Yeah - yeah.. I know what you're thinking, but to cut you off right there - I want to share this simple message:
You will go to cardboard-crack.com. It is your Destiny!
I love the sweet sweet rush of a card draw, and of saying 'No.' See, the whole reason the Blue symbol is a drop of water is because we blue mages love drinking your tears.. *DERANGED CACKLING*
Anyway..
Recently it occurred to me that I haven't actually built a 'solid' classic Blue control deck in a long while. Oh sure, I usually have maybe one or two floating around every so often, but for a long while the decks I was playing the most were (and thus actually had built): a B/G Event Deck (the one with Birthing Pod - the deck is an utter bastard), ProsBloom (I drain life you for a million!), and a crazy Artifact Deck (Tangle Wire, Tangle Wire, Tangle Wire!).
While those decks are loaded with delicious fun, nothing can quite compare to the majesty of Blue at its height of saying 'You'll play that spell when I say you can!' Such good times... For me anyway.
Of course in the current formats, the traditional Counterspell control decks are pretty much a done deal. Vintage/Legacy are too fast for them, while Modern/Standard control is an entirely different animal focused on creatures/planeswalkers.
So we need to step back a few years... Deep into Magic's past...
Back when Force of Will was new, and people were not entirely sure about it - (WHAT?! Card disadvantage?!) and the game was waaaaaay slower.
To the era of a deck that some people called 'Unbeatable' - The Counterpost Deck!
Counterpost was a true descendant of the "The Deck" Classic Control school (A deck style I will cover later) flowing into a U/W shell.
Of course in the current formats, the traditional Counterspell control decks are pretty much a done deal. Vintage/Legacy are too fast for them, while Modern/Standard control is an entirely different animal focused on creatures/planeswalkers.
So we need to step back a few years... Deep into Magic's past...
Back when Force of Will was new, and people were not entirely sure about it - (WHAT?! Card disadvantage?!) and the game was waaaaaay slower.
To the era of a deck that some people called 'Unbeatable' - The Counterpost Deck!
Counterpost was a true descendant of the "The Deck" Classic Control school (A deck style I will cover later) flowing into a U/W shell.
Basically it's combing the old classic ideas: One-to-Many card exchanges, massive Card Advantage, and complete board domination with a strong "kill".
This "kill" card is incredibly strong, and affectionately known as "The Dude Ranch" and which gives "Counterpost" its name:
Blue normally has a massive problem with actually 'killing' an opponent. While it's deck manipulation, draw, and counter abilities are 2nd to none - the actual 'kill' cards are few and far between.
White, on the other hand, has some excellent creature strength - but it's solid creatures are rarely splash-able and tend to offer more problems for a control deck then solutions. Take for example that old White classic Serra Angel and it's modern Timeshifted Blue counterpart Serra Sphinx:
These are both the exact same card - but the Sphinx is in many ways superior to to Angel for the Blue player, because it requires no double white mana investment and is pitch-able to cards like Force of Will. On the other hand, it is more vulnerable to Anti-Blue strategies and the Sphinx can be the victim of such hate like Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast. Yet, if you are playing the control deck properly, this should rarely be an issue.
The major problem of course with both of those cards is that for the control player, they are late game plays and, if drawn too early, a dead draw.
Meanwhile, Kjeldoran Outpost can be played either early or late and has serious utility advantage either way. First off, token generation (even of mere 1/1's) is incredibly strong. It can be used equalize vs. weenie decks, and can with enough token advantage even bring massive beasties to heel. Since the token generation is a measly 2 mana at instant speed, it's almost guaranteed to generate one taken a turn as soon as it hits the table.
Add to this the fact that it's a land and thus immune to huge swathes of removal and doesn't have to be cast. It doesn't get much better then that.
Add to this the classic Blue Counter magic of the day (and some of White's insane plays) and you get something that looks like this:
Add to this the classic Blue Counter magic of the day (and some of White's insane plays) and you get something that looks like this:
Finkle-Post (Played by John Finkle at 1997 US Nationals, not designed by him)
(pulled from wizards.com)
Lands
8x Island
4x Plains
Instands & Sorceries
4x Abeyance
4x Brainstorm
4x Counterspell
3x Disenchant
2x Dissipate
4x Impulse
4x Wrath of God
Enchantments & Artifacts
3x Browse
As you can no doubt see, this deck is a serious control machine. Strong counter magic, excellent permanent control, the ability to dig through itself for answers via Browse/Impulse - All hallmarks of a deadly and incredibly effective deck.
Some decisions may strike you as a touch odd of course by our modern sense of play. Only 2 Force of Will, which was pretty normal amount to run back then. A main deck CoP: Black, for dealing with the infamous Necro Deck's powered by that twisted and dark accelerator from which it gets its name.
Less obvious is the Soldevi Digger/Browse combo. Browse let you find bombs, and thin your deck at lightning speed - while Soldevi Digger let you restock your deck with spells in the graveyard for some solid recursion. It's slow of course - but deadly powerful and all at instant speed.
Political Trickery probably feels the oddest of all the choices - but it was usually used in the mirror match - to steal an opponents Outpost. It could be mixed with the return to hand effect of Thawing Glaciers as well (thus being complete land theft), but that was generally less effective.
Let's talk about Thawing Glaciers - because that card is one of the reason's this deck is just so incredibly effective and why it can afford a low land of count of merely 22.
Here is that land of absolute amazing-ness:
What this card means is that every other turn, you are going to get a land - once again at instant speed. But from ANYWHERE in your deck. Play two, and you can alternate them getting one land a turn guaranteed.
