With the final fall of Astrolabe, and the fall of Bant Snow, UW Control reigns supreme at the top of the metagame. As it rules the decks below, begging brewers to become faster to outpace Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. However, with all the answers in the game, we turn back to time to give us the predator to UW since its unbanning, Bitterblossom.
U/B faeries has sat low in tier 3 since its unbanning, never being fast enough to beat Death's Shadow, consistent enough to beat Oko, Thief of Crowns or versatile enough to beat Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis. And yet, as UW control rises, it remains attached to it at the hip, waiting for the chance to return. I believe that chance is now. But not in the face of the threat we know, in a new form.
If you are unversed in Faeries, this is not the list for you. Faeries demands complete knowledge of your local metagame, to be used as a scalpel against those net-deckers who believe their deck to be best splashed with the real : Money. As such, we are splashing for for a few new threats which help us in some tricky matchups. Below we will discuss cards added with
Teferi, Time Raveler is the prime reason to add . Sorceries with flash, and shutting down the ability to counter well placed Spellstutter Sprites is enough to warrant a spot in the deck, but a -3 to bounce a Bitterblossom on 1 life, or a Mistbind Clique to maintain a second turn of dominance against tron is incredible. Draw a card is the beautiful icing on the cake.
Path to Exile is a stronger Fatal Push in a meta where we have begun to adjust to push. Reality Smasher, Primeval Titan, and Ox of Agonis can not be dealt with by Push, and put pressure on our board quickly. Likewise, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, Klothys, God of Destiny, and Prized Amalgam need more permanent ways to stop them. Giving the opponent an extra land is... not excellent, so use sparingly, but as a last ditch permanent solution, it can't be beat.
Kaya's Guile is an incredibly versatile card that single-handedly houses Burn, Tron, and Boggles. Its modes are more situational than Collective Brutality or Cryptic Command, but when needed, 1 less mana makes it worth the SB slot
Stony Silence is there mostly for Tron, but sufficiently hurts Aether Vial decks enough for Faeries to put up a fighting chance. However, with the rise of Mishra's Bauble, I hope this card finds more use as well.
Sideboard
Ashiok, Dream Render for Graveyard without punishing Drown in the Loch or Snapcaster Mage
Bontu's Last Reckoning is the cheapest board wipe. With decks that get faster board states than us, 4 mana can often be too late: punishing our own Bitterblossom more than the speed they can recover. Not untapping during the next turn is worth if Bitterblossom and/or planeswalkers are on the board.
Ceremonious Rejection Tron and Eldrazi Tron ruin us. But helps with Aether Vial in a pinch, or the absolute necessity for Mishra's Bauble. If needed, can be pitched to Liliana, or Force of Negation
Force of Negation when they draw too much for hand pressure, or the threat is too large to wait
Kaya's Guile incredibly versatile toolkit spell against graveyard, burn, bogles, and when you just need one more blocker
Stony Silence Aether Vial and Tron
Honorable Mentions.
Cryptic Command is the prime reason not to play Esper. 3 is too restrictive to play 3 colors. However, should I ever revert back to UB, this is the first card to return
Esper Charm is very strong, but turn 3, turn 4, and turn 5 have stronger plays, and needs more to be consistent.
Narset, Parter of Veils is really strong for decks with fewer creatures, and metas with more card draw, but is very close to making a slot.
Celestial Purge and Disenchant are too situational, but in the right meta are really good.
Rest in Peace is a weaker version of Ashiok, not having an extremely strong passive, and actively working against Drown in the Loch
