You can get the full deck guide - including decklist, an explanation of why I chose each card, a mana-base discussion and a sideboarding guide on my blog.
Ice-Fang Coatl
UG 1/1
Flash
Flying
When enters the battlefield you draw a card.
If you have at least 3 other snow covered permanents it gains deathtouch
The list is pretty standard but has been tweaked to fit the current meta that I've been encountering. I'm not sure what Modern Horizons will bring, but this is what I will be taking to the Open probably.
I see you have partial creature/partial planeswalker wincons. I would choose one or the other. Jeff Hoogland posted some lists last year based on creatures you might like to look at. I prefer Planeswalkers so we can dodge removal. The only creatures I play are Snapcaster Mage and Creeping Tar Pit.
My only other question is why you have Ancestral Vision instead of Opt. You can cast Opt turn 1 to help hit your land drops and then Snap it back if you need to. The AV to me seems out of place in this kind of list.
Other than that, looks good. Let us know how your playtesting goes!
I've noticed that the meta has gone crazy with turn 3-ish kill Phoenix and supercharged burn lately and that is not good for this deck.
To counter that I've made changes to my list above. I've swapped the Consume the Meek for another Collective Brutality and changed the Maelstrom Pulse to a nice little card I've found, Tribute to Hunger.
Tribute to Hunger
B & 2 Generic
Instant
Target player sacrifices a creature. You gain life equal to that creature's toughness.
This can help stabilize against aggro and gives us an out vs indestructible/hexproof creatures. I will continue testing with this list.
Blue Black Control. My jam. My first love. Too bad it's never been all that good in modern, putting up no major results. As in today's current degenerate meta, the chances of that happening are as low as ever.
Why can't UB cut it? There are three main reasons I've noticed after trying to get it to work the past 5 years:
1. You can't handle resolved non-creature permanents very well.
2. After you've stabilized you can still get burned or aggro'd out if you don't draw the exact cards you need.
3. You can have a hard time switching to attack mode and closing out games. Especially now, there is no time to durdle.
With the printing of Assassin's Trophy, we've finally got the solution to #1 and with some well chosen spells (Pulse of Murasa, Collective Brutality), we can take care of #2. For #3 I use 3 Creeping Tar Pits, 1 Kalitas, Trator of Ghet, 4 Snapcasters and 2 Torrential Gearhulks. I would give them a B- in that regard, there is room for improvement but the Gearhulks can help end the game pretty quickly.
Here is my current iteration the I hope to take to GP Toronto next weekend:
After playing the list for 20+ matches I made the above changes to suit my playstyle and the decks glaring lack of ability to handle graveyard issues.
I got rid of the Nimble Obstructionists, I found them too cute. I replaced one with a Kalitas to at least give the deck one anti-graveyard card in the main. It has also helped shore up the Burn matchup against the new Skewer the Critics / Light Up the Stage style builds.
The other two Obstructionists were removed for a Maelstrom Pulse and a Countersquall. Pulse is another pseudo-boardwipe (especially against Lingering Souls which was sometimes an issue) and serves as a lesser Assassin's Trophy #5. I also felt I didn't have enough counterspells to go against UW or Jeskai Control and the 2 damage from Countersquall partially helps alleviate the issue of losing 2 creatures. The B cost in Countersquall hasn't been an issue but I'd ad a Negate over a second squall in the main if I needed to.
In the sideboard I've made a number of tweaks compared to the original Hoogland list. I've added in Surgical Extraction and another Kalitas to help shore up graveyard matchups. I got rid of the Disdainful Strokes, I've always prefered Negate to them. I also reluctantly dropped one "Wet Ball" (Damping Sphere) to make room for the Kalitas, having the second in the sideboard has proven very valuable in many matchups.
The one card I am really unsure about now is Consume the Meek. Back in a humans dominated meta it was so powerful, especially with Torrential Gearhulk, but with humans at a lower popularity and Spirits partially taking over that role (thanks Selfless Spirit) I'm not sure if it is worth the spot now. I find myself siding it out in a lot of matchups and am considering alterntives. Ideas? Either another removal spell or another modal spell like Sultai Charm, Discovery/Dispersal, Dimir Charm or even Golgari Charm that can handle many different situations are my first thoughts for that spot.
