The are quite a few control decks left. I'm playing a midrange Esper Variant (no Cryptic, 1 snapcaster) that is more focused on midrange threats with some disruption (I also sideboard into gifts, so I consider the deck Esper Gifts sort of). I think Mono-Blue Tron is particularly well suited right now. I also really like Sean Mcclaren's Blue-Red Young Pyromancer. I personally would not try Scapeshift as the deck is very awful against burn and infect (I was often told by scapeshift players that those matches are often auto game loses)
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I'm actively maintaining a comprehensive article to help explain to new cube players how some complex vintage level cards work in a cube environment. Vintage Cube Cards Explained
I don't think UW control is playable with the hyperaggro meta.
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Doesn't RG Tron count as control? Granted, it is not doing so well in the current meta.
By what metric does Gr Tron count as control? They play almost no interactive cards and their game plan is to ramp out giant threat before your opponent can kill you.
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In play: Jund Death Shadow, Grixis Control, Eldrazi Stompy, Ponza
In the yard: RUG Delver, Kiki-Chord, Grixis Twin, Mardu Control, Smallpox, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Delver, Assault Loam, Elves, Deathcloud, Eggs, Storm
Doesn't RG Tron count as control? Granted, it is not doing so well in the current meta.
By what metric does Gr Tron count as control? They play almost no interactive cards and their game plan is to ramp out giant threat before your opponent can kill you.
They play Pyroclasm, Oblivion Stone, Karn/ Ugin - so you can say that it's a control deck.
But it's not a permissions deck (permissions = counterspells).
While control decks play sweepers, sweepers do not a control deck make; in Tron's case it is basically preboarding against aggro decks which are among it's worst match-ups. A control decks is trying to use permission (be it counterspells, discard, etc) so that it can survive into the late game and dominate through massive card advantage, permission and whatever threat is lying around in the deck.
Tron is a ramp deck, it is trying to assemble Urzatron as fast as possible to it can slam fatties (Karn and Ugin included). That said there are control decks that use the Tron lands as it's form of late game threat, i.e. U Tron.
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In play: Jund Death Shadow, Grixis Control, Eldrazi Stompy, Ponza
In the yard: RUG Delver, Kiki-Chord, Grixis Twin, Mardu Control, Smallpox, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Delver, Assault Loam, Elves, Deathcloud, Eggs, Storm
Doesn't RG Tron count as control? Granted, it is not doing so well in the current meta.
By what metric does Gr Tron count as control? They play almost no interactive cards and their game plan is to ramp out giant threat before your opponent can kill you.
They play Pyroclasm, Oblivion Stone, Karn/ Ugin - so you can say that it's a control deck.
But it's not a permissions deck (permissions = counterspells).
While control decks play sweepers, sweepers do not a control deck make; in Tron's case it is basically preboarding against aggro decks which are among it's worst match-ups. A control decks is trying to use permission (be it counterspells, discard, etc) so that it can survive into the late game and dominate through massive card advantage, permission and whatever threat is lying around in the deck.
Tron is a ramp deck, it is trying to assemble Urzatron as fast as possible to it can slam fatties (Karn and Ugin included). That said there are control decks that use the Tron lands as it's form of late game threat, i.e. U Tron.
Tron: O. Stone, Karn, Ugin, Pyroclasm - all these are control elements.
You don't have to play permission or blue to call your deck "control".
All prison and lock decks are control too.
They control the board.
8 rack controls the hand.
Lantern controls the draws.
The decks can also be hybrids - combo/control, combo/ramp, aggro/control and so on.
Scapeshift is Combo/Ramp/Control...
The UWR control deck is half burn spells.
The last time Mono U pure permission deck existed was probably 10-15 years ago.
I never said permission was just about counterspells. Lantern doesn't permit you to draw relevant cards, 8 Rack doesn't permit you to keep a hand, Legacy Stax doesn't permit you to play anything or attack. Hell, an argument could be made (and has been made) that lot of midrange decks fall onto this spectrum because they run removal and a heavy discard element.
