Control / Drain Slaver revised

[Eddie]

Control Slaver disappeared in our metagame. Not long ago, about half the field was playing it. The current meta primarily consists of Tog and 4C Control. A victim of it's own success? Is it still playable in the current meta? This is my attempt to revive the deck. I started with the list Morefling used some time ago as I liked it most of all. This is the current list I'm testing. Changes in bold.

[Mana]
4 Volcanic Island
2 Underground Sea
4 Island
1 Mountain
3 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault

[Creatures]
2 Pentavus
4 Goblin Welder
1 Smemnarch
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Triskelion

[Utility]
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Thirst for knowledge
2 Cunning Wish
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
2 Mindslaver
1 Memory Jar

[Sideboard]
2 Fire/Ice
2 Rack and Ruin
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Echoing Truth
2 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Fact or Fiction
3 Flametongue Kavu
1 Triskelion

The biggest problem I had with the deck has always been the mana base. This is only worse now with the popularity of 4C Control. I have never been a big fan of Shivan Reef as it is just as big a Wasteland target as the Volcanics. If you want to use Reef, I think you need al least 2 of them. I've tested a basic Mountain before and it's not bad. You just don't want it in your opening hand if all you want to cast is blue. Other than that, it’s the best permanent red mana source you can wish for. The Bloodstained helps to find the Mountain of course, and it fetches all your other duals. It doesn't fetch islands, but there are only 4 left in the deck. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Kamiwaga which might bring a blue/red fetch (one can only hope   :lol:  ).

Pentavus 2 > Platinum Angel. And that’s an understatement. You only need the angel against a Dragon deck. Pentavites love to block an Exalted and return home before damage is on the stack. I feel there is no need to play the angel again.

Is Memnarch still a good option? I'm thinking of switching it for another mana source (probably island). I've cut the mana source for him and it has worked for me so far. There used to be a lot of artifact-heavy decks. Now, the numbers of artifacts is diminished and we might need more stability. There can still be a place for him in the sideboard though, probably replacing the Trisk in the side. It would be a waste to have a Smemnarch and not use it   .

I can't believe I ever played this deck without Trisk main. He's soooo good. In this version, he replaces the fire/ice whom have been cut. I'm not sure about not having fire/ice MD though. The only problem is an early Gorilla Shaman on the other side of the board. Trisk can be too slow, and the only thing left to do is wish for fire/ice.

The shaman is very good in my opinion. I played some time without it and got pwned. The ape really makes the difference.

I decided to try out Artificer's Intuition. It could solve some mana issues fetching the correct mox. Also, I do have an extra heavy artifact (Trisk instead of fire/ice) so I thought that dropping an artifact shouldn't be that big a problem. I tested it instead of 1 Thirst. Every time I had it in play, I had no good artifact to discard. It was just sitting there. I'd rather draw 3 cards and discard two instead of waiting to topdeck a nice artifact. I don't know if someone else tested this thing and if his or her results are different?

Now the sideboard. Do we need Blood Moon in the board? I have doubts about this card. I used to play it and it should be great against 4C Control. But I had to make room for a second fire/ice and a third flametongue.

I chose Echoing Truth over Chain of Vapor. It is not "tha bomb" when slaving your opponent, but I'm more comfortable in using it and I think it's more versatile.

I don’t know if anyone has thoughts or questions about my modifications?

[Apollyon]

Memnarch is bad without Gilded Lotus to fuel its ability.

Control Slaver is one of the best decks in the metagame, with its only really bad matchup being Fish. A heavy 4c Control presence does hurt Control Slaver, however.

The problem that I've noticed is that when I resolve a turn 1 Mox Monkey turn 2 Null Rod, is that if Rich doesn't have an answer to Null Rod, he will just scoop.

Artificer's Intuition doesn't seem like it would be all that great in this deck. It doesn't do enough. Besides, Slaver finds Slaver consistently enough that Artificer's Intuition is overkill.

[KSesler]

Eddie:
I tested Artificer's Intuition out awhile back, and concur with your findings.
It just did not seem to work at all in the deck.

[The Atog Lord]

The current meta primarily consists of Tog and 4C Control. A victim of it's own success? Is it still playable in the current meta?

Control Slaver is more than just playable. It is, in my opinion at least, one of the best decks you could be playing in a metagame full of Tog and Exalted Control. The Tog match is certainly in your favor, and the match against the deck with the 4/5 flier is very lopsided in your favor.

If your metagame is as you describe, I'll strongly recommend the following list, which I recently played in Maine.

2 Pentavus
4 Goblin Welder
3 Duress
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
4 Thirst for Knowledge
4 Brainstorm
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Mind's Eye
2 Mindslaver
1 Tinker
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
1 Library of Alexandria
2 Darksteel Citadel
4 Underground Sea
4 Flooded Strand
4 Volcanic Island
3 Island

Sideboard:
2 Fire/Ice
2 Echoing Truth
2 Rack and Ruin
4 Blue Elemental Blast
3 Flametounge Kavu
2 Red Elemental Blast [/list:u]

It might not be a bad idea to add some sort of answer, like cunning Wish, to the maindeck, but against Tog and evolved-1996.dec you don't really need it.

