Nissa, Worldwaker, Exploration

Thanks TheHelvault.

Yeah I think Exploration is a good addition. Not sure that I have an easy spot for Nissa, Worldwaker though. I think her value would go up if I had a few forest enchantments, which just isn't the way this deck has gone so far.

Also, if your playgroup really doesn't care, Fastbond is a great addition. The only problem is that it's banned In EDH

Referring to your description. As fun as Primal Surge is, its not fun to spend that much mana on a card and end up with 1-2 permanents. I think Genesis Wave is much more consistent. Crucible of Worlds is really good and since you have it you should play more fetches. You can get so many Landfall triggers in one turn because of it. It also goes really well with Titania, Protector of Argoth which I would recommend picking up.

Boundless Realms

Vernal Bloom

Chord of Calling

Rites of Flourishing

Sol Ring

Omnath, Locus of Mana

Thanks Mandalorian and TheHelvault.

@TheHelvault - My group probably wouldn't care all that much if I played Fastbond, though I've pointed out to a friend some EDH banned cards such as Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Primeval Titan, and Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary. He was constructing a green deck at that time, and he omitted those cards based on the banned designation. For now I'll play by the rules to avoid hypocrisy (otherwise all three of what I listed in addition to Fastbond would definitely find spots in this deck.

@Mandalorian - Ultimately I agree with Primal Surge. I can either cut the sorcery/instant counts or part with Surge. Cutting just isn't going to work when I'm not willing to get rid of any instant/sorcery other than the land ramp/fetches (Cultivate, Seek the Horizon, etc.). This would then prompt a higher land count, but leave me with still too many non-permanents to justify Surge's use.

I'm not really fond of Sol Ring with this commander. Unless the dream opening of Sol Ring + Exploration is there, it's only getting Azusa out one turn earlier. Every time it's drawn thereafter, it's value is quite poor. The same isn't necessarily true for Exploration as it can pair with Crucible of Worlds and any sac-land; Oracle of Mul Daya; Courser of Kruphix; Horn of Greed; Recycle etc., and Green Sun's Zenith + Dryad Arbor can achieve the same result that Sol Ring can, while GSZ still maintains its value if it isn't present in the opening hand. Despite all of that, is Sol Ring still viable for Azusa and this deck?

I don't have a good reason why Titania, Protector of Argoth isn't in this deck, though her value is diminished without the complete sac-land portfolio. She's pretty cheap too, so I might as well experiment with/sideboard her.

Boundless Realms seems quite good. I'll try to fit it in. Seems like an alternate win-condition if Avenger of Zendikar or Rampaging Baloths is out on the board with Akroma's Memorial/Concordant Crossroads in play. Can also fuel a huge Genesis Wave.

I don't like Rites of Flourishing as I feel it diminishes the edge we have in ramping. Our base 3L/turn:1L/turn would diminish to 4L:2L. I believe the only global effect we have for ramp/draw is Horn of Greed, which has more value for us the higher this ratio is.

Chord of Calling is probably decent enough to consider adding. I don't have many low cost creatures/tokens to fuel this, though maybe the raw fetch power is good enough in the EDH format.

I'm indifferent to Vernal Bloom and Omnath, Locus of Mana at this time. They both have clear synergy with the deck as is, though we'll see if there's room after some of the above-mentioned adjustments are made.

Sol Ring is always good, all the time, especially since you are running the Eldrazi Titans. Your spending 1 mana to get two. Even later in the game it could literally mean hitting 2 more permanents with a Genesis wave. 9 Artifacts amongst other colorless spells is more than enough to justify the 2 for 1 colorless mana.

Boundless Realms can be back breaking with the right board state.

I understand not wanting to run a card that benefits other players even though you would benefit the most.

Chord of Calling is great because it is one of the few cards in all of magic that can get a creature out of your deck at instant speed. Most tutors, especially creature tutors like Tooth and Nail, Congregation at Dawn, Green Sun's Zenith, and, Worldly Tutor, are either sorcery speed or only set up future draws. With Avenger of Zendikar out this tutor is basically free and can put an Eldrazi Titan out at an opponents end step. One Time a friend played a sweeper that would destroy all non artifact permanents, even lands, and I used Chord of Calling to get Avacyn. Instant speed tutors that put creatures on the battlefield are always nifty.

+1 just for the name :)

Haha, thanks irisfibers. Still need to find an appropriate Jay Baruchel picture. :)

Removed Praetor's Counsel as games haven't been dragging. Also cutting land until I feel something's wrong. With plenty of fetches, adding Sol Ring, and recursion (e.g. Life from the Loam, Crucible of Worlds), it can't be that bad...right?

playing 40+ lands is still considered a lot since the standard is around 36. You will definitely be fine at 42

Mandalorian: Ah alright. We'll see how we do with 42 then.

In light of that standard, what do you think of my land count in this deck: Arbiter EDH. With all the scry, draw, rocks, and thinning, do you think that 34 is still a bit high? Keep in mind that in my play group we typically have a friendly mulligan of mulligan X cards, re-draw X cards; mulligan Y cards (2nd time), draw (Y-1) cards.

this deck is great i love ramp it is one of my favorite types to play and taking advantage of it with things like landfall is always fun as well. +1 vote

Thanks DeathShark13! Yeah this deck is a near-180 in style and strategy when compared to my Arbiter "taxing" deck. It's very fun to play a ramp engine in full effect! This has definitely become my favorite of the few decks I do play.

