Draw Power in U/W Control
Deck Help forum
Posted on Feb. 10, 2014, 11:45 p.m. by Arorsthrar
I run U/W control, and I'm unsure about which draw spells to run. I've seen these two patters online and these are the two most common patterns that other U/W players tell me to run:
-Set 1: 3x Quicken , 4x Divination , 3x Sphinx's Revelation : This provides good early game draw, especially with Quicken which allows me to sometimes keep two land hands. Also, it is nice to pull in an instant speed Supreme Verdict , but with Fated Retribution , I don't know how relevant that it anymore. Divination is never a dead draw since it replaces itself with two cards for only 3, and can net 3 cards at the end of my opponents turn with Quicken . Sphinx's Revelation is just Sphinx's Revelation . This is the one I've been running, and there are rarely times when I regret having the numerous draw spells, though against Aggro match ups, it may not be the best.
Set 2: 2x Divination , 4x Sphinx's Revelation -Divination provides early game draw and keeps my hand full during pivotal mid-early stages of the game. A full playset of Sphinx's Revelation allows me to dominate late game and recover from heavy life losses. Although in early game the draw power in this style is much weaker, I have room for four more cards, which could help me with my lands (I'm only at 25 right now) or help bring in some badly needed control cards (Last Breath ).
Which Set of Draw cards do you like better, or is there another one entirely that you would run?
Servo_Token says... #3
I found that 3 sphinx's rev is enough. You never want one in your opening hand, but you always want to be able to chain them late game.
The mix that I used was 2 divination, 2 jace, 3 sphinx's rev, 4 azorius charm. I was on the elixir plan, though I wasn't trying to go for that 1 win con bullcrap. This build got me where I needed to be and was reliable to get me through every game in just about the same fashion every time.
I'd say bring in the control suite instead of relying on Quicken to help you out.
February 11, 2014 12:30 a.m.
Arorsthrar says... #4
I'm all about the Elixir of Immortality strategy. I do have a Brimaz, King of Oreskos that I can trade for my fourth Sphinx's Revelation if it truly is a must, but I do see how it might not be that attractive in a starting hand, especially to see it get Thoughtseize 'd away. So, how many Divination would you suggest?
February 11, 2014 12:38 a.m.
I would run all 4 Divination , assuming U/W Control Freak is the deck in question. Not having Jace, Architect of Thought is already cutting into your draw power.
Personally, I started playing with 3 rev and after making the switch to 4, I would never go back. I don't understand the sentiment that you don't want one in your opening hand, that just means you can start casting them earlier. Even against hyper-aggressive decks, it's much to important to have one at some point to really lock the game away. Once you've stabilized and gotten a decent rev off, the game is basically over. 4 ensures that that happens as often as possible. And as mentioned, I like have 4 of my best card when facing down so much discard. My personal 2 cents.
February 11, 2014 1:01 a.m.
Arorsthrar says... #6
I understand where you're coming from. I'll work on getting my fourth Sphinx's Revelation and fitting in a couple more Divination . Thanks for your help!
February 11, 2014 1:09 a.m.
3 Sphinx's Revelation 3 Divination 4 Azorius Charm Charm is a better choice over Quicken every time because of the modes the charm has, one being a bounce/removal spell that sets your opponent back a turn as they are drawing the creature you bounced with it.
February 11, 2014 8:49 a.m.
I would shy away from sorcery speed card draw. It's really not good in a control deck that wants to leave mana open for counterspells in the oppnents turn. I wouldn't go for more than 2x Divination . Even then I'd be tempted to go for Quicken it's not net card advantage but it allows you to cycle through to the good stuff quicker.
Personally I highly value instant speed over sorcery. A good control deck should not be casting anything in their own turn until they have enough mana open to play whatever it is they want and then a counterspell as well.
February 11, 2014 9:10 a.m.
ChiefBell when the format limits you to specific cards to do the job. The choice may come down to a 3 cmc sorcery or 6 cmc instant. In this case, Divination is a much better card than Opportunity , which after sphinx's rev and the charm, are the best ones in current standard.
February 11, 2014 9:25 a.m.
That's very true, Opportunity is not miles better. To be honest though if we do a thought experiment for a second -
If you play Divination in your turn you need 3 mana open for a Dissolve in the opponent's turn. That's 6 mana.
Opportunity costs 6 mana and you're able to cast it at the end of their turn when you know that they're not doing anything.
So in those two situations (which both represent how you should be playing control) both cards are about equal.
But I wouldn't rule out Quicken .
February 11, 2014 9:31 a.m.
I'm not saying you should play Opportunity - you shouldn't. It's a horrible, dead draw in the early game and won't be there to help you replace your used counterspells in the mid game.
But it's interesting to think carefully about its cost and how it can be used.
February 11, 2014 9:42 a.m.
Servo_Token says... #13
You're not meant to be playing divination on anything past turn 5. It's used as a turn 3 spell to help you dig to revelation. You can either cast it early when you don't care what your opponent does and don't need to counter, or you can play it on turn 20 when you don't care what your opponent does. Also, you don't need to counter every spell in every match. If that's how you're thinking, you've obviously never played UW control for yourself.
February 11, 2014 10:12 a.m.
Well duh, Einstein. But unless you have the power of foresight and know exactly what they're about to do, it's better to keep mana open. If you play an early Divination you can't react, no matter what they do. I completely agree that some things don't need a reaction, but if you tap out then the opponent usually has something in hand to ruin your day.
Slycne says... #2
It really depends on your meta and also the style of UW control you are running.
4 of Sphinx's Revelation is always a must. The current UW Control isn't last seasons flash deck, and Thoughtseize and discard are popular this season. You want all 4 of your strongest card because they will take it away and nothing fights 1-for-1s better than simply refilling your hand.
0 to 4 Divination this ultimately comes down to what version of UW you run. The Elixir of Immortality 1 win-con all answers version wants them. The sole idea is to start cycling Elixir of Immortality and start just drawing all gas over and over. The regular 3-5 win-con control doesn't particularly need them unless mono-black is really heavy in your meta.
Quicken isn't card draw, or at least not card advantage. Cycling(a card that replaces itself) is nice to have, like on Azorius Charm , but I wouldn't factor it too much into the conversation.
4 Jace, Architect of Thought don't forget that this is also a card draw engine.
My current configuration - Azorius Conviction is 4 Sphinx's Revelation , 4 Jace, Architect of Thought .
February 11, 2014 12:12 a.m.