The Citadels are great. Immune to Wasteland, they make the deck less susceptible to Gorilla Shaman. I think that they make dedicated maindeck Shaman answers, like Trike or Fire, unnecessary.

The mana base has worked fine for me. In fact, I often find myself boarding out a single land against decks without mana disruption.

Is Memnarch still a good option?

Actually, I don't think that he was ever a good option in this deck. I tried him, and he was just not good enough. The deck doesn't have the insane amounts of mana needed to make him good.

The shaman is very good in my opinion.

The shaman might be alright if you need a maindeck card for the mirror match. Myself, I don't maindeck him, because outside of the mirror match, he isn't too amazing. Sure, you might get lucky and destroy an opponent's three-mox draw. But unlike No-Elemental-Augury.dec, you don't have the Wastes and Strips to launch a full mana denial strategy yourself.

I tested it instead of 1 Thirst.

Please don't cut Thirsts from the deck. Thirst and Welder are the two cards on which the deck is built.

[Eddie]

Please don't cut Thirsts from the deck. Thirst and Welder are the two cards on which the deck is built.

I've noticed. It was only a test and I had to make room somewhere to test it. It's not that I would run less than 4 Thirst in a real situation. Maybe I've cut the wrong card to test. Anyway, it was an idea I thought was worth testing and it turned out to be horrible.

Is Memnarch still a good option?

Actually, I don't think that he was ever a good option in this deck. I tried him, and he was just not good enough. The deck doesn't have the insane amounts of mana needed to make him good.

Memnarch is bad without Gilded Lotus to fuel its ability.

Memnarch shines in the mirror. I think he is the best option to have in that particular situation. But with the current meta, it is time to remove him. Also, I have never had much problems fuelling his ability, certainly not against arifact-heavy decks when you don't need to turn his permanents into artifacts.

Thanks for your current list. I like the idea of Mind's eye. But the 3 duress seem rather odd. Also, you don't play Memory Jar anymore. Any particular reason? Also, you have 4 Blue blasts in the side which seems a bit overkill to me...

Edit: looking at the T8 of Maine, it seems a lot of people play slaver in your area   .

[Mixing Mike]

The Duress-es allow you to play more aggressevly.  Rich and I still don't know if Duress or Fire/Ice is better for the mirror.

Mind's Eye (Jar's replacement) works under a Null Rod, giving you another thing you can weld in vs. fish.  I'd assume the BEB's are mostly for FCG, and the possible red aggro decks that may arise as well.

[BreathWeapon]

Wouldn't Chill be a better option than BEB, or are you actually siding those in to take care of Welders/Shamans/Dragons?

On what grounds is Slavery>4cc. Post Board with REBs, it's incredibly difficult to resolve Thirst. Sure Pentavus is awesome vs Exalted Angel, but actually getting it into play is the trick. I really haven't felt comfortable against 4cc with out Blood Moons from the SB.

Also, with only 2 Slavers, aren't you inviting complications from Coffin Purge?

[rozetta]

BEB seems like an all-round good sideboard card versus the increased number of red answers and permanents going around. It counters things like Fire/Ice and Rack and Ruin and kills/counters things like mox monkey and grim lavamancer. Also, it gives dragon something to think about. It seems to me like an optimal time to run a full complement in the sideboard for any deck scared of Rack and Ruin.

[Eddie]

I did some further testing. I like the Mind's Eye. But not enough to replace Memory Jar. It depends on your meta, but I think I'd need a fair amount of Null Rod action against me before Eye > Jar. Right now, I'm thinking about putting it in the side and switch it with Memory Jar if needed.

[The Atog Lord]

As Mike pointed out, the Duresses help you play the aggro role against Tog and The Nameless Control deck.

The problem with Chill is that it does not handle a resolved Goblin Lackey. FCG beats Control Slaver either by resolving an early Lackey and using him, or by comboing off by resolving Ringleader. BEB prevents both of these bad things from happening.

Though, four BEB may have been too many. I might have been too afraid of FCG. Some more anti-fish cards should probably be in the sideboard.

As for Memory Jar. I found that against Tog and against The Deck that Plays White, I would consistently remove Mana Vault, Platinum Angel, and Jar. So, I just cut the three cards from the maindeck altogether. Though, there is a very strong case that Jar should still be in the deck.

My experience of the Control Slaver against Tundra Control match has been that Control Slaver beats that deck far more often than it loses. You have a better card drawing mechanism and more threats. When that deck wins, it is because they manage to use Shaman and Wastes to disrupt your mana base.