Control help?
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on Sept. 6, 2018, 1:11 p.m. by nicho97
I've been trying to make a modern esper Battle of Wits deck but the versions I've been trying on Xmage all get blown out of the water by any aggro deck. Any good suggestions for slowing things down some? I was also considering changing it up to bant.
I have some experience building and playtesting Battle of Wits, and want to share some information based on my own deckbuilding.
First, let's talk the number of cards in your deck. I've found 240 to be a solid number--it gives you enough that you can draw seven, use some card draw spells, use fetch lands, etc. and still be above 200 when you cast Battle of Wits. I've debated dropping down to 230, but I'm not sure I would go much lower than that.
Second, you should only use removal spells, not counters. There are not enough great counters in the game for you to consistently have one when you need one in hand. There are lots of great removal options, however, and, unlike counters, where you can draw them "too late" to stop their bomb, removal generally is able to find a target.
Third, I've had pretty good luck with Fog effects. They tend to be inexpensive to cast, and can buy you an extra turn, particularly against wide decks.
Fourth, you should have an alternate path to victory. Personally, I use infinite persist combos--there are several easy ways to enable these combos, allowing redundancy. I've found I can consistently pull off an infinite combo by turn 4.
Fifth, you're going to want Green. Five mana is a lot in Modern if you don't have any ramp.
Sixth, tutors are your friends. Ones that put cards directly onto the battlefield are ideal (having your Battle of Wits hit by Thoughtseize is very sad). Transmute is another solid tutor mechanic, particularly for combo pieces.
Sevenths, understand your deck will never be top tier competitive--think of it as playing a 60 card singleton deck in modern, with an expensive-to-cast win condition that can't win the turn it is played. Even at its best, you're starting far behind.
I disagree with M_Malcom regarding cards shuffling themselves back into your deck being a good option. Psychic Spiral is just too much mana for modern, and Memory's Journey doesn't advance your gamestate enough.
If you are curious, here's my decklist: 240 Card Modern Battle of Wits
M_Malcom says... #2
Cards that shuffle themselves back into your deck are best for this. Such as Psychic Spiral and Memory's Journey
September 6, 2018 2:02 p.m.