Theros Grixis Control

Standard*

rdm3866

Creature (10)

• 1x AEtherling
• 4x Frostburn Weird
• 2x Lifebane Zombie
• 1x Master of Cruelties
• 2x Thassa, God of the Sea

Planeswalker (9)

• 4x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
• 1x Chandra, Pyromaster
• 4x Jace, Architect of Thought

Land (23)

• 4x Blood Crypt
• 1x Island
• 2x Izzet Guildgate
• 2x Mountain
• 1x Rakdos Guildgate
• 4x Steam Vents
• 1x Swamp
• 4x Temple of Deceit
• 4x Watery Grave

Artifact (2)

• 2x Rakdos Keyrune

Instant (7)

• 3x Far / Away
• 3x Magma Jet
• 1x Opportunity

Sorcery (9)

• 4x Anger of the Gods
• 3x Dreadbore
• 2x Thoughtseize

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Sideboard

Creature (3)

• 1x Lifebane Zombie
• 2x Notion Thief

Artifact (1)

• 1x Pithing Needle

Instant (5)

• 2x Essence Scatter
• 3x Hero's Downfall

Sorcery (6)

• 2x Rakdos's Return
• 2x Slaughter Games
• 2x Thoughtseize

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Maybeboard

Creature (4)

• 4x Omenspeaker

Land (1)

• 1x Mutavault

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Grixis Control for THS standard. The game plan for this deck is as follows (general control strategy, removal/counters/boardwipe until it hits a win con):

Against Aggro/Mid-Range: T1-T3: Scry with Temple of Deceit or Magma Jet, cast removal or Magma Jet to slow down aggro beat down. Perhaps Lifebane Zombie for a 2-for-1 against G/W. T3 - T4: Cast a well-placed Anger of the Gods to stabilize the board and set-up to cast Jace, Ashiok, or Chandra. T5 - T7: Maintain board control through removal and counter magic. Set up an Aetherling or Opportunity. If enough devotion to blue is on the board, cast Thassa. If the board is stable, a win can be reached through a planeswalker's ultimate.

Against Control: T1-T4: Scry with Temple, Magma Jet, or Thassa to hit land drops and counter magic. If an opening is present, play an early Ashiok to start building her loyalty. T5-T8: Maintain board presence and counter magic, watching for planewalker removal spells or Sphinx's Revelation. Reach a win condition through a planeswalker ultimate, Aetherling, Master of Cruelties + Magma Jet, or Thassa. (Sideboard out Anger of the Gods for more counters or Jace, Memory Adept to apply a mill win condition.)

My goal with this deck is to make a fairly competitive control deck with my favorite color combo, Grixis, which I feel has been a good metagame choice since it has the versatility of more popular control decks (Esper, U/W, American) with an element of surprise, since apparently nobody else likes Grixis. I also wanted a deck that feel kinda super-friendsy.

However, it does have a few shortcomings, since without W it doesn't have as many exile effects or any life gain at all. It also seems very vulnerable to the aggro bum rush if it can't hit Anger of the Gods on T3 or T4, and it can't deal with Boros Reckoners, Loxodon Smiters, or Desecration Demons nearly as well as Supreme Verdict. Another huge vulnerability is Burning Earth, but if RDW/Big Red continues to lose popularity this might not be as big of an issue.

Any suggestions, improvements, or comments? I know I've got to be overlooking some strong metagame counters to my decklist. Please let me know what you think!

Date added	11 years
Last updated	11 years
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 4 Mythic Rares 26 - 6 Rares 9 - 5 Uncommons 7 - 0 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	3.14