UW Control

I really want to make UW Control work. I want to slow the game down to a crawl. I want to win seven matches in a row 1-0. I want to win without ever casting a creature. I want Timmy to get frustrated. I want the red mages to throw up their hands.

I really don't think this is going to happen.

Last fall, I tried to play UW control with a reanimator package at States. Sort of Solar Flare with less hand disruption and more counters. That finished 1-2-1 with the high(low) point of forgetting I had Remand in hand versus an opponent who was dead on the board, tapping out for a Lightning Helix. Hot.

Last Saturday, I went 0-3 with a new homebrew including Rule of Law. Every single game felt winnable and every one slipped through my fingers. Mono Red Burn owned me in two games to start things off. I am not sure what the answer is there. Maybe Flashfreeze. Then I lost 2-1 to a deck I had no business losing to. Manascrewed game 2 (with 26 lands, obv) followed by Demonfire ftw with the board completely locked up game 3. Then an 0-2 vs standard Assault Loam. Wow, UW has a minor problem dealing with recursive threats.

Part of the problem is my own lack of ability. I need to test quite a bit more to gain familiarity with the types of hands I should be keeping. I have a tendency to play too quickly just when I should tighten up and it regularly costs me games. It's critical to stay in the game all the time, especially when you are always the control. This deck is never the beatdown. Ever.

So I am debating a couple different ways to go with the list and hopefully the Great White Hype (uh, I mean Fugitive Wizard) can help me discover just how bad they are. First up is the list I played Saturday, tweaked to include Careful Consideration instead of Tidings.

4 Remand
4 Rune Snag
4 Cancel
3 Rule of Law
2 Sacred Mesa
4 Wrath of God
4 Condemn
1 Deep-Sea Kraken
1 Angel of Salvation
4 Careful Consideration
3 Court Hussar

4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Adarkar Wastes
6 Island
6 Plains
2 Faerie Conclave
2 Tolaria West
1 Urza's Factory
1 Calciform Pools

Sideboard
4 Flashfreeze
4 Azorius Guildmage
3 Calciform Pools
4 Disenchant

I think this could work, though some of the folks in my playtest group think I should be using Think Twice. I don't know. This is what testing is for anyway.

The other option to improve the aggro matchup is to go with 4 Drift of Phantasms along with a toolbox and a ton of counters. I'll be testing this as well.

4 Drift of Phantasms
1 Rule of Law
4 Remand
4 Cancel
4 Spell Snare
4 Rune Snag
1 Plumes of Peace
4 Wrath of God
4 Think Twice
1 Sacred Mesa
1 Reminisce
1 Twilight Drover
1 Compulsive Research
1 Pride of the Clouds

4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Adarkar Wastes
3 Faerie Conclave
8 Island
6 Plains

The gauntlet? R/g Beats, UB Control and Angelfire.