First time control deck, chose Grixis!
Deck Help forum
Posted on March 29, 2015, 7:41 a.m. by TJMadMan
The Paradox of Grixis Playtest
Modern
SCORE: 4 | 12 COMMENTS | 457 VIEWSMy attempt at grixis control. I truly love how cruel this guild can be. I took a unique route and tried my hand at abusing my upkeep step. Although i love it, i would also appreciate advice on how to strengthen the deck or speed it up. Any and all suggestions are welcome!
brycecream says... #3
Hmm. It seems like a fun concept, but I'm pretty sure it's far from modern playable. It's more of a kitchen table deck for sure. Considering it kinda just sits there until turn 4 or 5 unless you get either multiple Braid of Fires out or a braid and a Paradox Haze and even then still has no real defenses until way late game, you're gonna have a hard time competing against anything more serious.
I would strongly consider either heavier control with far less mana/investment intensive creatures, as currently your creatures all take advantage of cumulative upkeep, which while interesting in concept, is very inefficient in reality. In a format where the most played creature spells are extremely powerful utility creatures, your 2/2s and 3/5s that become 3/3s and 4/5s if they survive for a turn probably aren't going to cut it, especially if you're not playing them till turn 4 or 5 and they're not growing till even later.
I really like the idea so I don't want to say you should scrap it, but it's going to be really hard to make it viable. Maybe just keep it casual as a for-fun deck?
March 29, 2015 9:47 a.m.
brycecream says... #4
And yeah, as Square said, cruelty ain't cruel without Cruel Ultimatum ;)
Was thinking a little more about interesting interactions with Paradox Haze and was thinking, with a lot of disruption and discard, you could go for a The Rack approach, but with double the pain cuz of haze. Although this approach would put you a lot heavier in black.
March 29, 2015 9:58 a.m.
Wow! Thank you for your replies. I really appreciate it - you have a lot of suggestions and explained why as well. Very helpful and informative. Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me.
square711 says... #2
Good to see you chose those colors! Grixis control is a lot of fun to play (and a massive pain in the ass to play against, heh). But while your deck is solid for a first attempt at control, it does have a lot of room for improvement.
The first thing you should do is get yourself some Cruel Ultimatum. Simply put, Cruel Control is not Cruel Control if you're not running its namesake in the mainboard. It's a card that provides you MASSIVE advantage if it resolves, often winning the game right away.
Your mana base needs dual lands and fetches. When you play 3 colors, you absolutely cannot rely only on basic lands to get the mana you need, or you WILL get mana screwed more often than not. And the Temples are too slow for Modern - never play lands that ETB tapped unless you have Amulet of Vigor, and even then it's too risky! Instead, you should use shocklands (Blood Crypt, Watery Grave and Steam Vents), one or two filter lands (Cascade Bluffs, Graven Cairns and whatever the U/B one was called) and as many fetchlands as you can get (Bloodstained Mire, Polluted Delta and Scalding Tarn). If you don't have the money for those, at least look for Sulfur Falls, Blackcleave Cliffs, Darkslick Shores, Dragonskull Summit, Sulfurous Springs, Drowned Catacomb and Underground River. Just don't EVER play lands that will enter the battlefield tapped no matter what.
You're also a bit too light on counterspells and removal, I'm afraid. Terminate and Go for the Throat are fine, but they don't hit indestructible creatures, which could be a problem (hint: Dismember does), and you have no boardwipes, which you definitely want in a control deck with no weenies (Drown in Sorrow and Anger of the Gods are the best in your colors).
As for your counterspells, Spell Pierce and Spell Snare are solid turn 1 plays, and Negate and Countersquall are great against other control decks. And speaking of turn 1 plays, what about some hand disruption (Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek, Despise, Duress) to get rid of early threats for a measly
cost?
And finally, while your idea of abusing cumulative upkeeps is interesting, it requires an incredibly high amount of mana to keep it together. Are you sure Braid of Fire will be enough to pay those costs? What if you don't draw any Braid of Fires the whole match? If I were you, I'd look into an alternate hint condition (Phyrexian Obliterator, AEtherling, Inferno Titan), because age counters may be a pain to deal with.
Well, I guess that's all. Hope that helps, and have fun playing Cruel Control!
Oh, and Grixis isn't a guild, it's a shard of Alara. :P
March 29, 2015 9:38 a.m.