Control Slaver Primer

Control Slaver Primer
Richard Shay (The Atog Lord)

Table of Contents

Introduction
History
Card Choices
Maindeck Cards
Mana Base
Sideboard Cards
My Build of Control Slaver
General Play Strategy
Matchup Analysis
Conclusion

Introduction

Mirrodin has introduced a number of innovative cards into the Type One environment, many of which have lead to new deck types, and to drastic revisions in old deck types. One Type One deck which has been brought about by the cards introduced by Mirrodin is Control Slaver.

Briefly, Control Slaver can be described as a deck which seeks to take full advantage of Thirst for Knowledge, Mindslaver, Goblin Welder, and Mana Drain. Stopping the opponent’s strategy with control elements including countermagic and removal, Control Slaver spends the early game establishing its mana base and its hand. Then, Control Slaver uses Goblin Welder’s interaction with Thirst for Knowledge to recur expensive and powerful artifacts without needing to pay their mana costs. In particular, Goblin Welder is able to continuously recur Mindslaver, thereby enabling Control Slaver to take several of its opponent’s turns consecutively, usually resulting in victory.

Control Slaver is a control-combo deck; it starts the game seeking to play the role of a control deck, and then transforms into a combo deck, often with little warning to the opponent. A more detailed account of how the deck tends to play is presented later in this Primer.

History

The fundamental concept behind Control Slaver is to use control elements to stop the opponent’s game plan while protecting your own. In that regard, it is nothing innovative, but rather a new implementation of a strategy dating back to the earliest of control decks.

I believe that the origin of Control Slaver can be found in the Tinker Stax deck that Rickard Österberg used to win 2003 Pro Tour New Orleans. Earlier Tinker builds had found ways to put expensive artifacts into play without paying their mana cost, and some earlier control decks had used a combo to win the game; yet, Österberg’s list utilizes the synergy between Goblin Welder and Thirst for Knowledge which is in many regards the trademark of current Type One Control Slaver builds.

Tinker Stax
Rickard Österberg
Pro Tour New Orleans 2003, Winner
Taken from http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=sideboard/events/ptno03

http://www.morphling.de/coverages/coverages.php?coverage=80

Card Choices

Maindeck Cards

In this section, I will examine and analyze various cards that are worth considering for the maindeck.

Creatures

Goblin Welder
No creature is more integral to the Control Slaver deck than this Goblin. He allows you to return to play, often at the cost of a Mox, those artifacts which you have pitched to Thirst for Knowledge or which by some other means have wound up in your graveyard. Further, Goblin Welder enables Mindslaver recursion. He is useful against Workshop decks because he can transform their powerful artifacts into less potent artifacts in their graveyard. I have even won games by attacking with Welders. Playing less than four of him would be a mistake.

Gorilla Shaman
This card was in Kim Kluck’s build of Control Slaver, but I have not been including it in mine. Gorilla Shaman is an excellent answer to problematic artifacts such as Null Rod. As a solution to opponents’ artifacts, while the Shaman is often a good answer, I have found that Cunning Wish is generally a better one. Cunning Wish allows the deck to answer not only Null Rod, but also Damping Matrix, which the Shaman is unable to handle. In addition, Cunning Wish can provide answers to problematic enchantments, such as Ground Seal, thus making it a more flexible card.

Pentavus
This is the most important artifact creature in the deck. As a creature himself, he is large and difficult to remove. If the opponent attempts to Swords or Shatter Pentavus, you can remove its tokens in response, and be left with an army of fliers. In combat, Pentavus is an amazing blocker – you can remove tokens, declare them as blockers, and then return them to Pentavus before damage resolves.

In addition to all of this, Pentavus has tremendous synergy with Goblin Welder. You can remove a token from Pentavus and Weld it into an artifact from your graveyard; then, once Pentavus is nearly depleted, you can remove its last token and Weld that token back into Pentavus itself.

Finally, Pentavus enables Control Slaver to recur Mindslaver indefinitely. This requires a pair of Welders in play, a Pentavus in play, and a Mindslaver in the graveyard. Remove tokens from Pentavus to recur the Mindslaver, and when needed remove the last token from Pentavus and exchange that token for the Pentavus itself. While this may seem cumbersome, it actually occurs somewhat frequently in actual games.

Platinum Angel
This is the other artifact creature which I include in my build of this deck. While she is less vital to the deck than Pentavus, she has saved me many games that I would otherwise have lost. Against control decks, while not amazing, Platinum Angel presents an additional threat as a 4/4 flier. Against many combo and aggro decks, however, she is a key card. Getting into play a Platinum Angel against combo decks represents one more card with which that combo deck must deal before it is able to defeat you. In particular, against Dragon, if you are decked but have an active Welder in play, you can save yourself from losing by returning the Angel during your upkeep. Against aggro decks, sometimes the best game plan is to get Platinum Angel into play and defend her; many aggro decks have few ways of dealing with her.

Karn, Silver Golem and Bosh, Iron Golem
These two cards have been appearing in artifact-based decks as a way to end the game quickly. Both of these cards allow the player controlling them to transform expensive artifacts into an immediate victory, either by attacking with them or by flinging them. Yet, these cards do not fit very well into Control Slaver. The expensive artifacts in Control Slaver are either creatures themselves, and thus capable of winning the game on their own; or they are artifacts which sacrifice themselves and tend not to remain in play long, such as Memory Jar and Mindslaver. If you look at the Tinker Stax list from Extended, you will see that Control Slaver has dropped many of the higher priced artifacts which that deck ran. One could argue that Bosh alone is capable of winning the game by flinging himself and being recurred by a Goblin Welder. Yet, if I am going to be paying four mana and sacrificing an artifact, I would generally rather Mindslave an opponent than deal that opponent eight damage.

