Plainswalker for modern
Modern forum
Posted on March 21, 2014, 2:19 a.m. by counterpointmtg
Hi I hAve been running nicol bolas in my control deck and was wound earring if I should put in a more effective early game walker instead any ideas here's a link to the list for reference http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/grixis-control-30-12-13-4/
counterpointmtg says... #3
Thanks SO much I am trying to build a quicker completive deck like you said and use ultimadum as a finisher thanks again cheers
March 21, 2014 2:46 a.m.
CrazyLittleGuy says... #4
No problem. Oh! I forgot something as well; Cruel Control typically ran a couple copies of Jace Beleren for a lasting card draw engine, if you find that to be something you need.
The difficult part of piloting a Cruel Control list is that you're going at odds with the rest of the meta; once again, this boils down to speed. While most decks are looking to rapidly put out threats and protect them while simultaneously keeping their opponent's board clear of any hazards, Cruel Control kind of just wants to sit back and let the board develop for a while, disrupting the biggest things and eating a bit of damage until it can slam a blowout Cruel Ultimatum to completely change the tide of the game. You preferably want to only play answers to your opponent's spells, instead of focusing on your own board presence. That is, until the late game when cards like Creeping Tar Pit , Lavaclaw Reaches , and Cruel Ultimatum come online.
I would recommend you take a look at some of the traditional decklists for Cruel Control and take it from there. The good thing about the archetype is how adaptive it is; build it to suit your local meta where instead of using lists from online to netdeck you use them as guidelines for how you want your deck to function. You might be like me and want to run Liliana of the Veil to get a handle on the game early on, or you might prefer to use Jace Beleren to just go digging all game until you find what you need to recover.
Either way, here's a quick list of some of the more essential cards that might help you get started: Snapcaster Mage Cryptic Command Damnation Remand Thoughtseize Inquisition of Kozilek Electrolyze Mana Leak Dreadbore Terminate Lightning Bolt
Happy building!
March 21, 2014 3:16 a.m.
counterpointmtg says... #5
Thanks I cant wait to get damnation and try it out!
CrazyLittleGuy says... #2
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker is very powerful, but mana intensive. It's especially tough casting him in a fast-paced format like Modern, which is a turn 4 format (meaning most games are decided around turn 4, regardless of when they actually end.) This makes Bolas almost useless in competitive modern scenes, where decks like Splinter Twin can combo off before you're even close to casting him. In casual, I could not recommend him enough, as he's all-around fun and enjoyable to use.
However, Cruel Control decks (Modern Grixis control decks that run Cruel Ultimatum ) are no longer as competitive as they used to be because of their slow speed. You might be able to disrupt the board for a while, but it's nearly impossible to get around something as powerful as Celestial Colonnade when they've got a full suite of counterspells like Remand and recursion from Snapcaster Mage to back it up.
My recommendation for competitive would be to stick to lower cost Planeswalkers if you run any at all. The cheapest and most effective walker for RBU colors in modern is currently Liliana of the Veil , as she provides much of the hand and board disruption necessary for Grixis control to function as early as turn 3.
That was a bit long-winded, my bad. In summary, the only truly competitive Modern planeswalkers currently are cheap ones like Liliana of the Veil and Ajani Vengeant .
March 21, 2014 2:41 a.m.