towards Rakdos midrange and decks with lots of small Creatures.
Some Rakdos players have chosen to adopt
Inti, Seneschal of the Sun
Inti, Seneschal of the Sun
Whenever you attack, you may discard a card. When you do, put a +1/+1 counter on target attacking creature. It gains trample until end of turn.
Whenever you discard one or more cards, exile the top card of your library. You may play that card until your next end step.
into their arsenal to maximize cards like Copter and
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter.)
I — Create a 2/2 red Goblin Shaman creature token with "Whenever this token attacks, create a Treasure token."
II — You may discard up to two cards. If you do, draw that many cards.
III — Exile this Saga, then return it to the battlefield transformed under your control.
. As good as these cards are, this only furthers the effectiveness of Temporary Lockdown.
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Ways to Fight Against Control
As strong as Azorius control has become, that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to fight against it. While Lotus Field combo didn’t have the strongest showing in Atlanta, the deck certainly has game against some of the top decks in the format. Azorius control’s lack of pressure can be exploited by the massive mana advantage the Lotus Field deck can achieve. From there, cards like Sphinx of the Final Word out of the sideboard can help you resolve your game-breaking spells.
If Azorius control continues to grow in popularity, strategies like Azorius Spirits and mono-white Humans are definitely worth considering. Spell Queller and Thalia, Guardian of the Thraben are excellent against board wipes and can help keep the control player off-balance. These decks were quite underrepresented in a field full ok Rakdos midrange and Izzet Phoenix, though, which only further helps cement Azorius control as a top strategy. Further metagame evolutions are worth monitoring, but if you are a fan of piloting control decks, Pioneer is the perfect place to do so.
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