Memnarch
This card is not without some potential, as being able to steal anything is a powerful ability. However, Memnarch is very mana-intensive. For four mana, I would rather be Mindslaving my opponent, instead of stealing his Mox Emerald. Further, ironically enough, Memnarch does not deal with some of the cards which this deck finds most problematic. Null Rod and Damping Matrix both shut him down, as does Humility. And as for Root Maze and Ground Seal, while he could steal them, that would not shut them off. Therefore, while he may be an effective sideboard card against artifact-based decks, he is not powerful or versatile enough to include in the maindeck.

Masticore
Masticore was a staple in Extended Tinker decks, where he would often be able to decimate an aggro deck by himself. However, Type One is not extended, and Masticore is not as good in Type One. First, his drawback is more painful in Type One than it was in Extended. The average card used in Type One is more powerful than the average card used in Extended, so it is more painful to pitch a card to Masticore each turn in Type One.

Beyond that, however, Type One aggro decks are less vulnerable to Masticore than Extended aggro decks. Yes, there are certainly a number of powerful small creatures in Type One, such as Goblin Welder; yet Control Slaver has Fire/Ice to handle them. In many Type One aggro decks, such as Madness, Mask, and TnT, the creatures are just too large to be concerned with Masticore. All of this, combined with the fact that the Control Slaver deck cannot generate as much mana as its Extended predecessor, means that Masticore is not a great card for the deck.

Triskelion
Several artifact decks use Triskelion to handle small, troublesome creatures. However, because Control Slaver does not have access to as much early mana as a Workshop deck, Fire/Ice is a better card in Control Slaver. A threat such as Goblin Welder or Gorilla Shaman often must be dealt with immediately; yet, Control Slaver cannot reliablely resolve a Triskelion in the first few turns of the game. Fire/Ice, on the other hand, can almost always be cast by the second turn.

Control Cards

Fire/Ice
Fire/Ice keeps surprising me with how many different ways it can be useful. Icing an opponent’s second blue source at the end of his or her turn will often enable you to avoid that player’s Mana Drain. Tapping an opponent’s Mana Vault will hinder his or her development. Icing an opponent’s Arrogant Wurm will save you a few life while digging deeper into your deck. And that’s just the less useful half of the card.

Lately, Type One has seen the presence of several strong creatures with two or less toughness. Against Workshop decks, Fire can destroy Metalworkers and opposing Welders. Against combo decks, Fire can burn Xantid Swarms, which otherwise become problematic. Against control decks, they take out Gorilla Shamen, which interfere with your Welders.

Mind Twist
This is one of the most powerful control spells in black. However, I do not include it in my list. I believe that Mind Twist plays a role similar to that of Mindslaver. Mind Twist is an expensive card which, while not powerful in the first few turns, has the potential to end the game against control decks later on. The same could be said for Mindslaver. Mindslaver, on the other hand, has better synergy with the rest of the deck, and its effect is generally more powerful once it is used.

Force of Will and Mana Drain
I won’t say too much about these cards, as they are generally regarded as the best countermagic in the game. What I will point out is that Mana Drain is especially good in this deck. Control Slaver includes several rather expensive artifacts, and Mana Drain helps the deck hardcast them.

Cunning Wish
There are several permanents which are problematic for this deck, including creatures, artifacts, and enchantments. Cunning Wish handles all of them, enabling Control Slaver to answer hate such as Null Rod in the first game. Also, by Wishing for a Red Elemental Blast, you can help make certain that your key spells resolve against a control deck.

Drawing, Searching

Thirst for Knowledge
Without Thirst for Knowledge, I’m not sure that Control Slaver would exist. This card plays two vital roles. First, it is the deck’s drawing engine. It enables you to draw three cards and discard a single artifact, often an expensive one which you are unable to cast anyway. Second, it places artifacts into the graveyard to be returned by Goblin Welder. Thus, it is a key card whether the deck is in control or combo mode. One thing to note is that you are allowed to pitch two artifact cards to it; this is sometimes the right play.

Tinker
Because this card is restricted, Control Slaver is not set up to take advantage of Tinker as much as Tinker Stax, which played many artifacts just to be fetched in different situations. However, Tinker’s raw power warrants its inclusion in Control Slaver. Finding a Platinum Angel or Mindslaver at the right time can win the game. Like Goblin Welder, Tinker is a way to take advantage of expensive artifacts without having to pay their mana costs.

Time Walk
Of course Time Walk should be included in the deck. In addition to being good in Control Slaver as it is good in any such control deck, it has great synergy with Goblin Welder. Under normal circumstances, an opponent will have a single turn in which to remove the Welder before he becomes active; with Time Walk, the opponent never gets that chance. I often find myself casting both Welder and Time Walk from the graveyard with Yawgmoth’s Will.

Demonic Tutor
The deck tends to have enough black mana to support this card, and I would have a difficult time justifying its exclusion. Late game, I often find myself using this to fetch Yawgmoth’s Will.

Ancestral Recall
Like Thirst for Knowledge, but more susceptible to Trinisphere.

