MTG Salvation

This is my interview with Ben!

The article also includes my Esper version, which Ben and Keenan (Heatchecker) like quite a bit if we were to splash black.

Enjoy!

https://www.cardknocklife.com/2017/07/02/modern-uw-control-mtgos-bennyhillz/#more-3525

@Chipper77

Hey, this is Francesco from the UWx Midrange/Control communinity on FB. I've been sharing your daily 5-0's and have advocated for this approach to UW players and others looking to play a viable and adaptable Control deck in Modern. Fantastic work. I agree with many of your points, including that Omens is very good alongside Trials to force overextension. I first played 2 Trials in UW Midrange with Omens, Finks, Clique, Resto, etc. and loved it. I also talk to Keenan quite a bit about this deck.

I have 2 questions, because the rest is truly on point to me -

1. How have 2 CC been over the common 3?

2. Have you tested or considered Glimmer of Genius? The card is a nice bridge to Rev, but I see you're on Think Twice.

I'm currently testing a UWb version of this and I'm loving it. I splashed B for Fatal Push, Tasigur (just recently), and Collective Brutality (3 side because they're arguably the best vs Burn, but are also good vs some Combo, mirrors, and Company).

Quote from Wtfwhousesbbeony540 »

I ran neo's Planeswalker deck through a couple rounds in tournament practice. I'm five for five so far. People tend to suck in the tournament practice lobby so we'll see how it does in a competitive league. The decks feels pretty smooth though. There was only one match where I felt like I should have lost given the decks performance but won off my opponent being bad.

Narset is there for card advantage and to be a damage sponge. Her loyalty is so high that at minimum she fogs for a turn or two. I ulted her four times in those five games though. It's not that hard to keep the board clear when you're running so much removal and she's just drawing you into more.

Gideon was alright. I expected him to be more of a beating but he was really just okay. He worth his spots certainly. I feel like if we had more token generators he would be great with his emblem. I might try an esper list with Sorin lord of inistrad and solemn visitor along with lingering souls.

Thank you for testing it! Glad to hear you've had success so far. I've decided to go Esper with Narset and the deck has been my favorite brew since I brewed Esper Twix in 2015 (http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=12585). I'm considering an article for it, too.

It's a deck with a very synergistic and disruptive design, that also takes advantage of Narset's +1 and -2 (such as Rebounding hand disruption, Lingering Souls, Supreme Verdict, etc.), while being able to pressure from several intricate angles and lines of play. Jace, Vryn's Prodigy has a lot of value here and is an alternate win-con, as well. Overall, the deck is synergistic, disruptive, versatile, and resilient, but is also well-positioned for, and adaptable to, the meta.

Without futher ado, here is Esper Narset Control:

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/02-11-16-esper-narset/

3 GQ, 2 TE, 1 Crucible, 2 Surgical, and 2 Needle each contribute to the land hate plan. Tamiyo would be good here as well.

Quote from Wtfwhousesbbeony540 »

That list looks a lot better than the previous UW walkers list. When I was testing it I considered throwing in great hair Gideon to help it's slowness but didn't feel like shelling out for them in modo. SV also seems like something that list really needed. I'll have to run your list through a league later.

SV has been clutch. Good with Narset as you can filter what you draw with her or you can Rebound it. The Walkers feel right but may want Jace, AoT or 2nd Jura. I love the SB Jace as an alternate win con in grindy MU's or vs Abzan Company. The deck is also better equipped vs creatures and has a strong land hate plan that can pull you significantly ahead, especially after you resolve your Walkers. Good luck!

Here's another deck I've been playing:

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/uw-narset-control-3/



The deck is a good Control deck first and does not focus on abusing Narset's -2 ability. Instead, the deck attacks from various angles and is stocked to hold its own vs various different MU's.

Update: 11/1/16

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/26-10-16-dMS-uw-midrange/

Quote from TheAller »

That top 20 list is totally out of target, and so are some of the comments under the decklists. For instance the idea that UR Prowess is the 10th best deck in the format, better than decks such as Abzan CoCo, GR Tron or Merfolk, is laughable. UR Prowess never won anything relevant in Modern. The list he calls "UW Midrange" clearly is no midrange deck. It's rather a control deck (and an ugly list, like already mentioned in the previous page by other users). Dredge is NOT the best deck in Modern. I wouldn't advise anyone to give that article much credit.

Thanks for the input, man.

