Pioneer: Azorius Flash in the Post-Ban Format

Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord and Amalia Benavides Aguirre are banned from Pioneer, Aggro is back in the Metagame, and the format is slowly starting to solidify the archetypes that will remain at the top of the Metagame alongside Izzet Phoenix.

With the end of two of the most troublesome combos in recent history, “go wide” decks finally have a new opportunity in the current scene, and after the bitter (but necessary) farewell to Sorin and the months in which I played Vein Ripper on turn three, it's time to return to the archetype that I've been dedicating my time to improving and adapting for Pioneer as it develops - Azorius Flash.

Azorius Flash was one of the strategies that managed to find space in the Pioneer Metagame during the period in which Rakdos Vampires and Abzan Amalia took over, and much of it was due to its more reactive approach with counterspells and removals, combined with an efficient beatdown plan and, obviously, the possibility of playing with specific answers in the maindeck.

Containment Priest was the best creature to deal with the main problems that the format had. Alone, it could block Sorin, Chord of Calling, Return to the Ranks, Collected Company and also Arclight Phoenix. But it wasn't enough to justify using the archetype instead of Azorius Spirits, which had the same instant-speed interactions while counting on typal synergies.

Today, Flash still faces and will face the same dilemma as Pioneer rebuilds: does it have enough elements to justify its use, or will Spirits' synergies make it a better Tempo deck? For example, Containment Priest is still a decent card in the maindeck because of the decks we saw rise in the first Challenges: Izzet Phoenix is ​​still strong, it's a strong answer against Collected Company and avoids the combos and/or interactions with Cauldron Familiar, but it's not to the point of being mandatory because there's a layer of strategies where it's just a 2/2 for two mana.

We have other options, but we'll delve into them along the decklist.

This is my current list. A lot has changed since my last version, the main one being to fully embrace the Aggro/Tempo plan instead of doing a mix between Flash and Control with The Wandering Emperor and Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. The reason? We gained some good tools.

Maindeck

Aven Interrupter is our 5-8 Spell Queller that works against higher cost spells and Midranges and/or archetypes with a greedy mana base. Its body is decent, its ability is useful, and it gives us some much-needed Tempo Play in addition to increasing our maindeck counterspell pool.

Plumecreed Escort came with Bloomburrow and gave Azorius Flash something it needed for years: its own Rattlechains. Now, we can protect our Spell Quellers and Werefox Bodyguards while advancing our game plan and without the risk of “failing” as the game goes on, something common with Make Disappear.

Since we have more creatures with Flash now, we can maximize our synergies in the archetype instead of relying on the individual power of Planeswalkers.

Cunning Nightbonder offers a cost reduction that makes a difference in a list with 16 creatures at 3 mana, in addition to protecting us against No More Lies or Mystical Dispute. It's a bad topdeck, but keeping it in play is enough to extract even more value from our creatures.

Errant and Giada isn't ideal, but it's the best source of card advantage we have for the archetype right now, and it interacts well with our plan. If we remove it in exchange for something like Wedding Announcement, we can consider fewer creatures and more spells, but that comes at the price of fewer synergies as well.

Synergies that include more range with our spells. Werefox Bodyguard is much better now that we have Plumecreed Escort to protect it, and even when it's answered with removal, this "extra turn" it gives us against Gruul Prowess or that Adeline, Resplendent Cathar doesn't attack is enough for our flying pressure to do its job.

The same goes for Spell Queller and its new companion, Aven Interrupter. Both are easier to protect now, and that makes a huge difference in some matchups.

Not to mention that their ETBs complement our game plan with No More Lies and Get Lost to interact with the opponent early. These are still the best options in their respective categories, and there is no reason - at least in the Week 1 Metagame - not to use a set of each.

Invasion of Gobakhan is another card that could fall into this category, but it depends on how the format plays out. If we need to answer key pieces early, it will probably go into the maindeck.

These are the most frequently changing slots in the list, and I'm not sure what I really want in them. Faerie Mastermind is decent in some matchups, but it's not so essential right now that it demands a Meta Call, and Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel offers value, which is never a bad thing, but there may be better options.

There are several options for these slots, and they will be heavily tested to find the ideal slots. On theory, I would like Tishana’s Tidebinder and/or The Wandering Emperor, or even Three Steps Ahead, but the list is already full of three mana cards and I wouldn’t want to hurt the early game.

Options like March of Otherworldly Light are better if Aggro and Cat-Oven variants stabilize at the top while Invasion of Gobakhan and Spell Pierce will work if we need more early game disruption, while the other choices are Metagame dependent.

Faerie Mastermind and Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel are my safe picks today, but they could change to any other card in the coming weeks.

I think the land choices are pretty clear. I would trade Deserted Beach for more Adarkar Wastes, but we have an relatively Aggro-heavy environment on Leagues and wouldn't want to be punished for our color requirements.

Restless Anchorage is another option to replace Deserted Beach in longer games, but playing it as a third-drop is very unpleasant because you want four copies, but both it and Hall of Storm Giants play a fundamental role.

Sideboard

Like the slots of our two-drops, the Sideboard is also very dependent on the Metagame and changes as Pioneer evolves and stabilizes. The choices below were made based on what has been appearing in the Leagues and my perception of which decks players will bet on in the first weeks after the bans.

Containment Priest still works against Arclight Phoenix and Cauldron Familiar in addition to blocking the combo of Ygra, Eater of All. So two copies still seem necessary in the current Metagame and are complemented by Kutzil’s Flanker, which can exile graveyards or provide an extra breath against Aggro or sweepers.

If Rakdos Sacrifice was our worst matchup in the previous version, it is even worse now that we have more creatures. Reidane, God of the Worthy is our best option against this matchup despite not having Flash. It also helps delay Supreme Verdict and other sweepers.

Mystical Dispute has the same function of delaying Control, but also enters games with greedy mana requirements, especially Five-Color Goodstuff, in addition to being a clean and cheap answer against Crackling Drake in Izzet Phoenix.

Tocasia's Welcome is our attrition engine in a list with 20+ creatures with mana value three or less. We can trigger it up to twice per turn cycle if necessary, and playing your creatures in the main phase to draw a card is a valid option when the enchantment is in play.

Aggro is back, which means we need to respect this matchup again. Portable Hole is our best cheap option in this spectrum and whose mana value doesn't interfere with our overall game plan.

Settle the Wreckage is our best sweeper since we don't want to destroy our creatures in the process. Excellent against go-wide, forces a few “extra turns” against go big, and can trigger a 2-for-1 or even a bigger trade in attrition games.

Izzet Phoenix

IN

OUT

Azorius Control

IN

OUT

Rakdos Midrange

IN

OUT

It's better to side out Aven Interrupter instead of Spell Queller because we want a lower miss rate against Bonecrusher Giant, but there are some risks of very punishing trades when destroying Spell Queller.

Niv-to-Light

IN

OUT

Gruul Prowess

IN

OUT

Boros Convoke

IN

OUT

Rakdos Sacrifice

IN

OUT

Nykthos Ramp

IN

OUT

Mono White Humans

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!