With the results from the States tournaments reporting in, we now have a solid foundation on which to discuss the viablity of the UB Control archetype for the new standard metagame.
There are various options and directions that someone can use for building their own version of UB control. Some opt for the more classic Draw-Go style of control, which is basically the most reactive type of magic that anyone can play; where counterspells and instant speed spells and effects are key the deck's success. Another popular choice is for more of a Midrange-Control style build, where a player's turn will have more "tapping out" action and more board participation. Removal spells, discard options, more creatures, with light permission are what drives this style of the build. The draw-go version has more strengths against ramp and other control, while the midrange version is more suited to handle aggro and creature-based decks.
In this primer, we will discuss some of the card choices and look at some various decklists that have shown results from the various States tournaments.
Drowned Catacomb : Just one of the latest incarnation of Underground Sea . Taps for both our colors and usually will enter the battlefield untapped.
Darkslick Shores : The newbie dual land. While it will late game come into play tapped, it still will hit the ground running during the early game, helping to hit first turn Duress and second turn Mana Leak .
Jwar Isle Refuge : Another dual land with a 1 life bonus at the cost of tempo. A solid choice, and fine budget card as well.
Halimar Depths : The Ponder land was initially hailed as amazing for all blue decks because of its potential comboing with Treasure Hunt . It has fallen out of favor since tap-out UW control became the norm for control decks, and more recently has only been used by Pyromancer Ascension combo decks for more library manipulation. This might be a good time to revisit this land because of how important library manipulation is for this type of deck.
Bojuka Bog : A free Tormod's Crypt that doesn't cost you a card because its a land. A solid option against Vengevine decks, but the fact that you'd have to slow roll it might be problematic. Probably recommended for slower builds not so reliant on countermagic because of the potential loss of tempo.
Sphinx of Jwar Isle : Some have called this guy the new Superman . I like to call it the new Rainbow Efreet , myself. Huge flying body with shroud makes this a good call in any meta.
Grave Titan : Normally, when this guy hits play, the game can effectively be over. Most of the time, no aggro deck can overcome the insane board presence this guy generates. Against control, he can make many inconvenient dudes, but is also subject to Day of Judgment . But still, this guy is a solid choice and one strongly recommended for consideration.
Wurmcoil Engine : The new Baneslayer Angel in titan-esque form. Huge swing against aggro players and has a nice built-in anti-wrath ability. Card advantage wins games, I hear.
Abyssal Persecutor : This guy is pretty huge and makes a big impact when he hits the board turn 4. He requires a little build-around, but that isn't too hard to do. A solid choice for a finisher, perhaps more suited to the creature heavy builds.
Sea Gate Oracle : The blue Wall of Omens . This guy is the reincarnation of Court Hussar , who was played heavily in control decks during Ravnica-era Standard. Great digging ability with a board-stalling body.
Vampire Hexmage : With Oblivion Ring and Maelstrom Pulse leaving standard, short of a strong board position, this gal is the best answer to opposing Planeswalkers, and that is her leading use. Being on a 2/1 First Striking body ain't bad either. Also can be used against the ascensions, Ratchet Bomb , or Lux Cannon .
Liliana's Specter : This convenient flier to best suited for builds centered around Mimic Vat again because it can lead to a powerful soft-lock of instant speed discard during the opponent's draw step.
Malakir Bloodwitch : In recent times, this once bane of existence against control decks has gone under the rug somewhat, but may end up being a good option with the new breathe of life that UW Control has gotten.
Mana Leak : All hail one of the next best things to Counterspell itself. One of the best tempo counterspells ever printed, and its back in standard.
Cancel : A lot of people groaned initially when this became the next best option after the departure of the ominous Cryptic Command , but with tournament results, this has proven itself to be a fine counterspell to run.
Stoic Rebuttal : 99% of the time, this is a Cancel , but that 1% of the time where its a Counterspell , its amazing. This effectively replaces Cancel or simply is played alongside it for a surprise factor.
Negate : I hear most decks play non-creature spells. This counterspell is pretty efficient at handling those spells, and has been for the last few years.
Mindbreak Trap : A card that initially was rejected due to its high mana cost. However, ramp decks sporting Summoning Trap and cards like Gaea's Revenge have made this card become more of an answer for consideration.
Spell Pierce : For as much as this spell wants to be like Force Spike , its not. Still, its a fine counterspell in certain situations such as control mirrors or as a fast answer to ramp spells. I would only consider this for the sideboard.
Flashfreeze : Red and green spells have been very popular for the last year now, and it looks like nothing has changed. Ramp decks, Elf aggro decks, and the new RDW are all reason enough to run these in the board or even the main, depending on your meta.
Doom Blade : The new Terror . There's nothing quite as efficient as 2 mana to destroy virtually any creature. Other than vampires and black based midrange/control decks though, not many black creatures see play right now.
