Pattern Recognition #215 - Take Control
Features Opinion Pattern Recognition
berryjon
21 October 2021
448 views
21 October 2021
448 views
Hello everyone! This is Pattern Recognition, TappedOut.Net's longest running article series as written by myself, berryjon. I am something of an Old Fogey who has been around the block quite a few times where Magic is concerned, as as such, I use this series to talk about the various aspects of this game, be it deck design, card construction, mechanics chat, in-universe characters and history. Or whatever happens to cross my mind this week. Please, feel free to dissent in the comments below the article, add suggestions or just plain correct me! I am a Smart Ass, so I can take it.
When we talk about the Control Archetype, there are quite a few ways that players can go around doing it. It's safe to say that there is no limitations to the methodology of control, though if I had to hazard a guess, mono would probably be worst at it. Today, however, I want to take a look at the most common, the most iconic type of Control deck, and break down how it works and why in order to help explain the bad reputation it can have among players, especially newer ones, and how it plays and is played against.
But first, let's talk a bit about what Control is and is not.
At its core, this type of deck is a way to play the game that seeks to dictate and maintain the flow and pace of the game, that nothing happens unless it allows it to happen. Control is a very reactive - but not always - style of play that is centered around optimizing their resources to get as much effectiveness as they can from what they spend for as many turns as possible. Just as Aggro seeks to end the game quickly, Control seeks to drag the game out longer and longer, gaining advantage that way.
For most players, they will play with and against Control before they realize what the archetype is, as cards like Lightning Bolt or Pacifism are types of Control but players tend to think of them as removal and not full on control.
No, it has been my experience that most people realize they're playing against a hardcore control deck when their opponent is playing .
Azorious Control is not a new thing, and indeed, it is probably the oldest style of classical Control in the game, one that is still being fed and is alive and well to this day. Of all the Control types, I like to call this the "Delay and Deny" Archetype, the one that's most in your face and the most, well, aggressive about how it controls the game. It is because of this, that I want to highlight it properly.
Properly built, a Control deck comes in three distinct parts, which I would call "Deck Manipulation", "Control" and "Closing". These three parts are the methods by which the deck is played, each fraction helping the others achieve their goals.
The first part, Deck Manipulation, is, and this is just me pulling numbers out of my ass to give you an idea of how much focus should be put on this, about 25-40% of the non-land cards in the deck. For a deck that is about interacting (negatively) with the opponent, you need cards in hand to do it, and this is the portion that allows this.
Namely, these are cards that start at Opt, go through Behold the Multiverse or Foresee, and cap out at cards like Memory Deluge or Dig Through Time. These are the cards that let you find the other cards that you need or want, to act as enablers for your further interactions with the opponent. Scrying and Drawing are the core concepts here, as you need to be able to look at as many cards as possible in order to maximize your chances of getting what you want. Included in this, especially in larger formats, are cards that tutor up specific responses, such as Mystical Tutor or Enlightened Tutor.
How many of these cards you want in a deck such as this can vary depending on your available card pool and your personal preference as to the balance between proactively getting the cards you need and reactively shutting down the opponent.
The next section, which I would roughly dedicate about 50% of my non-land cards to, is the actual 'Control' aspect of Control. And depending on your options, this number can go up from there. And here is where we get into the real 'meat' of a Control deck. At its core, Control is about preventing your opponent from doing much of anything for as long as possible until you can win, and that preventing can come in a wide variety of options.
The first and most (in)famous of these is, was and always shall be Counterspell. What, you thought I was going to say Force of Will? Well, it's a good second place in comparison. But Counterspell saw print in the very first set, and was most recently reprinted in Modern Horizons 2 - because apparently it's now no longer too good for Modern? I can sort of see that, but that's a discussion for another time.
When I call this archetype in these colors "Delay and Deny", this is the core of the "Deny" aspect to it. A player who can't resolve any of their spells can't build a board state and from there can't push through to a win. You Deny them the ability to advance. Counterspells are at the heart of this, as cards that go into the graveyard are... sometimes more difficult to get back into play that otherwise. This is one of the reasons why Dissipate and cards like that are coming to play more often, as Exile is something that can't be interacted with for retrieval purposes. For the most part anyways.
