Help me decide on colors for Control deck
Standard forum
Posted on Jan. 13, 2015, 6:28 p.m. by Obake
i'd like to build a control deck for Standard when FRF comes out, but can't decide exactly how I want to go about it.
Traditionally I like (nearly-)creatureless UB, but I'm just not feeling it in the current incarnation. Long story short they've ruined my colors, the sky is falling, tournament results be damned, whine whine whine. Nothing you haven't heard before I'm sure.
That said, I think I still want to run black at least. The removal might be slower than I'd like, but it is still among the best in the format. On top of that, discard is reasonably strong with Thoughtseize etc, plus solid card drawing with Read the Bones and Sign in Blood, and a good board wipe coming in Crux of Fate. It does lack a way to deal with artifacts and enchantments, so I'll need another color to handle that. It also lacks a good life-draining spell, which could be problematic given the large quantity of "lose 2 life" cards I would want to play.
Beyond that I'm just not sure what to do. Blue's counterspells have been gutted as far as I'm concerned - too conditional or too expensive. They're unwieldy and I don't like them.Blue does still offer the best card drawing spells, though if I can cover the life loss from black's draw spells + Thoughtseize it could easily be cut entirely.
White or green would be the best colors to cover the weakness to artifacts and enchantments. White is philosophically antithetical to the way I look at life, and with a black board wipe it is no longer even a necessary evil. It still might be the way to go considering access to lifegain and the raw power level of some of the white cards. Green seems like a bad choice because it doesn't offer anything else relevant to the style of deck I'm looking to build, but perhaps I'm overlooking something good.
Red could be an interesting choice with some good cards but I feel like it just doesn't do anything black can't do on its own, and usually better. Consider Anger of the Gods vs Drown in Sorrow, Tormenting Voice vs. Read the Bones, Lightning Strike vs. Bile Blight, Hero's Downfall vs. Fated Conflagration, you get the point. It does at least offer artifact destruction to get rid of god weapons like Whip of Erebos, but still can't deal with Ascendancies or Sieges.
So I've ranted for too long, but maybe that helps get across how uncertain I feel. ATM I'm leaning toward a mostly black deck, splashing white for sideboard enchantment removal and maybe Utter End, and possibly red as well just for Crackling Doom. But I just can't make up my mind, so thoughts/suggestions?
TheNinjaJesus says... #3
Prophecy and Punishment (Help) Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 179 VIEWSThat's a Jeskai control deck that's been serving me well. Dig, Augury, and Cruise keeps your hand full with lands and burn spells until you can drop the Dictate and ratchet up the pain. This one has beaten U/B control (the one that won the GP, which makes me wonder about claims about U/B lacking capability to compete), R/B/W midrange, G/U ramp, and narrowly lost to red aggro splashing another color or two. I'm still ironing it out, but this one might be my go-to FNM deck for a little bit.
January 13, 2015 8:26 p.m.
I'd actually recommend you take the path least traveled here and go for BG control. Green covers black's weaknesses fairly well at the moment. It provides artifact removal, enchantment removal, life gain, planeswalker win-cons in the form of Nissa and Garruk, and gives you early game blockers (Courser and Caryatid) to help discourage enemy creatures from attacking until you can afford to clear them out. The new Garruk is a one-man win-con, giving you creature removal, planeswalker removal, a continuous supply of 3/3 beat-sticks, life gain, etc. Courser of Kruphix helps you burn through land pockets which can cripple control decks that primarily rely on targeted removal and discard spells (black control decks in a nutshell) while helping you regain the life lost from your Thoughtseizes and draw spells. If nothing else, a green splash for Garruk and sideboard Unravel the Aether might be useful.
January 13, 2015 10 p.m.
Thanks for the input guys.
I didn't mention it, but I do currently have a Sultai control deck. It has some issues, but I can try to iron them out and/or retool it into a BG deck. If that doesn't work out I'll try going Mardu. I played a Mardu midrange deck for a couple months after KTK dropped and fell in love with Crackling Doom.
TheDuggernaught says... #2
I'm working on a control deck myself and am about 86% sold on Mardu. My finishers being Flamewake Phoenix, dash dragon (Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury), Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker and an Elspeth, Sun's Champion. All of those cards synergize super well with End Hostilities and Crux of Fate... and dashing in a dash dragon to send 4 phoenixes out with it from the graveyard for 17 dmg is pretty sweet.
January 13, 2015 7:39 p.m.