The mark of a control deck is that it should be at it's most comfortable on turn 10+ when it can settle in, stop your opponent from doing anything and win at their own pace. While Tron can win late games, isn't its preferred operation parameters, Tron wants to win as fast as possible. A prime example of this is the difference between Gr Tron and U Tron: Gr Tron is doing everything in it's power to assemble the 3 tron lands as fast as it can and it devotes a huge portion of it's cards to this, while U Tron is about controlling your opponent with various forms of permission (counterspells, bounce and removal) until it naturally draws into tron and slams either Sundering Titan or the Slaverlock, typically with some kind of protection up.
Tron's sweepers are included not because it is a control deck but because it gets rocked hard by aggro decks and it has free slots. Besides, just because it contains control elements doesn't make it a control deck, Delver has counterspells and it isn't a control deck.
Yes, there are hybrid decks like you mentioned but Tron does not fall into the control spectrum. Tron is the posterchild of a the modern ramp deck, if anything Tron has more in common with a combo deck then a control deck.
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In play: Jund Death Shadow, Grixis Control, Eldrazi Stompy, Ponza
In the yard: RUG Delver, Kiki-Chord, Grixis Twin, Mardu Control, Smallpox, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Delver, Assault Loam, Elves, Deathcloud, Eggs, Storm
Delver is a control deck that starts with the finisher on turn 1 and protects it (instead of waiting 10 turns to do anything relevant to finish the game)...
RG Tron is a Hybrid Control deck even if you deny it.
What? You just described a tempo deck not a control... you know what? Enjoy your Tron-Control, us discussing the definition of a control deck obviously isn't going anywhere and I am starting to get brick imprints on my forehead. Artyom out.
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In play: Jund Death Shadow, Grixis Control, Eldrazi Stompy, Ponza
In the yard: RUG Delver, Kiki-Chord, Grixis Twin, Mardu Control, Smallpox, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Delver, Assault Loam, Elves, Deathcloud, Eggs, Storm
I don't think UW control is playable with the hyperaggro meta.
UW and Jeskai Control are actually the two of the best Control options for a hyper aggro meta. Jeskai is obviously stellar due to its suite of burn spells that can pick off small dudes one by one. Both decks have access to a ton of inherent lifegain that can give aggro fits (Jeskai with Lightning Helix, UW with Kitchen Finks and friends.). UW can put out seemingly endless amounts of chaff that even Colorless Eldrazi will have a hard time slogging through. Not to mention that white (and red for Jeskai) gives you access to some of the best sideboard cards in Modern.
Yes, Affinity is an issue for straight Azorius due to their fliers. It's very much a "can you live to Supreme Verdict" matchup. But it's doable.
As people has said over and over again, it's all a matter of tweaking your control deck to an expected meta. At regionals, I expected a bunch of Burn and Zoo, so I put 2 Baneslayer Angels in the main as a way to go over the top. It got me a 27th place finish. Post Pro-Tour, I needed a way to slow down Eldrazi so I could cast Verdict and take over the game, while not sacrificing my matchups against the other aggro decks. Enter Timely Reinforcements in the main.
Is the draw-go archetype playable? In my opinion, no, format is way too fast for that. But a more midrange-centric control list can do well, and has done well in the small number of events since Pro Tour Oath.
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EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
I've been having success with my U/W control list, but you most certainly can not play draw go. Well you can, but it wont work out too well for you in this current meta In my U/W list Finks is an all star, and like TribalElfMage said, you have some of the best sideboard cards in the game.
Most of the disparity between posters with regards to which decks are "viable" and which are not is based on the disparity on how each poster defines "viable".
Some posters seem to think that if not a lot of players are on it, it can't possibly be viable. For direct and easy refutation of this position, please see Amulet Bloom ban (it existed in final form for how long before it saw play?).
Instead, viability is more about power and position with respect to the other decks in the format - independant of the archtype's own representation in the field. This means that a deck can see little play and still be viable given it has good matchups across the metagame. This is both obvious and intuitive - otherwise no new deck could ever be viable.
If you choose to narrow "viable" to mean "Tier 1", I think you've chosen to ignore a large part of the game.
Control's death is largely overblown and lacking nuance. Control decks are hard to play and construct for a given meta, leading to a natural depression of the population in the metagame.