Brainstorm
It is well known that Brainstorm has always been a strong card, and has been made stronger with the printing of the fetchlands. This deck can use the fetchlands to shuffle away its expensive artifacts when there is no Thirst available. While my current list has gone down to three copies of this card to make room for another Fire/Ice, there is nothing wrong with playing all four copies of this card.

Memory Jar
Memory Jar is not always an amazing card, and I find myself sideboarding it out often. However, I like it because it can get you back into a game that you’re losing, and it has excellent interactions with Goblin Welder. First, of course, you can Weld it back into play each turn. Also, it dumps seven new cards into your graveyard, and I often Weld into play cards which I discard to it.

Mind's Eye
When I was playing Tinker Stax in Extended during the Pro Tour Qualifier season, I added this card to my deck at the suggestion of Matt Deitz. It was great. It allowed me to stay ahead of decks with more card drawing, and to win any stalemates. However, I have been unhappy with Mind’s Eye in Control Slaver. As you can see from its list, Tinker Stax is capable of generating abundant colorless mana. Control Slaver, while by no means mana light, is less capable of generating so much mana. This makes Mind’s Eye more difficult to cast, and moreover more difficult to use. While in Tinker Stax it was easy to leave three colorless mana open in case the opponent casts Brainstorm, it is far more difficult to find that surplus mana in Control Slaver. For five mana, Memory Jar is simply a more powerful and efficient card-drawing artifact.

Fact or Fiction
This is a great spell. It nets considerable card advantage, it allows you to dig into your deck to find the cards you need, and it even dumps artifacts into your graveyard for Goblin Welder. The only downside to the card is its relatively high mana cost. That being said, there are metagames in which it might be a good idea to play this card over Memory Jar in the main deck. Currently, I am not maindecking Fact or Fiction, but have include it in the sideboard to Wish for. I often board it in against slower decks.

Other

Lightning Greaves
The Tinker Stax deck plays three copies of this card, and it is amazing in that deck. However, the Greaves are less powerful in Control Slaver than they are in Tinker Stax. Tinker Stax has not only Goblin Welder but also Metalworker to give haste. Tinker Stax runs Tangle Wire, and the Greaves are a great card to tap to the Wire as they can still be activated while tapped. Further, Control Slaver runs Time Walk, which can make its Welders active before an opponent gets a turn. Also, while Tinker Stax depends on the Greaves to defend its Goblin Welders, Control Slaver has countermagic for this purpose.

Mindslaver
I don’t need to say too much about Control Slaver’s namesake. At worst a Time Walk, this card often allows you to wreck an opponent’s board position while destroying his or her hand. You can sometimes make an opponent commit suicide with this card, and Welder recursion on this card usually ends the game.

Yawgmoth's Will
Yawgmoth’s Will is the most powerful spell that you can resolve in the deck, and the main reason that black is included. After the early game has passed, a resolved Will tends to end the game. Even if your Will consists simply of replaying a Welder and recasting Time Walk, it has done its job. The only thing to keep in mind is that Will removes any cards placed into your graveyard from the game. You may wish to use caution to avoid having key artifacts go to the graveyard during your Will turn, through Thirst, Welder, or otherwise.

Mana Base

Artifacts

Black Lotus, Sol Ring, Moxes
These cards need no justification. They are amazingly powerful cards on their own. In a deck with Thirst for Knowledge and Goblin Welder, they are vital.

Mana Vault, Mana Crypt
These cards are inexpensive artifacts, good for pitching to Thirst for Knowledge, sacrificing to Tinker, and targeting with Goblin Welder. More than that, however, consider that Control Slaver runs no Workshops, yet still plays with several expensive artifacts. These cards, along with the other artifact mana and Mana Drain, enable Control Slaver to hardcast those artifacts. Thus, they make cards such as Platinum Angel more castable, and make Control Slaver less reliant on Goblin Welder and Tinker.

Metalworker
Metalworker is in the Tinker Stax list and is in several Type One artifact-based decks. However, it does not belong in Control Slaver. First, Control Slaver does not run enough artifacts to make Metalworker consistently produce large amounts of mana. Second, Control Slaver does not run enough expensive artifacts to make a card such as this consistently useful.

Lands

Volcanic Island, Underground Sea, Fetchlands
These represent the lands which enable the Control Slaver deck to be three colors. It is important to run a full set of Volcanic Islands, because the main deck runs vital red cards, and the sideboard also contains several red cards. Since my own build has only a pair of black cards between the maindeck and sideboard, and neither of them are early game cards, I use only two Underground Seas. This has been enough black mana for me, but if you wish to run more black cards either maindeck or sideboard, you might consider cutting an Island for another Underground Sea.

Islands
One of the strengths of Control Slaver is that despite being three colors, it is able to run several basic Islands. These Islands make the deck more resilient to Wasteland, Back to Basics, and any other nonbasic hate which an opponent may play. Moreover, they enable Control Slaver to sideboard or even maindeck Blood Moon.

Seat of the Synod
The Seat is like an Island, yet susceptible to Blood Moon, Wasteland, Null Rod, and many other cards. However, its strength is that including a Seat or two enables the deck to have a higher artifact count, for Tinker, Goblin Welder, and Thirst for Knowledge. If for whatever reason you find that you do not having enough artifacts to enable the deck to function smoothly, substituting a few of these for Islands might be worthwhile.

