Pioneer: Azorius Yorion - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Azorius Control is my favorite deck in Pioneer. Elegant and full of interactions, it performs really well against practically everything this format has to offer, but it is incredibly weak against fast, disruptive decks. Unsurprisingly, its biggest rival, Rakdos, uses this strategy to win.

Currently, Pioneer houses two Rakdos variations: Rakdos aggro, whose main strategy is growing the board as much as possible and putting pressure on the opponent with cheap creatures that grow easily, and Rakdos midrange, which has seen play in this format for a while and whose main game plan is creating value and attacking enemy resources.

The rest of the format is made of decks like Azorius Flash, Selesnya Company, and Niv to Light.

With this in mind, I built the following list and played a few Magic Online leagues with it:

With Yorion, Sky Nomad, this deck has more interactions than versions with Kaheera, the Orphanguard. However, it needs more cards, particularly lands, which may make it a bit inconsistent if you don't put an effort to build it properly. I believe 36 or 37 lands are ideal.

Planeswalkers are still this list's main win condition. You can also use Yorion if you can, or even Shark Typhoon's Shark tokens, but Teferi and Wanderer will always be vital.

The rest of the list is basically value, removals, and counters. You'll counter any problematic spell, destroy any threats in your way, and get more and more answers with any card advantage you get.

Deduce is an excellent addition to this list; it draws you two cards thanks to the Clue token it creates. Elspeth's Smite is a great removal nowadays, just like Portable Hole, as they can deal with enemy creatures in the first few turns while you look for your board wipes.

Mulligan and Game Style

With this deck, you need to be careful with your hand so you don't flood or brick, so I usually prefer Typhoons in the main deck, as they block and draw us cards. Prioritize hands with some sort of card advantage, interactions for the first few turns, and at least three land drops. Be careful with hands full of Field of Ruin and Demolition Field.

Vs. Rakdos Aggro

Rakdos Aggro is probably the most successful deck in Pioneer right now. The biggest reason why is because of the last sets, which brought excellent, low-cost creatures that put a lot of pressure on the opponent very quickly. When we combine this with low-cost interactions and disruption like Thoughtseize, we get an extremely aggressive and efficient deck.

The best strategy for this matchup is pretty simple: survive as many turns as you can until you can exhaust your opponent's resources and stabilize the board. Be particularly careful with Screaming Nemesis because its interaction with Reckless Charge is quite dangerous.

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Vs. Rakdos Midrange

Rakdos midrange is still Rakdos but with a few new additions, like Unholy Annex and Fear of Missing Out. Nonetheless, the main game plan with Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Thoughtseize, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is the same.

In this matchup, you need to pay attention to your opponent's discards and threats, but also their two main enchantments, which create a lot of value. You'll have to be cold, as the match will be stressful, so try to stay one step ahead, and use each resource well.

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Vs. Azorius Flash / Spirits

Regardless of the version, a few factors will heavily impact this matchup. Both Spirits and Flash play threats that grow as the match goes on, and can interact with everything Azorius Control puts in play. For instance, they can counter or answer plays with Spell Queller, which will drag out the match, and many times make everything harder. So be smart, focus on your opponent's mistakes, and try to get as much advantage as you can from each play.

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Vs. Izzet Phoenix

Izzet Phoenix is still one of the most popular decks in Pioneer, and often performs really well. In this matchup, you should do the same thing I suggested for Rakdos Midrange, but you'll have to deal with counters and well-planned plays that only Phoenix can play. They can easily put a lot of pressure on you with just a few spells whenever they find an opening.

Fortunately, our Azorius plays many removals that deal with Phoenix's threats really well.

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Vs. Selesnya Company

Company also focuses on creatures, so, as a result, it is more vulnerable to removals, particularly global removals. The fact you won't be against black in this case might seem great, but sometimes this deck starts out really strong and problematic, so be careful with slow initial hands.

Be particularly careful with creatures like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Elite Spellbinder, which can disrupt you considerably.

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Thank you for reading, and see you next time!