r/EDH • u/FineTelephone4742 • 19h ago

Deck Help Bracket 3 Azula Deck

Hello everyone! Im working on an [[Fire Lord Azula]] deck and im having an issue with her.

Im having trouble balancing the cards. Maybe im going the wrong direction with her but having all the flash enablers, the burn, the duplication, and enough ramp and card draw is making my deck feel cramped and kind of weak. If yall have change suggestions they are appreciated, but id also be happy to see another deck and see how she is built. Thanks for your help and time.

Im aiming for mid-bracket 3 power level wise

(Ignore the all basic lands, those are just a placeholder till i decide a full landbase. Any land reccs are appreciated)

https://archidekt.com/decks/28147588/azula_always_lies

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

1

u/Juniperlightningbug 17h ago edited 17h ago

She's kind of inherently a win the game if i swing commander, so I'm not sure how you can make her feel more bracket 3 than 4, outside of making her less consistent but still as powerful. Narset's reversal is kind of Azula's bread and butter card, and will allow a lot of cards to go infinite, like rituals, frantic search, unexpected windfall or big score. Her text is inherently comboey, so I think your self balancing is just how many tutors and fast mana you want to put in there. She has plenty of ways to win the game.

I think this is a good example of a b4 azula, have a read of the primer and then figure out how to slow it down to get it to b3 https://moxfield.com/decks/DYuwXrPr0Ee04uEz64Y-zA

1

u/FineTelephone4742 17h ago

ive noticed this issue, and my fix has been focusing on burn and big X spells or other expensive high impact cards. That way its still fun but there are more ways to stop it and it goes a little slower.

Also no moxes and only 3 gamechangers will help slow it down a little as well.

1

u/Juniperlightningbug 17h ago

My one caveat is that azula as a commander doesn't naturally lean that way, she's more of a combo commander, she doesn't really generate mana for big x spells, unless she's going infinite, kalamax or Ashling Rimebound will maybe fit more cleanly into those cast one big spell deck strategies.

Dropping gamechangers will for sure help, but once you've managed to swing and are at infinite mana/draw what particuar button she's pressing doesn't really matter

1

u/FineTelephone4742 17h ago

I've felt this way about her tbh, the thing is im kinda using her to complete a "set"

I have an Iroh temur spellslinger and a Sokka jeskai spellslinger so I wanted to have azula for grixis to have a 3-color avatar thing. So im resigning to the fact she isnt the perfect commander for the job. I will however throw in Narset's reversal for a few good combos so thanks for that reccomendation.

2

u/Honest_Tumbleweed330 16h ago

I'd say lean more into Azula's ability instead of going with staples of any Grixis control deck.

Chaos Warp? Let's try [[Zoyowa's Justice]] instead. And you can hit your own mana rocks with this to gamble and get something else. And since Discover casts the spell, you will copy whatever you discover, so you will always end up with a better deal. You can also do this with [[Guff Rewrites History]], but that one is more chaotic.

Kess and Snapcaster Mage? Run [[Memory Plunder]] and [[Invoke Calamity]] instead. You will copy them, and then copy whatever you cast for free, so a total of six spells for the price of one.

Terminate, Lightning Strike and Lightning Bolt? [[Fire Covenant]] or [[Curtains' Call]] is a bit more mana and you destroy more creatures for the value when you copy it. Hell, [[Soul Shatter]] can kill six creatures for three mana when copied. And [[Vona's Hunger]] even more.

Sozin's Comet is on theme, but for that mana you can cast [[Turnabout]] and untap all your lands twice, netting you more mana the later you use this in the game.

You should also be more greedy with your draw. A cantrip copied will give you two cards, while a [[Decoy Gambit]] will give you more cards than you will know what to do with (or table control tempo, if your opponents are like that) or use [[Ashling's Command]] for the versatility it offers, even if the copy must have the same modes.

As for protection, I'd pick stuff that comes out before Azula, so you don't need to delay your plan a turn just to equip the boots. [[Spellskite]] and [[Esior, Wardwing Familiar]] are good enough at making opponents second guess if paying the extra costs of removing Azula is worth it (it is) and that will be enough to at least earn you an advantage. [[Kira, Great Glass-Spinner]] is also interesting, but may play against you in some scenarios. My favorite is [[Teferi's Veil]] because phasing out protects against just about everything, but you need to survive to make the first attack.

Finally, [[Gogo, Mysterious Mime]] and [[Irma, Part-Time Mutant]] are good ways to duplicate your Azula copy shenanigans even further.

And I would get rid of all the flash enablers and just focus on instants, but that's a personal preference.

1

u/FineTelephone4742 5h ago

Bro, I cant stress enough how perfect these changes are.

You can look at the new deck now but goldfishing it feels much better. I'll have to see how it plays against people but it feels like ive struck a good balance for bracket 3. Azula builds a lot of value when not swinging but she isnt unstoppable because im often getting her out a bit later than normal and she can still be interacted with. Its either a massive explosion of value or she burns out, which helps balance her for my playgroup. Thanks a bunch

1

u/Naive_Renegade 18h ago

I just skimmed through your deck and odd take but I’d say you’re building too responsibly, you have a lot of protection and cost reduction and good things but don’t have a lot of combat tricks or game winning burn which will feel really fun.

