Is Bant Control Viable in Standard?
Deck Help forum
Posted on Dec. 19, 2013, 5:20 p.m. by Saljen
Put together a Bant control list and I'm curious how it would fair in the current Standard meta before I buy the cards for it. I've been play testing and it seems fun, but any critiques would be great!
Flashy Control
@The Doctor - I own 2x Elspeth, Sun's Champion , what should I drop to add them?
December 19, 2013 5:29 p.m.
you should be playing Prime Speaker Zegana and Loxodon Smiter
December 19, 2013 5:51 p.m.
The Doctor says... #5
As it stands right now :
-4 Boon Satyr , +3 Loxodon Smiter
-1 Detention Sphere , - 1 Advent of the Wurm , +2 Cyclonic Rift .
December 19, 2013 6:04 p.m.
@xlaleclx - I'm not trying to play mid-range, only wanting to play things that I can play on their turn with the exception of planeswalkers and such.
December 19, 2013 6:04 p.m.
I don't really see any reason to go bant over UW other than Advent of the Wurm and Loxodon Smiter .
December 19, 2013 6:30 p.m.
I think the big question to ask is what does green get you over black - removal and Thoughtseize , red - burn and Assemble the Legion or straight blue/white - consistency and Mutavault .
Actually the only card for me is Selesnya Charm . It plays Ambush Viper with the aggro decks and Mutavault at 2 mana, and it takes care of all the gods, Polukranos, World Eater , big Mistcutter Hydra , Desecration Demon , etc.
Random beaters that can't protect themselves really are not what I'd be looking for in a control list. Normally you get a lot of virtual card advantage by stranding removal in your opponents hand, now it's all turned back on and they get to trade cards with you again. And you're running a relatively light suite of card draw, so you're not really out pacing them with that either.
December 19, 2013 7:09 p.m.
Forgot about Selesnya Charm , good point. I disagree about the two creatures, especially advent, which acts as a win con and a removal spell in most cases, but agree on everything else you said.
December 19, 2013 7:38 p.m.
Prime Speaker Bant is not in a good place in the current meta. I am hoping for something crazy good to bring it back as a possibility with Born of the Gods or Journey into Nyx, but for now I suggest you stick with straight control.
Your list looks close to mine right now, and mine does win the majority of its matches. I am not sold on your Boon Satyr , though. The wurm is much more effective for what Bant Control wants to do and you have no seriously viable targets for the Bestow effect.
December 19, 2013 9:42 p.m.
The main reason for playing Bant during Innistrad-RtR Standard was Thragtusk .
Right now, Green is kind of lacking for control cards. Scavenging Ooze functions as graveyard hate and lifegain, Selesnya Charm for removal, Sylvan Caryatid as a horrible Farseek that dies when you Supreme Verdict , and good ol' fashion Centaur Healer in the sideboard. Outside of that, there's not many reasons to play Green over Black or Red.
The Doctor says... #2
You need Elspeth, Sun's Champion , and one more Sphinx's Revelation
December 19, 2013 5:23 p.m.