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=13586&writer=Craig Wescoe&articledate=10-28-2016

#18. UW Midrange

"I guess Dovin Baan isn't quite good enough for Modern, but this is the deck for it if it is. Decks with countermagic keep a lot of the unfair combo decks in check such as Living End and Ad Nauseam. This is one of the best counterspell decks in Modern because it also has plenty of creature removal spells to compete with all the creature decks of the format. Timely Reinforcements main deck is a bit of a concession to the popularity of Burn, as is sideboard Leyline of Sanctity. The planeswalkers and Snapcaster Mages give it game against Jund, Abzan, and Jeskai attrition decks."

--------

The example list isn't what I expected, though. Craig Douglas Wescoe went with the recent 5-0 on MTGO UW Walker Control deck that played 3 MD Narset Transcendent.

Has anyone had any experience with that list?

Update: 10/27/16



References: My deck is a variation of Yuuya Watanabe and JB2002's (Junichiro Bando), but updated to adapt to the current meta.

Yuuya Watanabe - UW Control (10th at 2015 World Championship)
http://sales.starcitygames.com/deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=90628

A UW World
http://modernnexus.com/a-uw-world/

Updated: 10/27/16
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/476197#paper

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/26-10-16-dMS-uw-midrange/

Test Record (as of 10/27/16): 33-13

Test Results: 10/27/16
Record: 3-1

2-0 vs Affinity
2-1 vs Abzan Company
2-0 vs W Death & Taxes
1-2 vs Ad Nauseam

Quote from TheAller »

Quote from aparthia »

@TheAller have you experimented with other wincons than ojutai? I first came across this kind of deck during the eldrazi winter where people was using planeswalkers instead of ojutai. They seem much more robust and inline with recurring sweepers.

I've tried all of them. It depends on the build. If you don't care about being proactive at all you can just cut all creatures and run Elspeth and Gideon. I don't like it and I think it's not a smart strategy. Planeswalkers are slow and clunky, at their best only in grindy games. The great thing about Dragonlord Ojutai is he closes games out fast once he starts connecting (big and evasive), puts you firmly in control thanks to the selective card advantage he provides and is also quite hard to remove. Someone else said a couple pages back he was riding the Dragonlord train to victory most times he was able to cast it. That's also my experience. He hits hard and puts you far ahead.

I whole heartedly agree about Ojutai.

Quote from Virucide »

Hey guys.

Have you guys tested dovin baan?
Too little impact maybe?

I quite new to the UW-deck cause im switching to this from UW-titan/Azorius titan list
so im still getting to know how the UW-list works.
Im building yuuya´s list as a starting point.

If you're starting with Yuuya's, I can provide a lot of insight. I also have a Primer for this archetype and a spreadsheet displaying the past 5 decks that performed well like Yuua's. My deck is an updated version of Yuuya's tailored for the current meta.

Quote from wpgstevo »

@ Chosenone919:
I've top 8'd many local events (including a 75 player event) playing UW draw-go control. I have all the cards for the mid-range control build as well, I simply prefer the draw-go build as I hate tapping out in modern for things like omens/finks.

Here's what my UW draw-go list looks like right now.

Neo7hinker's DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
4 Celestial Colonnade 4 Flooded Strand 2 Hallowed Fountain 1 Glacial Fortress 2 Mystic Gate 4 Island 3 Plains 4 Ghost Quarter 4 Myth Realized 4 Snapcaster mage 1 Secure the Wastes 1 Gideon Jura	4 Serum Visions 2 Ancestral Vision 4 Path to exile 2 Blessed Alliance 3 Supreme Verdict 2 Spell Snare 2 Remand 2 Negate 4 Cryptic Command	Sideboard 1 Vendilion Clique 2 Geist of Saint Traft 1 Stony Silence 1 Runed Halo 2 Celestial Purge 1 Hallowed Moonlight 1 Shadow of doubt 2 Disenchant 2 Surgical Extraction 1 Fragmentize 1 Dispel

I know most people don't believe in Myth Realized, but that card is exactly what the draw-go strategy wants. There just isn't another card that lets you cast supreme verdict and then attack with such a low mana investment.

Nice list! I can get behind this for draw-go and Myth Realized is a great plan with Verdict.

I've had a lot of success in testing with mine. 31-12 as of 10/25. I'll be getting in more test sessions this evening.

Update: 10/26/16
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/26-10-16-dMS-uw-midrange/