I need help creating a new Control archetype
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on Oct. 4, 2024, 5:07 p.m. by Metroid_Hybrid
Phyrexia: All is One (ONE) had three particular cards in it that effectively created a new archetype. An archetype that I have been trying to make work since the original Scars of Mirrodin block: Infect Control. However, the creature-centric nature of the poison counter mechanic made the idea effectively impossible. That is, until the cards:
I have seen lists with these three cards on mtgtop8 in Pauper, Standard, and Pioneer. I took what I saw and brewed my own Pauper deck and a Standard deck (that now needs to be turned into a Pioneer deck)...
But those aren't the subject of this help thread.
Right now I would like help perfecting the Modern variant that I have recently brewed in my free time, but otherwise haven't had the time/money to go out into the wild to properly test it out..
uB Infect Control w/ Obliterator sideboard..
Modern
SCORE: 21 | 19 COMMENTS | 6211 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS
wallisface says... #3
Some thoughts:
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Generally a deck wants either countermagic or hand-disruption, not normally both - as it creates a weird jumble of tempo and mismatched-plans. This is why you'll see basically no control decks running hand disruption. In that vein i'd suggest removing the Thoughtseize.
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A lot of cards in your deck are just not good. Specifically, instead of running Anoint with Affliction, Corrupted Resolve, Serum Snare, Reject Imperfection, or Fuel for the Cause, you're better off just running good-cards like Counterspell, Fatal Push, and Drown in the Loch.
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Similarly, Infectious Inquiry being sorcery speed makes it really terrible and unplayable. Same goes for Vivisurgeon's Insight and Phyrexian Arena. These cards are all just too clumsy, don't do enough, and give your opponent the opportunity to do things.
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I think your creatures validate your opponents interaction too much and also mess with your own plan to control the game.
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The sideboard choices confuse me.
If I were trying to build a deck like this, I'd be using the following as a base:
- 23x Lands
- 3x Virulent Wound
- 4x Prologue to Phyresis
- 4x Vraska's Fall
- 4x Drown in Ichor
- 1x Inexorable Tide
- 2x Damnation
- 2x Cling to Dust
- 3x Fatal Push
- 4x Counterspell
- 4x Drown in the Loch
- 2x Sheoldred's Edict
- 4x Preordain
October 4, 2024 10:15 p.m.
I overall love the direction this deck and particularly like Corrupted Resolve.
I overall just dont think it's effcient enough... trying to answer the opponent's strategy in a one-for-one trade war with more mana intensive cards or cards that require setup and synergy is a really big ask unless you have some key card/method that suddenly invalidates your opponents deck like a board wipe and you have cards in hand and they dont or or you virtually combo and win. Take Crashing Footfalls
, Orcish Bowmasters or Ajani, Nacatl Pariah
Flip as examples of really common modern threats that will probably overload your control spells particularly because they are higher on curve.
But again I really like the concept of this deck and I would love to hear a war story of it working at your FNM!
October 8, 2024 9:02 a.m.
Metroid_Hybrid says... #5
Thanks guys!
There are a few reasons why the deck looked the way it did, but I would rather not waste everyone's time with a wall of text. Instead, I would like to say that I have taken most of your suggestions, and have made a bunch of changes as a result..
What do you think?
October 10, 2024 12:03 p.m.
wallisface says... #6
It looks a lot more viable! I’m not sure you’d want to run more than a single copy of Inexorable Tide, I still think Infectious Inquiry is going to hurt you more than help you, and I still think Corrupted Resolve is a worse Counterspell… to the point that if you're not sure your manabase can handle double-blue, i’d still be picking Mana Leak before it (i’m just not seeing how you’ll reliably be able to get a poison on the opponent by turn 2, which is when you’ll start needing countermagic).
Everything else looks decent though
October 10, 2024 2:10 p.m.
Metroid_Hybrid says... #7
wallisface: Inexorable Tide is the only thing resembling a "finisher" in here, and the effect stacks, so running a pair seems to make sense..
I want to maximize the absolute number of cards that give the opponent(s) poison counters, hence Infectious Inquiry's 'pair of' status as well. I may drop one eventually, but it will probably always be (at least) a '1-of'..
Finally, while you are absolutely correct about Corrupted Resolve, this is also quite possibly the only type of deck that can even use this card in the first place!! So I guess you can call it a "pet card" of sorts, but that's why I'm also capping it at a pair as well..
October 15, 2024 7:29 p.m.
wallisface says... #8
I guess do some playtesting and see how things go.
I’d heavily suggest against using ”pet cards” though, as this archetype is already trying to pursue a gameplan that is far-from optimal, and so it needs all the help it can get. Including Corrupted Resolve just because you-can, seems like you’re kneecapping your brew before its even had a chance to compete.
Inexorable Tide is in-of itself a bad card, and even running one copy feels dubious. I’d only considered one-copy “ok” because there will be some grindy top-decky situations where it can help. But even then, there will be a lot of games where drawing this, or playing it, cost you the game. Running two copies feels very dangerous.
Running better draw effects, like Opt, Consider, Preordain, Memory Deluge, will draw you naturally into more poison effects. You don’t need Infectious Inquiry to be doing that also. Especially when its life-loss worsens your matchup versus anything remotely-aggro, and its sorcery-speed makes it almost-impossible to control the boardstate.
But, i’d suggest playing some matchups with this deck and seeing how this performs in reality. I’m super-confident my points will hold-up, but its best to test and see.
October 15, 2024 8:57 p.m.
If your that worried about inquiry’s life loss, sideboard it out if your playing against Aggro. In reality, if you have to worry about losing two life than your deck has a problem.
October 15, 2024 11:22 p.m.
wallisface says... #10
Bookrook the life loss is a relatively minor inconvenience admittedly, but being sorcery-speed and 3 mana are both pretty back-breaking. There's just much, much better options for card-draw, and the poison-counter doesn't do enough to make-up for that.
Bookrook says... #2
Cool deck! I feel like a few copies of traditional control spells might find a place in here, like Fell,Go for the Throat, and Memory Deluge. I would take out the Shadow of Doubt and bring in a copy of Ashiok, Dream Render, as it is continuous and serves as graveyard hate. A finisher might be nice like Hullbreaker Horror to push through your infect spells and generally wreak havoc.
October 4, 2024 7:57 p.m.