Argeaux,
I'm the least Azorius player I know, so please take my suggestions with some healthy skepticism!

Nevertheless, here are some thoughts, in no particular order ...

• Is there any way to get Cyclonic Rift into the mainboard? That card is just so insane.
• Or maybe Terminus?
• Stifle could be good sideboard tech, against decks that can run Vexing Shusher
• Assuming your group runs more Artifact destruction than Land destruction, I'm looking at Spellbook, and wondering if Expedition Map (to fetch Reliquary Tower) might be better.

• Mind's Dialation looks like it would be awesome in EDH. It's very group-dependent recommendation though ... most people HATE cards that punish them for doing what they pretty much have to do, so it's not something I'd play in just any group. But oh, it'd be fun.

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• But since you're already running Iona, Shield of Emeria, I'm guessing it's not an issue ... if you can play that without your group letting the air out of your tires, you can probably play anything :-D

• Along those lines: True-Name Nemesis? Or Rhystic Study?
• Strionic Resonator is beauty with the Geist. I'm not sure you have enough other cards with triggered abilities to make it worth the slot, but it may be worth thinking about.
• Sunscorch Regent is a guilty pleasure of mine that might be worth a look for this deck.
• Thinking about ways to make sure Geist can attack with impunity ... Thassa, God of the Sea maybe? Or Reconnaissance for a Maze of Ith effect. Or Trailblazer's Boots, just because they're hilarious in EDH. And of course Aqueous Form.
• Speaking of Maze of Ith, don't forget it can be used (REALLY effectively IMO) as a political card too. And that you can untap the attacking creature during the End of Combat Step for a Vigilance effect.
• Fact or Fiction maybe? It's another that's great on its own and awesome as a political card.
• Not sure you need more card quality, but Sensei's Divining Top is superb.
• I'm a little surprised to not see Turn to Frog in here. Along those lines, Darksteel Mutation can be a good sideboard against some of the really annoying Commanders.
• I actually have no idea if it's as good in EDH as it is in Standard, but Reflector Mage maybe?
• Unwinding Clock might be a good way to keep Counter mana up. If you want to go that route, I'd recommend swapping some colorless-producing mana rocks for Gilded Lotus and/or Darksteel Ingot.
• Propaganda and/or Ghostly Prison?
• I'd swap a Remand in for either Broken Concentration, Dream Fracture, or Faerie Trickery. Maybe swap in a Render Silent too, just so you can say "Shut up" when you cast it :-)
• I'm not sure about Purify nor Mass Calcify ... even with your Angels, it seems they could hurt you as much as others.
• With few creatures, I'm not sure Moorland Haunt is worth it. Maybe swap for a Strip Mine or Thespian's Stage?
• Which reminds me: With many Instants and Sorceries, Talrand, Sky Summoner might be really good.
• A couple of great, though super-spendy, options: Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Snapcaster Mage.
• The deck looks a little heavy on the 8-drops. May be able to trim a couple.

Unfortunately, I ended up with lots of adds here, and not many recommendations for pulls :-(

Good luck (and good skill!) on the build!

clayperce I should have been clearer with my Description.

There is a tonne of removal in my meta, and it's getting worse all the time.

Just about everybody uses Aura Shards and has their deck packed full of counter spells.

This deck is supposed to be the type of Control deck I might play in Standard. Early Control, late big Creatures. Not sure if that works in EDH.

Board wipes are essential. I wouldn't use them unless I had Creatures in hand. Most of the time they will happen when I have nothing on the field.

I want to stay away from threatening permanents as much as I can. People tend to leave mana ramp Artifacts, and stuff like Spellbook alone.

I also want to steer clear of spells that bounce back to hand. My Counters are limited so I want to make every spell count. Once gone, gone forever (or as close to forever, I'm aware of recurrence).

Here are my responses to your Comments.

• Cyclonic Rift is a no but Terminus is interesting.

• Stifle is only useful once, so doesn't really fit what I'm aiming for. I haven't seen many people running Vexing Shusher, but it would fall to one of my board wipes.

• Spellbook would mostly be left alone by my group. There are other more threatening Artifacts for them to destroy, and they don't seem to care about hand size. Expedition Map into Reliquary Tower takes up two deck slots compared with Spellbook's one.

• Mind's Dialation just wouldn't stick around for long.

• In regard to Iona, Shield of Emeria, I'm hoping by the time that it comes out I have enough counter spells in hand to protect her. I'd rather protect a Creature that can do damage, than an Enchantment that doesn't.

• True-Name Nemesis isn't powerful enough. I mostly want very big Creatures in the late game, although I have allowed two small ones that offer protection. Rhystic Study is already in the deck.

• In playtesting I have rarely cast my Commander. I would only do so if the board was in a state that was very much in my favour, or if I needed it as a finisher. To this end Strionic Resonator would probably not be that useful. If it proved to be, it would not stick around for long. It is interesting though, so I'll keep it in mind.

• I'm aware of Sunscorch Regent, but it won't stay long enough to grow. I think most of my Creatures will only last a couple of turns. I want them all to do double time; hit as hard as possible while also having a Control type of effect.