Library of Alexandria
On some occasions, the Library is just a nonbasic land that can’t produce colored mana. However, on other occasions, Library of Alexandria wins the game by itself. While it certainly has its detractors, I still include it in my build of Control Slaver. Even against aggro decks, having the Library in your opening hand can give you a huge edge. Against control decks, Library is of course amazing in the starting hand. And later in the game, when Control Slaver and the opposing control deck are simply drawing cards and passing the turn, Library also becomes a threat.

Tolarian Academy
At first glance, it may appear that Tolarian Academy is an automatic inclusion for Control Slaver. After all, the deck is based on artifacts, and runs quite a few of them. After testing the card considerably, however, I have decided against its inclusion in my current build. Too often in my testing, I found that the Academy produced no mana at all. While it is built around artifacts, Control Slaver runs fewer inexpensive artifacts than most Workshop decks or combo decks. Moreover, when I draw only a single artifact, I often prefer to hold that artifact to pitch to Thirst for Knowledge, rather than playing it. Perhaps if a Control Slaver build ran more inexpensive artifacts than mine, Academy would be justified. However, in my deck as it is now, the Academy does not make the cut.

Strip Mine, Wasteland
Some control decks, such as Keeper, include a land destruction component. This complements those decks’ general strategy of shutting down the opposing deck. On the other hand, Control Slaver is concerned with stifling the opponent just enough so that its own combo is able to become active. Further, Control Slaver is a deck trying to do several things at once, both playing the role of a control deck and also assembling its combo pieces. With what may already be considered a split focus, there is no room left in Control Slaver to try also to play a land destruction game. Thus, neither Strip Mine nor Wasteland makes sense for Control Slaver. Blood Moon is another story, because it is capable of ending the game on its own against certain decks; Blood Moon is discussed in more detail below.

Sideboard Cards
I cannot possibly hope to include every viable sideboard card for Control Slaver, because metagames shift and call for new and innovative answers. However, I will try to give an account of several cards worth considering for the sideboard.

Red Elemental Blast
In an environment filled with so many blue-based decks, this card is great. It stops their card drawing, forces through your key spells, and even destroys their Psychatogs. At least three copies should be in the sideboard, though four is probably the correct number.

Rack and Ruin
With so many Workshop decks emerging, Rack and Ruin has become a staple sideboard card. Moreover, beyond the artifact-based decks, more and more decks are starting to play artifacts which may present challenges to Control Slaver. Null Rod in OStompy and Isochron Scepter in Keeper are two such examples. More than one copy of this card should be in the sideboard.

Shattering Pulse
This card is often less useful than Rack and Ruin. However, it has several advantages which make it sometimes more desirable than Rack and Ruin. It is cheaper, it does not require two targets, and it has buyback. Therefore, having a single copy in the sideboard for retrieving with Cunning Wish may make sense.

Echoing Truth
Neither blue nor red nor black is particularly good at dealing with enchantments. Yet, there are several problematic enchantments, such as Ground Seal and Humility, with which Echoing Truth deals for at least a turn. Beyond that, Echoing Truth is effective at removing Worldgorger Dragons.

Chain of Vapor
Chain of Vapor handles problematic enchantments for a single mana. However, Echoing Truth does so as well, and bounces not just a single Ground Seal, but all of the Ground Seals in play. Moreover, once you bounce his or her enchantment with Chain of Vapor, your opponent has the opportunity to bounce your Welder. One may argue that Chain can wreck a player after that player has been Mindslaved. Yet, Slaving a player is often enough to defeat that player already. Further, this approach takes a considerable amount of time, requiring you to draw the Wish and fetch the Chain, all before Slaving.

Lightning Bolt
This card remains one of the most effective ways of dealing with Suicide Black. For a single mana, Lightning Bolt destroys most creatures which Suicide Black tends to play, including the vexing Withered Wretch. Further, Lightning Bolt can Obliterate a player’s board if that player casts Phyrexian Negator. Still, this is a very narrow card and should be considered only if you expect Suicide Black to be a considerable portion of the metagame.

Blood Moon
Blood Moon is strong against some control decks such as Landstill and Keeper. Against Dragon, it shuts off Bazaars. If a decent percentage of the decks in your metagame heavily rely on nonbasic lands, this card might be worth including.

Hibernation
OStompy is one of the worst matchups for Control Slaver. While very narrow, Hibernation bounces almost all of OStompy’s nonland permanents, giving you a fighting chance against the deck. It is also is strong against Madness, but that matchup does not require Hibernation to be favorable.

Blue Elemental Blast
While not as universally potent as its Red cousin, Blue Elemental Blast is a powerful spell which may be worth sideboarding in the right metagame. Obviously, it is a strong card against Sligh and Food Chain Goblins, being able to remove a creature or counter a burn spell.

In addition, Blue Elemental Blast has subtle uses in other matchups. Against Dragon, it can destroy the Dragon itself and thereby remove all of the Dragon player’s permanents from the game; see the matchup analysis of Dragon for exactly how this works. In the mirror match, it can counter or remove several key spells as well, such as Red Elemental Blast, Goblin Welder, Fire, Gorilla Shaman, and Rack and Ruin.

Stifle
While strong in various situations, Stifle is at its best against combo decks. In Rector-based decks, Academy Rector’s search ability is a triggered ability. Storm cards generate copies of themselves through a triggered ability, so no matter how many spells have been played in a turn, stifling the triggered ability of a Tendrils of Agony results in losing only two life. Worldgorger Dragon’s returning other permanents to play on his departure is another triggered ability. Other abilities which may be useful to counter in combo decks include those of Xantid Swarm and Bazaar of Baghdad.

