Get To Know Your Metagame: U/W Control

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KrazyCaley

14 May 2010

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U/W Control, some think, is poised to seize the metagame away from Jund as the ROE cards start to take hold. I remain skeptical, but there's no denying that this deck is a serious contender.

Core cards

Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Gideon Jura, Day of Judgment, Wall of Omens, Path to Exile, Baneslayer Angel, Oblivion Ring, Mind Spring, Path to Exile

Secondary cards

Martial Coup, Spreading Seas, Mind Control, Everflowing Chalice, Jace Beleren, Wall of Denial, Sphinx of Jwar Isle, various counterspells.

How it works

This deck just wants to activate its' planeswalkers ultimate abilities, at which time you will lose. Jace, the Mind Sculptor is, in my humble opinion, the best pound for pound Planeswalker out there, and everything he does is great for this deck. His ultimate wins you the game unless your opponent can kill you in x turns, where x is the number of cards in their hand, keeping in mind that their hand will shortly become their library. Elspeth does her usual chop-blocker song and dance, but her ultimate is pretty dangerous too, especially in variants that run Sphinx of Jwar Isle and Mind Control along with their Baneslayer Angels. Gideon Jura has no ultimate, but he helps pull heat off the other planeswalkers, plus he can always become that wonderful no-damage 6/6.

To get there, this deck employs a classic selection of control tools. Day of Judgment is obvious,as is Oblivion Ring, Path to Exile, the counterspells, etc. Baneslayer Angel is, well....Baneslayer Angel. In this deck it usually functions as the most imposing wall you've ever seen, but of course it can win the game left to its own devices given the right circumstances. Wall of Omens, just like its forerunner Wall of Blossoms, is an amazing card, one that can stop Jund decks and RDW decks dead in their tracks while still cantripping.

Speaking of cantrips, have we talked about Spreading Seas? Spreading Seas is quickly making a name for itself as one of the most dangerous two-drops in standard. Besides replacing itself, it ROYALLY screws with decks that run three colors or more (even if those decks run blue), and that's a pretty big section of the metagame. (Jund, Mythic, Grixis Control, American Planeswalkers, Brilliant Esper, some Allies decks).

Beware this deck's sideboard. It has many different options. Jund, Grixis Control, RDW, and others will face down Celestial Purge; Flashfreeze appears in many sideboards, and Mind Control is available to deal with Mythic and other assorted fatty-based decks.

How to beat it

There are two ways to beat this deck. Number one is speed. The deck DOES take a while to get things going and has no way to get itself out of dangerous life totals, apart from an unchecked Baneslayer Angel. (Of course, if ANY deck has an unchecked Baneslayer Angel, you will have trouble). Jund does respectably against it because it can get damage on the board fairly quickly and eliminate the planeswalkers before they cause too much trouble. (Jund DOES have some problems due to Spreading Seas and the Walls, though). RDW, for instance, thoroughly thrashes this deck.

The other way to beat this deck is to be a "bigger" control deck- this control deck is a relatively fast one, so-built so that it can deal with a fairly fast standard metagame. It does this at the cost of leaving a weakness against bigger, badder, more ponderous control decks that have nastier, more expensive finishers, and more counterspells. Jace, the Mind Sculptor is the best pound for pound planeswalker, but even if a middleweight boxer is the best pound for pound fighter, he'll still lose if he fights a heavyweight, and Jace will lose if you can counter him or get down a Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker or an Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.

Good sideboard choices

Any and all counterspells, especially Negate or Countersquall, Vampire Hexmage, Duress, Lightning Bolt.

Tomorrow's Meta: Grixis Control