MTG Salvation

Hey guys. I wanted to poll the blue players out there (particularly the mono-U ones). What cards do you consider for all your blue decks/what cards are the staples in your builds? I am aware of the top EDH threads, but wanted to poll everyone in general as the thread just lists the top cards and not interesting sets/combinations people may be running. Are there any creatures you gotta have? What does your counterspell suite look like? Are artifacts a sub theme or you going all spells?

I think it would be interesting to see people's card choices and things they consider "staples" in their builds, especially if the same combinations come up a lot.


I'll start. When I start a blue deck, Glen Elendra Archmage, Snapcaster Mage and Phyrexian Metamorph are the first three in.
So, (mono)-blue players. Whadda ya got?

Trinket Mage and Cyclonic Rift are probably my top two. Fabricate and Brainstorm are up there.

Reins of Power. I know it's not the greatest card in the world, but in multiplayer, for four mana you can completely ruin two player's board states. Ideally, when two players are throwing down heavy hitters, and one decides to swing on you (because you're the dick who has to play mono blue... and usually has a weaker creature presence)... you swap with the other player and set up blocks which result in a lot of creatures going to the graveyard. Also can be used offensively without sacrificing your creatures to combat.

Cyclonic Rift, Ætherize, or Evacuation are other cards I always include at least one of in my mono blue decks. Usually the creatures I play with are toolbox creatures that casting over and over is okay, and bouncing all the creatures back to players hands typically ends up in my favor.

Propaganda pillowfort for everyone, too.

Quote from JohnnyDegenerate »

Propaganda pillowfort for everyone, too.

Propaganda only protects its controller.

Counterspell and Gilded Drake

Second Cyclonic Rift.

Besides Mana Drain and Force of Will, Swan Song might be an automatic for me. And I have to have Misdirection. I love cheap/free stuff.

Quote from Lithl »

Quote from JohnnyDegenerate »

Propaganda pillowfort for everyone, too.

Propaganda only protects its controller.

I was using it more as a celebratory expression, not meaning every player. I can see where I made a communication error.

Counterspells, namely Counterspell, Swan Song, Rewind and in non-budget builds, Cryptic Command, Force Of Will, and Mana Drain. These are bare minimum, but there are usually more.

The best blue wrath, Cyclonic Rift, always goes in.

I'm quite fond of using Mystic Remora in many decks.

Given how lean blue is on Destroy effects, I like Pongify and Rapid Hybridization. They go in almost every mono U I build.

Hasn't been mentioned yet:

Venser, Shaper Savant
Merchant Scroll
Vedalken Shackles

Edit to avoid double posting:

Riptide Laboratory goes into 90% of my blue decks. It's just too good with any combination of Venser, Snapcaster, Archaeomancer, and all sorts of random good stuff you don't even realize are wizards.

Every single mono-U deck I create includes Invoke prejudice.
-The artwork is highly racist
-The name of the card is saying to spread racism
-What it actually does IS racist to everyone who isn't playing blue (Punishes everyone for not being your kind)
-The guy who created the artwork was actually a neo-nazi (believed in nazi ideology) and was found to have many other racist artworks in his possession

This card is worth every penny just for the reactions people make when they see it. Its mono-U's jerk-like nature all in just one card!

I'd love to own an Invoke Prejudice... maybe one day.

Rhystic Study is the card I always choose (aside from several that have already been suggested above me). I found a playset of Capsize in one of my boxes, so now all my blue decks get that card, too.

My blue decks tending towards artifacts almost demand Academy Ruins. All of them feature Halimar Depths, Reliquary Tower, and Terrain Generator.

How closely will this thread mirror the top 50? The objectively best cards vs. the ones everyone actually use.

