@TheAnnihilator Once upon a time Kitchen Finks were part of the MB, which was one of the main reasons why Restoration Angel was included. It was based on my UW control/midrange build, and I added green. It is a great card, but I have to be selective with creatures because I still want the focus to be control even if it can play a little midrange-y.

Aven Mindcensors were for decks that like to search, such as Bloom titan, Scapeshift and limit Tron and Gifts - although I've never faced it with this deck. Again left over from my UW SB.

I definitely get what you mean by going the more tempo-control route than usual aggro route with goyf. One reason why I like Serum Visions here as opposed to the usually hold-up mana draw spells is not only for the draw but scrying into something such as a land drop/path/counter/goyf or whatever I need. Did you find that too?

Dromoka's Command might be better as another counter, but in a way it is kind of like a counter against burn.

Vendilion Clique seems slow to me too, and I'm not sure if it fits with the primary strategy. I'm thinking maybe SB and bring it in for combo decks.

Also, I like the affinity hate Disenchant brings.

About Aven, if you see those decks a lot then go ahead and play it. I really want to like the card, but it always seems like there's better options for me, so I never use it.

Serum Visions was definitely good in this list, because we care a lot more about card selection than most control lists. And yes, T1 Serum felt good every time -- plus, it's a Sorcery to feed Goyf. #relevant

To clarify, the reason I play Think Twice in Esper is because card quality doesn't really matter -- all of Esper's cards are of equal value because each is fairly high-impact and/or redundant. Because of this, drawing 2 cards (given enough time) is miles better than filtering with Serum Visions. However, you need Serum to dig for a threat, a kill spell, or a counterspell at varying stages in the game since eventually you "flip the switch" and become the aggressor to close out the game.

About Affinity, if you squeeze one more Spell Snare in the mainboard there, you can basically play whack-a-mole with Cranial Plating while dealing with their creatures in one fell swoop. Like, my plan in Esper is to Counter plating at all costs, hopefully land a Stony Silence, and then just never let their board develop. Works every time. Thus, I believe a Supreme Verdict is far more valuable than the 2nd Disenchant, assuming you have plenty of outs to the Plating otherwise.

Dromoka's Command was fine, and I would not cut it. It's a little cute, but I like it since it's usually pretty relevant. Would I play more than one? No. Does that mean you should cut the 1st one? Of course not, that's what one-ofs are for.

I'm actually a huge fan of making this Midrange-Control with no clear focus on either, rather than cornering yourself into control. Some matches/situations will ask you to be the aggressor, perhaps against a control deck or something, and you want that option available to you. Finks does both the control and aggro plan. However, it does shift the deck's focus a little.

Also, did you know that I actually have my own Bant list up on here that I added 5 months ago? I totally forgot about it, and I'm going to edit it with some of the knowledge gained from here, but nevertheless:

Let's Play a Game of Sigarda Says!

Modern TheAnnihilator

SCORE: 3 | 15 COMMENTS | 284 VIEWS

@TheAnnihilator. Looks great. Awesome help and feed back. I put one Supreme Verdict in the main to perhaps draw into.

I still believe Ojutai's Command can be good, but perhaps just as a one-of.

How we looking now?

I like everything but the 14 card sideboard. For the last card, I highly suggest an Engineered Explosives since it's great against Boggles, Affinity, Tokens, Zoo, etc.

Alright great! Thanks for the playtesting help and the link to your version. Really would like to make Bant Control a thing.

I think after hearing your experience and some my own playtesting along with the changes, I thinking I need to revamp the description.

Snapcaster Ojutagoyf is indeed a fun card (nice to see goyf in a non-black deck)

+1 (i like all the revisions, but i cant help but feel Troll Ascetic/Thrun, the Last Troll+Worship could be fun as sideboard tech)

Thanks IzuKorasu, yeah there is pretty good synergy.

Worship does seem like an interesting SB inclusion!

Anyone have thoughts on the inclusion of Spellskite? Seems reasonable to to soak up some removal, can be brought back with o-command, synergy with Restoration Angel and a decent blocker.

Also thinking I need sweeper (Supreme Verdict). Thoughts?

I support playing a singleton Spellskite at least because Boggles and Infect exist.

For you, since you're a little light on removal, I'd prolly go for 2. Don't bring them in against Burn tho (unless you have Leylines to protect) because it's a trap. They always have the Destructive Revelry.

Yeah. Being light on removal was my concern. Thinking maybe -1 remand -1 mana leak for 2 skites?

I could also add a Dismember.

Another wrath effect?

No, not mainboard -- sideboard. Skite mainboard is very questionable.

Dragaan - move back to my thread, sorry to take over yours!