Chalice of the Void
While not especially flexible, the Chalice is a powerful card against decks dependent on casting many cards in a single turn and then playing a spell with Storm. DeathLong is an example of such a deck, and the proper use of Chalice in this matchup is discussed more in the discussion of the DeathLong matchup below. However, Control Slaver is unable to generate the early mana needed to make Chalice very useful in other situations. Therefore, this card should be sideboarded if and only if you expect a metagame which includes a heavy Storm element.

Tormod’s Crypt
More and more decks are dependent on the graveyard as a resource, and for zero mana this card removes the entire graveyard from the game. The Crypt is powerful against Dragon decks, as it can remove the Dragon being targeted with an animation spell, and also remove Squees.

However, the overall effectiveness of Tormod’s Crypt outside of the Dragon matchup is debatable, as the Crypt is a very narrow and often situational card. For example, does Control Slaver rely on its graveyard? Yes, but in the mirror, I would rather just prevent the opponent from having an active Goblin Welder; Fire/Ice and Blue Elemental Blast are more versatile spells which also nullify opposing Goblin Welders. Madness plays several spells out of its graveyard, but oftentimes it discards a spell and then flashes it back immediately, giving you no time to remove it with the Crypt. And, the Crypt is not very helpful once the Madness player already controls a 6/6 Wurm token. Therefore, I would sideboard Tormod’s Crypt only if I expected a heavy Dragon showing in a metagame.

My Build of Control Slaver

This is what I believe to be the best Control Slaver build for the current metagame.

General Play Strategy

In a typical game, Control Slaver starts as a control deck, using Force of Will and Mana Drain to prevent the opponent’s threats from resolving, and using Fire/Ice and Cunning Wish to handle those threats which do resolve. While playing the role of the control deck, Control Slaver is working to establish its hand using Thirst for Knowledge and Brainstorm, to establish its manabase, and to put into play a Goblin Welder. Eventually, Control Slaver morphs from a control deck into a combo deck, using Goblin Welder continually to recur expensive artifacts which have been pitched to Thirst for Knowledge.

As the name of the deck implies, a key recursion target is Mindslaver itself. With a Goblin Welder in play and a Mindslaver in the graveyard, each artifact you control can become an additional Mindslaving. Once the Welder is in play, it is not unusual to steal four or five consecutive turns from an opponent, almost always leading to victory.

Outlined above is a common path to victory with Control Slaver. Even so, part of what makes the deck so interesting is that it can play the game in many different ways. Sometimes, perhaps on account of graveyard hate or because Welders are unavailable, the deck will be unable to base its game on graveyard recursion. In this case, the deck is forced to play as a draw-go deck, never going into combo mode, and eventually winning with a hardcast artifact creature. While this is by no means the best way to realize the deck’s potential, Control Slaver does in fact have all of the tools necessary to do this.

There are times when Control Slaver will act like an aggro-control deck. The deck’s ability to generate mana quickly, or to Tinker out an early threat, often enables the deck to resolve an artifact creature in the first few turns, and thereafter to protect that creature with its control elements long enough to secure victory. Again, it is not that this is the primary aim of the deck, but Control Slaver sometimes provides an opportunity to do this.

Thus, while the deck has a specific plan going into each match, being able to deviate from that plan grants the Control Slaver deck a high degree of flexibility and strength. Yet, it also places an additional burden on the deck’s player. Knowing when to switch play styles – a decision based on the cards available to you and also on the opponent’s deck – is crucial to being successful with Control Slaver.

Matchup Analysis

Sligh

Overall, this can be a difficult matchup. You begin by trying to play the control game, but with less control tools than a deck like Keeper. Sligh is often fast enough to overwhelm you. What makes matters more difficult is that a large part of your strategy is dependent on your Goblin Welders surviving long enough to lose summoning sickness, which is not a very likely scenario against Sligh. Should the Sligh deck be playing Gorilla Shaman, things get more difficult. Still, with Fire/Ice and the ability to function reasonably well even without Goblin Welder, you certainly have a decent chance in this matchup.

Further, you have Platinum Angel. One of the best strategies against Sligh is to Welder or Tinker her into play and then use your countermagic to protect her as she wins the game in five turns.

The main card which you want to bring in from the sideboard is the fourth Fire/Ice, which often burns a pair of Sligh’s creatures. Of course, should the Sligh deck run a large number of artifacts, Rack and Ruin should be brought in as well. If you sideboard Blue Elemental Blasts, those should certainly be brought in. Removing a Memory Jar makes sense, since activating the Jar can often unleash a lethal deluge of burn from your opponent. Beyond that, removing the slow Cunning Wishes and Pentavus makes sense.

Food Chain Goblins

Food Chain Goblins is blindingly quick and can run you over before you have established yourself. However, that deck also plays less burn than a standard Sligh deck, so you have a decent shot of getting your Goblin Welders to remain in play. As against many creature-based decks, Platinum Angel is an important card in this matchup.

Another important card is Mindslaver itself. Food Chain Goblins runs several creatures which are able to sacrifice themselves and their fellow Goblins, as well as Food Chain. Mind Slaver can function as a Wrath of God in this matchup.

