Unique Standard Deck Wins Event by Casting Ancestral Recall Every Turn

The coolest and most memorable aspect of Secrets of Strixhaven is undoubtedly the presence of Power Nine spells attached to Prepared cards. While players do have to put in the work to cast them in the first place, reaching that goal is certainly attainable, and the reward is massive.

Interestingly, now it appears that an Azorius Control deck designed to abuse this mechanic has emerged in Standard. With a Magic Online Challenge win under its belt, this deck could be the real deal.

A Unique Line of Control Finishers

As you might expect from a control deck, this archetype played by Magic Online user jtl005 is looking to prolong the game as long as possible so its finishers can take over. To prevent yourself from getting run over, Seam Rip and Get Lost serve as efficient answers to creatures. From there, No More Lies and Three Steps Ahead stop problematic noncreature spells from resolving.

Where this deck starts to get really interesting, though, is with its creature package. While many control decks rely on Planeswalkers to cement their advantage, this deck utilizes full playsets of Emeritus of Truce and Emeritus of IdeationEmeritus of IdeationFlying, ward {2}
This creature enters prepared.
Whenever this creature attacks, you may exile eight cards from your graveyard. If you do, this creature becomes prepared. to dominate the late game. The former provides some solid disruption on a sizeable body, while the latter nets you lots of card advantage at little cost.

Then, to turbocharge these threats even further, Skycoach Waypoint makes it possible to cast their broken Prepared spells every turn! The combination of this land and Emeritus of Truce essentially locks your opponent out of ever getting creatures to stick. Then, once you’ve stabilized, casting Ancestral RecallAncestral RecallTarget player draws three cards. every turn will negate all hopes of your opponent ever climbing back into the game.

The only downside is that this synergy requires a lot of mana to execute. Luckily, Bender’s Waterskin gives you a burst of extra mana, helping you activate Skycoach Waypoint, cast Ancestral Recall, and even protect the beefy Wizard. This mana rock’s untap ability also comes in clutch, enabling you to curve into Emeritus of Ideation on turn four and then cast Ancestral Recall on your opponent’s turn.

Beating the Top Decks

Despite its slightly unorthodox approach, Azorius Control lines up well against a lot of the current top-tier Standard decks, particularly creature decks. Against the best deck out there, Mono-Green Landfall, the Prepared package is a game changer. Emeritus of Truce + Skycoach Waypoint ensures you never get punked by Mightform HarmonizerMightform HarmonizerLandfall — Whenever a land you control enters, double the power of target creature you control until end of turn.
Warp {2}{G} (You may cast this card from your hand for its warp cost. Exile this creature at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.). From there, Mono-Green’s lack of removal or fliers makes it easy for Emeritus of Ideation to turn the corner.

At the same time, against other creature-dense strategies like Mono-Red Aggro or Boros Dragons, these threats also do a great job brickwalling attackers. Emeritus of Ideation outsizes even the likes of Nova Hellkite, and its Ward ability makes it nearly impossible to kill via multiple burn spells.

As innovative as this deck is, though, there are still some matchups where the more traditional Four-Color Control shell would have an easier time. Without access to Inevitable Defeat, for example, you have few ways to cleanly answer Kaito, Bane of Nightmares out of Dimir Midrange. Then, in control mirrors, relying on creatures to close games rather than Jeskai RevelationJeskai RevelationReturn target spell or permanent to its owner's hand. Jeskai Revelation deals 4 damage to any target. Create two 1/1 white Monk creature tokens with prowess. Draw two cards. You gain 4 life. can be a liability.

With control decks far less popular than creature strategies right now, this deck can certainly make a strong metacall. This isn’t the first brew designed to exploit the recent metagame that’s found success, either, and it’s awesome to see brews flourishing. Following its dominant Challenge win, expect Azorius Control to pop up more in the coming weeks.

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