Disfigure : The "black Shock ". 1 mana to deal with any number of the mana dorks running around right now is a pretty good deal. This is also a nice answer to mirror match manlands. A useful card, to be sure.
Consuming Vapors : The idea is that hopefully mana dorks decks will diminish somewhat in popularity in order for edict-style removal to see play again. Time will tell if this is the case. Also, the fact that its a 4 mana sorcery tends to dictate the type of build this should go in.
Brittle Effigy : Colorless removal is also a powerful bonus. Even though it costs 5 mana total to use, the fact that you can drop this turn 1 and effectively use it for 4 mana isn't too bad. A great card for dealing with things like Vengevine , which will probably remain popular. This card is also really good at dealing with any of the Eldrazi legends, should they be allowed to hit play.
Smother : While this card remains ever popular in Legacy, I fear that since there are a lot of 4+ cmc creatures running around, this might not be the best option, at least in the maindeck.
Grasp of Darkness : The color intensive upgrade to Last Gasp . This card is another good option to run alongside Doom Blade, but might be better suited for builds more favoring black, in order to hit the colors early enough.
Go for the Throat : One of the new tools from MBS. It makes good work of Grave Titans, a card that was very difficult in the mirror before to deal with. This card will become a staple in this and many other formats.
Black Sun's Zenith : The new insane sweeper from MBS. This card is a big incentive to play UB control now, since this was one of the glaring weaknesses in UB's strategy. UB players will be playing this, i suggest you do the same.
Deathmark : I suspect that green and white creatures will continue to see a significant amount of playtime in standard. That makes this a fine board option if your meta dictates it.
Consume the Meek : Probably the best available option for mass removal this archetype has. While 5 mana is a little steep, it does happen at instant speed, which is great because it can be used against manlands, in addition to all the weenies in play. This is recommended for more Draw-Go style builds or more creature-light builds of the midrange version.
Ratchet Bomb : The new Powder Keg . This card provides a nice play against weenie aggro decks, mana dork decks, and gives our colors some much needed artifact/enchantment hate. I recommend this card seriously for consideration.
All is Dust : Probably not a great fit for this deck, but still worth mentioning. This card might not be a bad board option against UW Control, as they're now the premier Planeswalker deck of the format. The ability to wipe out an oppenent's board of 2 Planeswalkers and possibly a finisher is pretty swingy. But then again, it is 7 mana.
Duress : The original. Much like the reasoning behind Negate , people play non-creature spells. This is a nice proactive answer to those cards, Planeswalkers and Summoning Trap in particular. Nagging the occasional counterspell in nice too.
Inquisition of Kozilek : This is another good 1 mana proactive card. This will hit an opponent's early game creatures or can take out a much needed Cultivate or counterspell. However, the fact that it can't hit Planeswalkers could be problematic.
Perish the Thought : A personal choice that I've been advocating for a while now. For me, despite the hefty mana cost, being able to hit Jace, the Mind Sculptor , Mana Leak , Primeval Titan , or Summoning Trap all in one card is pretty nice. I've found that being able to "tap out" on turn 3 against ramp, before thier big turn and snag out their Titan is pretty powerful. This is a personal call, but I encourage others to try this before writing it off.
Liliana Vess : Probably the weakest of the original 5 Planeswalkers, other than Chandra Nalaar perhaps. Still, reuseable discard is great, and here tutor ability, especially paired with a Jace, is pretty powerful for sure.
Preordain : This card acts much like a Ponder or Brainstorm before it. It's useful on turn 1 or turn 10. I, like many, have found that unlike Ponder, the fact that this can grab one of the top cards and be able to throw stuff on the bottom of the library makes this a great option. I have become a believer.
Jace's Ingenuity : Drawing 3 cards at instant speed is a very powerful thing. Since a deck like this makes a point of keeping their lands untapped during the opponent's turn, this card is great for getting through it and capitalizing on thier irrelevant turn.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor : What can be said that hasn't already been said about this guy. It's card advantage (I mean, lots of it), its a win condition. If you don't understand why this guy is good by now, there's no helping you.
Jace Beleren : A planeswalker who initially got acclaim during the faeries dominated standard. Now with the printing of his new self, the original Jace has found a niche of coming down a turn faster to disrupt other Jaces. On top of that, this guy is a powerful card draw engine in his own right. Many choose to play this alongside the new Jace.
Foresee : Back when this was first printed, it saw a good deal of play in AngelFire Control decks as a new Compulsive Research . It's sort of like a sorcery speed Fact or Fiction ; drawing 4 deep is pretty huge. However, Jace effectively outclasses this. Still, this is a very viable budget option, or could be well recieved in more black heavy builds that want access to more card draw.
Sign in Blood : A good, fast card draw spell. I'd recommend this more for black heavy builds, but have seen this used in the more blue heavy builds as well due to its very low mana cost.
