Instant (11)
Sorcery (11)
Planeswalker (3)
Creature (15)
Sideboard
Instant (5)
Sorcery (3)
This is my take on a Grixis Control Deck. With the rise of Pod decks and UWR control; we actually think this is positioned well in Modern.
The idea is built around this card:
The idea was to incorporate enough "dual use" cards that you can be extremely versatile in your control no matter the style of deck your playing or the board state you find yourself in. I'll provide a couple examples of what we mean by "dual use""
Lightning Bolt - This is the simplest form of this. It can be used for removal as well as straight burn damage.
Creeping Tar Pit - Again, straight forward. Can be an ublockable creature or mana for us.
Cryptic Command - The king of versatile instants. Numerous different pairs of uses depending on where you are at.
Rise / Fall - This is a really great spell. It can be used to either destroy their hand, Unsummon one of their creatures, or Disentomb one of ours...so many combinations!
Blightning - While you don't get to choose your use (you just get both :) this does damage and forces discard (at an efficient mana cost).
Remand - Counter and tempo draw.
Sword of War and Peace - Gains life (needed in this deck), protects the creature it's attached to (as pro-red and pro-white are the best to color protections in Modern due to bolts and paths), and add's damage (both from it's ability and it's +2/+2).
Dark Confidant - Draw engine as well as damage (his attacking has actually been useful in several matches).
Snapcaster Mage - This goes without saying...he represents any spell you want to play from your graveyard at the time as well as a body.
Liliana of the Veil - Gets rid of pesky creatures (including hexproof ones, indestructible ones, etc.), more card removal, and acts as life-gain (as the opponent must deal with her), as well as resource advantage (as she gets to activate an ability every turn she is in). Planeswalkers are always great multi-use cards; and she is the best fit for this deck.
Electrolyze - Draws a card while either burning your opponent and/or killing a creature.
Using these cards allows us to play the way control wants to play...in control :) Because each can be tailored to the situation we are in and the deck we are playing; you are never stuck with a useless card. It is Grixis Control at it's most versatile.
Ideas / Card Synergy
Many of the cards are not "new ideas". The deck is somewhat straight forward, but I did want to provide a couple of the interactions/not "typical" cards within the deck to help see why the card we chose were chosen:
Rise/Fall has become an all-star standout of the deck. The Fall side basically functions like a Hymn to Tourach 2/3 of the time; and we've actually found that the Rise section can be extremely helpful in the later-game scenarios where we want to Unsummon their creature or Disentomb one of ours! Also, the synergy with other cards is crazy. I can't count the times I've bounced a Tarmogoyf and then Blightning'd the opponent. Or "unsummoned" a Snapcaster Mage to play it and re-cast a Lightning Bolt for the kill. There are just so many possible plays with this card and the other cards in the deck; that you have ways of getting out of nearly any situation.
Given the low curve to the deck, Dark Confidant was a natural card draw engine. While not "atypical" for Modern...he is the reason we can't run Cruel Ultimatum and/or nichol bolas.
Batterskull - Much like many control decks; this is the creature that comes in and ends the game. He gains life, is vigilent, can equip to our smaller creatures, and most importantly can be put right back into our hand if need be. Often when it is cast, you have the mana to protect it at all costs. It truly is the best "ender" for control decks (especially Grixis with its added life-gaining ability).
Blightning - this is a decelerating card that I think is underplayed in modern. Great damage and have destruction all in one card. I only play two; however; as it just seemed during testing that it wasn't as effective at 3 and 4 because they didn't have two cards and I was paying for an expensive lightning bolt at that point :). Spectacular 2-of though. I'd run this in Jund too.
We still need to develop a strong sideboard, perfect the mana based, and make sure there are no better options out there for this deck. We would love to hear any suggestion the community may have!
Thanks for taking the time to look at the deck. Let us know what you think. As always, comments, suggestions, and +1's are all greatly appreciated!
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Revision 34 See all
(8 years ago)
| +1 | Bloodghast | main |
| +1 | Dakmor Salvage | main |
| -1 | Geth's Verdict | maybe |
| -1 | Kolaghan's Command | maybe |
| -1 | Liliana of the Veil | maybe |
| -1 | Logic Knot | main |
| -1 | Remand | main |
| +1 | Smallpox | main |
| -1 | Spell Pierce | main |
| -1 | Steam Vents | main |
| -1 | Sword of Light and Shadow | maybe |
| -1 | Taigam's Scheming | main |
| +1 | Thoughtseize | main |
| Top Ranked |
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| Date added | 10 years |
| Last updated | 5 years |
| Legality | This deck is not Modern legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 12 - 1 Mythic Rares 23 - 4 Rares 14 - 4 Uncommons 8 - 6 Commons |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 2.12 |
| Tokens | Emblem Jace, Vryn's Prodigy |
| Folders | Modern, Trice, Things I like, Rtv, Expensive stuff, cool decks, Cool peoples decks, untap.in, Izzet, Other People's Decks |
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