If you hate people... Play this deck
Modern
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Changing to a "Purer" Form of Control —June 19, 2016
This deck has needed a remodeling for some time now... I have had some time off from magic and coming back into the game I had a chance to look at the deck in a different light. The first problem that I had to address was the fact that mono U tron and Control Decks in general have always had terrible matchups against aggressive decks such as infect and burn. Previously I had decided to just except this fact and try not to ever play those aggressive decks. Unfortunately with aggressive decks such as those making up almost half of the metagame I realized that I could not do this. This prompted me to make some changes to the list (more on that later) but more importantly it made me analyze the way I played the deck and see if there was anything that I could do about my own habits to make those aggressive decks easier matchups. The first step in this analyzation process was to look over some of the replays from Cockatrice and Untap.in. My conclusion was that I was not countering the most important stuff and thus would counter Goyfe instead of holding back on the counter and instead countering there much more dangerous Liliana. Sure I was taking more damage this way however this stopped a much larger threat in the long run. Now with the deck that I was previously running I would never get to that "long run". I would die much sooner than that. So with that in mind I went to change the deck. What I decided was that if I wasn't going to counter their earlier threat I would have to have some other form of removal and/or bounce. Dismember and more bounce in the form of another Repeal and a Cyclonic Rift were my answers to this. With the addition of these spells, my Infect matchup goes up considerably and my already solid matchups against midrange decks got even better. The one problem that I still had was Burn. My solution to this was 2 Bottle Gnomes in the SB. These additions, I feel, make the deck a lot stronger overall. Not only do these changes help out with the new mindset that you should playing this deck with (only counter the real threats and mop up the semi threats later with bounce and removal) it also makes the aggresive matchups better because they will generally have threats on the board before you ever have permission up. The extra bounce and removal will help because you can get rid of their threats after they come off the stack.
A quick side note.
With these large changes to the deck, I feel like I need to make it clear that the play-style of this deck also needs to be changed. No longer should you be tapping out on turn four to cast your defensive Solemn Simulacrum. Often times I realized that I had had to do this play because I would die next turn. Hopefully with the addition of the onboard removal and bounce this will no longer be the case and instead you can cast it on turn 6-7 with some permission in hand.
Changes:
-2 Treasure Mage, -1 Wurmcoil Engine, -1 Solemn Simulacrum, -2 Aetherize (removed from the SB).
+2 Dismember (moved from SB), +1 Repeal, +1 Cyclonic Rift, +2 Bottle Gnomes (added to the SB), +1 Batterskull (added to the SB), +1 Dispel (added to the SB).
I will update the primer ASAP.
lemmingllama says... #2
@OpenFire Ghost Quarter is also better when combating Crumble to Dust. You can target your own land and save yourself from losing Tron forever.
January 24, 2016 7:21 a.m.
Jack-Frost says... #3
lemmingllama I agree about Crumble to Dust I saw that and immediately said oh crap. I know wizards has been trying to find a good way to weaken tron for a while (weaken, not destroy) and they managed to slip that in this set. I fully expect to see Crumble to Dust sideboarded all over the place against tron.
January 24, 2016 12:48 p.m.
IzzetFanatic says... #4
@OpenFire, lemmingllama, Jack-Frost: I agree that Tron and the new eldrazi deck are gonna be way more prominent however having the option to search for either a GQ OR a TE with Expedition Map gives me more choices. If I get a early Expedition Map I can fetch for the GQ if against tron or against decks that have manlands. I will definitely play test with more GQ and I will let you know if I think it is better. Side note: Tec Edge can stop Scapeshift if you have knowledge of the Valakut Clause.
January 24, 2016 2:52 p.m.
Dredge4life says... #5
@IzzetFanatic I think you have an error in your primer. You list Remand as your bounce spell, but I think you mean Repeal. I also disagree with you, Mountain is obviously way better at producing U. Finally, what are your thoughts on Myr Battlesphere to sideboard against Path to Exile? I know Sundering Titan is good, but if I needed another creature should I use the battlesphere?
January 24, 2016 3:22 p.m.
