Do you like Bant? Do you like Control? Do you like the Grand Omnipotence that is Bant Control? Do you like to piss off your friends and utterly sh*t on your (non)local metagame? Well, if you join us, then every game you ever play, you'll have all of your friends moaning... "this Bant be happening..."
Bant control may not be a thing in modern, but that doesn't mean it can't be! Some of you may argue that "this is barely bant... you have two cards that need green, and they're even multicolored", but I doubt you'll complain about Bant Vs. Azorius when you save your Geist of Saint Traft from Liliana of the Veil's -2 with Voidslime. However, for those of you adamant to call it an azorius control deck, I did add this deck under that hub as well. You're welcome... prick.
But who cares about the Introduction, right? So lets get to the breakdown
Removal
Path to Exile- best white removal in the format. Our only real direct removal at instant speed.
Detention Sphere
- Gotta love a good ol' D-sphere. Great to hit planeswalkers, enchantments, batterskulls, as well as any annoying/threatening creatures, plus all of their brothers and clones!
Azorius Charm- Probably the most lack-luster card in the deck, but is still definitely worth a slot. So go ahead, swing in with a massive Tarmogoyf or your turn 2
Gurmag Angler
, you'll just draw it again with no cards to delve it out with. The other options aren't bad, especially the lifelink with a few monk tokens out thanks to
Monastery Mentor
, and the draw can be helpful to cycle through to what we need.
Bant Charm-... you mean I can choose to blow up Batterskull, tuck your Tarmogoyf, or counter your Collected Company? With one card? Please, thank you, have a nice day. Even without playtesting, I'm certain this card will overperform for us.
On a side note, please notice that our spot removal says screw indestructibitches and regene-haters
We also have Supreme Verdict and Wrath of God as 1ofs each for our sweepers. While Verdict is great for being uncounterable, wrath of god is just as good in the face of Golgari Charm
Countermagic
Remand- Since when has Remand not been good? Sure, it goes back to their hand, but that also means you know one card in their hand, so they probably won't be playing that remanded Goyf for a while, anticipating another counterspell sitting in your hand. as an added bonus, Remand replaces itself. Value!
Cryptic Command- Can we just take a moment of silence for this thing of beauty?...Okay, that's long enough... it goes without saying, but Cryptic Command has to be the single best blue card in the modern format... aside from
Storm Crow
, of course. Command can counter, draw, tap, or bounce. Choose two, watch opponent cry.
Voidslime- probably our best counterspell in the board. Not only can we stop threats from hitting the field, we can stop their utility as they make it past the stack. Liliana of the Veil ticked her way up and ready to ultimate? Voidslime can ensure your opponents' uttering of "the sigh" (see our user profile) in such situations.
While Bant Charm is also capable of countering threats, it will not be mentioned in this section due to the exclusivity of its countermagic abilities.
Creatures
Snapcaster Mage- Great for any situation in need of a response, granted the proper response is in the graveyard. Can reuse Serum Visions to further dig for more answers, or one of our counterspells to throw off our opponents plans, or removal to... well, remove.
Geist of Saint Traft- As Junk and Rock decks use Tarmogoyf to throw a clock on the board, we use Geist to do the same. His Hexproof to avoid Abrupt Decay and burn spells, along with our removal to keep him on board, creates a devastating combination for our opponent.
Tarmogoyf- He is his own win-con. If even one is unanswered he will be your (hero's) downfall.
Draw Power and Utility
Serum Visions- The best 1st turn play this deck can have is Serum Visions. Starts up our tempo, and sets up our first and most important draws of the game. Even later in the game, it isn't a bad card to see, helping decide which draws can end the game in our favor the most effectively.
Jace, Architect of Thought- Jace is just a badass. In every way, shape, and form. But here, we would like him to take the role of the architect. More often than not, his -2 will be used to help restock our hand with other relevant cards. Against decks like Splinter Twin, his +1 is relevant, completely nerfing Deceiver Exarch. If for some reason we get to -8 Jace, he can win games on his own, potentially doing stuff like stealing our opponents' Damnation, then dropping a Siege Rhino onto the field.
Narset Transcendent- Narset just gives me a hard-on, plain and simple. Here, her +1 can almost always turn into drawing power, and her -2 gives cards like Serum Visions, Bant Charm, and Cryptic Command extra value (as if they didn't have enough already). In games where she gives us the emblem, our opponent is Dead-On-Board. With no disruption, counterspells, or draw power to lean on in an already uphill battle, our opponent won't be able to bounce back from their current state.
Sphinx's Revelation- Used only in late-game, Rev is here as a 1of to restock our hand and gain a bit of life in the process. Though it can't be exploited by Narset Trancendent, we can still squeeze a bit more value out of this one with Snapcaster Mage.
Sideboard
Bant Charm- this card is very powerful and can be sided in against affinity, more removal for aggro decks, or even against control decks for the counter spell. It's a weak counter spell, but it can still help.
Creeping Corrosion- We have this bad boy here for guys that like to fly off of the wall like Etched Champion and to just shut down Affinity for the game.
Chalice of the Void this card is just gross. it's a great defense against burn, affinity, and even 8rack.
Leyline of Sanctity- I decided to use Leyline in here against the black control matchups that love to hand rip us, and now that bug is becoming popular its a defense against Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver. It also shuts down 8rack, and burn.
Nature's Claim- this is just so good. We can utilize to slow affinity by hitting a Mox Opal right off, or even use it against Twin. It's just nice to have.
Relic of Progenitus- We have relic in here for GY hate against Junk, so we don't have to deal with those pesky Soul tokens. It's also a defense against Dredge, Re-animator, and anything else that utilizes the graveyard besides us. We can also exile GYs and cantrip.
Sigarda, Host of Herons- Sigarda is just a sexy beast. She stops such a powerful card like Liliana of the Veil from destroying us.(not like we have much problems with her anyway) but she also blocks Siege Rhino and Tasigur, the Golden Fang nicely AND to top it all off she's hexproof!
Spellskite- he is SO hard for twin to deal with. Infect also hates him. He's just a nice thing to have. It's great.
Stony Silence-This card has just proven to hurt so many decks. It slows down Tron, hurts affinity, and even stops some crazy combo decks that use artifacts. It also stops swords from being equipped (they're really difficult to deal with sometimes) and it also disables batterskull from being bounced/equipped after the little token is gone.
Supreme Verdict- Non-counterable board wipe.. Is there anything else to say?
Thrun, the Last Troll- Thrun is just another beast. He can't be countered, targeted, and a 4/4 regenerate beatstick. I love it. He's mainly here for control matchups.
