Yeah I was also surprised by these numbers although I think 3 Teferi HOD is a good number if you try to diversify your threats.
To expand on the new cards I've tested in UW Control so far:
Finale of glory can be an alternative wincon in grindy match-ups. It's also one of the few cards to synergize well with Teferi, Time Raveler's +1.
Blast Zone I really like the card and I've tried hard to make it work with the deck. The biggest problem is that UW removal are mostly permanents (Seal Away, Prison Realm, Deputy of Detention, etc) so you can't always trigger your blast without consequences for you own board. I've tried to build around this card in a deck with less permanents, Crucible of worlds and a set of Field of ruin in order to punish the 3 colored decks but it didn't felt very strong.
Elite Guardmage is a good creature with a perfect ETB for our deck, it survives Shock and Moment Of Craving so that's that. It also has a nice interaction with Time Wipe but it lacks a bit of toughtness to make the cut to my mind. Personnaly I prefer my UW Control deck as creatureless as possible.
Narset's Reversal can go from game-changing to useless depending on who you're facing and when you have it in hand. It can make for some nice plays againt jump-started card notably. I would take it as a side-board card mostly.
The Wanderer is also a side-board card which comes in handy against Burn decks, Izzet and Aristocrats strategy. It almost feels designed to counter Niv-Mizzet, Parun as you won't take damage from your opponent drawing and you'll be able to exile him with the -2 capacity. Against Aristocrat decks it allows us to freely wipe the board without having to worry about the damage caused by Cruel Celebrant for example.
God-Eternal Oketra can be a nice finisher, this card hits hard and is difficult to remove. Nevertheless, the trigger ability doesn't seem suited to UW Control as we won't have many creatures to cast.
Augur of Bolas not really a new card but one who can alway find a place in control-orientated shells. I can't say that it works without the proper build. It has a tendency to whiff most of the time as we don't only play instant or sorceries but also many enchantements and PW.
There are still a few cards to consider in this set: God-Eternal Kefnet of course, Dovin, Hand of Control could be a nice tech but our 3CMC slot is already full, Single Combat could wipe a heavy PW board but it still leave our opponent with his best card and Mobilized District to have a blocker and a creature to pressure our opponent's PW.
All in all, I think UW Control is in a better spot than before War of the Spark but it still feels underpowered when compared to Esper Control. Our answers are way less flexible compared to theirs and we still can't deal with PW at instant speed. If you add the fact that they have access to hand disruption and the best sweeper since a very long time in the form of Kaya's Wrath, I think Esper Control will stay the best deck for a long time. Right now the only upside seems to be the mana-base but it's not much to brag about.
And yet there are still some mad lads like Coluche to try and make UW Control works. Here is the list he used to 5-0 a MTGO Competitive Leage: https://aetherhub.com/Deck/Public/107028#
I have not tried that list and to be fair it seems a bit all over the place to me. Nevertheless, it contains a lot of new cards and I think they add something to the deck. I have tried to tune my own list and I have tested a lot of the WAR additions.
Dovin's Veto is a must-have, there is absolutely no reason to keep playing Negate instead of this one. The mana is no obstacle for UW and it just shut down any non-creature spell our opponent tries to cast. It's one of our only answer to planeswaklers so I suggest playing a full set at the moment.
Prison Realm is the new (and only) card given to white for dealing with Planeswalkers. It's far from optimal so I tend to keep it in the sideboard and bring two if I face a PW-heavy deck. I play two Deputy of Detention main deck instead as the card is more flexible.
Gideon's Triumph has left me on the fence. It's instant and it targets the player so ideal if you try to kill a pesky Carnage Tyrant with minimal cost. It's also a good way to remove a blocker if you're using a creature as finisher. But it doesn't kill creatures that stay out of fights and it loses most of its power when the opponent attacks with multiple creatures. Overall, the card doesn't feel better than Seal Away most of the time.
Time Wipe I haven't really had the occasion to cast it but I can see it replacing Cleansing Nova. It has some nice interaction with Deputy of Detention and Elite Guardmage and it can't really be used by our opponent if it get stolen by a Thief of Sanity (getting hit by the alternative mode of your ownCleansing Novais a hard feeling to forget).
Commence the endgame is a goodway to finish your games but it feels like "win-more" card most of the time. Not sold on this one.
Narset, Parter of veils is a good SB card to me and I bring her in every time I face Control or Reclamation decks. She really messes with their gameplan and allow us to retake control of those games.
