Building Azorius Flash with Sally Sparrow in Commander

Posted on October 21, 2025

Hello and happiest of days to each of you! Today I thought it'd be fun to do an updated take on the Azorius Flash deck that was popular for a while in Commander. Who am I building around? Well, there are a few interesting options, like Raff Capashen for historic stuff, But I want to lean into creature flashing instead with:

Sally Sparrow! She gives all of our dorks flash! She costs four for a smaller 2/3 body, but then when your dorks leave the battlefield we can make a Clue, but just once a turn. That'll work with blinking, bounce, dying or tucking. Pretty good, right? Right!

Let's get started with her!

Ramp, Lands, and Mana Stuff

Let's start with the boring mana stuff to insure we can cast our stuff. We'll have a few Mana Rocks like Arcane Signet and Sol Ring here, but this is really about dorks that we can be played out at instant speed with Sally, like Solemn Simulacrum. Kor Cartographer arrives ramping out any Plains, not just basics. Ditto Knight of the White Orchid although it needs the right board to trigger. Scampering Surveyor will ETB to ramp a basic or Cave. Lavinia, Foil to Conspiracy can tap for two colorless mana on your opponents' turns and then when you cast your second spell on any turn you make a Clue.

Sword of Hearth and Home was the first card I added after Sol Ring and Signet. It costs three, equips for two, gives a creature +2/+2 protection from White and Green, and then a damage trigger to ramp and blink! Next up, Deep Gnome Terramancer says when our foes play lands other than their normal one-per-turn play you get to ramp a non-basic Plains!

The Blue legendary land with channel, Otawara, Soaring City, can bounce something. Normally I don't bother to track them down due to high secondary market cost, but here it's great to trigger our leader. I also wanted some creature lands to finish folks off. Enter the flying and vigilance 4/4 Celestial Colonnade or Restless Anchorage. I also tossed in Magnifying Glass for making a Clue on a Mana Rock.

Synergies and Win-Cons

Academy Manufactor will turn all arriving Treasures, Clues and Foods into one of each! That's great for us generally, and with stuff like Fountainport. Merchant of Truth turns all deaths of your non-token creatures into Clues! And all of our clues get exalted to enable a big attack from a single creature, which I tossed in Rogue's Passage to facilitate.

High Fae Trickster is first! It'll give all of our spells flash! It's a great backup Sally. The classic 7-drop Hullbreaker Horror cannot be countered, and when we cast our spells we can bounce our opponents' stuff or spells.

Next I tossed in three flicker dorks to arrive, save, reload an ETB and trigger Sally again. Restoration Angel is an obvious include for flickering non-Angels. Charming Prince arrives to scry, gain life or flicker your stuff! Flickerwisp flickers anything, not just dorks.

Tangletrove Kelp is a bit of a win-con since it costs seven Blue for a warded 6/6 artifact dork that in our combat turns all of our Clues into 6/6 beaters. And you can sac it for cards! Then the four-drop Ethereal Investigator makes Clues based on our number of opponents when it enters, all on a flying 2/3 size. Then when I draw my second card on any turn, I can make a 1/1 flyer!

The broken 6-drop soulbonding Deadeye Navigator lets you pay 2 mana to blink what its soulbonded to, over and over again. I know many don't like it but it's here for blink ETB synergies like Mulldrifter or Loran of the Third Path, not game-winning infinite mana combos with Great Whale or Palinchron.

The Azorius legendary Niambi, Esteemed Speaker is next. When she ETBs you can bounce one of your dorks, trigger Sally and saving them your creature in the process, or getting another ETB trigger from the flash Sally provides. Then gain the creature's mana value in life! You can even tap her for 3 mana to discard a legendary card and draw two.

I wanted to give my brew some Clones as a surprise, and three already have flash, they are in. Stunt Double will clone anything! Mocking Doppelganger just clones our foes' stuff, but theirs' is goaded. Malleable Impostor also only copies opponents' stuff, but keeps its own types and flying.

Next up are ways to mess with combat like Portal Mage, Windshaper Planetar and Misleading Signpost! When Windshaper Planetar ETBs during our foes declare attackers step we get to reselect what their creatures are attacking. Misleading Signpost can redirect an attacker, but just one. I also tossed in Maze of Ith and Kor Haven to help keep us up.

Next up are some bouncing staples. Snap costs two, untaps two lands and can be used for free bouncing and tempo for Sally. I rarely run it, but it felt right in this list - ditto the buyback Capsize. Venser, Shaper Savant will bounce any spell or permanent which is great for flickering in response to removal.

Thassa, Deep-Dwelling is indestructible, which is ideal since you flicker a creature EOT and then it's a great mana sink to tap down opposing stuff for four mana each. Oji, the Exquisite Blade arrives with 2 life and scry 2, and then when you cast our second spell any turn, you get a free flicker! Genku, Future Shaper has a leaves play trigger like Sally to make a token, but you get three types of creature tokens to choose from - but you can only choose each once per turn. Then they let you pump your stuff permanently for five mana over and over again with a counter.

Answers

All right, let's turn to answers! I tossed in Draining Whelk, Counterspell, and Cryptic Command. I also threw in Smirking Spelljacker for the enters trigger to exile a spell and cast it for free on attack! Confirm Suspicions counters anything and then makes a massive three Clues!

Now let's turn to targeted removal like Cathar Commando, Loran of the Third Path, and Solitude. Commando sacs for one to Disenchant. Loran ETBs to Disenchant and then taps to have you and another player draw a card. Solitude can be evoked for zero mana and Swords to Plowshares when it arrives.

Now let's turn to mass removal and three creature answers, like Selfless Spirit or Selfless Squire to shut down all damage and then grow into a beater, or Spectacular Spider-Man. Selfless Spirit can sac to save the team with indestructible. I tossed in Angel of the Dire Hour to flash out to exile all attackers, and I included Final Showdown to Rout for one fewer mana, and/or remove all abilities from creatures until EOT, and/or save one of your creatures with indestructible. And then Rout had to go in too.

Card Draw

And now card draw! Enduring Curiosity has the ability to draw for each dork you control that deals combat damage to a player. When it dies it'll come back once, as an enchantment this time. A flashing Coastal Piracy is amazing, so I tossed in Bident of Thassa too. And Archivist of Oghma draws a card when our foes search their library, and then you gain a life.

Now let's turn to this dominant instant and then legendary dork that tries to keep it up. Sphinx's Revelation will draw you X and then gain X life. Alquist Proft, Master Sleuth arrives with a Clue token! Then he taps to sac a Clue to also draw and gain X life too!

And now let's finish with this trio! Ephara, God of the Polis is great here! She lets us draw in each player's upkeep if you had a creature enter the previous turn, and that includes tokens! Errant and Giada can cast stuff with flash or flying from the top of our library! Erdwal Illuminator says the first time each turn we make a Clue, we can make another! Love it!