Exploring a New Archetype: Modern UW Control
Art credit: Scott M. Fischer & WotC I've taken several weeks off from playing magic since GP Detroit to get a breather and focus on work. In that time, I've been brewing blue control. At first, I wanted to do something like mono-blue control/tempo. But that deck relies too heavily on Thing in the Ice to stay alive in creature matchups, and I've always been low on Thing after Push was printed and Probe was banned. I was also trying hard to get Jace to fit that archetype, but a 4-mana walker is slow for a deck looking to move fast. If there is one thing Jace can't do, it's aggro. After running around and around the attempt at mono-u, I decided to move to blue-white, and focus hard on maximizing Jace's power. UW obviously fixes all the creature/go-wide issues, and opens up the powerhouse sideboard options. But I was also inspired to take a slightly oblique angle on the deck by a half-remembered statement from the fiendishly intelligent mtg mind of ...