Teferi, Time Raveler seems very situational to me. Sometime it's great, especially against deck able to cast any type of counter magic but it can also feel mostly useless. I haven't been able to use the +1 ability so far but the -3 can be a lifesaver. I'm thinking about creating a shell suited to this card (wiht sorceries like Tamiyo's Epiphanyand UW Finales for example) but I'm not sure if it's worth it...
Ugin, The Ineffable is great but a bit underwhelming considering his casting cost. You expect a 6 mana card to close the game but it's not what Ugin does. However, he does give you card advantage and board presence with his +1 while the -3 ability can bring an answer to the main threat on the board.
UW control is in a hard spot right now but I think WAR will bring us some new tools. Prison Realm, Dovin's veto and of course Teferi, time raveler look like very good additions to me. Still, it might not be enough to surpass Esper Control...
After multiple games played with this list, I can say it's working very well. The game plan is pretty simple and the deck is really consistent in what it's trying to do (counter-> counter-> boardwipe -> Teferi). The extreme abundance of counterspells has a tendancy to frustrate the opponent quickly. However games can be hard without a good starting hand, I usually try to have 3 lands in hand, no more no less to ensure a good start.
The sideboard seemed a bit light to me at first sight but it has worked well so far. Still need to playtest it more before I can say it's competitive.
This is an up to date list of the "no-wincon" version of UW Control. It goes heavy on counterspell and count on ulting Teferi to close the game. I've played a bunch of games with it and it has proven pretty effective. The sideboard is good against aggro decks but it seems to lack some graveyard hate that would prove useful against some Golgari decks. I need to play it more before forming a reasonable opinion though.
Hey guys ! I signed up here because the topic seemed pretty much dead but I hope some of you are still playing UW Control. With GRN out, a few good UW cards have gone out (Cast Out, Disallow and Torrential Gearhulk) but I think the deck is still strong (Teferi remains one of the best card around) but less obvious than before.
I have been playing a lot on MTGO and I'm running this list at the moment:
I'd like to hear the opinions of fellow Azorius Control players on the following points:
Manabase
Shakier than before but it seems to work with 27 lands. I started with 29 but it was clearly too much. Maybe we can cut another land. Arch of Orazca:always great in the late game when you need to keep drawing during the opponent's turn. Field of ruin: not as relevant as before and should maybe go to the sideboard but it's still useful when it targets opponent flipped Azcanta or to protect our own.
Card Engine Search for Azcanta: the best option to my mind as long as the opposing deck isn't too aggro. I tend to side it out when I'm facing decks that try to fill the board as quickly as possible. Chemister's insight: really good, I thought I would miss glimmer but the ability to jump-start is very strong. The goal is to play it as soon as possible and to relaunch it if your hands get dry. Teferi, Hero of Dominaria: playing 4 of him allows you to slam it more frequently even as soon as turn 5. Sometimes it's risky and he goes to the bin immediatly, sometimes he sticks around and gives you a couple of cards. As before, if he stays on the board for 2 or 3 turns, the game is almost won.
Removal
Playing UW means we don't get to play Assassin's trophy but we keep most of the suite that was so strong in the last format. Creatures aren't really an issue with this deck but it tends to struggle more against planeswalkers. Seal Away:the best way to deal with midrange threats or to gain some time against deck that try to fill up the board with small creatures while you wait on your sweepers. It tends to lose some efficiency against Boros since more creatures comes with vigilance now (Swiftblade Vindicator comes to mind). Ixalan's binding: I'm really not sold on this one. I was a big fan of Cast Out but this one is clearly weaker. Enchantements seems to be a lot more fragile in this format and sorcery speed makes this card almost unplayable. The only upside is that's one of our only way to deal with planeswalkers. Essence Scatter: essential to counter ETB creatures, Plaguecrafter comes to mind but there are a lot of creature which you don't want to touch the board. I was running a set of 2 and one Sinister sabotage more but the cost makes all the difference against fast decks.
Sweepers Settle the wreckage: this card is still very strong, the exile effect makes it even stronger now with decks that rely on creatures in the graveyard. I'm actually considering running a full playset. Cleansing Nova: another downgrade compared to the previous format. The alternative mode can be useful against decks playing Ixalan's Binding but otherwise it's mainly useful to hit the creatures that don't attack. Siding in one more against aggro match-up works well most of the time.
Counterspell
The best way to actually deal with planeswalker in the deck and to protect our threats. Numbers should maybe go up since you need to counter a lot of stuff before you can actually win games with this deck. Sinister Sabotage: the cost is heavy but it's counterbalanced by its polyvalence so playing less than 3 sounds risky to me. The surveil ability helps you filter your draw but feels redundant if you have Search for Azcanta in play. Negate: playing 2 mainboard is a must when you need to protect Teferi, it always find utility at some moment. I have 2 more in the sideboard for the mirror match or against deck that don't rely on creature to win.