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Modern Decks
KnightfallGWUR
Azorius Control UW
Burn RBG
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
Then why are they currently sitting at tier 3 with only ~1% metashare?
They experienced a small resurgence (people testing the waters + migrating twin players) but both were quickly put back in their place.
Face it, control is dead in this format.
It's because of Eldrazi but at UWR and UW control have good game (especially UWR) against aggro decks and metagame is full of these. Assuming that Eldrazi will be banned could put those 2 decks forward and make them see more play.
I think that UW control has a good matchup against the non-processor eldrazi list, at least if you survive until turn four...UWR on the other hand i sudpect is more weak to chalice at 1 to be a good choice in this meta.
Edit: Actually the eldrazi's ban would be really bad for those control decks because it would imply the return of tron on the scene and that is a really detrimental matchup for any decks that aims to play the long game
Speaking as a control player, I would rather play 6 rounds of Swiss against Tron than deal with Eldrazi. Tron at least is slower, and gives you time to breathe. Vendilion Clique, Aven Mindcensor, Stony Silence, Spreading Seas all help with the matchup too.
Blue Tron is just straight-up miserable though. No two ways about it.
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EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
Then why are they currently sitting at tier 3 with only ~1% metashare?
They experienced a small resurgence (people testing the waters + migrating twin players) but both were quickly put back in their place.
Face it, control is dead in this format.
It's because of Eldrazi but at UWR and UW control have good game (especially UWR) against aggro decks and metagame is full of these. Assuming that Eldrazi will be banned could put those 2 decks forward and make them see more play.
I think that UW control has a good matchup against the non-processor eldrazi list, at least if you survive until turn four...UWR on the other hand i sudpect is more weak to chalice at 1 to be a good choice in this meta.
Edit: Actually the eldrazi's ban would be really bad for those control decks because it would imply the return of tron on the scene and that is a really detrimental matchup for any decks that aims to play the long game
Speaking as a control player, I would rather play 6 rounds of Swiss against Tron than deal with Eldrazi. Tron at least is slower, and gives you time to breathe. Vendilion Clique, Aven Mindcensor, Stony Silence, Spreading Seas all help with the matchup too.
Blue Tron is just straight-up miserable though. No two ways about it.
Maybe you play a version of the deck geared towards the tron matchup but in my experience tron is pretty awful especially if it packs 2/3 copies of new ulamog and i'm pretty sure a copy of aven/vendilion aren't going to save you...on the other hand eldrazi.deck, in particular the colorless version, are a good matchup for the UW version, as it is basically every other creature based deck outside infect, 'cause you can easily stomp the early aggression with pte/wall of omens until you find a wrath and gain control of the match and to me this seems a lot easier than trying to race tron with a control deck.
The key to Tron is early disruption, whether it be hand disruption or land denial, backed up with a fast clock. It's still an uphill battle, to be sure, but you can get there. Clique, Mindcensor, Ghost Quarter, Seas are all-stars in that matchup. Quartering a Tron piece followed by Surgical Extraction buys you so much time.
I wouldn't call colorless Eldrazi a "good matchup" by any means. It's usually something like 60-40 in their favor. The games are certainly competitive though, for the reasons that you stated.
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EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
I don't think UW control is playable with the hyperaggro meta.
UW control performs BEST in an hyper aggro meta. It has one of the better eldrazi matchups
Can you explain?
I'm assuming we're talking about the version that plays alot of Wall of omens, Kitchen Finks, Restoration Angel and Dragonlord
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I'm actively maintaining a comprehensive article to help explain to new cube players how some complex vintage level cards work in a cube environment. Vintage Cube Cards Explained
I don't think UW control is playable with the hyperaggro meta.
UW control performs BEST in an hyper aggro meta. It has one of the better eldrazi matchups
Can you explain?
I'm assuming we're talking about the version that plays alot of Wall of omens, Kitchen Finks, Restoration Angel and Dragonlord
That version does well versus traditional aggro because it runs: 2-4 boardwipes, walls buy you a turn, gideon jura can buy you a turn at worst, detention sphere eats tokens/any nonland permanent, and its sideboard is great to affinity. The deck is just naturally good to traditional aggro decks and weak to combo. Since there is very little combo right now UW control is decent. Since you are two color you can also run 4 ghost quarter and 4 spreading seas against eldrazi meta and be just fine.
