The new breed of Grixis Control utilizes Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy, but things didn’t used to be that way. Sometimes they used Mystical Teachings and went all the way up to Cruel Ultimatum thanks to things like Coalition Relic. Obviously Cryptic Command was in the mix. This deck is neither, but instead has pieces from each, including an Ophidian variant which was a popular card almost two decades ago!
This deck has the feel of the old school Grixis Control decks, except that it also has a Fish angle to it. If you can keep the way clear for Neurok Commando with spot removal and things like Remand and Deprive, you’re probably going to annihilate your opponent with a wave of card advantage.
Still, it’s not like this deck can’t play a long game either. Neurok Commando isn’t the focal point of the deck, it’s just a powerful option that is going to come together every once in a while. Cards like Cryptic Command, Mystical Teachings, and Keranos, God of Storms are what you’re going to be playing toward in most games.
Burn, Jund, and Tron are all difficult matchups, so you’ll see a plethora of options in the sideboard for those matchups. Dragon’s Claw, Wurmcoil Engine, and Crumble to Dust are some of the most powerful (non-white) hosers in Modern, and this deck makes excellent use of them.
I don’t think Neurok Commando is necessarily better than Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy, but they also do different things. In a world full of Lightning Bolts, I think it’s worth discussing.
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (23)
Spells (29)
