Azusa, Lost but Seeking

[94teen]

I don't think Storm Cauldron is a must if your theme is animating lands. Thing is, if you manage to drop an early storm cauldron, you're going to win. Unless someone casts artifact destruction immediately, you're going to go insane. It lets you drop lands even if you don't have them in your hand, and means your opponents can only cast spells once every couple of turns. It's especially insane with Horn of Greed.

Honestly, I think if you're going for a competitive deck, Rofellos is just about strictly better than Azusa. The disadvantage is that you come down a turn slower. The upside is that you get the advantage even if you don't get to untap.

I think that pretty much no matter how well you tune azusa, you're still going to lose to countermagic, and you're slower than Rofellos. Rofellos scales up over the course of the game while you don't, and still gets to play all the same land destruction you do. The only advantage you have is that you can wasteland/strip mine multiple times in a single turn, or that you can continue developing under a Sunstone/Constant Mists if you find crucible/loam. The problem is finding crucible/loam. If you can do that, you're set; if you can't, you're pretty much strictly worse than Rofellos.

[MPL]

Here's an update on my Azusa list, hopefully I get some replies or new ideas, things what a community is for

First, here's my current list:

//General
1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking

//Turbo
1 Gaea's Touch
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Exploration
1 Rites of Flourishing

//Land search
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Seek the Horizon
1 Far Wanderings
1 Gaea's Bounty
1 Journey of Discovery
1 Khalni Heart Expedition
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Crop Rotation
1 Harrow
1 Krosan Tusker *
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Armillary Sphere *

//Land Animation
1 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
1 Nature's Revolt *
1 Natural Affinity *
1 Rude Awakening *
1 Earth Surge

//Tokens
1 Beacon of Creation
1 Waiting in the Weeds
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 Howl of the Night Pack
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Seed the Land
1 Ant Queen

//Lands matter
1 Grazing Gladehart
1 Seer's Sundial
1 Horn of Greed
1 Lifegift
1 Well of Knowledge
1 Zuran Orb
1 Constant Mists
1 Life from the Loam
1 Crucible of Worlds

//Recursion

1 Eternal Witness
1 Restock
1 Revive
1 Regrowth

//Hate

1 Mold Shambler
1 Acidic Slime
1 Desert Twister
1 Creeping Mold
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Terastodon

//Cards that don't fit in the other categories

1 Tower of Fortunes *
1 Planar Portal *
1 Helix Pinnacle
1 Silklash Spider
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Defense of the Heart
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Genesis
1 Sylvan Library
1 Skullclamp
1 Harmonize

//Lands
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Deserted Temple
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Jungle Basin
1 Slippery Karst
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Petrified Field
31 Forest

Cards with a * are doubtful cases, mabye there's something better out there. Also I there are a few cards that could make it into the deck, but I am not sure if they are good enough. Mabye someone has some experiences with them. Those would be Mana Reflection which sounds awesome, but it could be overkill. Krosan Grip could be added or replace Creeping Mold. Mold does destroy lands though, so I am not sure. Fetchlands for more landfall could be good. Then there are Storm Cauldron and Cloudstone Curio which look good, but could be bad (great explanation here).

Ideas? Critizisms? Opinions? I'll take em all!

[puppektion]

Well, I've been playing Azusa as a general since 2007. The more I played, themore the deck evolved into combo. I try not to play the deck too often now, as the last turn usually takes 5-15 minutes, but it's still a blast to pilot.

// General
Azusa, Lost but Seeking

// Land

Tectonic Edge
Slippery Karst
Wasteland
Strip Mine
Tranquil Thicket
Ghost Quarter
Dust Bowl
Dark Depths
Forest (x54)

// Draw
Seer's Sundial
Mind's Eye
Horn of Greed
Recycle
Tower of Fortunes
Credit Voucher
Magus of the Library
Sensei's Divining Top
Harmonize
Nantuko Cultivator
Abundance

// Reccursion
Nostalgic Dreams
Woodland Guidance
Elven Cache
Restock
Recollect
Nature's Spiral
Eternal Witness
Revive
Regrowth
Holistic Wisdom
Crucible of Worlds

// The Kill
Wurmcalling
Beacon of Creation
Goblin Cannon
Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer
Hunting Pack
Unyaro Bees

// Extra Azusa-like effects
Explore
Rites of Flourishing
Oracle of Mul Daya

// Untap Effects
Seedborn Muse
Early Harvest
Rude Awakening

// Misc.
Solemn Simulacrum
Seedborn Muse
Plow Under
Concordant Crossroads

As mentioned above, this deck pilots more like a combo deck. Generally, you can safely sit back for a few turns, until you have a decent chunk of lands. By cycling through Early Harvest/Rude Awakening through Regrowth effects, you can generate a decent ammount of mana and/or a decent storm count.

I'm kinda tired and not really sure what else to say right now, but the deck handles fairly well, and I haven't really had any real complaints about it.

Thoughts?

[MPL]

More or less a question for everyone who is interested in Azusa: What do you think about lands that produce 2 mana, but have a drawback? Like Ancient Tomb or Hickory Woodlot. Is the possibility of getting a turn 2 Azusa worth the downsides?