Azami Lady of Things and Stuff

[kaosjr]

Just started playing EDH again and I built azami. Just curious about other peoples ideas and looking forward to bouncing things off of you guys. Here's the list:

Commander:
1 Azami, Lady of Scrolls

Creatures:
1 Deranged Assistant
1 Ertai, Wizard Adept
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Laboratory Maniac
1 Lighthouse Chronologist
1 Magus of the Future
1 Martyr of Frost
1 Memnarch
1 Palinchron
1 Patron Wizard
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Sea Scryer
1 Sigil Tracer
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Stonybrook Banneret
1 Surgespanner
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Temporal Adept
1 Trinket Mage
1 Vedalken Aethermage
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Voidmage Prodigy
1 Willbender

Artifacts
1 Caged Sun
1 Chrome Mox
1 Expedition Map
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Meekstone
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Sapphire Medallion
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring

Spells
1 All Is Dust
1 Arcane Denial
1 Capsize
1 Commandeer
1 Counterspell
1 Cryptic Command
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Negate
1 Foil
1 Forbid
1 Force of Will
1 High Tide
1 Hinder
1 Long-Term Plans
1 Mana Drain
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Misdirection
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Pact of Negation
1 Sage's Dousing
1 Spell Crumple
1 Swan Song
1 Time Stretch

Enchantments
1 Future Sight
1 Mind over Matter
1 Treachery

Lands
1 Academy Ruins
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Cavern of Souls
27 Island
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Mutavault
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolaria West

[Davran]

Do you really need the mana dorks (Deranged Assistant and Sea Scryer)? I tend to find that things like Wayfarer's Bauble and Darksteel Ingot work out better in the log run as they are less likely to die to a random wrath effect.

[kaosjr]

Do you really need the mana dorks (Deranged Assistant and Sea Scryer)? I tend to find that things like Wayfarer's Bauble and Darksteel Ingot work out better in the log run as they are less likely to die to a random wrath effect.

I think mana dorks that are also wizards are better in this deck. I'm usually countering wraths past turn 4 anyway. Though to be fair I havnt tried the other options.

[Ace/Homebrew]

Context please! Is this primarily 1v1? Pods up to 4? Are you having any issues?
List looks like an Azami list.

I agree with Davran's sentiments, but not his solutions. How much are the dorks used as ramp? I suspect they are just wizards that draw a card when Azami is out and otherwise fit on a mana curve in a spot you were deficient in. If that is the case, I'd replace them with other wizards (like Hapless Researcher).

In most situations, isn't Bribery > Treachery?

[Offler]

Hmm. This deck uses traditional ways (eg. Palinchron + Phantasmal image).

I think that this should work better in 1v1 (a lot of hard counters for 0 mana), and it wants to be competetive. Quite typical list for an Azami based deck. I see some updates (Nykthos), but rest is quite typical...

No Counterbalance?
Anyway this is my complete list to same topic: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...age-of-Zhalfir
Different commander, but its still mainly "Azami" deck. In my case I used less counterspells, and made stronger interactions (check non-basic lands).

to Ace/Homebrew
I believe that main reason to utilize "mana dorks" is to cast Azami ASAP, and later reuse manasource to draw cards. I also considered Sea Scryer and tested Deranged Assistant in the past. Due my meta, its not viable to utilize them - they will not survive.

[FTW]

I find you don't need THAT many Wizards for the deck to work, since creature mass removal is rampant and it gets degenerate after drawing 3+ cards a turn with counterspell backup anyway.

Small nitpick, but have you ever gotten both Meekstone and Caged Sun out and regretted it? Can get awkward situations where you can't tap half your wizards for Patron Wizard or Azami.

Since the deck engine is vulnerable to creature removal, I tend to run non-creature-based win conditions for variety. For example, SDT+Future Sight+Helm+Brain Freeze and/or Grim Monolith+Power Artifact+USZ. Although if you are playing mostly big games (e.g. > 4 player), then Lab Man is definitely an easier killswitch.

[Ace/Homebrew]

to Ace/Homebrew
I believe that main reason to utilize "mana dorks" is to cast Azami ASAP, and later reuse manasource to draw cards.

Makes sense!