This is both colour fixer and deck thinner, and combined with the power of Browse - eliminates the risk you pulling land when you don't need it and getting to the stronger cards faster. It's effectiveness can not be stated any more highly: It defined an era of Magic.
Now unlike a lot of old decks - this one remains surprisingly playable as is. It's creature and artifact/enchantment removal, combined with it's strong counter power, give it a pretty good shot. Unfortunately, it's speed is incredibly slow - meaning that unless you can build up a decent mana base relatively quickly, any aggro deck will eat you alive. Lightning fast combo likewise will do much the same, while in the control match-up the deck's glacial speed (See what I did there?) requires you to try and out counter the other deck - and there are better draw spells out there then Browse,
So what to do? Let this ancient classic moulder in the recesses of Magic's history? Or modernize it?
You already know the answer...
New Counterpost by Mythrian (Casual only sadly)
Lands
7x Island
5x Plains
Instands & Sorceries
4x Brainstorm
4x Counterspell
3x Forbid
2x Foil
3x Gush
3x Impulse
1x Recall
2x Terminus
Planeswalkers
3x Jace Beleren
Artifacts
1x Grindstone
This deck went through numerous variations and testing - and even this version is not yet perfect. But it is very effective and surprisingly strong.
It sticks true to many of its classic roots: Kjeldoran Outpost remains incredible, while good Counter magic (Including the Buyback counter Forbid) makes a strong showing. Gush provides free draw - while also letting you feed either Forbid or Foil.
The two MVP's of this deck are of course: Jace Beleren & Mystical Tutor.
Jace is one of the most efficient draw engines I have ever used to power a deck. Play 3 mana, you get a potential 6-to-1 draw acceleration vs your opponent. A single use of his mutual draw ability, turns into 5 additional personal draws.
Since you are playing the strong control side, defending him is surprisingly easy. He's best to play after you've eliminated the initial creature rush vs aggro, while against control if you can resolve him you will easily outdraw your opponent with better and better spells.
His last ability is not ignored either - combined with Grindstone it turns into a potent alternate kill, if Outpost just can't get enough of a board advantage for you.
Mystical Tutor's power is a more subtle, but no less obvious. Almost every spell in the deck is fetch-able with it - and it lets you get an incredibly diverse series of setups. Too many creatures? Terminus! Need more life? Gerrard's Wisdom! Want to get a couple of cards back from the graveyard? Recall!
It turns into the ultimate 'I win' spell - letting you just play what you want, usually while holding on to a few counters to boot. Don't worry about your opponent knowing what's coming - In most cases there is nothing they can do about it.
Mystical Tutor truly shines however in its synergy with Terminus thanks to the incredibly broken mechanic: Miracle.
Take a look here:
Terminus is without any doubt the best mass creature removal spell in the game right now. It completely bypasses graveyard effects, and prevents reanimation style recursion. The obvious downside is it's 6cc mana investment (double-white too), which is harsh for many a deck.
But Miracle changes all that - reducing the casting cost to a measely one.
Combine that with Mystical Tutor... well I think you can figure the rest out for yourself.
It is a good thing Wizard's didn't print a draw spell with Miracle.... The horror of such an abomination 's raw power would have been too much for words. (Treasure Cruise was bad enough!)
Strategy Time!
Alright, so you've seen it - now how do you play? Actually, on the surface this deck seems fairly straightforward. Stop creatures and counter spells. Easy right? This is assuming you know what you are up against. Knowing what to counter and when, vs what to neutralize later with other spells is crucial. This is a thinking player's deck - and you should not just run right into an empty hand.
Versus aggro decks, it's okay to sit back and take damage and build your mana base, When you start getting low, drop Mystical Tutor for Terminus and clear the board. Terminus in your hand? Play Brainstorm and put it on top! Then if you can: drop Jace, or Mystical Tutor again for a Gush and draw draw draw!
Control is a little trickier. Impulsing for Jace is pretty crucial, since he can win you the game mostly on his own merit. An early Outpost can put the Control deck on defensive, while Oblivion Ring removes any obnoxious permanents from the field. Grindstone becomes an 'I win' as well, since you will eat their tasty spells for lunch.
If you are playing with a sideboard: You can remove the aggro stuff for a stronger mix of control cards and just overpower your opponent outright.
The Deck's Weaknesses
This is not a fast deck. It relies on being able to play an initially loose control style before establishing a firm counter lock. Because of this, an early mis-play can spell complete disaster for you. Every spell has to count - making it hard to play well.
Also, there are a few key cards that if neutralized mean an uphill battle. Pithing Needle is an absolute bastard and can wreck your mana acceleration with Glacier's or your draw acceleration via Jace. Losing Outpost to the Needle can draw the game out way too long given your opponent the chance to recover.
There will be times when you have a hand full of counters and an empty board ripe for flooding with tokens, but Outpost is unavailable. While this deck can play the old 'Draw-Go', the counter base really isn't up to it in the long game leaving you vulnerable to clever late game play. Fortunately, this situation tends to be fairly rare most times - but it certainly can happen.
Final Observation's and Thoughts
I will be honest and say that this deck has not yet reached it's apex and I am going to continue to work on it. There are times when it's plays feel 'off'' and it can temporarily stall with massive card advantage in hand but no way to actually win.
On the other hand, it's really hard to beat. If you try and bait out cards and play slow - you end up dragging the game on, which gives the deck a strong advantage. Letting it get off a Jace or a Gush means in many cases you are going to lose - since thanks to Flooded Strand and Glaciers it's been thinning itself the entire time.
There is simply so much to try and disrupt - and while you're trying that it is working to disrupt you as well.
Thoughts Comments? Let's here them! (I will be following up on this one.)
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