I’ve played with As Foretold a few times in this space and it’s always been a blast, so when I saw this deck, I knew I had to feature it. The natural combo with As Foretold is Ancestral Vision in a control shell, giving you access to a great card advantage engine and a way to easily win counter wars going long, but lately I’d seen those control decks incorporate a Living End as a sweeper that you can tutor for with Tolaria West.
This deck tries to emphasize the Living End as more than a sweeper, and we’ve recently gotten several great blue cycling creatures to make it work without playing an additional color. Curator of Mysteries and Striped Riverwinder are both hard-to-answer threats and conveniently castable if and when the game goes long.
But unlike typical Living End decks, this one doesn’t have to devote a ton of slots to cascade cards, which frees up space for interaction, and doesn’t have to play only spells that cost three or more mana, so you get to play interactive cards you actually want to play instead of those you’re pigeonholed into via deck construction.
Typical of mono-blue, that disruption is centered around counterspells, which help force through and protect your game-ending spells while also offering some disruption against the rest of the format to slow them down as you set those spells up. This version isn’t going to be as fast or consistent at casting a big Living End, so you need that time.
The counterspells also work beautifully with As Foretold, which lets you cast a spell on every turn, not just yours, so with lots of instants you get to use it twice per turn cycle, burying your opponent in mana efficiency after a few instances.
Overall, I’d say this is more combo than control on that spectrum, but the fact that it plays both is great, and the high velocity you gain from cycling ensures you’ll see the cards you need to enact the gameplan you want in any given matchup. Whether you’re drawing a bunch of cards or putting twenty power onto the battlefield with Living End, both plans are super-sweet, which is what really matters.
Creatures (15)
Lands (21)
Spells (24)
Sideboard