I've always found Azusa to be more than enough ramp. You'll always have access to her. I'd cut out all the enchantment (Exploration and Burgeoning) and sorcery (Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, etc.) based ramp completely. It's all about getting one of her draw engine's online as fast as possible (Courser of Kruphix, Horn of Greed, Crucible of Worlds+fetches, etc.). Once one or more of these are running, lands flood the battlefield. This is also why people run such a high land count, to keep the cards flowing. I run 50 in mine.

I also find mana doublers (Mana Reflection) to be a waste of a turn (You need at least 12 mana just to break even), and casting everything in my hand is almost never an issue.

Also, if you can afford it, put in more fetchlands. They are amazing with Lotus Cobra. And although it is prohibitively expensive, Gaea's Cradle is insane here. Its not hard to notice how much of a difference that card makes. The only problems that I've come across is that it might make the deck too good if thats a thing. I had to actually power my list down because it was winning too much in my play group.

Thanks for the feedback suckanumberone.

I agree that Gaea's Cradle and fetchlands belong in this deck. They're on my wishlist, but this deck is currently on a big win streak so it's hard to justify their purchase at this time. Ideally I'd also add Sylvan Library, though it's omitted for the same reason.

I see what you're saying with the enchantments, though I view Exploration and Burgeoning as alternate Sol Ring / Mana Vault "openers" which can get Azusa out one turn earlier (which has a significant impact in accelerating relative to our opponents). They can also later contribute to an existing engine such as Horn of Greed or Oracle of Mul Daya. I've had a few turns where the 3 land/turn cap limited our ability to break the game open.

I think I agree with Mana Reflection, especially since I can't "break" it with Gaea's Cradle at this time. It's great with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, or the other tap-for-2 lands, but Boundless Realms does something similar while triggering any landfall I have on the board. If it's not dropped on a T3-T5, it seems like a win-harder card. Also, there's an odd enchantment hate in this playgroup, and it's already been destroyed a few times. Vernal Bloom is probably a better alternative at this point given my forest count.

You may also have a point with the sorcery land fetches, though it's hard to modify the deck to that extent when it's been doing so well. Cultivate and its equivalents have been functioning as a source of additional landfall triggers / deck shuffling options when the top card isn't a playable land (if Oracle of Mul Daya or Courser of Kruphix are online). It's an easy swap regardless, as they'd be removed for Forests

If you like Exploration and Burgeoning for turn 2 Azusas, I'd recommend Carpet of Flowers as well. If you know you are going have consistent blue players it is amazing acceleration.

Good call. Will grab one.

Hey, it's nice to see people still play Azusa. At my place everyone stoped playing her. +1 for the Eldrazi addition (=

You play Noxious Revival, but no Regrowth. Ok it's sorcery speed, but you get the card in your hand. Crucible of Worlds + Strip Mine + Azusa is evil and I would like to see a Wasteland. The only problem it's very expensive, so Tectonic Edge is a very good alternative. Sometimes it's enough to keep people at 3 lands.

@Mr_M03: I've actually been burned by Noxious Revival not going directly to hand too... several times my opponents have forced a reshuffle or mill. That definitely needs to be swapped out for Regrowth!

I agree with Wasteland.. just the cost at this point. :). Though there's no reason Tectonic Edge can't go in immediately. Oversight by me!

Thanks!

Has anyone mentioned Oblivion Sower yet? You can get it from the Duel Deck, and the Zendikar side has alot of useful stuff as well., like Avenger of Zendikar

You have avenger; saw that coming!

@Atony1400: Nope, nobody's mentioned Oblivion Sower, and I wasn't aware of that card either. Nice stats and good synergy with landfall triggers. Could replace Stone-Seeder Hierophant or the remaining sorcery land fetches with it. Thanks!

No problem. I also think Retreat to Kazandu could be good, with you ramping up landfall triggers.

I really liking the deck and start building one for myself. I really want to add Kozilek, the Great Distortion to the deck, but I have to add one Wastes or mabye 2.

I love toolboxes and every deck I build need at least one. Azusa is all about land, so I will build some nice Realms Uncharted stacks.

Hey Mr_M03 - I haven't had any experience with Kozilek, the Great Distortion. Seems like a decent bomb to have in a green deck, though I don't know if he'd fit in this Azusa deck as there seem to be better options to fetch/cast via Birthing Pod, Survival of the Fittest, and Tooth and Nail; namely utility cards like Avenger of Zendikar, Craterhoof Behemoth, and Regal Force. In the recent twenty-something games I've played, I've only had the need to hard-cast an Eldrazi titan once or twice, and their value has come from the annihilator 4. Even Void Winnower seems to be offer more disruption than Kozilek, the Great Distortion as there's a 50% chance your opponents cannot cast a spell to begin with.

For grindy games, Kozilek, the Great Distortion seems like he'd do plenty of work, though it's of the control flavor. Typically I find it's easier to spread like cancer rather than inhibit others' play. The deck can dish enough damage to kill a 4-player table on turns 5-7 if you hit one of the draw engines. I'd rather sideboard a Tranquil Grove, City of Solitude, or Hall of Gemstone, to disrupt our opponents' play rather than run the KGD.