There are a few especially dangerous cards in this deck. Goblin Lackey is a nightmare for control decks. His resolution and survival leads to a string of early, uncounterable goblins joining him on the table. Goblin Ringleader is another card to try to counter. With Goblin Recruiter and Food Chain, he can end the game. Even on his own, he represents a considerable gain in card advantage for the Food Chain player. Finally, beware of Gempalm Incinerator. He is uncounterable and a cantrip. For two mana, he always kills Goblin Welder, and will often kill Platinum Angel.

As against Goblins, the Cunning Wishes and Pentavus are too slow to be effective in this matchup and should be removed. Fire/Ice should be brought in against Food Chain Goblins. If you sideboard Blue Elemental Blasts, those should also be brought in; if not, then Echoing Truth is still faster than Wish or Pentavus.

Suicide Black

This matchup can be a nightmare, depending on the exact build of the Suicide deck, and the Suicide player’s draws. Null Rod can severely interfere with Control Slaver’s mana, as well as hinder Mindslaver and Pentavus. Withered Wretch can prevent graveyard recursion and nullify Yawgmoth’s Will. Even a well-placed Duress can grab a Thirst for Knowledge, turning a good hand into a sub-par hand.

The good news is that Suicide Black is often slower than Sligh. Further, your Goblin Welders have a better chance of surviving against Suicide than against Sligh; so, if you can prevent Withered Wretch from becoming an issue, you can use graveyard recursion. Above all, Suicide has difficulty dealing with Platinum Angel. Bringing her into play is a top priority.

If you manage to Mindslaver a Suicide Black player, see if you can get your hands on a card which you can use to win the game outright, such as Necropotence or Demonic Consultation. Short of that, Duress cannot target its caster but Hymn to Tourach can. Mind Twist has been errataed to be able to target its caster. And while Mindslaving the opponent, you decide which permanents to sacrifice to Phyrexian Negator.

As with Sligh, the fourth Fire/Ice should be brought in. A few artifact removal cards should be brought in to handle Null Rod. However, unlike with Sligh, Memory Jar is relatively safe to use and should be left in the deck. Removing the slow Cunning Wishes makes sense. Further, a Mindslaver can be cut because it is not at its best in this matchup, and is expensive and susceptible to Null Rod.

OStompy

How is this matchup? If OStompy is especially popular in your area, then Control Slaver might not be the best deck for you to play. Maindeck, they play Null Rod and often Root Maze, which can often stall you long enough for their large green monsters to do their job. However, in the first game, it is often possible to counter or remove these threats and take control of the game. Aside from Null Rod, OStompy can do little to disrupt your combo in the first game.

Then sideboarding happens. Fire/Ice, Echoing Truth, Hibernation, and artifact removal are the cards to consider boarding in. One Mindslaver can be safely removed, as well as Cunning Wishes, since you will have brought in all of your good Wish targets anyway. Thereafter, cut Brainstorms to make room for the remaining cards which you wish to bring into the deck.

The post-sideboard matchup against OStompy is awful. They have their maindeck hate cards, as well as artifact removal, Tormod’s Crypt, and Ground Seal. Their graveyard hate makes your Welder recursion plan very difficult to implement. Root Maze and Null Rod make casting your artifacts difficult. Meanwhile, their artifact removal can attack what artifacts you do manage to resolve. And while you are trying to climb out from beneath the pile of cards which prevent your deck from operating properly, they are attacking you with huge creatures. As far as I know, this is Control Slaver’s worst matchup.

Madness

While Madness is faster than OStompy, it lacks the plethora of hate which makes the OStompy matchup so difficult. Madness is a rather favorable matchup. Fire/Ice and countermagic are often enough to allow you to live long enough to establish an active Goblin Welder, for which Madness’s only answer is Fiery Temper. Because Madness does not attack your manabase, resolving a large artifact creature is quite possible. Pentavus is a great blocker and can hold off several creatures at once; just remember that Arrogant Wurm has trample. Platinum Angel is very difficult for Madness to handle, as their only maindeck means of removing her is to hit her with a pair of Fiery Tempers. Once Angel is in play, just save your countermagic to protect her and you should win.

Mindslaving a Madness deck does not accomplish as much as it does against some other decks, but it can still be quite strong. You can force your opponent to discard with Bazaar and Wild Mongrel. Further, you can target yourself with Deep Analysis.

While either may be useful at times, I have not found Tormod’s Crypt or Red Elemental Blast to be necessary in this matchup. Although Blood Moon may hinder Madness’s mana base and stop its Bazaars, it is too slow in this matchup. Fire/Ice should be brought in, and perhaps bounce if Madness is bringing in hate from its sideboard. A single Mindslaver can be removed, and not more than a single Cunning Wish should be left in the deck. Memory Jar is a good card to board out against Madness since Madness can usually take advantage of drawing and discarding seven cards.

TnT

On the one hand, TnT cannot run all of the hate found in OStompy. Null Rod and Ground Seal would hurt it as much as you. On the other hand, TnT is capable of insanely fast starts, and plays its own Goblin Welders. In this matchup, Control Slaver is forced to be the control deck and thwart TnT’s initial onslaught. One of the most important cards in this matchup is Goblin Welder. If you have an active welder, you can continually exchange TnT’s creatures for Moxes; if your opponent is playing Su-Chi, you can even start causing constant life loss with mana burn. However, if your opponent has an active Welder, then all of your attempts to counter TnT’s problematic artifacts will be stopped as the opposing Welder returns those artifacts to play. Save your Fire/Ices for their Welders. The other card to watch out for is Survival of the Fittest, since it can grab a string of hasted Welders.

