My take on a Jeskai control deck. Suggestions welcomed! My sideboard really needs some work but I'm kind of stuck at the moment.
I recently took out Lyra Dawnbringer and added one more Chemister's Insight due to budget reasons.
Goal of the Deck
Control the pace of the game until you can get out your finishers Lyra Dawnbringer and Niv-Mizzet, Parun and/or you can ult Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and/or Ral, Izzet Viceroy.
Card Draw
A key part of any control deck is card draw and in this deck there are several ways of doing that.
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria- Not much to say here, Teferi is a premier planeswalker for control. He draws you a card and you can untap mana.
Ral, Izzet Viceroy- His plus lets you take advantage of some jump-start cards as well as extra lands late game.
Niv-Mizzet, Parun- I know this card may be seen as odd with his demanding mana cost but the intention is not to play him on curve so it's actually very easy to cast him. The card draw this card provides is very nice, counters now draw you cards and Chemister's Insight now draws three cards if Niv-Mizzet is out. Also, paired with Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Ral, Izzet Viceroy you deal a considerable amount of ping damage to your opponent each turn.
Chemister's Insight- Draws two cards and you can jump-start it late game by pitching a land.
Expansion // Explosion- I really like this card. If you can cast it where 'X' is 3 or greater it has a lot of value. The mana cost is a little clunky hence I'm only running one.
Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin- Another control staple. It allows you to filter your deck early game and dig for answers late game.
Removal Suite/ Utility
This is how you slow down your opponent and maintain your life total so you can get to your end game.
Lightning Strike- Great for early game removal, keeping loyalty counters low and provides late game reach.
Settle the Wreckage
- One of the strongest sweepers in the format. Works around hexproof and indestructible.
Seal Away- A cheap way to deal with threats especially ones that can't be destroyed.
Ixalan's Binding- This is my replacement for Cast Out. While it lacks the flash of cast out it does provide the benefit of not allowing your opponents to recast exiled permanents.
Blink of an Eye- You can bounce your permanents to save them or an opponent's permanents to slow them down. The plus side is the kicker which is extremely easy to get.
Mission Briefing- Snapcaster Mage without the body. But has the added benefit of not having "target" in the text so it won't fizzle to graveyard shenanigans like Snapcaster Mage does.
Counters
Everyone's favorite part of magic..counters. With the release of GRN we got some sweet new counter spells.
Sinister Sabotage- A standard counter with a pseudo-scry attached. The surveil mechanic also synergizes well with Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin.
Ionize- A standard counter with a player only Shock attached. Also with Niv-Mizzet, Parun you end up countering a spell, dealing 3 total damage and drawing a card for 3 mana.
Syncopate- A great early game counter especially against tempo decks playing on curve.
Expansion // Explosion- This card isn't a counter but for 2 mana it could become a counter if you find yourself in a pinch. Not limited to counters of course.
Finishers
These four cards bring the pain.
Lyra Dawnbringer- Great against decks with no removal and provides life gain to combat against burn decks. She also pairs up well with
Settle the Wreckage
block with Lyra an then settle. She does work well against control but she's a little more intensive to protect.
Niv-Mizzet, Parun- The fact that he can't be countered makes him an easy choice. Also the wording of the text is beneficial "Whenever a player casts.." so even if they have a removal spell after he resolves you'll draw a card and deal 1 damage. A 5/5 flying body isn't bad either.
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria- His ult will make players scoop instantly and with the amount draw in this deck their board disappears pretty quickly.
Ral, Izzet Viceroy- His ult reminds me of Chandra, Torch of Defiance but Ral's emblem is limited to instant and sorcery spells but you can also draw 2 cards.