I prefer counterspells over discard so I only have 2 Collective Brutality for discard in the deck. With Assassin's Trophy and more counters I've had no trouble, I'd rather top-deck Trophy or Brutality over Thoughtseize 99% of the time even though Thoughtseize is the superior discard spell in the first few turns.
The deck is built to be as low to the ground as possible, there is very little filler other than the Opts which are required to help hit land drops with the assistance of the Pulses.
I am fairly happy with my changes but am still mulling a few things I would like to get some feedback on what I've got before the GP. Assassin's Trophy and Pulse of Murasa just add so much to the base UB, I'm so happy I found the Hoogland list as a starting point. I feel like I can tweak this archtype to a solid Tier 2-ish spot, which is all I expect from a control deck.
If I'm able to attend, I'll post a report here. I don't expect to do that well since I've only entered small (less than 50 people) tournaments before.
Also if people want me to write this up into a guide let me know, this is the modern archtype that I will be focusing on this year.
Congrats to both BUUR and THEENZYM. I like BUUR's experimentation and love the BUG list with Assassin's Trophy. I'm working on a version of that right now.
But its great to see mill getting such good results. Hopefully Team Mill can translate that into some wins at some larger tournaments.
What do you think? It still has the weakness to combos that most Sisters decks share but it has ok matchups so far against the degenerate fast aggro decks like Humans.
How could I improve this deck further? Anyone else testing something similar?
I've been playing with all sorts of crazy alternatives to the base lists.
In addition to being more consistent we want to remove hate like stony silence or dodge it. This version of the deck looks to dodge the common hate by throwing another combo in. Since Dark Depths is banned I went for something as close as I could find in modern - Polymorph / Emrakul the Aeons Torn.
In the BUG version of my list I had taken out most ramp but this version needs it, either trying to race out Thopter Sword to grind out long matches or Lingering Souls / Polymorph. The worst thing is getting Emrakul stuck in your hand so I might switch the Serum Visions for Thoughtseizes.
The Utter End is a flex-spot, it used to be Cast Out and before that Hero's Downfall. I had Anguished Unmaking but sometimes don't want to pay the 3 life. Given a 'standard' draw-go style main deck, what should I put in that slot in the current meta? Utter End's 4 casting cost is just too much to make it useful in most matchups.
If you want to play Tezzerets without Thopter/Sword then your best bet is U/R Tezzeret Prison. Do a search on that and you will find it.
Tezzeret control is currently Tier 3ish (at best Tier 2.5), but it is not dead. At FNMs you can 4/5-0 and there are occassional MTGO 5-0 as well. No major tournaments have been won though, so this decks time is still to come. When the meta becomes a little more friendly it should do better. We do keep getting more tools, we just need 1-2 more cards to really push it over the edge and give it more consistency.
I'm sure others would have their own thoughts as well.
4 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Verdant Catacombs
2 Watery Grave
2 Breeding Pool
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Steam Vents
1 Smoldering Marsh
1 Drowned Catacomb
2 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Island
2 Swamp
1 Forest
2 Field of Ruin
Creature (3)
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Pulse of Murasa
3 Cryptic Command
2 Logic Knot
1 Mana Leak
1 Negate
4 Assassin's Trophy
3 Fatal Push
3 Opt
Sorceries (5)
2 Damnation
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Collective Brutality
Planeswalker (6)
2 Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 Ashiok, Dream Render
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
1 Cry of the Carnarium
1 Collective Brutality
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Damping Sphere
1 Unmoored Ego
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Negate
1 Ceremonious Rejection
You can get the full deck guide - including decklist, an explanation of why I chose each card, a mana-base discussion and a sideboarding guide on my blog.
Ice-Fang Coatl
UG 1/1
Flash
Flying
When enters the battlefield you draw a card.
If you have at least 3 other snow covered permanents it gains deathtouch
It is basically UBg Control with a small red splash for everybody's favourite tyrant: Nicol Bolas, Dragon God.
