MTG Salvation

So I've always been a fan of the "classic control" formula; card draw, counters, board control, and simple win conditions.
So as an ode to old-school control, that's exactly what I did.
My group consists of a Marath, Will of the Wild, Prossh, Skyraider of Kher, Krenko, Mob Boss, and Jhoira of the Ghitu. Needless to say, someone had to step up and be the fun police.

So here is the decklist with a little explanation.




I would like to add in more cute mini-combos that protect me like Humility and Reverence such as Energy Field and Rest in Peace,* maybe thow in Academy Rector, Replenish, and Crackdown. I'm not sure what I'd cut though. I'm looking at Sun Titan, Smokestack, and Nevermore but I'm not sure. I'm also thinking of adding Sanguine Bond because with the Thopter/Sword combo, I'll be able to subdue two players at once, it's also good for wearing people down, but I'm not sure if I'm trying to do too many things now. Any seasoned control players out there with some advice in this respect?

Questions? Comments? Insults?

UPDATE: JUST REALIZED Rest in Peace ruins my thopter sword shenanigans. Oh well, any other cute enchantment protection combos are still welcome.

If you need graveyard hate, you could run Leyline of the Void instead of RiP, since the Leyline doesn't affect you. Of course, there's also Bojuka Bog, which should really go in any black deck.

I've found that you don't need to run too many counterspells in multiplayer. Having few is good, especially the really efficient ones, but I usually opt to replace counters with other control elements, like bounce effects. Specifically, I think things like Discombobulate and Cancel are just too expensive for their effects. I'd also recommend Propaganda-like effects, from which you have plenty to choose in those colors.

And finally, if you add Sanguine Bond, you might as well add Exquisite Blood as another win-con.

Quote from jenncertainty »

If you need graveyard hate, you could run Leyline of the Void instead of RiP, since the Leyline doesn't affect you. Of course, there's also Bojuka Bog, which should really go in any black deck.

I've found that you don't need to run too many counterspells in multiplayer. Having few is good, especially the really efficient ones, but I usually opt to replace counters with other control elements, like bounce effects. Specifically, I think things like Discombobulate and Cancel are just too expensive for their effects. I'd also recommend Propaganda-like effects, from which you have plenty to choose in those colors.

And finally, if you add Sanguine Bond, you might as well add Exquisite Blood as another win-con.

I was avoiding Exquisite Blood due to the infinite combo, since my group has that one restriction, however after talking with them, they're down to let the interaction trigger once per activation so it's considered added to the deck. In regards to your comments on counters, what is your opinion on Forbid? In theory, it could be cool. I don't know if I could ever feel comfortable dipping below 8 counters in my meta though. I'm going to try out Capsize for bounce though, as well as Cyclonic Rift when I get some spare cash.

Quote from Zombie Shakespeare »

Why Salvage Scout and not something like Argivian Find or Mine Excavation? Buried Ruin seems better if you want a recursion loop with Sun Titan.

Cyclonic Rift seems like it would be strong in your playgroup. Is there a reason your not running Enlightened Tutor?

Salvage scout is actually just junk DNA left over from a previous failed theme of the deck. It had been doing it's job so it flew under my radar, but Argivian Find is definitely replacing it. I can't believe I missed Enlightened tutor though.


What do you guys think of Last Laugh as a deterrent/punishment for breaking my things? I don't run creatures aside from my tokens, so I don't know how I feel about relying on someone else having creatures hanging around...but on the other hand, Last Laugh combined with Thopter/Sword combo does put an entire table on a one way trip to frown-town....Decisions...


As it stands, this is the update to the list, which will be reflected in the OP when I'm less lazy;
-Sun Titan (I always want humility out, so Sunny T loses his luster)
-Beacon of Unrest (See Sun Titan)
-Diabolic tutor
-Nevermore (not sure if this cut is correct, but it is what I cut for Last Laugh)
-Salvage Scout
-Monk Idealist
-Peacekeeper (See Sun Titan, and Marath keeps sniping him..no bueno.)
-Cancel
-Discombobulate
-Elspeth, Sun's Champion (wtih humility becoming more and more important, her -3 is less and less useful, and at six mana, I would rather swarm much more abruptly with Thopter/Sword.)
-Smokestack (too slow, and without token production, I'm losing important pieces. With token production, I could be amassing an army for a quick win. Smokestack felt win more in this respect.)

+Argivian Find
+Capsize
+Forbid( I may cut this quickly.)
+Replenish
+Exquisite Blood
+Enlightened Tutor
+Last Laugh
+Torpor Orb
+Cursed Totem
+Propaganda
+Ghostly Prison

So yeah this is what I'm feeling for now. Sphere of Safety almost made it in, but I find it a little too expensive to be relevant. If I have a ton of enchantments out, I probably have things under... CONTROL (GET IT?).

Quote from Greatest Gargadon »

In regards to your comments on counters, what is your opinion on Forbid? In theory, it could be cool.

I really like Forbid. Trading 2 cards for one is a bit steep, but when you load your hand with a lot of cards, the buyback is usually negligible, and having a repeatable counter can be really nice. Especially if it's a meta call, 8 counters probably isn't too much.