Utility Blink of an eye: proves to be useful in many situations, can give you some time in early game, save your Teferi from a Vraska's contempt or bounce a near ulting planeswalker on the other side of the board. The kicker is just the cherry on top. Mission Briefing: once again this card is costly, if you want to flashback a Sinister Sabotage you will need 4 blue source available ! That's why I only run 2 of it. The surveil 2 is just a bit of filtering or you can go for a hail mary if the card needed isn't in your graveyard. It can still save you life in a lot of situation. Good addition overall.
Finisher
This part is always tricky since UW doesn't have access to the best creatures. The format is also filled with removal so it's hard to keep one big body on the table. I have tried Zetalpa, Primal Dawn since it comes with great keywords but the cost is really heavy. Nezahal, Primal Tide is a must in control match-up or against spell-slinger decks but you can't rely on him in most of the games. I haven't tried Dream eater because its body seems way too fragile but the Flash and the ETB might make it worth. Lyra dawnbringer: can keep a board in check on her own but you have to be able to untap with her. Once you start swinging and if you have some spells to protect her she can do the job.
Match-up
Still too soon to tell if the deck will be in a good position since the meta isn't set at the moment. So far I've been having a good time against midrange decks, aggro can be tough if they get an explosive start and if we dont draw our sweepers soon enough. Mirror match often turns to a counterspells battle. Matches against UB shells forces us to be more proactive since these decks are filled with discard (Tought erasure and duress obviously) but once again the deck that manage to resolve its main threat tends to win.
The decks which have gave me the hardest times are Izzet Burn and Blue Aggro. Izzet usually don't play a lot of creature and comes packed with counterspells. Once Niv Mizzet hits the table, it's very hard for us to kill him and if he sticks it's game over. Blue aggro on the other hand relies heavily on creatures but they are very hard to sweep since this deck runs a lot of counterspells too. I have really no clue how to win against this decks, even post sideboard.
Well guys, I hope this long post will be enough to spark new conversations around this deck and I'm eager to hear your takes on these subjects.
To expand on the new cards I've tested in UW Control so far:
Finale of glory can be an alternative wincon in grindy match-ups. It's also one of the few cards to synergize well with Teferi, Time Raveler's +1.
Blast Zone I really like the card and I've tried hard to make it work with the deck. The biggest problem is that UW removal are mostly permanents (Seal Away, Prison Realm, Deputy of Detention, etc) so you can't always trigger your blast without consequences for you own board. I've tried to build around this card in a deck with less permanents, Crucible of worlds and a set of Field of ruin in order to punish the 3 colored decks but it didn't felt very strong.
Elite Guardmage is a good creature with a perfect ETB for our deck, it survives Shock and Moment Of Craving so that's that. It also has a nice interaction with Time Wipe but it lacks a bit of toughtness to make the cut to my mind. Personnaly I prefer my UW Control deck as creatureless as possible.
Narset's Reversal can go from game-changing to useless depending on who you're facing and when you have it in hand. It can make for some nice plays againt jump-started card notably. I would take it as a side-board card mostly.
The Wanderer is also a side-board card which comes in handy against Burn decks, Izzet and Aristocrats strategy. It almost feels designed to counter Niv-Mizzet, Parun as you won't take damage from your opponent drawing and you'll be able to exile him with the -2 capacity. Against Aristocrat decks it allows us to freely wipe the board without having to worry about the damage caused by Cruel Celebrant for example.
God-Eternal Oketra can be a nice finisher, this card hits hard and is difficult to remove. Nevertheless, the trigger ability doesn't seem suited to UW Control as we won't have many creatures to cast.
Augur of Bolas not really a new card but one who can alway find a place in control-orientated shells. I can't say that it works without the proper build. It has a tendency to whiff most of the time as we don't only play instant or sorceries but also many enchantements and PW.
There are still a few cards to consider in this set: God-Eternal Kefnet of course, Dovin, Hand of Control could be a nice tech but our 3CMC slot is already full, Single Combat could wipe a heavy PW board but it still leave our opponent with his best card and Mobilized District to have a blocker and a creature to pressure our opponent's PW.
