The Goal
The goal of this deck is to control the game from the start. You do this through a variety of counterspells and removal to deal with annoying permanents.
The Cards
Creatures
Restoration Angel - An absolutely amazing creature. This card was a complete monster in Standard with Thragtusk and has found a home in the American Control decks of Modern. It makes for a slightly more expensive Snapcaster and gives you an actual win-con aside from the Celestial Colonnades.
Snapcaster Mage - Best blue creature ever other than Tarmogoyf. Gives you extra copies of an spell in your deck and is also a half decent creature.
Instants and Sorceries
Cryptic Command - Often used as a counterspell that cantrips it still gives you tons of other options. For added value use the textless promo one because like Gavin Verhey said "It can do anything if you try hard enough".
Electrolyze - Best 3 mana burn spell that does two damage in the game. (It might also be the only one) The ability to split the damage however you like is probably the best part after you know the three best words in Magic "Draw a card".
Lightning Bolt - The third best member of the boon cycle which contained a member of the power nine, an integral part of Legacy and Vintage Storm decks, an exceptionally large bear, and a pretty awful healing salve.
Lightning Helix - Lightning Bolt stapled to the aforementioned
Healing Salve
. (Pretty Much)
Mana Leak - The fair version of Counterspell. Has diminishing returns in the late game but is a great blowout if people can't or don't play around it.
Path to Exile - The Modern version of the best removal spell ever printed. Simple as that. Use the Rebecca Guay art for the best effect.
Shadow of Doubt - The two mana Stone Rain. Use this against people when they fetch for a land or to disrupt birthing pod for a turn.
Spell Snare - I recently reduced the amount of these in the deck because it has similar problems to Mana Leak as it has a hard time being useful in the late game. Still great because you can stop a Goyf on the draw.
Sphinx's Revelation - Extremely powerful card. It's pretty bad in the early game as most X spells are but can "win" you the game around the time you have 6-8 lands in play.
Planeswalkers
Ajani Vengeant - My favorite planeswalker that is Modern legal and probably the third best planeswalker in the game depending on how Dack Fayden turns out and if the newest Chandra is actually good in Modern.
Sideboard
Baneslayer Angel - Seems like a really great card to combat Zoo or other decks based around fast paced aggro and tempo. Play this after a turn 4 Wrath to set up for a quick win.
Counterflux
- My way of fighting Storm and winning control wars all in one package. Two birds with one stone as they say.
Vendilion Clique - Moderately costly hand disruption in blue that gives you a flier and a clock.
Hurkyl's Recall - Completely resets a Robot player's board. Sure it gives you roughly an two turns but that could be enough for you to draw a Wrath or stabilize.
Relic of Progenitus - Helps shut down Storm or dredge decks and can just cantrip to get you to more important things.
Stony Silence - Another Robots hate card as it stops Ravager and that helmet thingy whose name I can't remember. Also extremely good against pod.
Wear / Tear - Excellent card against a variety of decks. Simple as that.
Wrath of God - The classical regen defeating board wipe. 4 CMC is vital as Modern is a very fast format.
Sowing Salt
- Completely shuts down Urzatron. Urzatron is very annoying to play against so board this in and make the other two parts of the Urza Cycle as useful as the single Forest that sees play in R/G Tron.
Spellskite - This is a great card against both Splinter Twin and Bogles. Less so for Bogles but neither deck can get a ton done with this on the field.
Threads of Disloyalty
- This card is definitely worth the 30 dollars. You can steal somebody's Goyf with it and that just makes me happy. You can also steal other less expensive things if you are so inclined.
Wrap-Up
So what does the TappedOut community think of this deck? Is it any good? How well does it match-up against others of it's type? Any suggestions you guys have will be taken into account and at the very least put in the Maybe-Board.
(The Maybe-Board is currently the cards that get switched in to convert this into U/W/R Kiki Control. After Shaun McLaren's recent Top 8 at GP Minneapolis it seems like a really good idea that isn't too expensive. I'll be testing this out after I finish the deck in it's current state.)