Control Help (standard)
Deck Help forum
Posted on Dec. 15, 2013, 10:55 p.m. by Dalektable
Control always has been, and likely always will be, my favorite playstyle in magic. I am just incredibly cynical so i love watching my opponents rage as i wipe the board or counter their bomb. There is just one problem...playing control is so damn expensive! I am a sophomore in highschool guys, i can't afford a playset of Thoughtseize or Sphinx's Revelation ! So with that being said, i've created this and i'm looking to buy it with some of the money i shall be getting for christmas. deck-large: burning-control-14-12-13-1It is a burn/control deck utilizing Ral Zarek as he is one of my favorite planeswalkers to date. Izzet control is by no means a 'tier one' deck, and i don't expect it to be, but it is one of my favorite color combos to play so i'd like to. But i want to be able to run this deck at a FNM and be able to top 8 with it. My budget is $100< so if you could please keep that in consideration when commenting that would be great. I'm trying to improve upon the mainboard and develop a sideboard. Thanks everyone!
Dalektable says... #3
ENEyman True. Do you think 24 would be enough, or should i pick it up to 25?
December 15, 2013 11:15 p.m.
notamardybum says... #4
Control decks tend to have more land because they need to consistently make land drops up to turn 7.
December 15, 2013 11:35 p.m.
Personally I don't like Guttersnipe and Young Pyromancer here. While they have their synergy, one of the best aspect of control decks is that you get to gain virtual card advantage on your opponent by blanking their removal spells. Playing them just means all those Doom Blade , Devour Flesh , etc now can trade with a card from your deck, where as drawing to many of those when you're only creature is something that doesn't care about them, AEtherling , is almost a free win.
Also, I just wanted to point out there's an important distinction between card advantage and card selection. You bring it up a few times in your description but cards like Izzet Charm and Magma Jet someone's face are actually card disadvantage, you end up with fewer cards than you started and you didn't use it to trade with your opponent's cards. Sometimes that selection is still needed, but it's good to keep in mind that your down a resource from that.
December 15, 2013 11:54 p.m.
Dalektable says... #6
Slycne Fair enough point. What would i fill those seven slots with though?
December 16, 2013 8:10 a.m.
Pyrokineticrage says... #7
Just a thought you could put in 2x Judge's Familiar instead of Syncopate its a 1 that can sneak a few damage in early and In my >> OPINION << Syncopate is only ever worth it as a 2 cost at 3 mana you might as well be using Dissolve or Cancel
December 16, 2013 8:27 a.m.
Dalektable At least another 2 lands would be a good idea. Without a traditional Wrath of God -esque sweeper, your stabilization point is often going to be once you start casting more than one spell a turn. So you don't want to be floundering on 2-3 mana.
After that I would say some additional card draw would be nice. Steam Augury is alright, but it does lead to some awkward situations where you can never get the card you want and instead get a pile of useless stuff. Inspiration , Thoughtflare , Opportunity , Divination would be good additions.
And then I consider adding the 4th Turn / Burn . The versatility is nice, but it's also the only real response to some big threat that slips through counters. If you tap out for a planeswalker, you need an answer for that Polukranos, World Eater they just played that isn't 2 for 1-ing yourself with other removal.
December 16, 2013 1:53 p.m.
Dalektable says... #9
Slycne I changed the deck up quite a bit taking some of your suggestions into consideration, care to take a look?
December 16, 2013 5 p.m.
Looks good, as with any control list there's going to be tuning to dial in based on your local meta. Some cards might raise or lower in count based on that.
The only final thought I have is that you don't need 3 AEtherling . You actually don't want to find them all that early, since they only clog your hand until you've stabilized.
Again, another land wouldn't hurt in the spot. While only 6 mana, AEtherling often won't get played until you have at least 7-8 mana in order to protect it, and even more in the control mirror where you're ideally looking to force it to the board with counter back-up.
ENEyman says... #2
AEtherling at "7 mana" is a bit high for only 23 lands, don't you think?
December 15, 2013 11:11 p.m.