Valar morghulis (Standard MTG Deck)

Valar morghulis

Standard Competitive Control RUW (Jeskai, America)

Apoptosis

Creature (1)

1x Keranos, God of Storms

Planeswalker (6)

Land (27)

Enchantment (4)

Instant (15)

Sorcery (4)

4x Supreme Verdict

Unknown (3)

3x font of fortune

Sideboard

Creature (7)

Instant (6)

Sorcery (2)

2x Anger of the Gods

Maybeboard

Creature (1)

1x Keranos, God of Storms

Enchantment (1)

1x Assemble the Legion

Instant (5)

Unknown (3)

3x font of fortune

If the day comes when you would find me again, give that coin to any man from Braavos, and say these words to him--valar morghulis.

---Jaqen Hghar, A Clash of Kings, pg. 691. by George RR Martin

Valar morghulis, or loosely translated: All men must die. What better way to do this the through a good old-fashioned wrath?Supreme Verdict, Anger of the Gods, Elspeth, Sun's Champion, backed up with a host of removal, denial, and card draw means that American control is back. In short this is a grindy control deck that wears down your opponent's presence on the battlefield and forces him into topdeck mode, at which point you drop a win-con and seal the victory.

Matches: 5-2-1
Games: 11-8

This is my evolving American control build originally based on Christopher O'Bryant's deck that took 4th in the StarCity Open on 5/3/14. Link to the deck: http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=66909

Maybe board are either things I've dumped from the 75 (e.g. Assemble the Legion, Firemind's Foresight ) or possible small changes to the main deck (e.g. 3x Font of Fortune, a 2nd Keranos, God of Storms, and 1x Aurelia's Fury ) or to the sideboard (e.g. 2x Council of the Absolute over say Brimaz, King of Oreskos: for instance he can neutralize Boros Charm post-board against the Boros/naya aggro matchup and has a big butt, and can shut down a lot of control elements in the mirror). Feeback and suggestions appreciated!

Sideboard Usage
Against Naya aggro (e.g. http://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=7305&d=241835&f=ST). After game 1 they are bringing in 3x Keening Apparition and Glare of Heresy , perhaps Domri Rade . Plus he's got 4x Boros Charm, 4x Brave the Elements or perhaps Gods Willing and he can flash in a knight through Selesnya Charm . So what to do? You need to gas him out and hold on. Bring in 2x Dispel (keep these for after you verdict or anger so that your wrath sticks), 2x Anger of the Gods, 2x Archangel of Thune, 2x Celestial Flare, 1x Magma Spray, 2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos Take out Deicide, AEtherling, 2x Counterflux, 2x Elspeth, Sun's Champion, 2x Banishing Light, 1x Sphinx's Revelation , and 2x Dissolve. Your counters are too slow, with the exception of Syncopate on the curve and Dispel, which is key to make sure your wrath sticks. Use spot removal early and often, but save Magma Spray and Last Breath for voice. Your main win con is Archangel of Thune through the air but keep in mind that he might have the charm to exile her if she gets too big.

more later...

Update 5/21/14. I want to work in Font of Fortune and move out some of the scry lands so I have a better shot at having a T3 counterspell. Also moving out dissolve in favor of Counterflux in the main so that I can add in Council of the Absolute into the sideboard

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Bumps in the road — May 19, 2014

Edit

Went a somewhat disappointing 2-2 in matches (4-4 in games). All the games I lost I had to mull to 6, but the losses were to really good decks and great players, so I'm not blaming the mulls. Here's the breakdown:

Match 1 0-2 versus Naya aggro
Same opponent as last week, different results. He was able to Boros Charm my Supreme Verdict game 1, which prevented me stabilizing. Game 2, I went through 3x Jace, Architect of Thought while digging for an answer to his elemental token and reckoner that were pounding away. When I needed to stabilize with a Detention Sphere and he was down to one card, he stopped it with Gods Willing. Sometimes that's the way it goes.

Match 2 2-0 versus extort B/W
New player with a budget deck. Offered him some advice.

Match 3 2-0 versus W/U/g control
Basically an Azorius control deck with a splash of green for Mistcutter Hydra. Game one he scooped after being mana screwed. Game 2 I sided in more counters, etc. and ground it out with Elspeth, Sun's Champion

Match 4 0-2 versus esper control
His deck didn't run any Thoughtseize or hand disruption. Game 1 he was on the play and a T3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver was a real pain in the ass, milling a lot of lands and I wasn't able to stop it until just before the ultimate with Banishing Light, but then he banished my banish and milled away both d speheres and my last banishing light. I scooped game 1 after he resolved AEtherling and had both ashiok and JAoT resolved. At that point I had 2 verdicts and 3 JAoT in hand. Game 2 brought in more counters etc. and still got stomped to lose the counter war. Ashiok again was milling away and afterwards found out that his anti-control boarding is 3x Obzedat, Ghost Council, 3x Negate, and 3x Dispel. I noticed that a lot of control decks are going 3x Dispel out of the sideboard to deal with control and burn.

Thoughts on the night: sometimes you got it and other times the cards are against you. I lost to great players who pretty much nut drew, so I can't complain. I think some minor tweaks are in order. First, I think I want to run 2x Counterflux mainboard over disolve and keep 2x Counterflux in the side. Second, I think I want AEtherling in the main. Third, I think I want to get more Banishing Light or Detention Sphere in the sideboard. I'll need to think on that.

A great first night out with a new deck — May 12, 2014

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Revision 4 See all

(10 years ago)

-1	Elspeth, Sun's Champion	main
+2	Steam Vents	main
-2	Temple of Triumph	main
+3	font of fortune	main
+1	Mana Confluence	main
-1	Pithing Needle	side

Date added	10 years
Last updated	10 years
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 6 Mythic Rares 29 - 3 Rares 5 - 1 Uncommons 3 - 5 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	3.33
Tokens	Cat Soldier 1/1 W, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Soldier 1/1 W
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