Cheers!

vendillion clique, venser, shaper savant, and cyclonic rift are all ways I can say no or counter rival deck types. Ugin, and karn when it comes down to walkers, and even o'stone to keep the game on lock if you have to not die. rhystic study and kami of the crescent moon are draw cards. hinder, rewind, mana drain, force and more make up the counter suite. It all depends on what your deck needs, and the weakest area for monoblue in my experience is mana ramp, then removal. Pongify, curse of swine, and reality shift are all your friends for mono blue

Completely forgot about cyclonic rift! lol

I think its pretty interesting that a decent amount of people run ponder, preordain and brainstorm. Playing last night every single person I went up against (who were running blue) had at least 1-2 of the 1 cmc cantrips.

I really liked pongify and rapid hybridization but never really thought they'd be that great...except for when a prophet of kruphix hit the board with no mana up...really coulda used those cards lol

Tezzeret the Seeker is the best planeswalker and one of the best cards in the format. He is such an all-star, even if all you manage to do is -1 for a Sol Ring or Mana Vault. If you're allowed to make it to the next turn and tutor again or untap what you got, it's insane.

Make sure you run Mana Vault, Grim Monolith, hell if he survives 4 turns you can win with Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth. In Derevi, a lot of times I would just get Bident of Thassa. The possibilities are endless. Also make sure to run Seat of the Synod and if you're mono-u run Darksteel Citadel, otherwise run your respective artifact lands. He's just never a bad card to draw, between ritualling, tutoring, ramping, deck-thinning, getting additional tap abilities, getting artifacts past counterspells, and even serving as a win-con, this guy goes in every U deck and is always an MVP.

Cyclonic Rift and Mana Drain are the only two htta go into every deck (until I run out of Mana Drains that is - I'm not freakin' RICH)

Reality Shift and Curse of the Swine, because I love exile effects.

Cyclonic Rift, Trinket Mage, Brainstorm, Preordain, Ponder, Rhystic Study, Fact or Fiction.

Most importantly: Recurring Insight

Oh...I usually include Islands.

So how many counters do you guys usually run? I figure 4-6 is usually the sweetspot (more for a control build and less for creature-heavy themes like Ixidor, I'm assuming).

Are the cards I will run in every blue deck I play there are other cards I run in most blue decks but those I think are in every blue deck I play

4-6 counters seems low

I run the library manipulation suite, Swan Song, Snapcaster Mage, Fact or Fiction, Rhystic Study, Reality Shift and Dig through Time

Swan Song, Pongify, Rapid Hybridization, Curse of the Swine, Reality Shift.

I like sphinx of magosi as a mana sink and beater. It's a nice way to make sure the mana you hold up for counter spells doesn't go to waste.

Quote from Moxnix »

4-6 counters seems low

wait really? How many do you run...actually curious (which is why I started this thread lol)

Depends on the deck and meta information also helps. I play more than 6 counters in dedicated combo in control I'm use much more than that. For instance in arcs is I wanted as many pitch counters as possible to slam him at 6 protected that deck ran 15ish? I don't think I've played mono blue at less than 10 even multi color control with blue minimum of 8.

In mono-blue, I play blue heavy bombs (like Blatant Thievery) alongside colorless replacement for cards that trouble blue (e.g., Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, All is Dust, Unstable Obelisk.)

My counter suite is a bit light compared to some blue players, but I like flexible/surprise counters, because most players play around you having counterspells.

e.g.:
Foil: Poor man's Force of Will, counter with no mana up.
Mindbreak Trap: Also counter with no mana up (possibly) as well as gets around "uncounterable" effects like Boseiju, Who Shelters All.

Not strictly necessary for blue strategies, but I personally like high impact blue fatties like Lorthos, the Tidemaker. I've also found Brine Elemental to be a surprisingly effective card.

Ixidron is a nice "blue wrath", all the better if you play a decent load of morph creatures for you to re-use.

Island...

But in all honesty it depends on the deck. When it is 5 colors i really stretch mself thin. But when we get to U/X/X or U/X I can start putting in more of my blue staples. Counterspell is every single one of my blue decks. (Except 5 color)