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On mtgsalvation people don't want to discuss ideas, so I give people something else to discuss: my controversial opinions.
Traditional control is pretty reactive gameplan. For example draw-go. Problem is clearly that modern is very fast, and wizards decided some time ago that they wanted to start making answers more expensive and creatures more aggressive. Like UU counterspell is too powerful as a reactive 1 for 1, but almost every new pushed creature they print is a progressive 2 for 1. Now not even lightning bolt is good enough removal (recent Jund lists have been ditching it).
Basically the modern meta is just fart your hand and whoever has the best draw wins.
The game has changed. It makes me sad.
So sure if people want to call their Wall of Omens / Kitchen Finks / Restoration Angel decks "control" then go for it. Although they are really midrange value decks.
If you are asking if reactive control exists in modern, yes it exits. If you are asking if it can be successful (as in win tournaments) no not really. And it won't until Wizards starts giving us better answers.
Except UW Control also runs 6-10 counterspells. The deck can either play a proactive game plan or reactive one. In either case, it follows the traditional control strategy of dictating the pace of the game and forcing the opponent to play according to your rules. It's a control deck with midrange elements.
There's also the argument that midrange is the new control, or at least that's what Wizards wants us to think, but that is a discussion for a different thread.
The point is, Control is viable in Modern, just not in the shell people would expect.
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EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
Saying control has been dead since the start of modern is rather disingenuous. This is 2016, and like MtG in general, control decks have evolved over the years. Most of what I see when people say control doesn't exist in modern are referring to the old mono-blue, 20 counterspell, 1 win condition with 3 power, and the deck takes 40+ turns to win a game. Yeah, that type of deck doesn't exist (or at least, isn't successful) in modern. It's also not 1998 any more. There's a variety of different creatures, threats, combos, etc. in pretty much any constructed format. As such, the 20 counterspell deck just simply won't work, but to say control is dead because a draw-go strategy from 1998 doesn't work anymore is just plain ignorant. Since Magic has evolved, so have control decks. With a versatile format, you need versatile answers, meaning a mix of counterspells, discard, creature removal, artifact/enchantment removal, mass removal, etc. is needed to compete in such a format.
If you like control and want to play control, then by all means play control in modern. Don't let the fear mongering of the naysayers deter you from playing modern or playing control in modern. I play almost nothing but control and have had tons of success despite being told there's no way my decks should be successful. I have at least half a dozen modern control decks that have been successful for me, and more plans/ideas on the way. This includes Cruel Ultimatum, U/W control, U-tron, and a really brewy Jeskai deck with planeswalkers, Secure the Wastes, and Boom // Bust. And saying U/W control isn't really a control deck because it's playing Wall of Omens, Kitchen Finks and Restoration Angel is again misrepresenting what control actually is. Any opponent that has sat across from me would say I'm playing a control deck without question. Having more than 1 creature and being capable of winning the game before turn 40 does not shift a deck away from being control, again, it's not 1998 anymore.
I have been finding vontrol much more viable now. With decks having so little with bolt decks disappearing and wraths being better in this metagame due go twin, and amulet being hone and being rrplaced by creature decks than lack burn to finish you off. I play esper control and just being out valuing eldrazi while staving off the intial attack. The only hard part in beating eldrazi is if they have mana for eye of ugin and you do not have a ghost quarter. Once burn and tron go back up in numbers control will be in a very bad spot again.
I currently play Cruel Control at my LGS. I like it in the meta we have there, which is reasonably varied. I wouldn't say that means that it is a great deck to take to a GP or PPTQ but that doesn't mean you can't have local success. If anyone is interested here is my list:
As a side-note, this deck is badly un-tuned and I don't have any snappies yet but my worst FNM record is still 3-1, I know that doesn't really mean much more than I can beat a few people at my LGS but for some people that is all they want.
I think the other problem is one that has been said already, people buy into this whole "control is dead" idea and it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy. I mean who am I to say that the MTGS community over-hypes ideas? With a bit more effort from the wider community I think control decks are still viable provided you are willing to accept that you'll have some bad matchups and build your deck in such a way as to minimise those, the same as any other archetype.