One of the key cards in your arsenal is Mindslaver. Remember that once you activate Mindslaver, you can use the opponent’s Goblin Welders to recur the Mindslaver for you during the opponent’s turn. While Mindslaving the opponent, you can use Survival of the Fittest to dump the opponent’s threats into the graveyard. If you are unable to use the opponent’s Welders to recur your Mindslaver, then you can use the opponent’s Survival to grab a Triskelion and use that Triskelion to destroy the opponent’s Welders and the Triskelion itself. Finally, remember that Juggernaut attacks you even if you don’t want it to.

The most important cards to bring in for this matchup are the Fire/Ice and the artifact removal. Tormod’s Crypt can remove Welder targets, Squee, and Anger. Blue Elemental Blast can remove opposing Goblin Welders and counter TnT’s artifact removal and Red Elemental Blasts. Cunning Wishes are expendable since their best targets are now in the main deck. Memory Jar is a good card to remove, since it can fuel the opponent’s Goblin Welders. After that, a few Brainstorms can be removed.

Stax

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, Stax will lock you up before you get into the game. There’s not too much you can do about that. However, the longer the game lasts, the better it becomes. In this matchup, you are the control deck. You have all the tools you need to dismantle Stax, as long as you can buy enough time.

Your Goblin Welders can handle Stax’s threats. Because the spells which Stax plays are so expensive, Mana Drain is key in this matchup. Fire/Ice removes Stax’s Welders, and Stax has difficulty removing your Welders. Once you get a Pentavus into play, you can use its tokens for Smokestack and Tangle Wire, and Mindslaver can force the Stax player to make unfavorable decisions involving Smokestack, Karn, and Meditate. Remember that in this matchup, as against TnT, you can use the opponent’s Goblin Welders to recur your Mindslaver for you.

You want to board in the cards to remove Stax’s artifacts, as well as the Fire/Ice to remove its Welders. While Pentavus is amazing in this matchup, Platinum Angel is not. Further, since you are taking on the role of the control deck, sideboard out Memory Jar. Once those expensive artifacts have left, removing Mana Vault makes sense, as does Cunning Wish and a few Brainstorms if space is still needed.

Hulk

This is probably your best match. The fact that this is favorable is a strong argument for playing Control Slaver. Hulk has a tremendous amount of control to stop what you do. On the other hand, a single use of Mindslaver usually ends the game. You can play Hulk’s Psychatog, and then have that Atog devours its owner’s hand and graveyard.

Your goal in this game is to put a Mindslaver on the board and activate it. You can resolve Slaver itself, or get a Goblin Welder into play, or Tinker the Slaver into play. Use your card drawing to get the resources you need to do this, and your countermagic to make it happen. Control Slaver generally functions as a combo deck in this match.

Your best sideboard tool in this matchup is Red Elemental Blast. Artifact removal or Blood Moon may also be viable, based on the exact build of the Hulk deck. Bring in Fact or Fiction, too. Two large artifact creatures are too many; Platinum Angel can save you from an early Berserked Psychatog, but Pentavus has better synergy with Goblin Welder. Memory Jar will enable the Tog player to Wish for and cast instant answers, as well as fuel Psychatog. If a creature and Memory Jar are both removed, then Mana Vault can also be sideboarded out. There is no need for more than two Fire/Ices in this matchup, and more than one Cunning Wish is unnecessary.

Landstill

Should Standstill resolve, your best bet is often to keep playing lands and taking a few damage each turn. Then, once the Landstill player has six or seven cards in hand, use an instant to break Standstill at the end of that player’s turn. Thereafter, given the high concentration of threats in your deck, you can usually establish a strong board position with counter backup on the following turn. This matchup is generally favorable.

Mindslaving a Landstill player can allow you to play and break a Standstill, giving yourself the three cards. But beware of Stifle, which many Landstill lists have in their maindeck.

Red Elemental Blast and Blood Moon are the key cards to bring in. As in most matchups against control decks, two large creatures is too many, and Platinum Angel can be removed. Going to a single Cunning Wish and removing some cantrips also works here. Blood Moon is especially powerful in this matchup, since it inhibits Landstill’s mana and also shuts down its creatures.

Keeper

Keeper has the tools to deal with all of your threats, but you have a stronger drawing engine than Keeper. Keeper can wish for artifact removal or graveyard removal, and often maindecks such potent cards as Gorilla Shaman and Damping Matrix. Your strength is that Thirst for Knowledge will let you dig deeply into your deck for relatively little mana, letting you build up enough threats to overcome Keeper’s control. Goblin Welder is also important in this match; if he manages to stay on the board, Keeper’s countermagic becomes far less powerful.

Sideboarding against Keeper is difficult because of the huge variance in Keeper builds. I tend to bring in three Red Elemental Blasts, Blood Moon, and Fact of Fiction. Leave a few copies of Fire/Ice in for Gorilla Shaman. I cut Memory Jar, Platinum Angel, and Mana Vault in this matchup. After that, a pair of cantrips can go.

Dragon

This matchup is not especially favorable for Control Slaver. Dragon can be stunningly fast, and many builds have enough disruption to push through your early control. Further, with the strength of Bazaar of Baghdad, Dragon can overrun you with card advantage. Still, this matchup is by no means an auto-loss. The obvious cards to counter are reanimation spells. Since some Dragon lists play maindeck Xantid Swarms, it is a good idea to keep a Fire/Ice in hand for the Insects.

