Hidden Gems for Fire Lord Azula
With the release of
Looking over popular cards at EDHREC, players are loading their 99 with ways to play everything at instant speed (a la
Building off that foundation, here are my five picks for cards that you might want to consider as you playtest Azula at Commander night.
#1. Irenicus's Vile Duplication
This is a sorcery, which means it needs a little extra help to get the most out of it in your Azula deck.
The dream is to play it during combat to have Azula grant an extra copy, going from one to three, tripling your copy abilities. It appears most builds rely heavily on their commander to function, which is a dangerous place to be should something happen to her. But it also means that extra copies can lead to big swings in your favor.
I recommend this spell (over either Sakashima) because it will synergize with other cards that care about instants and sorceries. It also grants the tokens flying, making them harder to block so they can stick around longer.
| Irenicus's Vile Duplication |
#2. Bituminous Blast
Depending on the board state, attacking with Azula can be tricky. You want to make sure she survives. A neat trick for your removal spells is to wait until Azula is blocked, then remove the blocker to keep her around longer.
Bituminous Blast can help with anything that’s not too big, but the headline of this recommendation is cascade. Since you’ll be playing this in combat, it’ll copy the Blast (but not the cascade trigger), giving you a random spell that will also be copied. For five mana (or three, if you see Azula’s firebending as a discount), you’ll get four spells.
It might be a bit randomized, but the chaos will add some flavor to the game.
| Bituminous Blast | ||
| Bituminous Blast | ||
| Bituminous Blast |
#3. Spinal Embrace
Speaking of removal spells, this is Spinal Embrace’s time to shine. Not only do you get to steal any creature and potentially use it for the turn, but it will die and you’ll gain life in the process.
This can work around indestructible creatures, but hexproof and protection can still be a problem. Hey, no removal is perfect.
You may as well play something that sounds like a weird way to hug someone from behind that also creates room for weird tricks and a little boost to your life total.
| Spinal Embrace | ||
| Spinal Embrace (Retro Frame) |
#4. Deekah, Fractal Theorist
There are a few creatures that turn instants and sorceries into creature tokens.
I picked Deekah because her ability is magecraft, which triggers off of not just spells, but copies. Each time you cast something during combat with Deekah and Azula, you’ll get two tokens instead of one. It’s double the effect of the other options, but which choice sounds most appealing to you is a matter of taste.
| Deekah, Fractal Theorist | ||
| Deekah, Fractal Theorist (Extended Art) |
#5. Savage Beating
There are only two extra combat spells that you can cast at instant speed in your Azula deck:
If the path is clear, keep your Fire Lord swinging over and over, adding more and more spells to the turn. She’s a combat oriented commander, so put her where she’s happy. It will be a savage beating indeed. Whether or not it’s a great train heist is to be determined. Hopefully, it’s better than just “good.”
| Savage Beating | ||
| Savage Beating (Borderless) | ||
| Savage Beating (Foil Etched) |
That’s all for this edition of Hidden Gems. Don’t forget to check out our Premium membership for more entertainment and Magic market insights!
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Adam Berg
Adam started playing Magic on his 14th birthday, when Judgment just released and the game's first Gorgon was born (It's a girl!). Since then, he's delved deep into Commander, written for television and film, and learned how to drive. He's published two YA Fantasy novels, Rainbringer and The Broken Pantheon. His favorite card is Repay In Kind, which is really all you need to know.