I currently play Cruel Control at my LGS. I like it in the meta we have there, which is reasonably varied. I wouldn't say that means that it is a great deck to take to a GP or PPTQ but that doesn't mean you can't have local success. If anyone is interested here is my list:
As a side-note, this deck is badly un-tuned and I don't have any snappies yet but my worst FNM record is still 3-1, I know that doesn't really mean much more than I can beat a few people at my LGS but for some people that is all they want.
I think the other problem is one that has been said already, people buy into this whole "control is dead" idea and it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy. I mean who am I to say that the MTGS community over-hypes ideas? With a bit more effort from the wider community I think control decks are still viable provided you are willing to accept that you'll have some bad matchups and build your deck in such a way as to minimise those, the same as any other archetype.
The real problem is just closing the game when you need to. A proactive deck can actually have bad matchups than a control deck but the thing is that they can always get lucky and capitalize on the opponent stumbling by just killing them. With control there are no free wins and every game is a hard fought battle even if it is a good matchup. When facing a difficult deck the best response is to try to kill them. We see this in other strategy games like stacraft when an apponent is doing something outside the ordinary or is trying to aim for an unbeatable army you just have to go kill them.
This very reason is ehy we see combo control all over vintage and legacy's control deck use lock pieces (countertop) to just out right end the game or prevent the opponent from ever doing anything relavent by the use of a pernament. Twin took that role in modern. It allowed you to interact with all the linear decks to prevent their goldgish while you were sble to end the game if things are going wrong.
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
RGTron
UGInfect
URStorm
WUBRAd Nauseam
BRGrishoalbrand
URGScapeshift
WBGAbzan Company
WUBRGAmulet Titan
BRGLiving End
WGBogles
Havibg built it it seems well positioned against all the aggro decks out there now.
Modern:
Death's Shadow Jund
Death's Shadow Grixis
Junk
Legacy:
Grixis Delver
By what metric does Gr Tron count as control? They play almost no interactive cards and their game plan is to ramp out giant threat before your opponent can kill you.
In the yard: RUG Delver, Kiki-Chord, Grixis Twin, Mardu Control, Smallpox, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Delver, Assault Loam, Elves, Deathcloud, Eggs, Storm
Tron is a ramp deck, it is trying to assemble Urzatron as fast as possible to it can slam fatties (Karn and Ugin included). That said there are control decks that use the Tron lands as it's form of late game threat, i.e. U Tron.
In the yard: RUG Delver, Kiki-Chord, Grixis Twin, Mardu Control, Smallpox, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Delver, Assault Loam, Elves, Deathcloud, Eggs, Storm
The mark of a control deck is that it should be at it's most comfortable on turn 10+ when it can settle in, stop your opponent from doing anything and win at their own pace. While Tron can win late games, isn't its preferred operation parameters, Tron wants to win as fast as possible. A prime example of this is the difference between Gr Tron and U Tron: Gr Tron is doing everything in it's power to assemble the 3 tron lands as fast as it can and it devotes a huge portion of it's cards to this, while U Tron is about controlling your opponent with various forms of permission (counterspells, bounce and removal) until it naturally draws into tron and slams either Sundering Titan or the Slaverlock, typically with some kind of protection up.
Tron's sweepers are included not because it is a control deck but because it gets rocked hard by aggro decks and it has free slots. Besides, just because it contains control elements doesn't make it a control deck, Delver has counterspells and it isn't a control deck.
Yes, there are hybrid decks like you mentioned but Tron does not fall into the control spectrum. Tron is the posterchild of a the modern ramp deck, if anything Tron has more in common with a combo deck then a control deck.
