Untapped Potential - Dragonlord Ojutai

Commander / EDH WU (Azorius)

redace10

Land (36)

• 1x Academy Ruins
• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Inventors' Fair
• 1x Irrigated Farmland
• 8x Island
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Minamo, School at Water's Edge
• 1x Mishra's Factory
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Mystic Gate
• 1x Nimbus Maze
• 6x Plains
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Prairie Stream
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Temple of Enlightenment
• 1x Windswept Heath

Sorcery (7)

• 1x Approach of the Second Sun
• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Savor the Moment
• 1x Steelshaper's Gift
• 1x Supreme Verdict
• 1x Tragic Arrogance

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Tezzeret the Seeker

Artifact (21)

• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Batterskull
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Darksteel Plate
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Fireshrieker
• 1x Hammer of Nazahn
• 1x Haunted Cloak
• 1x Mirage Mirror
• 1x Ring of Thune
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Sword of Fire and Ice
• 1x Sword of Vengeance
• 1x Talisman of Progress
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Thran Dynamo
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble

Creature (14)

• 1x Hanna, Ship's Navigator
• 1x Heliod, God of the Sun
• 1x Medomai the Ageless
• 1x Monastery Mentor
• 1x Puresteel Paladin
• 1x Snapcaster Mage
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Spellseeker
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Taigam, Ojutai Master
• 1x Thassa, God of the Sea
• 1x Torrential Gearhulk
• 1x Trophy Mage

Commander (1)

Instant (15)

• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Cryptic Command
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Disallow
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Impulse
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Pact of Negation
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Sphinx's Revelation
• 1x Stubborn Denial
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Duelist's Heritage
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Search for Azcanta  ^Flip

---

Much love to Robin Kaas of EDHrec for an insightful and well-written article about Dragonlord Ojutai, spotlighting my deck. Thank you Robin!

My all-time favorite Azorius Commander, Dragonlord Ojutai leads a Voltron-themed deck designed to control the battlefield whilst swinging in for Blackjack.

I've chosen an equipment theme for several reasons. The foremost being that I won't lose any voltron piece when it gets unattached from Ojutai if he should get removed from the battlefield. The second prominent reason is that I have great equipment that have powerful effects to enable the volron strategy.

Now I'll go into more detail about this deck, but as I tend to be a wordy writer, we'll make it easier on the eyes.

Overall Strategy

Turns 1-4 are dedicated to getting ready for Ojutai to arrive on the field. Turn 4 casting Ojutai is ideal but, if a mana rock doesn't turn up then searching for and playing the right set up pieces is the play. Powerful equipment is my preference, control pieces like Taigam, Ojutai or Grand Abolisher are pretty good too.

Haunted Cloak is usually the first equipment I go for, Ojutai is all over those 3 keywords. The Hammer of Nazahn is also pretty good. I'm a sucker for that Indestructible keyword. Combined with Hexproof, my opponents possible answers are thinned dramatically.

Mid-to-late game is spent using timely counters and control cards to manipulate the battlefield and stop opponents from stopping me. Generally I find myself angling to deal 21 Ojutai damage to the most prominent threat rather than board wipe/counter/remove, but this deck has those options since UW is loaded with fantastic control spells.

Approach of the Second Sun is the decks secondary Win-Con. It helps that Ojutai himself digs. The deck in general just digs fairly deep into the library, and its nice to have a back win condition if Voltron damage is out of reach.

A Vigilant Soul

There are several ways to make Ojutai vigilant, the previously mentioned Haunted Cloak is probably my favorite. Being the aggressor happens quickly when the cloak is on the field. Ring of Thune does the job too, along with Sword of Vengeance.

While there are equipment pieces that offer what Ojutai wants, a little diversity is always nice. Heliod, God of the Sun adds another enchantment to the mix. Really, Heliod is probably the best way to give vigilance. Difficult to get rid of, he's an underrated card in this deck, and is one the best answers to Grave Pact effects outside of countering/removal. Vow of Duty is a wonderful piece that can either help voltron or control creatures, depending on need.

Minamo, School at Water's Edge is a land that also gives what Ojutai wants. Its easily the best land in this deck, and the main reason to run Expedition Map (but of course that's not always what I grab).

Having those enablers is good, having ways to find them is just as crucial in EDH. Enlightened Tutor is the surest slam dunk in this deck. It and Steelshaper's Gift are my favorite 1 mana cards to have in hand. Trophy Mage is a versatile search piece that not only gets a host of things I could want, but also is a body to either chump block or equip vacant voltron pieces to. Stoneforge Mystic needs no introduction, whilst Inventors' Fair is both a land and a decent mid-to-late game search.

A Metallic Heart

Maintaining Hexproof is the soul of the deck, but realisticly I can't expect to elminate opponents when it takes 5 swings to do it. The power of the deck is ultimately derived by upping the ante with equipment.

Getting to 7 power turns the deathclock of the deck up to 3 turns. This is when the 3 different Swords and Thune's Ring can shine. If the pieces start stacking, or if Batterskull enters the fray, 2 turns of time can seem awfully short. If Fireshrieker gets in on the action, its game over for my biggest threat, and I get way ahead on card advantage . Having double strike means Ojutai basically gives me a free Dig Through Time each of my turns!

Duelist's Heritage is a pet favorite card of mine. A very political card, it can be an excellent bargaining tool, as well a really good buff for Ojutai.

A Willful Mind

This wouldn't be a proper Voltron deck without a suite of control spells, and UW doesn't fail in that regard.