All in all, I think UW Control is in a better spot than before War of the Spark but it still feels underpowered when compared to Esper Control. Our answers are way less flexible compared to theirs and we still can't deal with PW at instant speed. If you add the fact that they have access to hand disruption and the best sweeper since a very long time in the form of Kaya's Wrath, I think Esper Control will stay the best deck for a long time. Right now the only upside seems to be the mana-base but it's not much to brag about.
https://aetherhub.com/Deck/Public/107028#
I have not tried that list and to be fair it seems a bit all over the place to me. Nevertheless, it contains a lot of new cards and I think they add something to the deck. I have tried to tune my own list and I have tested a lot of the WAR additions.
Dovin's Veto is a must-have, there is absolutely no reason to keep playing Negate instead of this one. The mana is no obstacle for UW and it just shut down any non-creature spell our opponent tries to cast. It's one of our only answer to planeswaklers so I suggest playing a full set at the moment.
Prison Realm is the new (and only) card given to white for dealing with Planeswalkers. It's far from optimal so I tend to keep it in the sideboard and bring two if I face a PW-heavy deck. I play two Deputy of Detention main deck instead as the card is more flexible.
Gideon's Triumph has left me on the fence. It's instant and it targets the player so ideal if you try to kill a pesky Carnage Tyrant with minimal cost. It's also a good way to remove a blocker if you're using a creature as finisher. But it doesn't kill creatures that stay out of fights and it loses most of its power when the opponent attacks with multiple creatures. Overall, the card doesn't feel better than Seal Away most of the time.
Time Wipe I haven't really had the occasion to cast it but I can see it replacing Cleansing Nova. It has some nice interaction with Deputy of Detention and Elite Guardmage and it can't really be used by our opponent if it get stolen by a Thief of Sanity (getting hit by the alternative mode of your ownCleansing Novais a hard feeling to forget).
Commence the endgame is a goodway to finish your games but it feels like "win-more" card most of the time. Not sold on this one.
Narset, Parter of veils is a good SB card to me and I bring her in every time I face Control or Reclamation decks. She really messes with their gameplan and allow us to retake control of those games.
Teferi, Time Raveler seems very situational to me. Sometime it's great, especially against deck able to cast any type of counter magic but it can also feel mostly useless. I haven't been able to use the +1 ability so far but the -3 can be a lifesaver. I'm thinking about creating a shell suited to this card (wiht sorceries like Tamiyo's Epiphanyand UW Finales for example) but I'm not sure if it's worth it...
Ugin, The Ineffable is great but a bit underwhelming considering his casting cost. You expect a 6 mana card to close the game but it's not what Ugin does. However, he does give you card advantage and board presence with his +1 while the -3 ability can bring an answer to the main threat on the board.
I'll continue my review of the new card later.
The sideboard seemed a bit light to me at first sight but it has worked well so far. Still need to playtest it more before I can say it's competitive.
4 Field of ruins
4 Meandering river
4 Glacial fortress
7 Island
2 Memorial to genius
6 Plains
Spells
3 Seal away
1 Disdainful stroke
3 Essence scatter
1 Negate
4 Sinister sabotage
2 Mission briefing
3 Settle the wreckage
2 Cleansing nova
2 Dedious cover up
2 Syncopate
4 Chemister's insight
2 Search for Azcanta
4 Teferi, hero of dominaria
1 Sorcerous spyglass
2 Baffling end
1 Disdainful stroke
2 Negate
3 History of Benalia
2 Shield mare
1 Ixalan's binding
2 Lyra Dawnbringer
1 Nezahal, primal tide
This is an up to date list of the "no-wincon" version of UW Control. It goes heavy on counterspell and count on ulting Teferi to close the game. I've played a bunch of games with it and it has proven pretty effective. The sideboard is good against aggro decks but it seems to lack some graveyard hate that would prove useful against some Golgari decks. I need to play it more before forming a reasonable opinion though.
I have been playing a lot on MTGO and I'm running this list at the moment:
1 Arch of Orazca
2 Field of Ruin
4 Glacial Fortress
8 Island
4 Meandering River
8 Plains
1 Ixalan's Binding
4 Seal Away
2 Search for Azcanta
Instants
2 Blink of an Eye
3 Chemister's Insight
1 Disdainful Stroke
3 Essence Scatter
2 Mission Briefing
2 Negate
3 Settle the Wreckage
3 Sinister Sabotage
1 Cleansing Nova
Planeswalkers
4 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Creatures
2 Lyra Dawnbringer
I'd like to hear the opinions of fellow Azorius Control players on the following points:
Manabase
Shakier than before but it seems to work with 27 lands. I started with 29 but it was clearly too much. Maybe we can cut another land.
Arch of Orazca:always great in the late game when you need to keep drawing during the opponent's turn.
Field of ruin: not as relevant as before and should maybe go to the sideboard but it's still useful when it targets opponent flipped Azcanta or to protect our own.
