MTG: Top Five EDH – Azorius (UW) Commanders
Not to get political, but…well, these colors tend to get political. Let’s talk Azorius (Blue/White) Commanders.
Welcome Planeswalkers and Praetors to our ongoing series about the best casual experience in Magic: Commander. For the uninitiated, Commander is a semi-casual format for Magic: the Gathering, where you use a deck of 100 cards led by a legendary creature, your Commander.
Aside from basic lands, you are only allowed one copy of each card in the deck. Moreover, you can only include cards in your Commander’s “color identity” or artifacts. Each color and color combo has a unique playstyle and a wealth of mighty generals to lead your deck to victory. EDHRec.com is a great source for Commander info and can give you ideas to build your next Commander deck or tune an existing one.
Azorius, the combination of Blue and White mana, is a pretty oppressive choice. Using the two most controlling colors, Azorius Commanders can shut down an entire game. A match that should last an hour or so could last 5 or 6. That’s not to say they aren’t fun to pilot; they just aren’t fun for everyone else at the table. If you show up with any of these Commanders, get ready to get targeted.
Shorikai, Genesis Engine
While not the most control focused of Azorius leads, Shorikai has the distinction of being the Gundam Commander. Not only is he a massive vehicle, meaning he can dodge board wipes, but he’s a counter AND draw engine. Blue loves to draw cards, and White loves its tiny tokens, so Shorikai finds the happy medium and gives you both. Even better, the creatures he creates help your other Vehicles turn into wrecking balls. If you want a mech army with a little color, this is the lead for you.
Brago, King Eternal
Blink is a common theme in Azorius, and it can get out of control fairly quickly. With all the ETB effects in these two colors, you can draw, destroy, or shut down multiple targets with each hit. Brago lets you do all that fun stuff multiple times and then keep doing it. Adding in some ETB doublers like Elesh Norn or Gandalf will help you get the most out of him.
Millicent, Restless Revenant
Typal isn’t common in Blue and White, but Millicent is far from common. She gets cheaper the more Spirits you have, and whenever a nontoken Spirit damages your opponent OR dies, you get a 1/1 white Spirit. Since all the tokens can fly (as can most other Spirits), your opponent will be dealing with an air force unlike any they’ve seen in no time. Just watch out for board wipes.
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
The king of the hatebears, Augustin is one of the most hated commanders out there, and for good reason. Even the simple one he reduces from your costs and adds to your opponent’s is enough to make him a major problem. Combined with ANYTHING that adds tax or limits playability makes him extremely oppressive, and while I don’t say this often, facing off with him takes a lot of the fun out of the game.
Ranar the Ever-Watchful
Like Millicent, Ranar is in an interesting niche for the Azorius colors. He’s a flying 2/3 with vigilance, which is already pretty great, but he also boosts your foretell cards. These allow you to chamber powerful spells and creatures, usually for a lower cost, to fire off when needed. Even better, whenever you foretell a card or blink one of your permanents, you get a flying Spirit. Before long, just like Millicent, you’ll have a ghost army that would make the King Under the Mountain blush.