And when that fails, there is another method of Denial, and that is where starts to step in. Cards like Banisher Priest, Nahiri's Binding and Minimus Containment are all cards that pick a single target and remove it from the game until the removing card is itself removed. And yes, I have used Banishing Light on my opponent's Banishing Light to get something of mine back. It was hilarious and fun. Here, actually shines as a means of single-target removal, denying the opponent something that either couldn't be countered - such as Expeling a Shifting Ceratops, or otherwise got past the first layer of defense for the Control deck.
Ideally, these cards will remove key pieces of your opponents efforts to advance their game plan, while minimizing the resources you spend to disrupt them in the process. This sort of one-for-one trade is as best you're going to get for the most part, but even then, you need to have emergency buttons.
And when a Control Deck presses the Big Red Emergency Button, things blow up. From the classic Wrath of God to the Austere Command that can hit non-creatures, through the most recent Doomskar and Devastating Mastery, when wants to reset the board state, they can. And when paired up with , they can quickly redraw cards to rebuild their board state faster than their opponents, or so the story goes.
But while covers most of the concepts behind the "Deny" part, there is also the "Delay" to consider. In this, there are two different methods of delaying the opponent from doing what they want, and that is the difference between Passive and Active delaying.
Passive Delays are one of the hallmarks of . Ghostly Prison is a card that reduces attackers by forcing the opponent to pay for them each time someone attacks them (in addition to the version Propaganda). This discourages attackers for a time, but isn't a solution at all. Just a delaying tactic. Rule of Law, Arcane Laboratory, Rhystic Study, Smothering Tithe... all these are cards that either serve to slow down the opponents or punish them by rewarding the Control player for forging ahead at full steam.
On the more active side of things, you can do things like Orim's Chant, which can lock a player out of spells on their turn, if you don't mind casting before the first Main Phase, and for an additional , you can even stop them from attacking!
But active delay can also mean disrupting board state, much like Denial. You can Unsummon, or Boomerang cards back to the opponents hand. Teferi, Hero of Dominaria was the posterchild for an entire Standard rotation of Control, and he can go tuck something - or himself - delaying the effects of that spell or permanent. You get Cyclonic Rift and Capsize in this realm, as well as the named card Delay. These cards all basically short out an opponent's actions for a turn, as they are forced to recast whatever it is they were planning on using, effectively setting them back a turn or more. Yes, they do get to draw a card, but when you are faced with a Lapse of Certainty, you can effectively undo the entire turn of an opponent, forcing them to redraw a card they just played, just to try again on their next turn.
Who knew could Time Walk someone?
Speaking of, one of the ways that this archetype seeks to Delay and Deny is through the use of Extra Turn spells. The most infamous of which would probably be Nexus of Fate *list*, a card that saw only limited release thanks to being a Box Topper for a Core Set, and because it shuffled itself back into its owner's library after being cast, or just going into the graveyard. This meant that a deck could conceivably run infinite extra turns as they would simply draw and draw and draw and re-cast their extra turn until the opponent gave up, or was whittled away.
In current Standard, Alrund's Epiphany was being looked at warily for being the lynchpin of an Azorius Control deck that would take extra turns, then swing with the birds and other fliers to crush their opponents.
Of course, it wasn't perfect, but what is in this game?
And from here, this segues into the last few percentage points of the deck's cardlist. How do you win? Ironically, this is imporant, but also almost an afterthought. Just as Alrund's Epiphany creates a couple of birds to swing with - as long as your opponent doesn't have triple-digit lifetotals and flying blockers of their own - closing out the game comes in a couple of different styles, and I'll highlight an example of each.
First, is just punching your opponent until they go away. Hall of Storm Giants is a man-land that can turn into a 7/7 with Ward , and any decent control deck will have already taken out anything that could threaten that large body. Eventually, the defending player will run out of blockers, then will run out of life, allowing the Control player to win. Faceless Haven is a cheaper alternative in terms of Mana, so don't be surprised if both show up, even as the latter can also be used as a target for Book of Exalted Deeds.