• Thassa, God of the Sea, Reconnaissance, Trailblazer's Boots, and Aqueous Form don't fit the ideology of the deck, which I've outlined.

• We used Fact or Fiction in my partner's deck and it never really worked.

• I have a spare Sensei's Divining Top and I've seen that stick around, so I'll have a look for something to swap for it.

• In my experience Turn to Frog works best in decks that have quite a few Creatures, which this deck doesn't. My partner once used Darksteel Mutation to shut down a Grave Titan, but that was before the meta evolved into what it has become.

• Reflector Mage only bounces.

• Unwinding Clock won't stick. My mana producing Artifacts are there to help me ramp as fast as possible in the early game. Gilded Lotus and Darksteel Ingot don't really do that, but I'll keep the Lotus in mind.

• Propaganda and Ghostly Prison won't stick.

• Remand bounces, so doesn't fit what I'm going for. Render Silent is an excellent suggestion. Putting that in right now.

• I've explained the value of Purify, and Mass Calcify above.

• The idea behind Moorland Haunt is to allow a tiny bit more value from Creatures that are destroyed. If I can get a chump blocker it will give me time to get more spells into my hand. I will keep Strip Mine in mind as I have a spare.

• Talrand, Sky Summoner won't stick. My partner tries to use it and it doesn't last for long.

• Snappy would be better than Jace, who won't stick. I wouldn't spend money on one until I find out if this deck works.

• I want the 8-drops because they fit the philosophy of early Control, late Creatures.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. You've hit some good cards that I missed.

Argeaux,
Oh OK, that makes sense.
And yeah, pillowfort is a totally valid strategy in Commander.

So first, a couple comments on your comments on my comments ... :-)

• I still like Expedition Map more than Spellbook. Since you'e already running Reliquary Tower, it's really only a single slot either way. The deal is: If the Tower is already in play, Spellbook is a dead card while the Map still has use.
• Derp, on Rhystic Study!

Second, are you wedded to Geist of Saint Traft? I ask because he doesn't seem to fit the strategy you described above (that, more than your old description, is why I think I totally misread your deck earlier).

• In Azorius, Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer, Isperia, Supreme Judge, Lavinia of the Tenth, might be a better fit. Hanna, Ship's Navigator might be good too, for the meta you described.
• In Esper (for all the black Control goodies), Oloro, Ageless Ascetic could be really good. Chromium could be fun too. Partly as a decent finisher, but mostly for the style points of playing EDH with an actual Elder Dragon. Plus making everyone look up Rampage :-)

Finally, a couple more thoughts ...

• Often, the biggest challenge of a pillowfort deck is actually winning the game, but Stormtide Leviathan and your big Angels should take care of that. If you find that you want to go even bigger, Inkwell Leviathan, It That Betrays, and the Eldrazi Titan of your choice are all good options.
• One I forgot to mention earlier (that's actually still valid!): Reins of Power maybe? It's like a blue Insurrection at Instant speed. Plus it's very strong as a political card.

As always, draw well!

P.S. Fact or Fiction works best when the opponent you choose separates the cards into one pile of 5 and another of 0. ;-)

clayperce

Yeah, that NEVER happens in our playgroup with Fact or Fiction.

It's always a pile of one card that would help you win the game and a pile of others that are fairly useless.

So you end up drawing one card for 4CMC, when you could have just played a 1CMC card that gives you draw, plus something else.

I take your point about Expedition Map, and will make the swap.

My friend is helping me build this deck and recommended very strongly that I use an Indestructible or Hexproof Creature as my Commander. I trust him implicitly, and went with Geist of Saint Traft.

I don't want to get at all mana screwed, which can happen when playing three colours, and I like Azorius for it's Exile.

I also like that my Commander is only 3CMC. Gives me a chance to get him out more than once, if need be.

I also don't have Lightning Greaves in, so he sort of does that for himself.

I don't want to use Oloro anyway, as my partner uses him as a Commander.

My partner also uses Reins of Power, but I'm not really sure that I want to. I kind of want to keep everything simple, crisp, and streamlined. Reigns muddies things up a bit. I won't completely discount it.

Inkwell Leviathan looks cool, but I like that Stormtide makes all players have Islands, and that only Creatures with Flying and Islandwalk can attack. Has completely shut down some Opponents in playtesting.

I find it difficult to replace any of my current Creatures as I love the effects that they bring to the table.

I've played It That Betrays in a Duel Deck. It's a cool card for sure. Don't know what I'd remove for it, though. I'll keep it in mind if my strategy needs adjusting.

Thanks for all the time you have spent looking at this crazy deck. This is definitely one that I will be playing as all proxies, with my group's permission, to see if it works before putting in mega investment.

BTW, I did a playtest before where I had Emblemed Tamiyo, the Moon Sage.

Every time my life got low I just played Resolute Archangel.

I kept playing Counterspell, then getting it right back into my hand ... and playing it again!

I also had Consecrated Sphinx out, so I had about 40 cards in hand.

If that ever happened in real life I would be a happy lassie.