How to play U/W control :O
Deck Help forum
Posted on Jan. 30, 2014, 10:23 a.m. by Prehstun
I've decided I may join the rest of tha people I once knew as scumbags, and play U/W control. Uhm...well, I've only ever played aggro and midrange... How do I play it! What's the strategy, I assume most of you guys know the U/W control staples, but for those who don't and the instance of it depending on the deck, use this. It will be a New World Nice deck, pretty normal U/W looking.
SharuumNyan says... #3
You do need a lot of patience to play control, but you also need to make decisions quickly. Some control matches are so slow that a single game can take over half an hour. It's easy to get into a frustrating draw situation.
You also have to not worry about losing life early game, which can be counter intuitive for aggro players. It takes a balance of taking a few hits, and then gaining life (with Sphinx's Revelation usually) at exactly the right time.
January 30, 2014 11:20 a.m.
Servo_Token says... #4
To successfully play control, you need to know your opponent. You need to know (roughly) what cards they have in their deck so you know what to counter. You need to be able to recognize when, for example, they have 5 devotion, so that you know when to board wipe. You need to be able to recognize whether or not you're ok at 5 life so you can play your thing before or after the Sphinx's Revelation .
As Sharuum said, use your life as a resource. If you get down to 15, 11, or even 8 within the first few turns, that's ok as long as you can play one card to get yourself out of that situation (see Supreme Verdict ).
And practice practice practice. Playtest against your friends. The more comfortable you are with control decks, the easier it will be to run them successfully.
January 30, 2014 12:45 p.m.
Nigeltastic says... #5
I would also like to say that there are multiple kinds of control decks. Most people associate counterspells with control, and refuse to believe that you can have control without counterspells. This is incorrect, as there are decks that function as control (which is essentially just resource denial, often through counterspells) while not running any counterspells at all. This is usually true of decks with black in it. Black based control decks run a lot of removal, and usually pay life to draw their cards. With these sorts of decks, it is even more important to not be afraid of losing life, as that's often a necessity to playing.
In addition, removal based control takes just as much patience and timing as counterspell control. You can't just throw a your kill spells at any threat, and currently you don't have any amazing sweepers, so you need to choose which threats you remove carefully.
I would classify myself as a black mage, so obviously I prefer the removal kind of control, and would recommend also looking at that if you are interested in control but don't have your heart set completely on U/W. I'm currently playing G/B control which in my build plays relatively similar to mono-black devotion, which is also actually mono-black control, but is not called as such.
January 30, 2014 2:34 p.m.
I would say that if you're doing it just because it's good then you will not enjoy it. Control players are special people that enjoy playing magic by refusing their opponent the opportunity to do so as well. It takes a special and possibly sick person to take joy in others misery, and that's why I play control. If this doesn't describe you then stick to aggro and midrange, there are great decks in standard of those types and I always say you have a better chance of winning by playing what you know and enjoy than what the "best deck" is.
If you stick with it though, then the advice given so far on this thread seems solid to me, and good luck to you! Start the chant.... "ONE OF US! ONE OF US!"
Araganor says... #2
Control decks seek to drag the game out, and win through superior end game threats. Usually, they accomplish this through decisive counterspells, card draw, and removal. Your goal when playing a control deck is to make your opponent run out of options before you play your winning cards. Sweepers like Supreme Verdict are great because they give you the ability to remove many of your opponent's cards with only 1 of your own. Sphinx's Revelation is amazing because it gets better the longer the game lasts. When your opponent's hand is near empty and you completely refill yours, they will be out of options, and you can take over with a very powerful card that will win the game on its own (i.e. your wincon).
Playing control requires a lot of decision making. You need to know when to play your board wipes, for one. If you play it too early, you won't remove enough of their cards, but if you play it too late you will take too much damage. You need to be able to bluff counterspells. Always act as though you have a plan, even if all you have in your hand is 3 lands. Sometimes it will be enough to stop your opponent from dropping a game-winning spell, because they are afraid of the counter. Likewise, don't fall into the trap of wasting your counter on the first spell you see either, or you will give your opponent a chance to sneak something through unanswered. Also, having knowledge of your opponent's strategy is pretty crucial as well, so you know what is an acceptable and unacceptable board state. If you like playing something every turn, you're not really going to enjoy control :P Most of your moves will be on the opponent's end step or during their combat phase.
Practice makes perfect, good luck!
January 30, 2014 11:12 a.m.