Whats I'm saying is Pack Field of Ruin In All Your Decks.
The other way to win is perhaps the ultimate snub by a control player. And that is, make the opponent completely irrelevant. To whit, just sit back, control your opponent's board state, then cast Approach of the Second Son, then do it again next turn or a turn later. Or have lots of cards in hand with Triskaidekaphile or no cards left in their library with Laboratory Maniac. The use of these Alternate Win Conditions cement a very Spike-y Control player's disdain for the opponent, by making sure that their efforts didn't matter at all.
Control has earned a reputation in some circles as being 'unfun' and 'unfair'. And they are right. Watching someone say "No!" "No!" "No!" again and again can be disheartening, seeing some smug asshole across the table smirk as they don't bother to do anything, where the only three words they say are "Draw, Go." and "No." until they win.
Playing with and against control is a degree of psychological that I don't think a lot of people are comfortable with. I know it's one of my hangups, as the last attempt I made at a Control deck - a Lier, Disciple of the Drowned deck for EDH, was just ash in my mouth as I never really got to do anything. Though it could be because I built the deck badly. So I tossed it and built a Kalain, Reclusive Painter deck that while it also has aspects of Control, is much more proactive and a very solid midrange deck.
Note to my opponents: When I have Revel in Riches in play, and I blow all nine of my Treasures to cast Torment of Hailfire for 14, watch how many creatures you sacrifice, OK? Your contribution to my victory is well appreciated.
But back to Control. It's psychological, and so to that end, allow me to offer some words of advice to players who feel like they are losing ground against Control decks. First, Don't Give Up. I cannot stress this enough. One of the ways Control Players can win, especially the bad-sport ones is by simply convincing their opponent to concede and search for better pastures to play in.
In one-v-one games, this may seem like a daunting challenge, but defense against the control player has three advantages. First, play the mind games against your opponent as well. Don't back down, don't give up, and most of all, be patient. Don't let your opponent Goad you into making mistakes. Second, don't over-commit. It's easy to try and swamp your opponent with options, to try and get them to hit the wrong targets with single-use removal, but in the end, all you're doing is setting yourself up for a boardwipe, and now they have more cards in hand. Probably. You don't need many threats. Even a single creature could be enough if it's not threatening enough to be hit until it's too late. In the end, you'll have more threats than they have responses, and if they're down to boardwiping for a single creature, you are winning.
And third, know your deck. I can tell the difference between a rookie who is piloting a netdeck because they see that it is winning and think they can ride coat-tails to the same, and one who has actually built and understands their deck, and that is in how they react to threats to it. The one who knows their deck inside and out will be able to judge for themselves how much threat to present in order to draw out a response - or not, and how much is too much. The less experienced player, even with a powerful deck, won't have that sort of understanding, and can quickly make poor play after poor play, not seeing that they're playing into the Control player's hands in the first place.
Alternately, if you know you're going up against Control, consider playing their natural predator - Aggro. Control and Aggro seek opposite things in a game, the former drawing it out while the latter wants to hit the ground running and never stop hitting. A solid deck is the opponent colour of both these control colours, but adding in can help out a lot as well. Don't give the Control player a chance to get their feet under them, and don't let them hit four mana when they can really start using their board wipes. In the early game, when resources are thin in the ground, the Control player is at their most vulnerable, and that is the time to strike.
Control isn't perfect. It's not indomitable. It has its advantages and flaws, and exploiting them by either player can mean the difference between life and death.
And Urza help you if you're a Control player who sits down against another Control player. That game will either end very abruptly, or go one forever. You can never tell.
Thanks for sitting through this with me. Join me next time when I talk about a subject that I'm not sure of yet.
Until then please consider donating to my Pattern Recognition Patreon. Yeah, I have a job, but more income is always better. I still have plans to do a audio Pattern Recognition at some point, or perhaps a Twitch stream. And you can bribe your way to the front of the line to have your questions, comments and observations answered!