Mimic Vat : This card is great in the midrange version of this deck. With great options like Lilian's Specter, Skinrender, and Grave Titan, this card can just overwhelm an opponent in a hurry.
Volition Reins : A costly answer to resolved Planeswalkers and Titans. This is a good sideboard card for most builds.
Into the Roil : This is a catch-all answer to anything that slips past our countermagic or removal spells. This is also a nice tempo card against many decks.
Sadistic Sacrament : Recommended for very heavy black builds. Much like Memoricide, this card is great against ramp decks, especially for pulling out the singleton Eldrazi legends.
Nihil Spellbomb : There are other graveyard hate options available, but I feel this one is the best and most worth mentioning. Being an artifact, it can be used by anyone. Since we have access to black, we get the bonus. This card is fast enough and reliable enough to be considered the best option. Also, doesn't need heavy sideboard commitment like a Leyline of the Void would. Haunting Echoes is just too slow, unfortunately.
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas : It still remains to be seen how and where this guy is going to impact the format, but I suspect that in the coming months, you will see this guy make top tables. UB will inevitably play this guy in one way or another.
My surely do hope this archetype will continue to flourish in this new meta filled with ramp and powerful green creatures. As the polar opposite of green, you'd think we'd have the tools to compete right now. Based on early results from the States and Champs tournaments, it looks like there is hope for UB Control.
Thanks to all those from the original UB Control thread who helped in discussion and may very well have had a hand in the decks that did go on to have success in the tournaments.
Blue is the best color ever. How do you deal?
Team GFG - "gulf, foxtrot, gulf" Twitter: Burning_Forest
I am both selfish and instinctive. I value growth and community, as long as they favour my own objectives; I enjoy nature, and I particularly enjoy watching parts of nature die. At best, I am resilient and tenacious; at worst, I'm uncontrollable and destructive.
Can I go rank everybody I think is mafia with 1 star?
•Collecting a complete foil set of Zendikar block both on Magic Online and in paper Magic does not entitle you to one (1) free Richard Garfield. Because that would be slavery, and slavery is bad.
slayer of fluffy, and single handedly annoyed half of the flavor/storyline group in one fell swoop
Not good/relevant enough for Standard at the moment?
i personally think not so much, because it's sadly not big enough and doesn't do enough when it hits the field, it was very very good when removal was prevailing and dominate, but now that it's not, it's not as good.
I am both selfish and instinctive. I value growth and community, as long as they favour my own objectives; I enjoy nature, and I particularly enjoy watching parts of nature die. At best, I am resilient and tenacious; at worst, I'm uncontrollable and destructive.
Can I go rank everybody I think is mafia with 1 star?
•Collecting a complete foil set of Zendikar block both on Magic Online and in paper Magic does not entitle you to one (1) free Richard Garfield. Because that would be slavery, and slavery is bad.
slayer of fluffy, and single handedly annoyed half of the flavor/storyline group in one fell swoop
Great primer. Should probably be moved to the tourney center.
Right now I actually think this is positioned well against the rest of the field. Inquisitions and quick doom blades/disfigures help in the aggro matchups, and mindbreak trap helps a LOT against ramp. I'd say this doesn't really have to many matchups against the current meta.
As far as finishers go; I'd say stick to wurmcoil, frost titan, and jar-jar. I love skittles and grave titan, but the first three are just soooo much better right now.
Not good/relevant enough for Standard at the moment?
I used to swap out my Jacey Bs for Turtles against aggro, RDW has trouble with it since they can't burn it.
As life gets longer, awful feels softer and it feels pretty soft to me. And if it takes **** to make bliss, well I feel pretty blissfully. If life's not beautiful without the pain, well I just would rather never ever even see beauty again. Well as life gets longer, awful feels softer and it feels pretty soft to me.
Include Abyssal Persecutor in the creatures section. A few of the lists have been running him. Also, you forgot Vampire Hexmage. It wouldn't hurt to note that there's actually 2 ways to build the deck. Counter-heavy, and creature-heavy. Both lists end up playing reactionary, but the creature-heavy lists have better matchups against aggro, while the counter-heavy lists do better against ramp. Either version is a wash against control.
Include Abyssal Persecutor in the creatures section. A few of the lists have been running him. Also, you forgot Vampire Hexmage. It wouldn't hurt to note that there's actually 2 ways to build the deck. Counter-heavy, and creature-heavy. Both lists end up playing reactionary, but the creature-heavy lists have better matchups against aggro, while the counter-heavy lists do better against ramp. Either version is a wash against control.
i will add percy, but hexmage is already there and i did mention in the inital paragraph that there is more than one direction you can take this deck, both draw-go and creature/midrange/board controlling.
Blue is the best color ever. How do you deal?
Team GFG - "gulf, foxtrot, gulf" Twitter: Burning_Forest
