Thanks for the suggestions. I do like the New Prahv Guildmage and Skymark Roc , i just dont have any yet. I will work on getting a couple of each. I also agree with the Azorius Justiciar with the card:Conjurer's Closet, but again I dont have any yet. I will rework the list and see how it looks. Thanks again.

I would suggest that you read this

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/rc/188

and switch the archons for 2 more land.

Idea link I started with 8 land fetchers....

Thanks for the suggestion and the links. I decided to drop 1 Isperia, Supreme Judge instead of the Archon of the Triumvirate . If the deck runs as planned I wouldnt be getting attcked very often to benefit from her card draw, where as the archon adds to the detain theme. I also added 3 more lands.

Made some changes to the list (update3) after thinking about the deck all night at work. Im considering dropping the Lyev Skyknight s for Emancipation Angel or Restoration Angel . Its less detain but a stronger body and it allows me to bounce something if needed. Would it be worth it?

I like your reasoning for Restoration Angel over Emancipation Angel , but after looking through my cards it seems I only have 1 Restoration Angel . And with Emancipation Angel I can bounce my bomb before a Supreme Verdict or bounce a Detention Sphere for a better target, or even bounce a tapped land and replay it if I really need an extra mana.

Also I removed 1 land. After playtesting I found i was drawing too many lands, not enough anything else

Is a standard constructed competitive deck? Its always good to give commentors an idea of what the deck will be used for. If it is, then I think acquiring and playing 2-4 Azorius Charm s in the mainboard will vastly improve the deck.

I would take out green. It's not worth it to stretch and complicate you mana base for such an unimpressive card as Axebane Guardian is just not worth it. If you want ramp, Azorius Keyrune is another on-color option that will fit better in this deck and ease your mana base.

Ive tried the keyrune and its painfully slow compared to the guardian. Ive played close to 20 games now and I havent had a single mana problem. Not saying I wont ever, but with having 4 of the six sources of green mana also give me access to my other colors hasnt hurt me. Also the guardians give me early defense while I draw through my deck and find my bombs.

On the plus side i do like that the keyrune turns into a 2/2 flier at will. Very nice after a board wipe. I may try them again after I make a few more changes. I do like the charm. Right now I only have 1 but Im working on getting a full playset. They will be added when I get them. Right now this deck is only being made with cards I have in hand

@kabrazell I think you jinxed me.. lol. Since your post ive had many mana issues. As minor as they were they still set me back a turn or 2. So Im gonna give the keyrunes a second go. Anything else you think should be changed? Trying to get this deck to at least FNM competitive with cards I have. My card budget is extremely limited.

I think Dissipate is going to be a more versatile counterspell than Negate . If you actually have the Augur of Bolas as you listed in the maybeboad, I would run some number of those. I would not run Emancipation Angel (just doesnt do much). Lyev Skyknight might be a better 3-drop.

I'll try to give more advice when I have the time. You can email me at kabrazell_at_gmail.com if you have any specific questions!

I had Dissipate and the skynight in the deck before. Both underperfomed. Negate has been great, but I'm thinking about adding a couple Dissipate s back in. I put in the Emancipation Angel because it allows me to reset the Detention Sphere s. I've slowly been cutting the number down. I do have the Augur of Bolas , they have been in the maybeboard do to the low number of instants and sorceries. That number has gone up a little. If it goes up more I will definitely add them in. Thanks for your time and suggestions. I will be in contact as this deck progresses

If Negate is working well then by all means run it. Syncopate is another option here. The advantage of the other choices are that they a) hit creatures and b) exile cards with graveyard effects such as Gravecrawler and Sever the Bloodline . I wouldn't be surprised if some number of Negate s is correct, but I would be surprised that 4 Negate s was correct.

Your justification for emancipation angel seems very dependent. In order for the card to be good, you have to A) have a permanent on the battlefield that you want to pick up B) have Emancipation Angel in hand, and C) have enough time to pick up and recast the permanent without losing the game. While I may be mistaken i think a majority of the time you won't want to pick up a Detention Sphere because, unless it exiled a token, whatever is under it will come back.

It's not that Emancipation Angel is bad, it's just that you just don't have the time to mess around with these sorts of things against strong constructed decks.

Your points are valid and well taken. I was thinking last night at work that I may try 4x Dissipate and 2x Negate , or a 3/3 split. The Emancipation Angel is situational. I usually use it to reset a sphere after taking out a token army or an early threat in trade for a bigger threat, but as you stated time is an issue. I was thinking about cutting the angels and sideboarding the Martial Law in favor of some more agressive drops like Silverblade Paladin . The deck is slow, very slow. Even with the card draw I seem to have many wasted turns of draw play a land or key then pass.