In the yard: RUG Delver, Kiki-Chord, Grixis Twin, Mardu Control, Smallpox, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Delver, Assault Loam, Elves, Deathcloud, Eggs, Storm
In the yard: RUG Delver, Kiki-Chord, Grixis Twin, Mardu Control, Smallpox, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Delver, Assault Loam, Elves, Deathcloud, Eggs, Storm
UW and Jeskai Control are actually the two of the best Control options for a hyper aggro meta. Jeskai is obviously stellar due to its suite of burn spells that can pick off small dudes one by one. Both decks have access to a ton of inherent lifegain that can give aggro fits (Jeskai with Lightning Helix, UW with Kitchen Finks and friends.). UW can put out seemingly endless amounts of chaff that even Colorless Eldrazi will have a hard time slogging through. Not to mention that white (and red for Jeskai) gives you access to some of the best sideboard cards in Modern.
Yes, Affinity is an issue for straight Azorius due to their fliers. It's very much a "can you live to Supreme Verdict" matchup. But it's doable.
As people has said over and over again, it's all a matter of tweaking your control deck to an expected meta. At regionals, I expected a bunch of Burn and Zoo, so I put 2 Baneslayer Angels in the main as a way to go over the top. It got me a 27th place finish. Post Pro-Tour, I needed a way to slow down Eldrazi so I could cast Verdict and take over the game, while not sacrificing my matchups against the other aggro decks. Enter Timely Reinforcements in the main.
Is the draw-go archetype playable? In my opinion, no, format is way too fast for that. But a more midrange-centric control list can do well, and has done well in the small number of events since Pro Tour Oath.
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
WUBRGHumansWUBRG
BGMidrangeBG
DECKS:
UB Faeries [Midrange/Tempo]
RWUGB Affinity[Aggro]
FAERIES TOO STRONK!!!1111
- Fae Prophecy, 201
5678https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VwzQKE-QTxRqzZjZ2n0o1Cp80enNcYQACf3d7xlsVDc/pubhtml
Then why are they currently sitting at tier 3 with only ~1% metashare?
They experienced a small resurgence (people testing the waters + migrating twin players) but both were quickly put back in their place.
Face it, control is dead in this format.
Some posters seem to think that if not a lot of players are on it, it can't possibly be viable. For direct and easy refutation of this position, please see Amulet Bloom ban (it existed in final form for how long before it saw play?).
Instead, viability is more about power and position with respect to the other decks in the format - independant of the archtype's own representation in the field. This means that a deck can see little play and still be viable given it has good matchups across the metagame. This is both obvious and intuitive - otherwise no new deck could ever be viable.
If you choose to narrow "viable" to mean "Tier 1", I think you've chosen to ignore a large part of the game.
Control's death is largely overblown and lacking nuance. Control decks are hard to play and construct for a given meta, leading to a natural depression of the population in the metagame.
KnightfallGWUR
Azorius Control UW
Burn RBG
Blue-based:
WU control
Jeskai control
Grixis control
Blue Moon
Other:
BGx Jund Midrange
BGx Abzan Midrange
Mono white Sun Titan stuff
8rack
Lantern Control
There are plenty of other choices too.
"OH GOD MY BRAIN IS EXPLOADING AT HOW BAD THE ART IS ON MY OWN CARD"
-A friend's first impression of Ancestral Recall
10/10, I tapped.
Speaking as a control player, I would rather play 6 rounds of Swiss against Tron than deal with Eldrazi. Tron at least is slower, and gives you time to breathe. Vendilion Clique, Aven Mindcensor, Stony Silence, Spreading Seas all help with the matchup too.
Blue Tron is just straight-up miserable though. No two ways about it.
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
WUBRGHumansWUBRG
BGMidrangeBG
The key to Tron is early disruption, whether it be hand disruption or land denial, backed up with a fast clock. It's still an uphill battle, to be sure, but you can get there. Clique, Mindcensor, Ghost Quarter, Seas are all-stars in that matchup. Quartering a Tron piece followed by Surgical Extraction buys you so much time.
I wouldn't call colorless Eldrazi a "good matchup" by any means. It's usually something like 60-40 in their favor. The games are certainly competitive though, for the reasons that you stated.
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
WUBRGHumansWUBRG
BGMidrangeBG
UW control performs BEST in an hyper aggro meta. It has one of the better eldrazi matchups
Decks I'm playing in Modern right now:
URB Grixis Reveler (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-grixis-reveler/)
UB Faeries (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/ub-fae-2/)
UW Azorious Control (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-ojutai-control-2/)
Can you explain?
