Ephara, Flicker Control [[Primer]] - Budged options included (EDH / Commander)

/// Update from 05/18/21 ///
Covid-19 made it kinda hard to play MTG at all for me, but I recently got a few new cards to swap out some old ones.
While I haven't playtested them all too much so far, the new Thassa performs exeptionally well.
The flip Jace is pretty strong too, and Archaeomancer is becoming the new MVP, especially if you need to heavily control the board.
Don't skimp out on those cards!
/// - - - ///

Welcome to another deck profile of mine.
This time, we will take a look at my Ephara, God of the Polis EDH.

My Ephara EDH is exceptionally special to me.
It might not be the best Deck you could choose to play, but it is by far my favourite deck I've ever played.
This leads to countless games played with it, a ton of cards that I tested and either stuck to or got rid of them,
trying different strategies, and so forth.

If you like the deck, please consider upvoting it. I usually don't care for this kind of stuff, but since I love
Ephara so much, share your love with her, too.

I am very happy with the current build, though I regularly get to try out new cards and every new MTG set released opens
up new choices to consider.

But first - as always - let's ask some questions beforehand:
Should I play this deck?

Yes, if you

• enjoy control builds/decks
• dont mind dragging out games
• want a consistent general with a self working engine
• can handle the occasional table hate
• want to try out something different

No, if you

• don't like playing disruption
• prefer tapping out instead of passing turns after your draw step
• are new to MTG, this deck needs thread assessment and proper mana management

If you think 'Hey, this might be a deck for me!', I encourage you to stick around for the in-depth written
deck profile.

///// SKIP TO THE BOTTOM FOR BUDGET OPTIONS /////

1. General information

1.1 Why Ephara, God of the Polis

Strictly speaking, Ephara herself is not everyones first choice for an Azorius EDH general, but when I first saw her,
she seemed so interesting and intuitive to me, that I wanted to try her out.
The main reasons for this are her ability to stick to the board, and the added carddraw effect, that we will abuse
with this deck. If you play her correctly, you will never run out of gas and will be the one that dictates how the
game evolves from early to late game.

Tips: Try to keep her below 7 devotion. Even though she is indestructible, EDH is full of exiling creature removal like
Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, just to name the most common ones. The deck runs just fine without her on the board,
but you will lack a lot of carddraw and will be in a far worse situation in general.

1.2 Flickering your creatures

To make most of Ephara's main ability, we will try to flicker or flash in creatures every turn, if possible.
Since we play a control build, this is key to keep your presence and take interaction during the game.
There are multitudes of ways to accomplish this, but more to that in a later segment.
Keep in mind, that this is a MUST trigger, not a MAY trigger. Not like it matters all too much, but I had games where I didn't want to draw more
cards but had to anyways.

2. Card choices and explanations

2.1 Flickering Cards and similar effects

Brago, King Eternal - This card is one of the MVPs in this deck. While it flickers all you nonland permanents, which has also huge synergy with
all the mana rocks included, you get loads of ETBs and new gas for your opponents' turns. He makes an incredible general for this deck theme as
well, though I think he fits the general position more in stax'ish kind of builds.

Restoration Angel - Another enabler. I don't run other angel type creatures, meaning you have a load of targets for her ability. Casting her at
instant speed is incredible to dodge single target removal.

Saltskitter - I love this card. He became somewhat of a meme in my playgroup, but the value he creates over time as long as Ephara is on the
board, is incredible. A creature enters the battlefield on your opponent's side? Well, let me draw a card for free next upkeep. Thanks!

Deputy of Acquittals - instant speed creature bounce. While he servres as protection, he also enables Ephara while keeping check of her devotion.

Whitemane Lion - the FAR better Deputy of Acquittals. Doesn't need U mana, returns anything, including himself, draws a card, the list goes on.
He is way too good to pass by.

Venser, the Sojourner - Enables Epahra, draws aggro away from other permanents you control, and has an insane ultimate that wins the game by itself
if it ever comes that far. Surprisingly, I have yet to see the emblem on my side of the field, kappa.

Deadeye Navigator - Everyone that ever had the pleasure of meeting this guy knows, that sht gets fcked up really fast. He protects himself,
bounces the soulbound creature for just 1U and generates insane value. Pair him with stuff like Nevermaker or Reflector Mage (banned in Standard,
I wonder why) for the pleasureable sight of your opponents' no-fun-allowed-faces.

Cloudstone Curio - The best artifact for this kind of deck. Generates insane value.

Equilibrium - I found this card way too late into playtesting this deck and almost ironed my testicles for not playing it sooner.
As long as you have mana, a simple Whitemane Lion becomes a '2W: Return target creature to its owner's hand. Draw a card.' at instant speed.
It balances boards, get's your combo going. Best card in the deck, by far.

Eerie Interlude - Even though we play blue to counter anything, that might hurt us too much, sometimes we are hit with cards like Supreme Verdict.
This card can funtion as a last resort to keep our board pressure or even lets us trigger a lot of ETB's if necessairy.

Panharmonicon - While I love this card, I hate it as much. You really have to consider when to drop it, since it can backfire a lot in this deck.
If you manage to slip it in at the right pace however, it becomes a force to reckon with.