Here's the list:
4 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Verdant Catacombs
2 Watery Grave
2 Breeding Pool
1 Blood Crypt
1 Steam Vents
1 Canyon Slough
2 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Island
2 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Drowned Catacomb
2 Field of Ruin
Creature (3)
3 Snapcaster Mage
Instants (20)
1 Pulse of Murasa
3 Cryptic Command
2 Logic Knot
1 Countersquall
1 Negate
1 Tribute to Hunger
4 Assassin's Trophy
1 Abrupt Decay
3 Fatal Push
3 Opt
1 Damnation
1 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Collective Brutality
Planeswalker (4)
1 Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
Enchantments (1)
1 Search for Azcanta
Artifact (2)
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Damnation
1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
2 Damping Sphere
1 Unmoored Ego
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Negate
1 Dispel
1 Ceremonious Rejection
The list is pretty standard but has been tweaked to fit the current meta that I've been encountering. I'm not sure what Modern Horizons will bring, but this is what I will be taking to the Open probably.
Looks like no one has responde to you yet.
I see you have partial creature/partial planeswalker wincons. I would choose one or the other. Jeff Hoogland posted some lists last year based on creatures you might like to look at. I prefer Planeswalkers so we can dodge removal. The only creatures I play are Snapcaster Mage and Creeping Tar Pit.
My only other question is why you have Ancestral Vision instead of Opt. You can cast Opt turn 1 to help hit your land drops and then Snap it back if you need to. The AV to me seems out of place in this kind of list.
Other than that, looks good. Let us know how your playtesting goes!
https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/bo5a2l/bug_control_2019_tournament_report/
Looks like a pretty standard list, with a few odd choices from my perspective.
But gives hope we can tune BUG control to fit in this meta.
Plus in the meantime I will see how I canmake the deck better against graveyard stategies without watering down the core plan of the deck.
Considering either a Negate or Scarab Feast now in that slot.
To counter that I've made changes to my list above. I've swapped the Consume the Meek for another Collective Brutality and changed the Maelstrom Pulse to a nice little card I've found, Tribute to Hunger.
Tribute to Hunger
B & 2 Generic
Instant
Target player sacrifices a creature. You gain life equal to that creature's toughness.
This can help stabilize against aggro and gives us an out vs indestructible/hexproof creatures. I will continue testing with this list.
Why can't UB cut it? There are three main reasons I've noticed after trying to get it to work the past 5 years:
1. You can't handle resolved non-creature permanents very well.
2. After you've stabilized you can still get burned or aggro'd out if you don't draw the exact cards you need.
3. You can have a hard time switching to attack mode and closing out games. Especially now, there is no time to durdle.
With the printing of Assassin's Trophy, we've finally got the solution to #1 and with some well chosen spells (Pulse of Murasa, Collective Brutality), we can take care of #2. For #3 I use 3 Creeping Tar Pits, 1 Kalitas, Trator of Ghet, 4 Snapcasters and 2 Torrential Gearhulks. I would give them a B- in that regard, there is room for improvement but the Gearhulks can help end the game pretty quickly.
Here is my current iteration the I hope to take to GP Toronto next weekend:
4 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Verdant Catacombs
3 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Watery Grave
2 Breeding Pool
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Drowned Catacomb
2 Field of Ruin
4 Island
2 Swamp
1 Forest
CREATURES (7)
2 Torrential Gearhulk
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Damnation
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Collective Brutality
INSTANTS (22)
1 Consume the Meek
4 Assassin's Trophy
4 Fatal Push
4 Cryptic Command
2 Logic Knot
1 Countersquall
2 Pulse of Murasa
4 Opt
OTHER (1)
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Damnation
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Negate
1 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Dispel
2 Unmoored Ego
2 Damping Sphere
2 Surgical Extraction
As some might notice the starting point is the Jeff Hoogland list that is on his website at:
https://www.jeffhoogland.com/decklists/sultai-control/
After playing the list for 20+ matches I made the above changes to suit my playstyle and the decks glaring lack of ability to handle graveyard issues.
I got rid of the Nimble Obstructionists, I found them too cute. I replaced one with a Kalitas to at least give the deck one anti-graveyard card in the main. It has also helped shore up the Burn matchup against the new Skewer the Critics / Light Up the Stage style builds.