If a Dragon player manages to reanimate a Dragon, Cunning Wish is your best chance. Let the Dragon’s coming-into-play ability go on the stack. Then, Wish for Echoing Truth and cast it on the Dragon. The Dragon leaves play, and its leaving-play ability triggers, but because nothing has yet been removed by the Dragon, the leaving-play ability does nothing. Then, allow the coming-into-play ability, which is on the stack, to resolve. All of the Dragon player’s permanents are permanently removed from the game. This also works with Blue Elemental Blast, which destroys the Dragon. Something similar also works with Stifle, which can counter the activated ability which returns all of the Dragon player’s permanents to play.

When you sideboard, bring in the additional Fire/Ice; even if the Dragon build that you are playing against does not maindeck Xantid Swarm, it may well bring them in from the sideboard. Bring in Echoing Truth, Stifle, and Blue Elemental Blast, for the reason discussed above. Also bring in Tormod’s Crypt. Blood Moon can deal with Bazaar of Baghdad, Dragon’s drawing engine and an important combo piece. Leave in Platinum Angel, but remove Pentavus. Memory Jar can leave because it will place cards into Dragon’s graveyard, and Dragon might be able to win instantly with a Necromancy which Jar allows Dragon to draw. With those expensive artifacts gone, Mana Vault can be removed. Cunning Wishes can be removed as well.

DeathLong

This matchup is far better than the Dragon matchup. Sometimes DeathLong wins in the first turn or two, but that happens less frequently than in combo decks of the past. While DeathLong can be just as fast as Dragon, it lacks Dragon’s uncounterable drawing engine, Bazaar of Baghdad. Therefore, you can often buy enough time to establish yourself with your control elements. Yawgmoth’s Will and draw-7s are both excellent countermagic targets. It is also a good idea to save Fire/Ices for Xantid Swarms, which are often maindecked in DeathLong builds.

Your goal is to bring a Platinum Angel into play. DeathLong, living up to its name, often reduces itself to less than ten life, so two or three hits with an Angel are usually enough to win against it. Moreover, combined with your other control elements, Platinum Angel can make it very difficult for DeathLong to defeat you. Mindslaver is a powerful card in this matchup, too. Of course, since DeathLong runs Necropotence, Mindslaver can enable you to end the game immediately. However, using Death Wish for something frivolous, or casting a draw-7 and then passing the turn, are fine things to force DeathLong to do as well.

Because DeathLong tends to play Xantid Swarms, bring in the fourth Fire/Ice in this matchup. This should replace the Pentavus, which is far too slow to have an impact. Beyond that, Chalice of the Void is a very good sideboard card. Long has several key spells which cost one mana, such as Xantid Swarm, Dark Ritual, Brainstorm, and Chromatic Sphere. Therefore, unless it will interfere with your development considerably, one is often the best number at which to set the first Chalice that you play.

Mirror Match

As with most control mirror matches, the Control Slaver mirror match rests on a number of factors, including play skill, experience with the deck, and draw quality. Drawing a Library of Alexandria in your opening hand is especially strong in this match, because the deck has no way to remove it, unlike many other control decks. Beyond that, the key non-restricted cards in this matchup are Thirst for Knowledge and Goblin Welder. The opponent’s Thirsts are generally worth countering, as they draw cards and also set up the graveyard. Save your Fire/Ices for Goblin Welder. After the game has progressed for a while, resolving Yawgmoth’s Will nearly guarantees victory.

Another key cards in the matchup is Mindslaver itself. Remember that if you Mindslave your opponent, you can use your opponent’s own welders to recur your Mindslaver for you. Use Thirst for Knowledge discard your opponent’s important spells. An opponent’s Memory Jar can also be used to your advantage once you have used Mindslaver. If you force the opponent to put a Memory Jar into play, wait until the end step, after end of turn effects have already been put on the stack. Then, activate the Jar. You will retain your new hands until the end of your own turn.

Conclusion

And so, this is Control Slaver. Based on powerful cards introduced by Mirrodin, it has roots in many preexisting deck types but is a direct descendent of none. While not the only control-combo deck in the metagame, it is one of the few.

Will Control Slaver rise to the position of great format-ruining decks of the past, such as BBS or Long? Probably not. For one thing, Control Slaver has serious issues with a number of budget decks. Both Suicide Black and OStompy are bad matchups for Control Slaver, and both are relatively easy to build. Beyond that, because it relies heavily on the graveyard, Control Slaver is rather vulnerable to hate. Ground Seal, Null Rod, and Damping Matrix are a few of the cards which can hinder Control Slaver, and which are already common in today’s metagame. Should Control Slaver become more popular, I suspect that it will face even more hate.

That having been said, Control Slaver is a powerful, flexible, and rather unique deck. Control Slaver can play the control game, and can morph quickly into a combo deck when the opportunity arises. It enjoys favorable matchups against most blue-based decks, including Hulk, and can thrive in a control-dominated environment. And, it is a very fun deck to play.

Thanks to Andy Lambe (Hyperion) for taking time from his busy schedule to edit a draft of this Primer and giving me excellent feedback.

Also, thanks to Kim Kluck for his work on the deck. In addition, I would like to thank the following people for their help in playtesting, allowing me to refine the decklist into what it is today: Demonic Attorney, Scott Coughlin, Matt Deitz, Jamie Lamkin, Mike Lydon, Rob Coker, Ben Goodman, Ben Ashman, and Joshua Silvestri (Vegeta2711).