Card Engine
Search for Azcanta: the best option to my mind as long as the opposing deck isn't too aggro. I tend to side it out when I'm facing decks that try to fill the board as quickly as possible.
Chemister's insight: really good, I thought I would miss glimmer but the ability to jump-start is very strong. The goal is to play it as soon as possible and to relaunch it if your hands get dry.
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria: playing 4 of him allows you to slam it more frequently even as soon as turn 5. Sometimes it's risky and he goes to the bin immediatly, sometimes he sticks around and gives you a couple of cards. As before, if he stays on the board for 2 or 3 turns, the game is almost won.
Removal
Playing UW means we don't get to play Assassin's trophy but we keep most of the suite that was so strong in the last format. Creatures aren't really an issue with this deck but it tends to struggle more against planeswalkers.
Seal Away:the best way to deal with midrange threats or to gain some time against deck that try to fill up the board with small creatures while you wait on your sweepers. It tends to lose some efficiency against Boros since more creatures comes with vigilance now (Swiftblade Vindicator comes to mind).
Ixalan's binding: I'm really not sold on this one. I was a big fan of Cast Out but this one is clearly weaker. Enchantements seems to be a lot more fragile in this format and sorcery speed makes this card almost unplayable. The only upside is that's one of our only way to deal with planeswalkers.
Essence Scatter: essential to counter ETB creatures, Plaguecrafter comes to mind but there are a lot of creature which you don't want to touch the board. I was running a set of 2 and one Sinister sabotage more but the cost makes all the difference against fast decks.
Sweepers
Settle the wreckage: this card is still very strong, the exile effect makes it even stronger now with decks that rely on creatures in the graveyard. I'm actually considering running a full playset.
Cleansing Nova: another downgrade compared to the previous format. The alternative mode can be useful against decks playing Ixalan's Binding but otherwise it's mainly useful to hit the creatures that don't attack. Siding in one more against aggro match-up works well most of the time.
Counterspell
The best way to actually deal with planeswalker in the deck and to protect our threats. Numbers should maybe go up since you need to counter a lot of stuff before you can actually win games with this deck.
Sinister Sabotage: the cost is heavy but it's counterbalanced by its polyvalence so playing less than 3 sounds risky to me. The surveil ability helps you filter your draw but feels redundant if you have Search for Azcanta in play.
Negate: playing 2 mainboard is a must when you need to protect Teferi, it always find utility at some moment. I have 2 more in the sideboard for the mirror match or against deck that don't rely on creature to win.
Utility
Blink of an eye: proves to be useful in many situations, can give you some time in early game, save your Teferi from a Vraska's contempt or bounce a near ulting planeswalker on the other side of the board. The kicker is just the cherry on top.
Mission Briefing: once again this card is costly, if you want to flashback a Sinister Sabotage you will need 4 blue source available ! That's why I only run 2 of it. The surveil 2 is just a bit of filtering or you can go for a hail mary if the card needed isn't in your graveyard. It can still save you life in a lot of situation. Good addition overall.
Finisher
This part is always tricky since UW doesn't have access to the best creatures. The format is also filled with removal so it's hard to keep one big body on the table. I have tried Zetalpa, Primal Dawn since it comes with great keywords but the cost is really heavy. Nezahal, Primal Tide is a must in control match-up or against spell-slinger decks but you can't rely on him in most of the games. I haven't tried Dream eater because its body seems way too fragile but the Flash and the ETB might make it worth.
Lyra dawnbringer: can keep a board in check on her own but you have to be able to untap with her. Once you start swinging and if you have some spells to protect her she can do the job.
Match-up
Still too soon to tell if the deck will be in a good position since the meta isn't set at the moment. So far I've been having a good time against midrange decks, aggro can be tough if they get an explosive start and if we dont draw our sweepers soon enough. Mirror match often turns to a counterspells battle. Matches against UB shells forces us to be more proactive since these decks are filled with discard (Tought erasure and duress obviously) but once again the deck that manage to resolve its main threat tends to win.
The decks which have gave me the hardest times are Izzet Burn and Blue Aggro. Izzet usually don't play a lot of creature and comes packed with counterspells. Once Niv Mizzet hits the table, it's very hard for us to kill him and if he sticks it's game over. Blue aggro on the other hand relies heavily on creatures but they are very hard to sweep since this deck runs a lot of counterspells too. I have really no clue how to win against this decks, even post sideboard.
Well guys, I hope this long post will be enough to spark new conversations around this deck and I'm eager to hear your takes on these subjects.