Control is more than a style of play in Magic; it is a lifestyle. It enhances one’s patience, ability to strategically plan multiple moves ahead, and survival skills when facing down a wave of deadly threats. This may seem like a stretch from fantasy to reality, but only to someone who has not felt the power of an incredibly dominant control deck.
My range has always suffered by my undying loyalty to the archetype, except when wacky combos emerge that I must give a try. Cheating on Azorius and Esper Control with a few artifacts here and there is forgivable, especially since I always return to the source. I am still flip-flopping between Azorius Stoneblade and Azorius Control for SCG CON Dallas, even though my heart belongs to the Teferi, Time Raveler and Jace, the Mind Sculptor team.
Modern Removal
With each passing set, additional cards land in Modern control’s arsenal, making it difficult to decide what makes the cut. It feels like just yesterday that Azorius Control had Path to Exile and that was it. Desperate control enthusiasts added an Oust here, or a Condemn there, both of which were terrible in competitive play. Now, Azorius Control is flooded with options like Solitude, March of Otherworldly Light, and Prismatic Ending. These new cards have not complemented Path to Exile, but replaced it altogether. It is hard to fathom, after a decade of mediocre removal spells, what control has access to now. Many of these cards come from Modern-specific sets, but some are from the normal progression of Standard sets.
March of Otherworldly Light; Memory Deluge; Shark Typhoon; Teferi, Time Raveler; The Wandering Emperor; Hall of Storm Giants; Otawara, Soaring City; and Dovin’s Veto are all staples of Azorius Control that came from recent Standard sets. In the past, it would take a year of sets to see one fringe card see play in the older formats, but that is no longer the case. I would not describe these most recent sets as overly powerful, as many of the other cards are not seeing the same exposure as their control counterparts. To the average observer, it seems that Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has course-corrected from their overt push of powerful creatures to disruption that can manage them. There is a direct correlation between this, combined with some key bannings, and a healthier set of formats.
Metagame Health
Standard, Pioneer, and Historic have all seen improvement in their respective metagame health. There are viable aggro, midrange, and control decks in each competitive scene. This has made my experience much better compared to the broken formats we’ve dredged through in the past few years. With this positive change, I am once again excited during preview season. Instead of struggling to find a fringe sideboard card, my eyes are glued to the preview sites, waiting for a staple to add to all my archetypes. When March of Otherworldly Light hit the scene, I automatically knew it would be in my Modern, Pioneer, Historic, and Standard control decks moving forward. This grizzled control veteran has a similar feeling about Obscura Charm from Streets of New Capenna: love at first sight!
Obscura Charm is the triumphant return of Esper Charm to Standard, while offering extensive play opportunities in the older formats. It’s even better than its predecessor, with increased power level pouring from each mode. I was already leaning into Esper Control in Standard, since its mana has improved over the last few sets. All it took was a card like this, an obvious control staple in the best control shard, to push control players into a third color.
This push will take place in Standard for sure, with some taking the plunge in the older formats. I love Kaya’s Guile, black hand disruption, and an excuse to return to the glory days of Snapcaster Mage. The mana in Modern is punishing when players add a third color, but Esper Control has proven its ability to dominate in that environment.
Esper Control and the Mystic Gate
Before the pivot to Chalice of the Void, Esper Control was lurking in Tier 1 for months. It was the first time I saw lists with four Mystic Gate, with a minor splash in black to take full advantage of Kaya’s Guile, Esper Charm, and black hand disruption. This third color gave traditional control in Modern teeth against the broken elements that exist all over. Obscura Charm is another Charm to add to the pool, providing direct competition for its similar counterparts. I do not think it is better than either in a vacuum, but there are certain metagames where these effects are the safest to start with Game 1.
Mode 1: Return
The first mode on Obscura Charm is the most important in Modern, but less important in the newer formats. Teferi, Time Raveler has either been banned or naturally rotated in most competitive formats, making the first mode a difficult one to take advantage of. There are three-mana planeswalkers that are playable in those other formats; however, they are not going to get the same press that Teferi has landed after this preview came out. It can hit other nonland permanents, opening the door for enchantments, artifacts, and creatures that control may employ. This is a more unlikely set of options for the first mode to target in control decks, though not unheard of. Control can be built in a way to ensure that their graveyard will contain applicable targets to return to the battlefield, especially with the remaining text of this card being so good.
Mode 2: Counter
The second mode of Obscura Charm counters target instant or sorcery spell. This is what makes this card the most exciting for me, and something that was lacking from the other three-cost Charms that have seen play in Esper Control. Having the ability to counter a threatening spell, with the other modes assisting you against resolved permanents, makes Obscura Charm the total package. I had hoped it was truly a Negate, so it could prevent a planeswalker from ever existing. It is likely that this mode was initially tested that way and the Magic authorities determined it to be too powerful. Overall, this mode still plays very well with the other two modes and will save a control player’s life in a pinch.
Having that counterspell attached makes Obscura Charm never a dead card. There are matchups where Kaya’s Guile is amazing, while making a flyer and gaining four life in others. Although it is not classified as “dead” in that regard, the effect is far too weak for maindeck inclusion. Obscura Charm, especially with Teferi involved, will always have a high floor. There are failed decks I want to resurrect, like Esper Mentor, just to take full advantage of a card that promotes the gameplan while having an attached counterspell mode as backup. That is why the deckbuilding potential around Obscura Charm is so high, giving control the ability to return key permanents without losing disruption slots.
Mode 3: Destroy
The final mode on Obscura Charm will be the most used out of the bunch. Control needs removal to be competitive in any relevant format. Going too light will open the user to heartbreaking losses, regardless of the chosen format. I have been guilty of going too deep into the blue-card reservoir, leaving myself open to an easy defeat by an unchecked creature or planeswalker. It is tough to build a control deck now without ample ways to dispatch creatures, especially with the lack of true combo decks in the popular formats.
Combo decks do exist, but their popularity is waning. Modern and Pioneer used to be infested with them, making a heavy removal set a liability. It is now a creature- and value-dominated world in most metagames, which is why Obscura Charm’s last ability will be key to its future success. Without being able to remove a planeswalker or creature at instant speed, this card would have been dead on arrival.
The first two modes are fantastic; however, it is the strength of the removal that makes or breaks this card. Being able to kill a planeswalker or creature in the early-game is great, especially in the older formats. The average mana value of creatures goes up in the newer formats, which could impact the removal strength of Obscura Charm in Standard. If the other two modes remain relevant, it will still push Esper Control to the top of the control options. Having the insurance to deal with early-game threats will suffice if there are threatening instant and sorcery spells to counter and valid targets to return from the graveyard.
Three Mana, Three Colors
The three-color mana cost will not be a burden for this card’s viability. There are plenty of successful ventures by brave control players away from the Azorius Control gold standard in all formats. I have become a bit conservative on this topic in my old age, afraid to take the plunge without an appropriate payout waiting. Obscura Charm may be that motivating force I needed to exist to get back to my Esper Control roots. If I decide to go with Azorius Control in Dallas and miss the mark there, I can guarantee that an Esper Control rebound will come soon. As for the other formats, I have begun working on lists that highlight this card and hope to unveil them soon for you all.
