So with the way spoilers have been going, because of my love for Control, and because I have a very good foreknowledge of the kinds of things many local players will be playing right off the bat, I changed my list from U/W Control to U/W/R Control. So here's the list with card explanations for the curious, those who want to learn, and those capable of constructive critique.
CREATURES
2 Ætherling - Strong control finisher for obvious reasons, only worry is Thoughtseize. However, this deck likes to dig, so finding wincons and stalling the board in the meantime is acceptable even if they do snatch one Ætherling from your opener.
INSTANTS
3 Magma Jet - A burn spell with good uses against aggro, and the Scry 2 makes it an absolutely amazing card for Control. Digging through the deck for what's needed while providing a relevant function makes this card an all-star.
3 Sphinx's Revelation - Another pretty obvious inclusion. I debated between 3 and 4, but since the format is slowing down, I think I'm safe sticking to 3 here.
2 Steam Augury - From the playtesting I've done, this card has really impressed me. I was very doubtful about this reverse Fact or Fiction, but in the right deck (this style) it can put your opponent in a rock and a hard place very easily while digging through your deck. In really tight situations, though, it won't always pull your butt out of the flame. Also, it takes a little practice to flip your thinking around the opposite way from a normal Fact or Fiction effect.
3 Syncopate - Solid counterspell, nothing spectacular. I'm hoping Condescend gets reprinted though, and if it does the number of this slot and Dissolve will likely flip.
4 Dissolve - Another very solid counterspell; it's a hard counter that helps with digging through the deck, something that this deck loves doing. If this hadn't been printed, it would have been closer to 3 Cancel and 1 Counterflux, but Scry 1 is so incredibly relevant.
SORCERIES
4 Supreme Verdict - Typical wrath effect, very solid, kills everything except gods, but I'm relying on Detention Sphere and counterspells to stop those.
3 Anger of the Gods - Most relevant threats aggro can throw at you in the early game have 3 or less toughness, in any format, and Theros Standard looks like it won't be any different. Having sweepers 5 - 7 is an absolute godsend for Control, and makes aggro matchups so much easier. This card is one of the largest reasons for my having considered switching my plans to UWR.
ENCHANTMENTS
3 Detention Sphere - A fantastic removal card for a reasonable cost. My only concern is that if the gods define the meta, enchantment hate may be more common out of the sideboard, and D Sphere will become an unfortunate casualty as a star removal spell for Control.
1 Assemble the Legion - Solid wincon, and with the format likely to slow down, it has its chance to steal games again. Same worry about enchantment hate becoming common, but only time will tell.
PLANESWALKERS
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion - Fantastic wincon; given even just one turn, it defends itself well in a Control shell. Given more than that, it takes over the game if it's not answered. As a planeswalker, it's a hard to answer threat for some decks.
3 Jace, Architect of Thought - Jace is a little underrated at the moment, and the silent backbone of any blue-based Control deck as far as I'm concerned. His mini-FoF effect really helps digging through the deck and keeping consistency. In an ideal scenario, I Anger of Gods turn 3, drop him turn 4 to -2, and next turn -2 to dig again if I need to or +1 if I don't. His card drawing ability makes him relevant at any stage of the game.
LANDS - These are all fairly self-explanatory. The exact numbers aren't quite set in stone, and it's hard to explain how I arrived with them, but let's just call it deckbuilder's intuition. Practice makes perfect, and a lot of it just comes from experience. Some people hate the guildgates, but honestly there's little other option. The scry land is also worth mentioning as being absolutely fantastic, but I tried to find the right balance between mandatory ETB lands and lands that can enter untapped when needed. I just really hope they make scry duals for all 10 colors, that would make this list oh so much better than it already is.
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Steam Vents
4 Sacred Foundry
2 Azorius Guildgate
1 Izzet Guildgate
2 Temple of Triumph
5 Island
2 Mountain
3 Plains
SIDEBOARD
3 Precinct Captain - He could potentially be a really solid card in a Control matchup, as left unchecked he takes over a game like that. However, I'm not 100% sold on him yet.
3 Heliod, God of the Sun - A fantastic card for Control, he gets the nod over Thassa because the deck needs unknown threats out of the sideboard, even if scrying every turn is utterly fantastic. He's not likely to become a creature, but his ability to make creatures is phenomenal in any matchup, especially late game when you need things to use your mana for.
3 Daxos of Meletis - Another card that I'm not sold on entirely, at least in this build, but in a Control or Midrange matchup, he could be the edge the list would need to outpace a deck that isn't expecting this list to bring in more creatures from the side.
1 Counterflux - Best counterspell against other Control decks in the format when you absolutely have to stop their threats from landing and they still have a fist full of counters.
1 Warleader's Helix - Not 100% sure what matchups I'll use it with, but... I have a foil and it can be a very useful card at times. May replace with a 3rd Turn // Burn, or some kind of archetype-specific hate.
1 Detention Sphere - Sometimes you just really need a 4th D Sphere. Planeswalkers and the Gods come to mind.
2 Turn // Burn - Hits threats that D Sphere may not be able to take care of and that weren't counterspelled or wrathed away, such as Blood Baron of Vizkopa or the new pro-white red Dragon. Likely to increase to 3 at the expense of Warleader's Helix, honestly.
1 Syncopate - Sometimes you really just need one more counterspell, like when the opponent has a threat that's hard to answer on-board like Obzedat, Blood Baron, or the aforementioned pro-white Dragon.
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Topic: Magic: The Gathering (Read 17361 times)