The other two Obstructionists were removed for a Maelstrom Pulse and a Countersquall. Pulse is another pseudo-boardwipe (especially against Lingering Souls which was sometimes an issue) and serves as a lesser Assassin's Trophy #5. I also felt I didn't have enough counterspells to go against UW or Jeskai Control and the 2 damage from Countersquall partially helps alleviate the issue of losing 2 creatures. The B cost in Countersquall hasn't been an issue but I'd ad a Negate over a second squall in the main if I needed to.
In the sideboard I've made a number of tweaks compared to the original Hoogland list. I've added in Surgical Extraction and another Kalitas to help shore up graveyard matchups. I got rid of the Disdainful Strokes, I've always prefered Negate to them. I also reluctantly dropped one "Wet Ball" (Damping Sphere) to make room for the Kalitas, having the second in the sideboard has proven very valuable in many matchups.
The one card I am really unsure about now is Consume the Meek. Back in a humans dominated meta it was so powerful, especially with Torrential Gearhulk, but with humans at a lower popularity and Spirits partially taking over that role (thanks Selfless Spirit) I'm not sure if it is worth the spot now. I find myself siding it out in a lot of matchups and am considering alterntives. Ideas? Either another removal spell or another modal spell like Sultai Charm, Discovery/Dispersal, Dimir Charm or even Golgari Charm that can handle many different situations are my first thoughts for that spot.
I prefer counterspells over discard so I only have 2 Collective Brutality for discard in the deck. With Assassin's Trophy and more counters I've had no trouble, I'd rather top-deck Trophy or Brutality over Thoughtseize 99% of the time even though Thoughtseize is the superior discard spell in the first few turns.
The deck is built to be as low to the ground as possible, there is very little filler other than the Opts which are required to help hit land drops with the assistance of the Pulses.
I am fairly happy with my changes but am still mulling a few things I would like to get some feedback on what I've got before the GP. Assassin's Trophy and Pulse of Murasa just add so much to the base UB, I'm so happy I found the Hoogland list as a starting point. I feel like I can tweak this archtype to a solid Tier 2-ish spot, which is all I expect from a control deck.
If I'm able to attend, I'll post a report here. I don't expect to do that well since I've only entered small (less than 50 people) tournaments before.
Also if people want me to write this up into a guide let me know, this is the modern archtype that I will be focusing on this year.
In the past two weeks we've had 3 5-0s in the MTGO Competitive Modern Leagues!
Oct 5, 2018 - BUUR (UB Mill)
4 Hedron Crab
Sorcery (6)
2 Collective Brutality
4 Glimpse the Unthinkable
Instant (22)
4 Archive Trap
2 Crypt Incursion
3 Fatal Push
3 Mission Briefing
1 Murderous Cut
2 Opt
3 Surgical Extraction
4 Visions of Beyond
4 Mesmeric Orb
Enchantment (2)
2 Search for Azcanta
Land (22)
3 Darkslick Shores
3 Field of Ruin
2 Flooded Strand
3 Island
4 Polluted Delta
3 Shelldock Isle
2 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
1 Crypt Incursion
1 Murderous Cut
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
1 Damnation
1 Dismember
2 Echoing Truth
3 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Extirpate
1 Night of Souls' Betrayal
1 Set Adrift
Oct 5 - THEENZYM (BUG Mill)
4 Hedron Crab
1 Manic Scribe
Sorcery (7)
4 Glimpse the Unthinkable
3 Mind Funeral
Instant (18)
4 Archive Trap
4 Assassin's Trophy
2 Extirpate
2 Fatal Push
2 Trapmaker's Snare
4 Visions of Beyond
Artifact (6)
2 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Mesmeric Orb
4 Fraying Sanity
Land (20)
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Breeding Pool
1 Darkslick Shores
3 Field of Ruin
1 Flooded Strand
2 Island
1 Marsh Flats
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Overgrown Tomb
4 Polluted Delta
2 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
1 Crypt Incursion
2 Damnation
2 Damping Sphere
2 Dead Drop
1 Defense Grid
2 Dispel
3 Leyline of the Void
1 Profane Memento
1 Unmoored Ego
Oct 8 - BUUR (UB Mill)
4 Hedron Crab
3 Manic Scribe
Sorcery (6)
2 Collective Brutality
4 Glimpse the Unthinkable
Instant (19)
4 Archive Trap
2 Crypt Incursion
3 Fatal Push
2 Mission Briefing
1 Murderous Cut
3 Surgical Extraction
4 Visions of Beyond
4 Mesmeric Orb
Enchantment (2)
2 Search for Azcanta
Land (22)
3 Darkslick Shores
3 Field of Ruin
2 Flooded Strand
3 Island
4 Polluted Delta
3 Shelldock Isle
2 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
1 Crypt Incursion
1 Murderous Cut
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
1 Damnation
1 Dismember
2 Echoing Truth
3 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Extirpate
1 Night of Souls' Betrayal
1 Set Adrift
Congrats to both BUUR and THEENZYM. I like BUUR's experimentation and love the BUG list with Assassin's Trophy. I'm working on a version of that right now.
