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Kazuul Kontrol

Commander / EDH Control Goad Mono-Red

ClockworkSwordfish

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Creature (18)

Enchantment (10)

Artifact (15)

Sorcery (11)

Commander (1)

Commander: Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs

Instant (11)

Land (34)

Maybeboard

Creature (8)

Artifact (2)

Enchantment (7)

Planeswalker (1)

Land (1)

Instant (5)

Sorcery (3)

Every colour has different strengths and weaknesses, but sometimes if you put the right underplayed gems together, you can get a colour to perform admirably in an area it's normally weak. Here we're trying for a defensive control shell in the normally hotheaded Red, thanks to the big bad Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs.

How does a red deck play control, anyway? My favourite (criminally underplayed) example here is perhaps Impulsive Maneuvers. This might look like yet another in a long line of 'wacky' red enchantments that lean on randomness. Well... I mean, it is, but it has some utility to offer the red player that isn't usually easy to access. While it can be used as a way to double damage sometimes, where it really shines is on defense! The coin flip happens on the attack trigger, meaning you know which creatures are hot or not before having to declare blockers. This allows you to negate roughly half of all attackers coming your way, then shut down the rest with Maze of Ith, Spires of Orazca   or chump blocking. After all, even if the creatures marching your way are dealing no damage, your opponent still has to cough up or earn you a 3/3 Ogre token. Then your boys can gang up on anyone who's telegraphed that they're dealing no damage this combat to kill off attackers without losing anyone.

Need another example? Try Laccolith Rig on for size - yeah, sure, it grants the handy laccolith ability to one of your critters. But don't play it on one of your critters... play it on an opponent's! Now whenever that creature gets blocked, you can not only negate its damage, but blow up any creature of your choice - even itself! With all the goad effects you're packing, you can create a ticking time bomb that either nails your other opponents for big damage or blows up a critter of your choice every turn. Crafty!

If things ever really get hairy, Glacial Crevasses and Sunstone provide oodles of Fogs in a colour that typically has little recourse against combat damage, keeping you safe without stopping you from recruiting more ogres.

Speaking of which, your opponent can pay the toll to keep you from Shreking out too hard, but isn't exactly chump change. Even if he does intend to pay, you can make it a lose-lose situation via War's Toll or Mana Web. Either he can pay the toll during the combat phase, meaning whoops, no mana for spells on either main phase, or he can play something and be tapped out in time for combat. Miserable! Since they're so easy come, easy go, ensure your recruits make a splash with Warstorm Surge sending a bolt along with each one and Heat Stroke meaning a fight with one is always fatal.

Once the board is locked down, you have plenty of options for the late-game win, including a cheap Avatar of Fury or an entire air force courtesy of Dragonmaster Outcast. Not that you should be doing all the work yourself, of course - no shortage of Goad effects mean you should be able to sit back and watch your opponents beat the crap out of each other most of the time, too!

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91% Casual

Competitive

Revision 6 See all

(5 months ago)

+1 Blasphemous Act maybe
+1 Chef's Kiss maybe
-1 Faceless Haven main
-1 Kazuul's Cliffs main
+1 Kazuul's Fury main
+1 Laccolith Rig main
+1 Life of the Party maybe
+1 Shatterskull Smashing main
-1 Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass main
+1 Slicer, Hired Muscle maybe
+1 Sundering Eruption main
+1 The Sound of Drums maybe
+1 Untimely Malfunction maybe
+1 Valakut Awakening main
-1 Valakut Stoneforge main
+1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle maybe
+1 Vow of Lightning maybe