What does Azula, Cunning Usurper's ETB do?

Target opponent exiles a nontoken creature they control, then exiles a nonland card from their own graveyard — taking both a battlefield threat and a graveyard resource away from them in one trigger, and setting both up for you to cast later.

How do the exiled cards get cast?

During your turn, you may cast cards exiled with Azula as though they had flash, and mana of any type can be spent to cast them — so both the stolen creature and the graveyard card are effectively free to cast off whatever mana you happen to have, at any point in your own turn.

Is Azula, Cunning Usurper good against decks with empty graveyards or boards?

It's weaker against an opponent with no creatures or an empty graveyard, since the ETB then does less — but even hitting only the battlefield half is a real two-for-one against most boards, and it only gets better the longer a game runs and graveyards fill up.

Azula, Cunning Usurper — Card Spotlight

See Azula, Cunning Usurper's full stats and printings →

Strategies it goes well with

Theft and graveyard hate decks. Removing a creature and a graveyard card from one opponent in a single ETB is both a tempo play and real disruption against reanimator strategies.
Dimir value control. Two potential free casts off any mana color is a strong value swing for a control deck already looking to grind out card advantage.
Political and multiplayer targeting. Choosing which opponent to hit lets a deck punish whoever is furthest ahead without committing to a board wipe.

How it does in Commander

As the commander

As the commander, repeated access to the ETB via blink or recursion effects turns Azula into a recurring source of both disruption and free spells, which rewards a Dimir value shell built to reuse enter-the-battlefield triggers.

In the 99

A strong value and disruption piece on its own even without a blink package, since a single copy of the ETB is already a real two-for-one against most boards.

Formats it's strong in

Dimir control and value decks. The card is a self-contained two-for-one that fits naturally into any grindy blue-black shell.
Multiplayer pods. Choosing a target lets it punish the most threatening opponent specifically, which is a political tool a two-player format doesn't offer.

Formats it's weak in

Decks facing empty boards or graveyards. Against an opponent with no creatures and nothing in the graveyard, the ETB does far less than its full potential.
Very fast, low-interaction pods. A five-mana value creature is a step behind a two-card infinite combo, so it's a poor fit for the fastest tables.

Synergistic cards

Ghostly Flicker — Blinks Azula for a second copy of the ETB, doubling the theft and reanimation in one turn.
Deadeye Navigator — A repeatable blink engine that turns Azula's ETB into a recurring source of disruption and free spells.
Any strong opposing creature — The bigger the threat an opponent is running, the more valuable it is to exile and later cast it yourself.
Cyclonic Rift — Clears the way for Azula's stolen creature to attack unopposed after it's cast back in.

Is it worth the price?

As a recent-set card, Azula is inexpensive and a reasonable pickup for any Dimir value or blink-focused deck — worth trying at a low cost.

Current printings and prices →

Azula, Cunning Usurper