But its great to see mill getting such good results. Hopefully Team Mill can translate that into some wins at some larger tournaments.
Here's what I'm currently using:
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Inspiring Vantage
4 Clifftop Retreat
2 Ghost Quarters
2 Westvale Abbey
8 Plains
CREATURES (21)
3 Archangel of Thune
2 Bygone Bishop
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3 Whitemane Lion
4 Auriok Champion
3 Soul Warden
3 Soul's Attendant
2 Norin the Wary
3 Oketra's Monument
2 Genesis Chamber
3 Honor of the Pure
3 Impact Tremors
4 Path to Exile
2 Lightning Helix
2 Settle the Wreckage
2 Ghostly Prison
3 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Damping Sphere
3 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Shattering Blow
What do you think? It still has the weakness to combos that most Sisters decks share but it has ok matchups so far against the degenerate fast aggro decks like Humans.
How could I improve this deck further? Anyone else testing something similar?
In addition to being more consistent we want to remove hate like stony silence or dodge it. This version of the deck looks to dodge the common hate by throwing another combo in. Since Dark Depths is banned I went for something as close as I could find in modern - Polymorph / Emrakul the Aeons Torn.
In the BUG version of my list I had taken out most ramp but this version needs it, either trying to race out Thopter Sword to grind out long matches or Lingering Souls / Polymorph. The worst thing is getting Emrakul stuck in your hand so I might switch the Serum Visions for Thoughtseizes.
Here is the list:
4 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Watery Grave
3 Seachrome Coast
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Inventor's Fair
1 Academy Ruins
1 Blinkmoth Nexus
3 Island
1 Plains
2 Swamps
ARTIFACTS (19)
4 Thopter Foundry
3 Sword of the Meek
1 Time Sieve
3 Pentad Prism
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Pithing Needle
1 Navigator's Compass
1 Mox Opal
3 Welding Jar
4 Whir of Invention
1 Steelshaper's Gift
3 Serum Visions
2 Collective Brutality
SECONDARY COMBO (9)
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Polymorph
4 Lingering Souls
1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 Batterskull
1 Witchbane Orb
3 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Damping Sphere
1 Torpor Orb
1 Pithing Needle
3 Flayer Husk
2 Detention Sphere
1 Disenchant
Thoughts? How can we best recreate a legal version of the dual fast/grindy threat of Dark Depth / Thopter Sword in modern?
I have a question about my sideboard. I am currently running:
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Celestial Purge
1 Negate
2 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Dispel
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Runed Halo
The Utter End is a flex-spot, it used to be Cast Out and before that Hero's Downfall. I had Anguished Unmaking but sometimes don't want to pay the 3 life. Given a 'standard' draw-go style main deck, what should I put in that slot in the current meta? Utter End's 4 casting cost is just too much to make it useful in most matchups.
Thanks!
Tezzeret control is currently Tier 3ish (at best Tier 2.5), but it is not dead. At FNMs you can 4/5-0 and there are occassional MTGO 5-0 as well. No major tournaments have been won though, so this decks time is still to come. When the meta becomes a little more friendly it should do better. We do keep getting more tools, we just need 1-2 more cards to really push it over the edge and give it more consistency.
I'm sure others would have their own thoughts as well.