Knowledge is Sacred

Commander / EDH Control Enchantment Pillow Fort WU (Azorius)

CanadianShinobi

Creature (20)

• 1x Academy Rector
• 1x Angel of the Dire Hour
• 1x Archaeomancer
• 1x Archetype of Imagination
• 1x Aven Mindcensor
• 1x Azorius Guildmage
• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
• 1x Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
• 1x Hanna, Ship's Navigator
• 1x Hushwing Gryff
• 1x Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
• 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 1x Mizzium Meddler
• 1x Mulldrifter
• 1x Snapcaster Mage
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
• 1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
• 1x Venser, Shaper Savant

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Land (37)

• 1x Azorius Chancery
• 1x Blighted Cataract
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 14x Island
• 10x Plains
• 1x Prairie Stream
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Temple of Enlightenment
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Tranquil Cove
• 1x Tundra

Enchantment (12)

• 1x Frozen Aether
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Grasp of Fate
• 1x Leyline of Anticipation
• 1x Luminarch Ascension
• 1x Moat
• 1x Omniscience
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Rest in Peace
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Rule of Law
• 1x Sphere of Safety

Artifact (8)

• 1x Alhammarret's Archive
• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Bident of Thassa
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Thought Vessel

Instant (14)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dissolve
• 1x Forbid
• 1x Hindering Light
• 1x Into the Roil
• 1x Pongify
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Render Silent
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Sphinx's Revelation
• 1x Swift Silence
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Sorcery (6)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Deep Analysis
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Replenish
• 1x Supreme Verdict
• 1x Wrath of God

Commander (1)

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Maybeboard

Artifact (1)

• 1x Torpor Orb

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The Commander

Ephara, God of the Polis is a Commander that I overlooked until recently. She's deceptively powerful within a control deck. Every creature gives you a cantrip, even without many creatures in a deck you can gain plenty of value. She's resilient to removal and unlike Grand Arbiter Augustin IV won't draw you infinite hate.

The Deck

Control in Commander isn't always the easiest thing to accomplish, but I love Pillow Fort decks. With Ephara's card advantage engine it's relatively easy to always have an answer or two on hand. Indeed, this is perhaps one of the better control decks I've built for Commander and am hoping to significantly improve upon it. Since, Ephara is a God, I also decided to go with an Enchantment sub-theme since it aids the pillow fort aspect and allows for swift recovery from some of my own wraths.

The Strategy

The strategy of this deck is fairly straight forward. The primary goal of this deck is to play a political game until certain pieces can be acquired in order to lock out your opponents from harming you. Counter, wipe and eliminate any threat that can't easily be managed, but don't push too aggressively unless necessary. Timing is key here.

Once a lock has been established follow it up through winning via Eldrazi or Commander damage. However, make sure you keep mana up to prevent an opponent from disrupting you. Patience is the key here.

Locks and Other Things

The easiest way to lock down the game is Moat combined with Archetype of Imagination. It's the least fragile means of stopping an opponent, but still requires protection.

The other "lock" is simply to throw up enough enchantments and a Sphere of Safety. This is perhaps the safer option because isolating yourself is a better idea than preventing everyone from attacking. The problem is that it requires a lot of working pieces on the board and takes longer to secure.

FAQ

Q: Why are there no flicker effects?

A: Because when constructing the deck I felt that the flicker effects were getting in the way of the key elements of the deck.

Q: Why do you have a lack of creatures?

A: Mostly because Ephara, God of the Polis is a front. She's a fantastic draw engine that provides me value, but this was never a creature focused deck. My goal is to build a control deck. Control decks based on creatures and ETB effects are nice, but not something I'm particularly drawn to.

Q: Why is the deck so expensive?

A: It isn't. I play Magic via MTGO. This deck cost me around 30 dollars since I merely sold off parts of my collection.

Top Ranked	Achieved #13 position overall 8 years ago
Date added	8 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 29 - 0 Rares 29 - 0 Uncommons 6 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.68
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Ape 3/3 G, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Manifest 2/2 C, Soldier 1/1 W
Folders	Decks I like, Interesting Decks, EDH, Inspiration, Primers, Azorius, Experiments