Hello again, ladies and gentlemen! With States and StarCityGames.com Opens creeping up, our time is limited to gauge the power level of Scars singles, get them in our decks, and test, so my job in this article is to offer a list of powerful cards from the control perspective.
Before we focus on which Scars cards are amazing in our control decks, let’s figure out this Standard metagame.
Soorani’s Predicted “Decks to Beat”
Green Titan Ramp Decks
This includes but is not limited to: Valakut, Mono-Green Eldrazi, U/G/R Destructive Force, Lotus Cobra + expensive things. These decks operate in the same manner, or at least are similar enough that we as control players have the same game plan against this Titanic monster.
Mono-Green Poison
Yeah, I said it… poison. It’d be a mistake to assume that poison decks are pushovers and that a Vines of the Vastwood-aided kill on turn 4 can’t happen. I’m not saying we have to build a deck with more defense than a Wall of Omens or Doom Blade here and there — just be careful, and know it’s out there.
U/W Control
One negative about U/W Control (and yep, there’s only one!) is that you need to be prepared to play mirror matches. Referring back to
my last article
, U/W Control loses nothing of importance from the rotation besides Oblivion Ring and Path to Exile, so be prepared for this match.
Mono-Red Midrange
No more unearth silliness or quick all-in attacks. Watch out for a Koth and Kargan Dragonlord as the mid game finishers with Goblin Guide and burn to distract you from the real threats. I’ve never been afraid of red decks and base a lot of my early Pro Tour Qualifier success because of the popularity of the one-color spray and pray, but sideboard slots must be dedicated.
Artifact Silliness
I’ll be eating my words come the next set or maybe final set, but at this point, trying to build decks using metalcraft will be at the bottom of Tier 2 at best. The Titans from M10 still run the show in this new format, as do all the cards that carry over from the control realm (Day of Judgment and planeswalkers). I racked my brain coming up with brews using some of the new artifact synergies, but I kept coming up just a tad short. Give it another set and these artifact-based concoctions will be a force.
Now, the format is undefined, so these are my “educated guesses” on what decks will be running the show at StarCityGames.com Opens and States. In order to prepare for these decks as well as fine-tune our control decks, let’s take a look at the cards that might fit one of your brews.
1. Elspeth Tirel
In my last article, I mentioned how good Elspeth 2.0 is, but I was wrong. She isn’t good — she is borderline amazing in U/W Control or other white-based Day of Judgment decks and is a minimum two-of. Complaints arose…
“What if she gets Bolted?!”
“You can only activate it twice for dudes, whereas the first Elspeth was infinite!”
I promise you guys, after playing with her, Elspeth 2.0 will not only stabilize board states where you’re behind, she’ll win the game on her own. If your opponents are playing red decks with Bolts, gain some life if you’re slightly ahead or even. If you’re behind, she eats a card, three damage, and makes three blockers. She’s truly the bee’s knees in any build.
2. Venser, the Sojourner
I won’t spend too much time on Venser because I went into a ton of detail last time around. My opinion on Venser is still the same, and he’s another must-have in control decks. Decks that don’t want to overload the five-mana slot with Baneslayer Angel, Elspeth Tirel, and Venser can drop him to a one-of. I personally will be playing one in the main and one in the board for the control mirrors. For more info on Venser, take a look at the last week write-up on him.
3. Sunblast Angel
So good!
But so six mana…
I fear this card will fall down the same hole as Sphinx of Magosi for me. I’ve had a couple dreams where I untapped with Sphinx of Magosi and won the game. With Sunblast Angel, unless you’re playing against a deck with a ton of dudes that attack, you won’t net the value that a six-mana creature must give you. I understand the synergy between this guy and Venser, but almost any Titan or Baneslayer with a Day of Judgment would be better. Don’t ditch this guy completely, but don’t auto-include him as a Wrath effect.