I'm assuming we're talking about the version that plays alot of Wall of omens, Kitchen Finks, Restoration Angel and Dragonlord
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
That version does well versus traditional aggro because it runs: 2-4 boardwipes, walls buy you a turn, gideon jura can buy you a turn at worst, detention sphere eats tokens/any nonland permanent, and its sideboard is great to affinity. The deck is just naturally good to traditional aggro decks and weak to combo. Since there is very little combo right now UW control is decent. Since you are two color you can also run 4 ghost quarter and 4 spreading seas against eldrazi meta and be just fine.
Decks I'm playing in Modern right now:
URB Grixis Reveler (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-grixis-reveler/)
UB Faeries (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/ub-fae-2/)
UW Azorious Control (http://www.mtgvault.com/supast4r7/decks/modern-ojutai-control-2/)
Basically the modern meta is just fart your hand and whoever has the best draw wins.
The game has changed. It makes me sad.
So sure if people want to call their Wall of Omens / Kitchen Finks / Restoration Angel decks "control" then go for it. Although they are really midrange value decks.
If you are asking if reactive control exists in modern, yes it exits. If you are asking if it can be successful (as in win tournaments) no not really. And it won't until Wizards starts giving us better answers.
Don't hold your breath.
There's also the argument that midrange is the new control, or at least that's what Wizards wants us to think, but that is a discussion for a different thread.
The point is, Control is viable in Modern, just not in the shell people would expect.
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
WUBRGHumansWUBRG
BGMidrangeBG
If you like control and want to play control, then by all means play control in modern. Don't let the fear mongering of the naysayers deter you from playing modern or playing control in modern. I play almost nothing but control and have had tons of success despite being told there's no way my decks should be successful. I have at least half a dozen modern control decks that have been successful for me, and more plans/ideas on the way. This includes Cruel Ultimatum, U/W control, U-tron, and a really brewy Jeskai deck with planeswalkers, Secure the Wastes, and Boom // Bust. And saying U/W control isn't really a control deck because it's playing Wall of Omens, Kitchen Finks and Restoration Angel is again misrepresenting what control actually is. Any opponent that has sat across from me would say I'm playing a control deck without question. Having more than 1 creature and being capable of winning the game before turn 40 does not shift a deck away from being control, again, it's not 1998 anymore.
1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 Vendillion Clique
1 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Spells
1 Dispel
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Serum Visions
2 Spell Snare
1 Go for the Throat
3 Mana Leak
1 Remand
2 Terminate
1 Think Twice
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Electrolyze
2 Kolaghan's Command
2 Cryptic Command
1 Damnation
1 Far // Away
2 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Desolate Lighthouse
3 Island
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
2 Reflecting Pool
2 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Swamp
1 Temple of Depict
2 Watery Grave
Sidebaord
2 Crumble to Dust
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Spellskite
1 Duress
2 Dispel
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Vandalblast
1 Countersquall
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Slaughter Games
As a side-note, this deck is badly un-tuned and I don't have any snappies yet but my worst FNM record is still 3-1, I know that doesn't really mean much more than I can beat a few people at my LGS but for some people that is all they want.
I think the other problem is one that has been said already, people buy into this whole "control is dead" idea and it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy. I mean who am I to say that the MTGS community over-hypes ideas? With a bit more effort from the wider community I think control decks are still viable provided you are willing to accept that you'll have some bad matchups and build your deck in such a way as to minimise those, the same as any other archetype.
The real problem is just closing the game when you need to. A proactive deck can actually have bad matchups than a control deck but the thing is that they can always get lucky and capitalize on the opponent stumbling by just killing them. With control there are no free wins and every game is a hard fought battle even if it is a good matchup. When facing a difficult deck the best response is to try to kill them. We see this in other strategy games like stacraft when an apponent is doing something outside the ordinary or is trying to aim for an unbeatable army you just have to go kill them.
This very reason is ehy we see combo control all over vintage and legacy's control deck use lock pieces (countertop) to just out right end the game or prevent the opponent from ever doing anything relavent by the use of a pernament. Twin took that role in modern. It allowed you to interact with all the linear decks to prevent their goldgish while you were sble to end the game if things are going wrong.