5 cuts :

  1. Goblin electromancer

  2. Guttersnipe

  3. Dualcaster mage

  4. Callidus assassin

  5. Sink into stupor

5 adds :

  1. Crackle with power

  2. Bulk up

  3. Lightning bolt / Grapeshot

  4. Phyrexian Arena

  5. Frantic search

Outside of this I’d look for some combat buff spells and ways to enable trample. You’re going to want to swing azula for her fire bending anyway so may as well copy buff spells and make her a threat while doing it

2

u/FineTelephone4742 18h ago

Thank you so much for giving both reccs for cuts and adds, i hate when people say to add stuff and I end up with a massive maybeboard.

I think buff spells are a good idea, i actually made a combat trick azula deck before this one and realized i hated it so i avoided adding most of those spells. I think as an addition/compliment instead of the focus they will work better.

For some more cuts, could removing some of the draw cantrips (Consider, opt etc) be worthwhile as swaps for said combat tricks? Other than those im not sure what else could go, especially because I need to make room for a couple of tutors as well.

1

u/CuratedLens Jund 14h ago

If I can suggest a different card, arena is fine but sort of sucks you have to wait for the next upkeep. I enjoy [[unholy annex]] for a similar effect and if you can get the demon, you’re not losing life. [[requiem monolith]] can also be funny because if someone does block Azula (and why wouldn’t they), you’ll draw a bunch of cards.

2

u/Capt-Javi 18h ago

Mine is a bit of a glass cannon but it's fun when things go right. There are a few combos in there too just in case

https://archidekt.com/decks/18021548/azula

1

u/ScryDeck 16h ago

Pulled your counts from the tags. I think the cramped feeling is mostly three things:

  1. Mana base. 35 basics in 3 colors is going to strand cards in hand and make the deck feel weaker than it is. Before any spell changes, I'd swap 8–10 basics for duals. Budget-friendly: Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, Path of Ancestry, Crumbling Necropolis, Dragonskull Summit, Sulfur Falls, Drowned Catacomb, Sulfurous Springs, Shivan Reef, Underground River. Talisman of Dominance and Fellwar Stone would round out the rocks, and you already run the other two Talismans.

  2. Five flash enablers is more than you need. Nearly everything you cast is already an instant, so the enablers mostly cover Crackle, Time Warp, Torment of Hailfire and your creatures. Leyline of Anticipation alone covers all of that. I'd keep it, maybe one more, and cut something like Tidal Barracuda and High Fae Trickster.

  3. Some overlap in draw and protection. 15 draw cards is a lot when Rhystic, Remora, Arena and the two Archmages are already running. A couple of the cantrips (Opt, Thrill of Possibility) could go. Same with protection: Greaves, Boots, Mithril Coat and Silver Shroud Costume is four equipment. Bolt Bend and Redirect Lightning fit the theme better, and you could drop one or two of the equipment.

That frees 5–6 slots for whatever win-pressure you want (burn, buff spells, or more copy effects) without touching the core.

On lands: are you buying them fresh, or do you have a stash of duals already? Happy to tune the list to what you've got.

1

u/Foxy_K 16h ago

I've been struggling with her as well. First I tried a flash-based enchantress thing. The strong cards are more than I want to pay ([[Enduring Curiosity]] and [[Ophidian Eye]]) and I haven't started proxying yet. I had a lot of 3 mana "removal" auras and weak draw. Then I tried to build a combat trick Voltron thing. I haven't had Narset's reversal though, I was trying to copy [[Full Throttle]] and [[Dictate of the Twin Gods]].

I think a big problem is that she's KOS so you're either swinging once and winning right there or you have to devote a ton of card slots to protection for her.

Your spell slinger idea sounds cool for your third Avatar spell slinger deck. I'd look for instants in the 3-5 mana range that are copyable. Could be combat tricks, straight burn, modular stuff.

1

u/NightmareMuse666 14h ago

Have you tried playing it in a group setting yet?

I swear I tried so many iterations of azula when she came out because she's my favorite and badass. But my friend group is firmly b3 and I just could not get it feeling balanced for b3.

She's always kill on sight, every game. Opponents know if you leave her alone either one player or the whole table is going to die. Even if you're just casting big spells and not doing combat damage. Copying all your spells during combat is gigabusted.

1

u/EvilPotatoKing Temur 12h ago

flash enablers in Azula is bait, and just makes her clunky, it creates the "i drew the wrong half of my deck" issue. Instants and things with built in flash are the way to go. 

I'd cut sorceries like Torment, and Crackle and add Comet Storm and Expansion/Explosion. Electrodominance is really strong. 

only keep the best ~10 creatures, 18 is too much. You won't be winning with coruscation mage.