4. Trinket Mage
Another card that with one more set will be a four-of in control builds. As of right now, the little guy fetches up Everflowing Chalice, Brittle Effigy, and Chimeric Mass. I think those are fine targets if you want to include two Trinket Mages, but I’m personally waiting for another couple of good targets for the maindeck.
5. Volition Reins
GIVE ME YO’ PLANESWALKER. I enjoy this card for the mirror match and maybe against big Titan junk. Don’t let the untap clause trick you into thinking this is good against aggro decks — it’s not. But I’ll be playing two in the board.
6. Memoricide
I’ve been toying with Esper Control, and this card is a fantastic sideboard option. Removing all of your opponent’s Primeval Titans or Jace, the Mind Sculptor in the mirror makes the game a much easier one to manage. I think if you go the black route in control, this is an easy three-of in the board.
7. Koth of the Hammer
I know, I know — this is a control article — but come on! Look at this guy! If red-based control comes back within the next couple of sets, this guy would make me convert. In the meantime, I included him on the list as a warning to my fellow control magicians: don’t let this guy resolve and make sure you play as if they have it in their hand for turn 4.
8. Lux Cannon
So close, but so far away. Why couldn’t it be one less charge? Why not every three turns blow something up instead of every four? Man, this card is so control and almost good enough to be included. I wouldn’t play it, but I hope someone does and finds a way to make it work.
9. Ratchet Bomb
I know it’s good, and I know midrange decks will gain a ton of power with this card. In a pure control deck, I see it being a two-of or a sideboard card because control needs its answers to be effective immediately (Negate their planeswalker, Day their board, Condemn their attacker). I feel that drawing a Ratchet Bomb even mid game wouldn’t be as effective as a generic removal spell or counterspell. Again, this is another card I’m not ruling out, but it’s not a miracle Wrath that kills planeswalkers. Limit this to a two-of.
10. Wurmcoil Engine
I
love
this guy. He’s better than other six-mana-plus win conditions. He serves as an impenetrable wall against aggro and Red, and with one swing, will put you back to nine life and turn the game from winning to unwinnable for your opponent. What’s the worst-case scenario? The aggro or midrange decks kill it? This guy just does
so
much, and I’ll be battling with two if I’m playing U/W Control at States.
The only six-drop I like better than this guy is Grave Titan because that guy… is Grave Titan. Both abilities on this monster are super relevant, especially because when it dies, the deathtouch token is another removal spell easily. With the rotation of Path to Exile and Oblivion Ring, I guarantee this guy will be a big contender, even against the control decks.
11. Leonin Arbiter
This is such a good sideboard card for Titan Ramp. U/W Control has always had to keep mana free to stop the Ramp player from laying their sixth land and dropping Primeval Titan. With this 2/2, we can easily tap out and answer him once he’s been dropped. Also, a deck with a low amount of fetchlands can ride this guy to victory against any Lotus Cobra fetchland build and can even steal a game against a player who kept a low-land opener with fetches as their primary sources. I like him a lot and plan on including him in the sideboard of U/W.
I hope this control-focused breakdown of Scars helps prepare you all for your respective tournaments in the upcoming weeks.
Scars has powerful rares, but it sadly has failed me in the common and uncommon department. I was really hoping to see a replacement for Oblivion Ring or Maelstrom Pulse as an “answer all” card. Also many of the commons and uncommons could’ve been a lot more playable with a slight upgrade (the new Wing Shards doing a bit more for an extra mana, the proliferate draw spell getting you one more card at Inspiration cost).
But the purpose of this article was not to complain about the new set, and luckily there are
so
many good rares that I want to include! I’m brainstorming different card combinations trying to fit them all in. In my next article before States, I’ll post my newest control build for you guys to inspect, try out, and give advice/question particular card choices.
Also I want to take a moment to thank all of those who emailed me with your questions (
[email protected]
) about U/W Control from the last article, and I’ve saved all those questions and answers. I again encourage all feedback and will build up a good list of questions and dedicate an article to answering them publicly.
Thanks again for reading and see you all next time!