This deck is an idea I had while looking at top 8 decks for the big modern tournaments of 2014. I decided to combine some elements of U/B Faeries with Patriot Control. The idea was to combine the most powerful, low costing cards of both to make a swift Grixis deck that wins through control and aggression via faeires. I'll go over the cards I took from each archetype:
1-Drops:
U/B Faeries uses a combination of discard (Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek), counter magic (Spell Snare), and light removal (Tragic Slip). I decided to use only Spell Snare. Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek are immensely strong in your opening hand. However, they are significantly weaker as late game top decks, thus it's important to run more than 4 of these in total to up the chances of starting with one or drawing one early in the game. I considered running only a few Inquisition of Kozileks as I only had room for a few more 1-drops, but in practice, I found that I rarely was able to cast them at an effective point in the game. I dismissed Thoughtseize as I have many other sources of life loss in my deck. I like the card Tragaic Slip, but I found it ultimately unnecessary as I have other 1 CMC removal. Spell Snare is a must for any modern deck that uses blue, so I decided to run 2.
Partiot uses Lightning Bolts, Spell Snares, and Path to Exiles. The Lightning Bolts are an obvious 4-of, I'm already running Spell Snares, and I'm not in Path to Exile's color. In addition to the Lightning Bolts, I decided to run Burst Lightning so that it's more likely for me to have turn 1 creature removal.
2-Drops:
U/B Faeries has one of the most powerful 2 CMC threats in modern: Bitterblossom. I'm running 4 of it as my main win condition. Faeries also have some powerful 2 CMC removal spells such as Go for the Throat and Smother. I'm running one of each of these as well as an additional 2 Terminates since I have access to red.
Patriot (as well as Faeries) brings Mana Leak and Snapcaster Mage to the table, both of which are vital in any blue control deck.
3-Drops:
I'm using the infamous
Vendillion Clique
as my primary 3-drop which I don't think it needs much explanation. Instant speed hand hate is invaluable. I also took Electrolyze from Patriot because it is a very adaptable burn card as its damage can be split. Also, it acts as a cantrip, so you lose no card advantage from using it.
4-Drops:
I'm running 2 cryptic commands only because 2 is all I could get. These are absolutely wonderful in any matchup.
Win Conditions: 4x Bitterblossom, 4x Vendilion Clique, 4x Snapcaster Mage, 2x Creeping Tar Pit.