What are your thoughts on moving the deck away from the control to a more agressive deck backed by some control? Also any sideboard suggestions. Im new to competitive play and have no clue what the metagame is here. I value any and all suggestions and criticism.

I was actually thinking about this last night and thought Favorable Winds might be really sweet in this deck.

hmm I'll have to see if i have any of those

Tried Favorable Winds , it was ok. Still not enough kick. Talked with some friends and got some cards I desperately needed (2x Restoration Angel ). Went back to the old card list. Tested, tweaked some stuff. This is whats been working, and working fairly well. How do you think it looks now?

I still think Favorable Winds + Midnight Haunting is a good direction for this deck.

Hello Replayced, I saw on my board that you had asked me to help you with this deck. First of all, I'm not entirely sold on your win cons (which I'm guessing are Archon of the Triumvirate and Isperia, Supreme Judge ). Other options which I think would perform better are Entreat the Angels (much better against spot removal), Angel of Serenity (some great synergy with your blinking), and Geist of Saint Traft (great in anything azorius), which I understand are somewhat pricey, but that's because they're the best there is. Of these, I think Angel of Serenity is going to be you best choice. The reason for this is that you can target something like your Azorius Justiciar with her, then Cloudshift her, which would effectively blink the Azorius Justiciar so you can use its ability again, as well as retargeting enemy threats.

Also, I would definitely Mainboard 2-3 Azorius Charm just because it can be used for so many things. If you can get them, Snapcaster Mage s are also very nice.

Things you should probably take out are the Azorius Arrester and the Evolving Wilds . I think Feeling of Dread would replace the arrester very well and more guildgates over the wilds (dual lands are always best, but they're pretty expensive).

So here's my overall idea:

-3 Archon of the Triumvirate , -2 Isperia, Supreme Judge , -4 Azorius Arrester , -1 Oblivion Ring , -1 Martial Law , +3 Angel of Serenity , +1 Entreat the Angels ,+2 Feeling of Dread , +2 Azorius Charm , +2 Snapcaster Mage

This is by no means what the final iteration of the deck should like, but merely a good start to put this deck on the right track. Also, understand that the things I have written above are just my opinion. If there is/are card(s) that you love in this deck, feel free to keep them there. I will be doing some playtesting against this deck so I can get a better feel for how it performs. Have fun with your deck! =)

Thanks for the suggestions. I like your choices, and may be able to get my hands on most of them. But seeing your choices really puts the final nail in the detain decks coffin. As much as I love using the Archon of the Triumvirate , its very rare i can get him on the board. I'll rework the list when I get the cards you listed and see where we can go from there

I used to have a detain deck too, and playsets of the Arrester and the Skyknight are very important. They are probably the best detain creatures. I would also move inaction injunction up to a playset, detaining a creature and drawing a card is very good. Get another detention sphere if you can, those are very good. I am not a big fan of the archon as it costs a bunch of mana but if it works well keep it in. I might take out the negates and essence scatter and move those to sideboard. Opportunity might not be great here but again if it works for you keep it in.

Btw cool deck +1 :P

I'd definitely pull the Archons. Maybe add Aqueous Form to smooth out drops and allow for damage when you can't detain all the blockers? I'd also run New Prahv Guildmage , but that may not be worth it.

Thanks for the +1. Whenever the Archon sticks I win. Im not against pulling him, I just dont have anything better atm. I'll change things up as you suggest and playtest, if it runs better that way I will make changes to the list. Thanks for taking a look.

Lavinia of the Tenth should be considered for this deck. At the very least in the sideboard for that r/g midrange match up and maybe a Planar Cleansing or two. Syncopate also, as a person who doesn't like this x spell it's still useful occasionally, mirror match and those pesky whip decks.

Forgot to mention Opportunity is there because I dont have Sphinx's Revelation

@raithe000 Thanks for the suggestions. Ive been on the fence about the guildmage. 5 mana for a detain is costly. I do have a couple of copies so i will give him a chance in playtests. Sadly the only card from Theros that I own is currently in the deck. Again I will playtest with it and if its worth it I will try to trade for some.

Im not sure if I have any of the cards you suggested gufymike. I will take a look and see what i can find. I will definitely add Lavnia to the SB, maybe as a 2 of?