IzzetFanatic says... #6
@Dredge4life: thank you for the edit on the primer I have ctrl "f" for it and am not finding it. I do say that you can bounce (Repeal) but that is correct. Also I will playtest with mountains instead and get back to you on weather or not it is good. As to the Battlesphere... I have not tested with it however I think it could potentially be a SB spot if you like it. After the ban I am surprised you are running into PtE anyways. My suggestion as of now is NOT to run because if they path your Wurmcoil Engine you will be pretty tight on life and the Battlesphere isn't gonna get you anywhere if you play it. Though it does give you some value against PtE, that value isn't enough to give it a spot as of now. Having The Engine out is almost always better because they won't always have the Path and if you can land it, it is way better then the Battlesphere. I will however playtest with it and come back to you with a more educated answer.
January 24, 2016 3:53 p.m. Edited.
Jack-Frost says... #7
Dredge4life The other benefit to a Wurmcoil Engine is that in the event of a kill spell or a boardwipe you still have two creatures remaining. I've been in situations where I survived and won simply because I still had those two creatures on the board.
Tron (G/R especially but this is true for all) has plenty of win cons and having one more that is slightly stronger than wurmcoil is often far less important than its lifegain and protection (deathtouch and tokens upon death).
January 24, 2016 6:28 p.m.
Dredge4life says... #8
@Jack-Frost I am completely aware of the advantages of Wurmcoil as opposed to Battlesphere, but the sphere is better for the specific reason of being resilient against pte. I wouldn't even think about running sphere instead, but I think it would be the best sb creature that can be ramped with Tron.
January 25, 2016 2:44 p.m.
Jack-Frost says... #9
Hmmm, you have a good point there, but doesn't Spellskite fill that role as well as cover even more? Instead of just being out and hoping that it is pathed (which is actually unlikely considering that most of his other creatures and cards are more threatening) Spellskite is able to pick and choose whether it wants to change the target to itself. Wouldn't that work better?
Also, assuming he does decide to put Myr Battlesphere in, what would you take out for it? Almost every card is necessary in his deck.
January 25, 2016 3:55 p.m.
IzzetFanatic says... #10
@Jack-Frost, Dredge4life: the only card I could think I might take out previous to my most recent change would have been one Mindslaver as I side one out almost every game and it has lost effectiveness as the metagame becomes faster.
January 25, 2016 8:08 p.m.
Dredge4life says... #11
@Jack-Frost I was thinking more of a budget option. Spellskite is a great option and one I didn't think about, so thanks for the idea. However, I'm not in the position to spend 40$ on skites. If this deck were to be banned it would most likely be the end of my modern experience.
January 25, 2016 8:22 p.m.
IzzetFanatic says... #12
@Dredge4life: if I were wizards I would be banning Sylvan Scrying if I wanted tron to be nerfed. If Map was banned this deck might be able to survive idk. If they banned a land they would be on drugs officially.
January 25, 2016 8:41 p.m.
Jack-Frost says... #13
Dredge4life that is the one major downside to skites. I really wish they reprinted them in a standard set again so the price would drop. I know a lot of people don't like when certain cards are reprinted so they can sell them for money, but I doubt anyone would complain about spellskite.
January 25, 2016 8:47 p.m.
Dredge4life says... #14
@IzzetFanatic it would be terrible if the Tron lands were banned. This wonderful peice of control would be caught in the crossfire, and it's definitely not bannable, despite how much I/we love it.
@Jack-Frost Wotc seems to be really afraid of blue since the Treasure Cruise mishap.
January 25, 2016 9:01 p.m.
Jack-Frost says... #15
Good point. But on the other hand spellskite is an old card that is used in almost every modern competitive deck.
January 25, 2016 10:12 p.m.
Quick suggestion for a possible changing meta...
If you meta starts to play a number of 
/
Eldrazi... Since you are using Ugin, the Spirit Dragon you may considering running a couple Painter's Servant in the sideboard.
It's a 2 drop that stops all of their ramp land (Eldrazi Temple and Eye of Ugin do nothing when there is nothing colored in their deck)... an when paired with Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, you can - to exile everything, including all land, leaving you with an Ugin as the only permanent on the board.
January 25, 2016 10:55 p.m.
Have you tried splashing red or putting in Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to add wrath effects like Pyroclasm or Drown in Sorrow? I've been interested in playing this deck but it seems to be in an unfavourable position in the current meta so I'm brainstorming possible additions to help with that.
January 27, 2016 4:51 p.m.
