U/B Control Options / Help
Standard Deck Help forum
Posted on Aug. 8, 2015, 4:34 p.m. by ducttapedeckbox
I played U/B control last night at FNM, and did ok. I lost games due to misplays and bad draws, but overall I'm happy with my performance. With Game Day tomorrow, I'm looking to make adjustments.
- Background: Tomorrow will be my last time playing Standard until after BFZ hits. With that said, I do not want to pick up Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver or Hangarback Walkers.
- Meta: Mostly Abzan variants, with some RDW, Gr Devotion, and U/W/(B) Control.
Problem: The deck seemed convoluted with both Sphinx's Tutelage and Thopter Spy Network in the main board. I think dropping Tutelage is the better option, allowing me to focus more on the artifact subtheme. Below are a few changes that I'm considering:
- Removing Tutelage for a combination of Guardian Automaton and Scuttling Doom Engine.
- Removing 2 Drown in Sorrows from the side - The only deck it's good against in my meta is RDW, which will just start dashing once they see it
- Moving a Perilous Vault into the mainboard.
- Upping the land count to 27- 26 was fine last night. Everyone was surprised I wasn't running 28 or so with the consistency of hitting them.
- Adding Stratus Dancer to the side.
- Adding more Infinite Obliteration to the 75, cuz screw Rhinos... and Raptors... and Dragons... and...
Sideboarding: I'm new the deck (last night was my first time piloting UB (I played UR before) and I think a lot of my play errors were partly due to bad sideboarding. Any advice of what to sideboard against Abzan variants and RDW would be appreciated.
If you have any advice, opinions, alternative suggestions, etc., please post them below!
ducttapedeckbox says... #3
Eh, same thing, right? Thanks! Fixed.
Tokens haven't been much of a problem, and I'm not overly concerned with them now that RDW is more creature and burn spell based.
August 8, 2015 5:12 p.m.
DarkAurora7 says... #4
Sorry, I misread the post.
As for actual suggestions, if you're going with the artifact subtheme, Artificer's Epiphany is a good draw card. Personally, I would run Disdainful Strokes in the mainboard, as pretty much only red decks will have cards with a cmc < 4. I don't think you need 27+ lands, seeing how you have 11 split lands, and only four lands that produce colorless mana. Now, I know you don't want to buy Hangarback Walkers, but it's a great creature for control decks, especially since it grows over time and does well with board wipes.
August 8, 2015 5:25 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #5
I've gone back and fourth on the Disdainful Strokes, and settled on the side because they are still restrictive. Can't do much against Abzan Rally, only stops CoCo in Abzan Aggro, and, as you said, does nothing against RDW. Those are my main concerns. Now, against Esper Dragons, it's great. 2-mana counter for a Dragon or a Dig. That's why it's currently in the side.
I would run Walkers in a heartbeat if I had them or they weren't going to drop in price before the next time I play this deck. I may be able to borrow them tomorrow, but I'm not banking on that. I also elected to run Jace's Ingenuity over Epiphany because I currently only have 4 artifacts to turn it on. That discard can help Dig, but eh. The CMC also fits at an awkward spot, JI fits much better.
DarkAurora7 says... #2
I do believe you mean Sphinx's Tutelage and not Sphinx's Revelation.
Anyway, you could consider Virulent Plague and Displacement Wave for token removal and even the flip walkers with Wave.
August 8, 2015 5:07 p.m.