2.2 Value generators, recursion and disruption

Note: this segment will not contain selected counter spells. They are self explanatory and can be exchanged by your personal preference.

Sun Titan - I think I don't have to explain too much about this card. He grabs most of the best cards in this deck back from the grave and hits like
a truck.

Reveillark - Most of our important creatures are power 2 or less, meaning that this elemental will generate insane value, especially after getting hit
with a boardwipe.

Thalia, Heretic Cathar - as a soft stax element, she gives us time to get big in the game. Since we don't have access to green, the lack of
ramp is a huge issue at pacing your plays correctly, and the next card will help us with that as well.

Sword of the Animist - One of the best generic ramp cards currently available. It fetches us everything, and sticks to the board most of the time
since people like to underestimate the additional land each turn.

Ethersworn Canonist - While she disables any kind of combo play, she also slows down the game by a ton, meaning we have more time to build up.
Since we can easily bounce her back to our hand to cast all the spells we want to cast to just replay her afterwards means she is a huge element
for pacing games properly in our favour.

Sensei's Divining Top - Hey, this guy again. Topdeck manipulation is key in control decks and the only reason we run Terminus. Grabs counters or
flash creatures. Easy inclusion.

Phantasmal Image & Phyrexian Metamorph - those cards are in here for my personal pleasure. Copy my own stuff? Check. Copy my opponents stuff? Check.
They are incredibly fun to play and have lead to really fun interactions before that weren't possible in UW decks before. Desertion is another card
that works similarly.

Rest in Peace - Insane card against all graveyard based decks. Even though it cripples cards we run like Sun Titan or Reveillark, it is just too good
to not run in our build.

Cyclonic Rift - This card needs to be banned in any format ever. But as long as it's not, I will run it in every blue deck.

Nevermaker - This card is insane. While we bounce NONLAND PERMANENTS back ontop of their owners' decks, they are forced to draw that card every turn.
We now cripple their options while keeping control of their board. Especially against decks that need their general to win, this card is amazing.
And almost unfair.

Reflector Mage - the even better version of Nevermaker. There is an obvious reason why it was banned in standard almost immediately.
While it doesn't 'contol' your opponents draws, it shuts down enitre decks just by hitting the right target. It's so good it's almost unfair.

3. Strategy

The main strategy of this deck is to control the flow of the game. This doesn't mean that you want to establish hard locks or similar as fast as possible, but talk to your mates
and chose which spells can hurt you too much to let through.
We establish said strategy by utilizing creatures with accordingly chosen ETBs or 'leave the battlefield' effects that we will try to bounce and/or flicker for maximum value.
If you check the card explanations above, most of it should be easy to figure out yourself, while thread assessment is something that varies from playgroup to playgroup.

Note: This is by no means a deck meant to be played in a competitive setting, if you are looking for something like that, try out Teferi, Temporal Archmage.

4. Other noticeable stuff

Coming Soon

5. Changes and reasons

Nothing here so far, playtested to oblivion.

//// BUILDING EPHARA ON A BUDGED ////

The deck itself can run on a budged fairly well, so here I will give you some options on how to lessen the burden on your wallet if you want to build it yourself.
The list basically goes on and on, but I suggest you try to get the core cards I listed and gave additional explanation for above

I. Mana Base
The most expensive part of the deck is the mana base. Card's like Tundra or Scalding Tarn are not accessible for some of you, so let me show you some cards you can throw in instead.
Prairie Stream can function like a Tundra or Hallowed fountain since it's fetchable. Getting two or more basic lands shouldn't be too much of an issue.
Tranquil Cove, Adarkar Wastes, Azorius Guildgate and Azorius Chancery are also fairly good options for mana fix and work well in almost all situations.

Fetch lands like Arid Mesa, Marsh Flats, Misty Rainforest and Scalding Tarn can be replaced with other basics, the lands stated above and stuff like Terramorphic Expanse or Evolving Wilds for additional mana fix.

II. Other cards
If the deck still is too expensive, you can cut out some of the other expensive cards.
Mana Crypt, Cryptic Command, Mana Drain, Containment Priest, Phantasmal Image, Snapcaster Mage and Torrential Gearhulk are on the more expensive side. There are a ton of other really good counter spells that can replace those cards.
Other mana rocks are also available to fix mana issues by replacing these cards. The shapeshifters are in this list for my own amusement, and are not necessairy for the deck at all.

Cards you can think of running instead:
Hushwing Gryff, Sacred Mesa, Trophy Mage, Lightning Greaves, Wayfarer's Bauble, Pearl Medallion, As Foretold

Also, some of the cards (Soon all of them once they arrive from the sellers) are flagged as foil and/or are from certain sets like masterpieces. A prime example is Cloudstone Curio, which is included as a masterpiece for around 40 bucks, while the
normal version is around 3-5$ tops. Just check those cards yourself to see what you can run and what not.

There are some cards I really suggest to run, even if they might be expensive. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is a huge card to push for wins, so the price tag is reall worth it. It doesn't have to be the Judge Reward promo, though.
Same goes for Land Tax with it's 10$ price tag. We don't have much access to ramp in this deck, and thus it takes a huge load off the rest of the deck.

The rest of the deck is fairly cheap, most of the cards aren't even above a single $ on online market places, so just replace the more expensive ones with others that work well in the deck in your opinion.