This is my blue/white control. While not the strongest out there by any means, it normally works really well for me. Standard playing, stall until you can drop a win-con. Time to go through the deck. :D
Lands. Necessary to play at all. Basics, I run 8 Island and 5 Plains. Nonbasics, I run 3 Terramorphic Expanse and 4 Tranquil Cove. Sure, I could play fetch lands but they are too expensive and with this deck I can't really afford the life loss.
The Nopes. These are the counterspells I use and have available to me. Used to get rid of the annoying spells my opponents use. 1 Silence, which is absolutely lovely. However, I only have one available but plan on getting a playset in here soon. 3 Essence Scatter to remove the troublesome creatures that would really damage me. 3 Negate to take care of the non creatures. 3 Cancel to remove anything at all. 4 Mana Leak to hurt their early game and set up. And lastly a single Judge's Familiar that I dubbed 'Da Burd'. I've been playing around with him and found that the opponents play a lot more cautiously with him out. I may bump him to a playset. 1 drop for a 1/1 counterspell flyer? Yes please. :D
The removal. Every now and again, I can't counter a creature or choose not to. That's where this comes in. Lets throw in 3 copies of Banisher Priest. I chose him over O-Ring because he's also able to block. Which has come in handy on more than one occasion. 1
day of judgement
, 1 End Hostilities, and 2 Planar Cleansing all of which nukes and clears the board of creatures. Preventing the opponent's ability to hurt me through beatdown. And lastly, 2 Revoke Existence to remove the artifacts or enchantments that may end up hurting me.
I like to ride my bi-cycle. The cards that let me draw or move around my deck to get the necessary win-con I want or need. A lot of these are self-explanatory. But I can tell you why anyways. :D2 Quicken, honestly I never thought this card would ever be any good, however it has stepped up. Allowing me to draw and play insta nukes or draws has been really nice. 2 Jace, Architect of Thought puts my opponent in a tough situation giving me a card or two that I want/need. 1 Thassa, God of the Sea for some scrying every turn. 4 Divination which I've been considering replacing. I'm sure there is something better that is cheaper, but it has always done what it has needed to. 1 Mind Spring to draw a bunch of cards. And lastly, 1 Consecrated Sphinx. While expensive, has almost always been a game changer if not dealt with immediately.
FINISH HIM!!! After torturing your opponent by not allowing them to do anything, it's time to break them down and make them hate playing the deck. The Wincons. 1 Chasm Skulker, with the amount of cards I draw Skulker has some serious output if not killed instantly. Constantly buffing when drawing cards and if he dies, I get an armada of cute squids? Absolutely. 1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion, the +1 is way too strong. And what's that? I can nuke the field also? Why not? :D2 Jace, Memory Adept +1 to draw and mill, and a +0 to kill them in 5 turns via deckout. A little slower, but hasn't really failed me yet. And lastly, a single copy of Venser, the Sojourner. Now this one sounds odd, but he has yet to ever prove useless. +2 to give me a land back or some health if needed. -1 to send my creatures straight through. And I know you shouldn't pick a planeswalker because of their ulti, but come on..-8 to exile something every time I cast something? "I play quicken then mana leak my quicken then mana leak my mana leak then negate that mana leak and negate that negate. Then I'll exile 5 of your lands and draw a card." This has happened. It was lovely. I had to put him in. And it's been working well. No one targets the VensBenz.
And that's the layout and overview. It's a strong deck that I really like, however I'm always looking to improve it. Open to suggestions. Leave me some feedback. :D