I see, I've always played a bit lighter on the fetches, mostly because I plau UW builds with 4 of them! I see folks play like 9 of them in Jund and Abzan, and since those decks play scooze, I went that direction. Maybe going down to 6 fetches makes sense? I always liked UW because the manabase was soooo great. The extra green certainly does force the issue, which again points to whether or not scooze is worth it. Honestly, I'm not doing the Jund midrange/discard thing or the Abzan midrange/aggro thing. In the matches I have played, I either didn't draw scooze or, favored landing goyf and keeping mana up, so it may make sense to cut it and become a bit more focused - maybe another snappy. Not trying to make room for scooze also allows for us to get WW out for the wrath effects. Staying closer to UW also allows me to consider one of my favorite cards Shadow of Doubt

In UW, I'm a bigger fan of Glacial Fortress than Seachrome Coast, and mystic gate becomes relevant over flooded grove.

Bant charm is mainly there for extra removal (also for the flexibility), but I guess adding another snappy allows for more paths to be snapped back. The charm is awkward in casting cost.

I've entertained the idea of adding spellskite too

I would usually say Glacial Fortress over Seachrome Coast any day, but for some odd reason I thought the Coast might work better in this deck than my usual UW decks. Can't really say why... Lower curve and chance of starting with a Forest I guess, lol. But maybe Fortress is still just better here. I really really like that land. It's my favorite dual in UW I think.

As for my suggestions/feedback so far, I still need to play the deck more before anything I say can really be taken seriously. Like I said, I think this deck is going to take a ton of practice to figure out. It's no where near as straightforward as UW. I found myself struggling to figure out the best lines of play in my first few games, but I could tell the deck was powerful. It just has a lot going on. I'll repost after I've played a few more games.

I'm not sure why I was finding it so complex... One part was just I wasn't used to shocking myself so much in a control deck. Had a really close match vs burn that I was able to win. You'd think just adding Goyfs to play beatdown on top of the traditional UW build would be pretty straightforward, but it just completely changed the way I play compared to with my UW deck.

Yeah, the many lines one can take makes it complex. And scooze adds another dimension that us control players are not used to. I'm also wondering about the angels. I really do like them in all my UW builds, and they can certainly apply pressure in a different way than goyf can (also comes down instant speed), but other than snappy, no other creatures have an ETB ability. I think Bant charm might be better as something else.

I swapped the Bant Charm with a Vendilion Clique for now. Might be better to have another spell (Detention Sphere?) there instead, but Clique is kinda like a spell, and it works with the Angels and even Minamo. Something keeps telling me to try Kira, Great Glass-Spinner in decks like this, though... I wonder if she'd be worth trying. Protects your Goyfs and stuff and adds an extra layer of protection to Ojutai (and, again, works with Minamo for what that's worth). Makes Verdicts that much more awkward, though.

Kira sounds interesting, and I think fits if I had more creatures and no wrath effects. I think I may go back to finks plan instead of scooze, doesn't work with o-command but makes the angels much more relevant. Also eases the manabase a bit, and tossing another +1/+1 counter from dromoka's command makes it that much more durable. Might worth checking out. Thoughts?

Upped the Snapcaster Mages to 3. Seems better.

"One focus is to get a turn 2 Tarmogoyf. This is one reason why Serum Visions is played over Think Twice or Anticipate and Telling Time"/\|and bolt in ur turn to Goyf? Yeah. Great plan.

I know "bukkake Visions" is an additional +1/+1 for goyf in late game, but... still. Turn 2 goyf is (vs red deck) bad plan.

Well, maybe Kiivuhl. I'm a control payer at heart, so I'm certainly one to keep mana up and the aggro plan might be match-up dependent.

Actually, if there is a land (from a fetch) and a sorcery (from the visions) in the yard, the bolt would deal 3 to a 3/4 goyf, because the bolt, as an instant, provides the +1/+1 counter for the goyf before the damage hits. Does red want to spend two bolts on my goyf? That's actually fine by me, and regardless, seems really powerful, especially on the play.

At any rate, thanks for taking a look. Red-based decks are always a concern. I'm interested in your feedback, both in card selection and sequencing.

turn 2 Goyf is almost always good.

I like that this deck doesn't have to run Geist of Saint Traft. While a good creature, he often gets trumped by fatter creatures in the format.

I would think that maybe Spell Pierce or, in this deck, Stubborn Denial might best Dispel in the sideboard solely to be able to counter Lilis and other troublesome non-instants, but that's always tricky to negotiate and Dispel is often the right choice. Just a thought.

buildingadeck - I like Geist of Saint Traft, it's just that goyf comes down a turn prior, and I don't like tapping out turn 3. I think if I went Bant Aggro, and included some Noble Hierarchs I'd include good ole geist!

Negate is actually the card I bring in for pesky walkers and such. I really like the idea of pierce or deniel because of the cost, but negate stays relevant longer. Might be worth testing though! Thanks!

Since Splinter Twin got banned, Dromoka's Command seems less good main. Any thoughts on something better for the spot?

Some adjustments:

-2 Mana Leak - just seems dead, especially with the ramp in the format

+1 Spell Snare - total of 3 - seems more relevant

+2 Spellskite - was reluctant to MB this guy, but I think it's worth testing. Helps stabilize early, good vs burn and bogles, protects our goyfs (and other creatures) from removal, can be bought back with Ojutai's Command, and has good synergy with Restoration Angel.

Thoughts?