Cut Treasure Cruise for Dig Through Time . it seems stupid but Dig Through Time gets you the cards you actually need. No idea about Nyx-Fleece Ram though. he's a large blocker but may be weak depending on what the standard meta sifts out to be.

I was considering Dig Through Time . I actually own all the card draw in this deck, and that's the only reason I hadn't included it. I'm planning on picking up some boosters today, so if I draw one, I'll add it. Thanks!

More Treasure Cruise 's your graveyard will be full of instants, those should go out really cheap!

I will think about it. The issue I foresee with that would be greater likelihood of drawing it early and having it sit in your hand for a while. I may add one. Another problem could be that Jace's ultimate (I know we aren't supposed to make decisions based on that, but with all the control, you can potentially reach it) doesn't affect the exiled instants that I wouldn't mind using again.

I would definitely make room for Perilous Vault somewhere.

Thanks ZBRMusic.Should I take out a Jace for it, or potentially a Banishing Light since it's removal isn't permanent?

Thank you for checking out my deck and I think that I will probably add a Prognostic Sphinx in order to diversify threats! I highly recommend that you run at least 3 Dig Through Time ! I also think that Disdainful Stroke is a better main deck counter than Negate .

Thanks, man! I might try it with two MB Disdainful Stroke this Friday if I finish the deck by then. I agree on Dig Through Time , but I just can't afford it unless I'm lucky enough to draw it after a win or two at FNM. Thanks for the advice, GhostAcid.

Also, If you want to run that many counters then your card draw needs to be instant, more reason to run Dig Through Time and maybe Jace's Ingenuity

Jace's Ingenuity wouldn't be bad. Price-wise, at least. I really need to trade for Dig Through Time , but it's so hot right now, it'll be hard to get.

You need more Digs/Cruise. Also look into Reprisal for your sideboard instead of Pillar of Light .

Divination over Weave Fate ?

Thanks for the suggestions aiee6.

I took Divination out for Weave Fate because Divination is sorcery speed. The question then becomes is it better to go up one mana and run 4 Jace's Ingenuity. I do not like Divination in this deck because tapping usually lets them get something on the board, which is bad for me.

As for Dig Through Time, two has been sufficient for me, and I'd rather have some graveyard space for the rare occasion on which I ult Jace, the Living Guildpact (it does happen). Not to mention, I'm trying to save a little bit of money. Treasure Cruise is more accessible, but the graveyard still takes a hit.

What do you think about putting Daxos of Meletis in the sideboard to speed things up and act like the azorius Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver?

Hi, buildingadeck. I love playing control and I thought I'd give you a few suggestions to improve your deck.

First of all, the manabase. Whether you're using the Evolving Wilds and 1-of Temple of Enlightenment to reduce self damage and increase speed, or just because you don't have the other lands, I can still definitely recommend 4 of both Flooded Strand and Temple of Enlightenment. These are really useful since you can fetch necessary mana colors that come in untapped with Flooded Strand and scry down stuff you don't need with Temple of Enlightenment which is really helpful since a control deck needs to have as many relevant answers as possible at all points of the game. In addition, because you are playing only 2 colors, you have pretty good mana fixing and can afford to play a few Radiant Fountain. This card is great because, while it technically hinders your mana fixing, it can easily offset both the damage from Flooded Strand and the damage taken in the early-mid game from faster decks. I play 4 in my Azorius control and I never have problems getting my early mana fix and then dropping at least one to put me ahead of the aggro game. These combined with Tranquil Cove are really useful for creating a huge life gap for your opponent to jump over while you set up for a big boom or that sweet Elspeth, Sun's Champion.

Next is the control spells. I heavily suggest no less than 4 Dig Through Time, it is truly the most epic draw spell you can play right now. The delving cost might make it seem like you'll never be able to cast it, but with all the 1-for-1 spells and fetch lands your graveyard gets big pretty fast and once you've casted the first Dig, you're probably getting close to being able to hardcast it. I noticed you didn't want to be exiling too many cards due to Jace, the Living Guildpact's ult, but like I said before, you can pretty much hardcast it after the first Dig, depending on when you draw it in the first place. I'd replace the 2 Weave Fate for the extra digs. Weave is nice since it is instant speed, but doesn't give nearly as much value as Dig, and Jace's Ingenuity is almost always more valuable as well, so if you can't afford to get more Digs, Jace's Ingenuity and Treasure Cruise are the way to go.

Your win spells are pretty solid right now, I'll suggest a possible third Elspeth, just because drawing more of her is usually pretty nice, and Pearl Lake Ancient as a win condition. PLA is definitely this standard's AEtherling. He's more expensive, but does pretty much everything Aetherling did but a little differently. He can't be countered, and he can be bounced back to your hand, albeit at a steep price of 3 of your lands as well. This effect kinda prevents you from dropping PLA as soon as possible because you'll be really behind if you have to immediately bounce him. However, if you do have to bounce him, you can bounce temples, gainlands, and radiant fountains in order to get additional value out of them. He doesn't have the unblockable effect, but he has prowess and can do more damage than Aetherling without sacrificing toughness and possibly forcing you to bounce it.

As for sideboard, I noticed you looking at Daxos of Meletis to act as an Ashiok. I haven't done any kind of testing with him in this deck yet, so I can't say you should/shouldn't run it. However, I can recommend a different three drop in Brimaz, King of Oreskos. He's pretty freaking expensive, but he's one of the most table flipping drops you can play against a control deck who just sided out a bunch of removal or an aggro deck that you can swing and block against. In addition, you can use Brimaz and his tokens to convoke Devouring Light, which makes him even better vs. aggro and even midrange sometimes. Honestly I kind of like the Daxos idea, and maybe I'll try him in my own sideboard this Friday for FNM. Maybe running them together in the sideboard would be good.Also, I agree with aiee6 on the Reprisal over Pillar of Light. It is a card that is really under the radar, but I feel has some obvious strengths in a deck like Azorius that doesn't have access to cheap spot removal like black does. Two mana for "destroy target creature" against a midrange deck is just nuts, and it's in white!

I hope my comment was helpful, I spent a lot of time thinking stuff through trying to make everything clear.

EsperMage97, thank you very much for the feedback. For some reason, I thought Pillar of Light was a 2-mana cost card. Reprisal is much better at 2.

The rest of your suggestions are good, as well. Though out of my original price range, I am considering bumping up the cost of this deck because I'm mostly running my mono-blue now at FNM's after the poor performance at Game Day. If I can get those cards, this deck could be back on the list for games aside from 2HG. Thanks, man!

No problem, buildingadeck, glad I could help. Hopefully once you can get some changes done with your increased budget your deck will start doing a lot better.