Dredge4life says... #19
I would add sideboard Reality Shift if Eldrazi becomes too powerful for plain countermagic to handle.
January 27, 2016 5:23 p.m.
Jack-Frost says... #20
Wumbov those cards work better in a G/R tron where you have a lot more large and indestructible creatures. In this deck cards like that would severly weaken or hurt his creatures and would put him in a disadvantageous position.
January 27, 2016 7:28 p.m.
Hey there, I've seen this deck floating around a lot, and the title is awesome. I play GR Tron, but I just picked up most of what I was missing for this. I have a couple quick questions for you.
Why no Spellskite in MB? It seems like it would be even better than in GR Tron which normally runs 1-2 main.
With everyone expecting the meta to be "mostly aggro" now are there anythings you are planning on changing? 1 Batterskull perhaps? and what are your thoughts on a couple Chalice of the Void either MB or SB?
How about that new Mirrorpool? Copying a wurmcoil or platinum angel right before it's destroyed sounds pretty awesome.
not really a question, but it's weird that almost nobody plays this when GR is so popular. This deck looks like it could hold its own pretty well against anything.
Cheers!
January 28, 2016 12:56 p.m.
IzzetFanatic says... #22
@Slowgod: hey man. Thanks for the comment.
- The reason we don't run Spellskite in the main is because it is too much of a SB card. Sure its great if you are playing against infect or even Burn, however when you aren't you would much rather have a different card. Plus I would not see much use in running it unless you had more Fabricate. It also takes up your 2 drop spot which means you can't cast it and crack Map or cast Remand in the same turn.
- Now that things have gone "mostly aggro" I have been considering adding a Batterskull. I have opted against it because it is essentially a worse version of Wurmcoil Engine. You can try it though. I have playtested with it for a while. As to Chalice of the Void I don't like it too much because sometimes it means turning off your own spells. You would also need more Fabricate imo.
- I have also tried Mirrorpool and although it seems awesome at first glance it is, in reality really underwhelming. The first problem with it is that it enters the battlefield tapped. That can not happen in a deck that need its early mana so much. Same thing applies to Tolaria West. The other reason is that you have to sack it even to copy a spell. That means I am wasting a land for extra value which in some cases is good but it is not a risk I would like to take. If you wanted to run it, I would run it instead of either a Tectonic Edge or a Mindslaver.
- It can hold it's own against anything.
January 28, 2016 7:56 p.m.
I'm just about done putting this together, how necessary is the Oboro? Also everyone seems to side out a mindslaver, I have 2 but may try just running 1 anyway.
I agree about Batterskull but it could have its advantages attaching to a treasure Mage or Spellskite if you run it I suppose... Maybe a 3rd wurmcoil would be better?
Last thing, I think I will try a Surgical Extraction in the main, it can be devastating in game 1 once you figure out what to counter and rip out of their deck. Any thoughts? Thanks again!
January 31, 2016 1:37 p.m.
IzzetFanatic says... #24
@Slowgod: I love oboro for quite a few reasons the most prominent reason being that it is a non basic blue source. This means you can still have blue mana available to you oven if you've cracked a sundering Titan. It Also can be returned to your hand and played again to filter blue mana. You can return it to your hand to protect it and finally you can return it to your hand and pitch it to Liliana. I do agree that you will side out the sliver most match ups however I like being proactive game one and 2 is good for me. If you were to drop one I'd run batterskull over a third wurmcoil just because you can cast it a turn earlier. However that is up to you.
January 31, 2016 5:50 p.m.
Yeah I started to see the value in the Oboro right after I posted that. It's the only card I'm missing now. As for Batterskull maybe it's better in the SB and could be swapped with a mindslaver if needed.
Looking forward to playing this, seems really fun even though my GR Tron is a pretty dominant deck right now.
OpenFire says... #1
I have only one recommendation to this deck. I would replace the one Tectonic Edge with a second Ghost Quarter. The metagame has shifted away from UWR, Jund, Junk, and other long decks towards fast, linear decks like Infect, Affinity, Tron, and Bx Eldrazi. Ghost Quarter is much better against the second type of deck. I have found in my experience with U Tron that Tectonic Edge doesn't have a lot of targets in matches I have played, but Ghost Quarter does. Just my $0.02. The rest of the deck looks very similar to mine, though.
January 24, 2016 12:17 a.m.