I was lucky to crack Mana Drain from an Iconic Masters pack. Its power is hard to understate. That card sets the tone of the level of power this deck can bring to bear. Every counter in the deck is powerful, from the iconic Cryptic Command to the undervalued Arcane Denial. Really, the way the deck plays my opponents shouldn't feel safe if I have even a single mana open(looking at you, Stubborn Denial).

The staple removal spells like Path to Exile, Austere Command, and Return to Dust do good work, there a few suprise cards here too. Reality Shift is a card that should see far more play. A hard exile for 2 mana, I have played many games where the manifest effect acts like removal too, as truckloads of different cards can get stuck on the field as a face down creature.

As a Voltron deck, my turn is of paramount importance (really, most any deck should feel that way). Grand Abolisher and Taigam, Ojutai Master ensure my commander won't be countered (among a lot of other spells). 6 counters are utilized in this deck as well. I feel that's a decent number, not too low as too never draw them but not so high as to have the deck stall.

Other Notable Inclusions

Hanna, Ship's Navigator and Sun Titan are the two main recursion pieces of this deck. Green and Black sure do got it easy, these are basically as cheap/reliable as it gets. Buried Ruin and Academy Ruins also do the job, but generally not as good as the former two.

Mirage Mirror is one of the most flexible cards in all of EDH. I love that I can search it out with Trophy Mage among others, and it recurs under Sun Titan too. Rarely am I ever dissapointed drawing this card, it makes itself into the best permanent on the board at will. Virtually any deck in EDH can benefit from it.

Savor the Moment is a sweet extra turn spell that few other decks could even consider running. Even if it just turns into an extra combat phase, its value is solid gold in this deck. I have no idea why I don't see this card in other Ojutai decks.

Notable Exclusions

Mana Crypt, Chrome Mox, Mox Opal, and Tundra are expensive cards I just don't have.

Auras are not used at all here. To be frank I looked at the handful of vigilance auras out there, they're all fairly terrible. Other auras that are good, equipment pieces can either do just as well or better, most of the time.

Grand Arbiter Augustin IV What a mean card. Its ramp, which Azorius colors should be all over, but it draws a lot of hate, for good reason. In the end I feel it just doesn't help win enough to justify running it.

Time Warp, Time Stretch, etc. I really have come to dislike playing with/against those spells, feels either real cheap to abuse or amounts to not a whole lot of anything and wastes everyone's time. Savor the Moment is different, very different. That card is impossible for the vast majority of EDH decks to utilize, it's unique in an almost exclusive way for Ojutai to use.

Land Destruction spells. Seems real simple to just get Ojutai out and get rid of everyone's resources to win. Then you realize you'll get hated on to the extreme every proceeding game you play. And it's just about the meanest way to play magic. Pass.

Possible Inclusions

Several cards I am considering, but can't find room for. If anyone agrees with these I'd like to here what to slot in for.

Strionic Resonator: I mentioned previously how double strike gives Ojutai what is essentially a free Dig Through Time each of my combat phases. Well, this card does that for 2 mana, as well as working with several other cards in the deck. The issue? Its a win more kind of card, and a relatively narrow one at that. I don't abuse triggers in this deck outside of double strike. My last hang up - what is it better than that deserves to be taken out? Mirage Mirror? Fat chance.

Swan Song, Counterspell, Rewind, and like 3-5 other counters: Countering is as controlling as can be, and I hear UW likes to control, voltron decks even more so. I do have reservations.

Swan song does cost just one mana, which considered alone is really quite amazing. However, it is a relatively narrow counter. And I also really don't like handing my opponent a flying chump blocker. Not being an answer at all to creatures(like commanders), or artifacts(hey Paradox Engine), or planeswalkers(decks that run them really want them) is troubling to me. Stubborn Denial is in my mind a better card in this deck. But redudancy...? It's a tough call, but right now it doesn't make the cut.

Counters in general are not my cup of tea unless they gain modular value(Cryptic Command) or offers some sort additional value somehow(arcane denial replaces itself, disallow has the rare talent of stopping abilities). Countering only stops one spell from one opponent. It can work at times of need but if that's all your deck can do you're gonna run into the fact that... you're facing three opponents, a combined field with triple the resources you have. You can only have so many cards in hand and lands to tap.

And of course, which part of my deck do I prune to make space for these counters? This card list is tight, suggestions would be great.

Arcane Lighthouse, Homeward Path, Scavenger Grounds, Rogue's Passage: I have an unhealthy love of utility lands. All four of those lands can for sure be useful in my meta. The big issue - my land list is as close to perfect as I can make it, you'll notice my pie graph for mana is closely aligned.

So what do I do? Take out basic lands? That would be a really tough pill to swallow to go down to a low 12 or (gulp)10 basic lands. Colored mana is precious to control decks, that's why Chromatic Lantern is a great card(that and no access to green for land sculpting).

Rogue's passage in particular was a difficult cut. I mean, I win by commander damage, shouldn't I want this? The issue - it's tapping five lands. That's a lot to spend on my turn. Thassa, God of the Sea also scoffs at such a cost. I understand redundancy is good, but I have pro-color pieces and removal/countering that do the job pretty well. More importantly, what do I take out for it? Please don't say basic lands.

What other nonbasics should I take out then? I can't justify a single one, I need them all. So they stay on the sideline, unless some opinionated reader has some insight...

Thanks a lot for reading, any comments/suggestions are most welcome. No commander deck is ever truly finished.

Date added	7 years
Last updated	2 years
Exclude colors	BRG
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 0 Mythic Rares 41 - 0 Rares 23 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.89
Tokens	Enchantment Cleric 2/1 W, Manifest 2/2 C, Monk 1/1 W, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B
Folders	Commanders, Commander, Decks, favorite