How about the BFZ Gideon in UW Control?
Modern forum
Posted on Sept. 2, 2015, 5:20 p.m. by TheAnnihilator
So, the lack of decently resilient UW Control finishers has come up time and time again, but I feel like this Gideon...
...could really shine! It is at the sweet spot of four mana, can't be targeted by non-exile, non-instant-speed removal, and also protects itself a bit when it comes down.
The only cards that really puts a damper on it are Path to Exile and Maelstrom Pulse, which are both easily answered via counterspells.
Could this, along with Batterskull/Dragonlord Ojutai etc. be what UW needs to become T1?
Note that UW Control is on an upsurge -- consider Yuuya Watanabe's top 8 with UW at 2015 Worlds just recently.
I would put U/W/x in the tier 1.5 camp. The deck isn't really tier 2 so much as the viability flexes and shifts with the meta.Gideon neither improves nor fixes any of the match ups it really has issues with aside from maybe B/G/x midrange shells? Even then, they already have Elspeth, Knight-Errant for that.
The answer is basically that for U/W/x to make a resurgence in the meta in earnest is something in the meta that makes Burn not nearly as represented as it is right now in paper magic. As a former American control player I can say pretty solidly that is just hands down the worst thing to be paired against with 8 mainboard Skullcrack effects to just not care about your sideboard plan.
September 2, 2015 6:07 p.m.
TheAnnihilator says... #4
@iLikeDirt As an avid UWR Control player as well, I never had any huge issue against Burn. The again, I'd been running multiple Dispel in the side since before it became a thing. xD
Burn was more 50-50 for me, but 8Rack and Titan Bloom are abysmal and Junk is unfavorable in my experience.
It may just come down to tuning for meta adjustments, though.
September 2, 2015 6:39 p.m.
Dispel was always good, Spellskite usually got me there as well, but often it would come down to me trying to take down a Goblin Guide with Lightning Helix only to be met with an Atarka's Command and then simply not being able to efficiently answer all the burn lol. Burn is one of the few aggressive decks that can just really slip under the wire.
Titan I found to be a lot more easy to deal with because you either just Path to Exile the Prime Time or counter the Summer Bloom. I had a REALLY fun time casting Shadow of Doubt in response to a Summoner's Pact. 8Rack though will just eat you alive, I agree whole heartedly.
September 2, 2015 6:54 p.m.
TheAnnihilator says... #6
I was playing when Atarka's command wasn't a thing. Also, I never pointed Helixes until I had expended my bolts and snap-bolts (for both mana efficiency and to allow them to empty their hand before Helixing), plus I always got very aggressive. I had 2-3 Restos with 2 V-Cliques in my deck at the time, so I could be a bit more midrangey if I wanted.
As far as the Titan matchup went, everyone at my LGS knows I'm on blue something, usually control (tho I did show up with BUG Delver once and rekt them all, going 4-0 for 1st place. Poor dudes thought I was on BUG Control). Thus, the guy on Bloom ALWAYS Tolaria'd for Cavern of Souls asap to make my Remands/Leaks/Cryptics terribad. I should've played more Spell Snare than I was, but still.
September 2, 2015 8:48 p.m.
TheAnnihilator says... #7
As you can tell, my meta had a lot of fringe decks, including but not limited to: Infect, Titan Bloom (before deck was even remotely on the map), Griselcannon, 8Rack, and even Ad Naus once -- sometimes a random mix of the two, but normally 8rack and Bloom. Then, everthing else was Abzan or Pod. Me and a Cruel Grixis dude were literally the only control players. I switched to UR Twin when I realized I had no chance of boarding well against everything, then Pod got the hammer and Abzan Mid became (and still is) absolute cancer.
September 2, 2015 8:56 p.m.
Yeah my meta is a little different. Its something like 2 Abzan Mid, 2 Naya Burn, 1 Grishoalbrand (the more consistent/resilient Cannon), 1 U/W Gifts Tron player, 1 8Rack, 1x Blue Moon, one RG Tron player, one guy on Jund Pox, and the occasional one guy playing American Control. I eventually just found that Burn wrecked me time and time again because of Command and crack plus Eidolon of the Great Revel maindeck and the Destructive Revelrys sideboard that come in. Abzan is rough but winnable, 8Rack wins, Tron is really rough, Blue moon is tough when they resolve the Blood Moon. I've now moved to 4C Gifts and G/W Elf Company lol
September 2, 2015 9:12 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #9
As the resident UWx control guru, Gideon is just underwhelming. It's certainly not better than Gideon Jura, which I would consider one of the better finishers. Celestial Colonnade is the primary win condition, and that's just about as resilient as they get. Other options include Elspeth, Sun's Champion, and Sun Titan. Currently what is the best finisher against most decks, Keranos, God of Storms, is only playable in UWR, and you miss out on Ajani Vengeant, too. Though, UW doesn't really need a heap of finishers, as such, because it runs Kitchen Finks and Restoration Angel alongisde Dragonlord Ojutai. New Gideon isn't better than any of those cards.
UW Control has the issue of not having access to all the good cards, and that's basically the main reason not to play it. UWx decks generally reward the pilot for being a good player, and it's one of the worst deck to 'pick up' in the format.
As for UW being 'on the upsurge', Worlds has absolutely nothing to do with the modern meta at all. It's a small event, where people basically just choose random decks. Bogles is a deck which is pretty meh against the current meta, yet 3 people took it. Living End saw 4 copies, when that deck has been played something like twice at a competitive level. The deck really can't evolve all that much, being in just 2 colours, and the best options arrive when adding red, or black.
JWiley129 says... #2
I'm not entirely sold that
control is a top tier archetype in Modern. Dragonlord Ojutai certainly helps, but I'm not sure that Gideon, Ally of Zendikar helps push it over the top. He's certainly in the conversation alongside Elspeth, Knight-Errant, but the deck just seems slow against combo. Note that there were no true combo decks at the World Championships. No Storm, no Amulet Bloom, and while there were a few Splinter Twin decks, they act more like control decks.
I think he has potential for sure, but I'm not sure he is what pushes the deck into major league contention.
September 2, 2015 5:25 p.m.