First Topic||3color control

[11broc]

The point of the deck is exactly as the title suggests, control of the board.  My deck runs very much like keeper or any other non-aggro multi-colored control deck.

I was just looking for suggestions/criticism/whatever.

counter
1-counterspell
3-mana drain
4-force of will

draw
4-brainstorm
1-fact or fiction
1-ancestral recall
1-skelatal scrying

broken
1-yawgmoth's will
1-time walk

tutor
3-gifts ungiven
1-mystical tutor
1-tinker
1-demonic tutor
1-vampiric tutor

arti.
1-crucible of worlds
1-isochron scepter

disruption
2-swords to plowshares
1-disenchant
1-balance
1-mind twist

kill
2-decree of justice
1-darksteel colossus

random
1-power artifact

mana
3-polluted delta
3-flooded strand
3-underground sea
3-tundra
2-island

2-wasteland
1-strip mine

1-mox sapphire
1-mox pearl
1-mox jet
1-mox ruby
1-mox emerald
1-black lotus
1-grim monolith(add a little power art.)
1-sol ring

i need help with a sideboard
so far i have :
2-swords to plowshare
1-dust to dust
3-duress
1-skelatal scrying
2-tormod's crypt

Im lost as far as sideboarding for a power tourney is concerned.

Deck explanation:

-gifts out control until you feel u have full board advantage

-then either tinker or decree for the kill

-also theres the power artifact/grim monolith combo in there to allow u to either hardcast collossus or make infinite tokens with decree

Criticism is welcome.

[Engine_number_9]

I don't see why 3 cc should be good right now. I think that at the bottomline the "keeperish"-decks don't answer the threats that other decks pose atm. Have you considered how you can beat oath, meandeck gifts or fish for that matter. I don't see any way you can fight Oath early game nor meandeck gifts. These 2 decks will simply outpower you. Especially with no duress main.
Against fish decks you'll be a sitting duck. You can't race them and you'll always be a step behind since fish has a really good match-up against multicolored control. I don't think that 3 cc is the answer right now.

However if you want some suggestions I'd say remove power artifact and grim monolith- it's simply too random for a deck that wants to be consistant. Definitely add the last drain and maybe a cunning wish.!

[11broc]

Well early game gifts, im pretty screwed(as u said), but luckily a gifts deck has not came into my meta yet.
In testing against black fish and worse than fish this deck usually has a 50% chance with game 1 with both and a 30% chance after sideboard with black fish and a 65% chance after sideboard with worse than fish.
Also random works as a surprise element and almost always kill.
And the main reason i posted on this forum was to find out what other cards i should include in my sideboard(especially against oath and combo).
thanks for your reply

[Yawgmoths_Dummy]

This post may be useful: http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/index.php?topic=23861.0

Brians list is very tight, and the deck is brutal to play againt, (I know because I have, and I've seen it in action vs. others).

Is Monolith/ Power Artifact really needed? It seems like a win more condition, as Tinker/ DCS or Drain mana into Decree, should do the job, in the given amount of time. This is a control deck after all.

-1 Monolith
-1 Power Artifact

+1 Mana Drain
+1 Skeletal Scrying

Sensei's Diving Top is really good in this deck!

With only one way to recur your graveyard, why Gifts (U3) over Intuition(U2)? Or anything else for that matter? (Impulse, AK (U1))

-2 Gifts

+1 Skeletal Scrying
+1 Sensei's Diving Top


Nice deck overall.

[Dozer]

And the main reason i posted on this forum was to find out what other cards i should include in my sideboard(especially against oath and combo).

I am a big fan of Night of Soul's Betrayal against Oath. It makes it impossible for them to Oath and has general usefulness against the rest of the decks that run creatures. Engineered Plague doesn't do much against WTF and other Fish builds, since one or two creatures will always slip through, so Night is better in general, especially since you should be able to support the double-black with 3cc.

Yawgmoths_Dummy's suggestion to remove the Gifts is a very good one. To really abuse Gifts, you need more ways to get the cards going from your graveyard. Otherwise, you'll be getting 2 cards for 4 mana, which is not very good, especially since you'll always get the two worst cards. Cutting all 3 Gifts and the Power Artifact, which you really don't need (you can possibly keep the Monolith, if you need the acceleration, but I'd recommend Mana Crypt) opens the way for 2 Scrying + 2 Tops. That draw base is definitely the way to go with 3cC (or 4cC, for that matter). You will always be less explosive than your opponents, so try to make up for that with consistency. Card advantage is your only way to win.

I dislike the Scepter and would much rather have a second Disenchant, since with Tops you become more vulnerable to Null Rod and only have the single out. That's not really good. As for the sideboard, I still favor Exalted Angel over everything else, since you can go aggro versus aggro, and not all but quite a few Fish decks still have trouble with the Angel.

The general question, "why play X-cc Control", is quite hard to answer. Somehow, with all the creatures and artifacts running around nowadays, a removal-heavy control deck should be feasible. The main weaknesses are the vulnerability to Wasteland and the lack of a combo finish. The deck is just too slow, because today's disruption is so fast (Chalice, Workshop). In order to perform properly, I believe 3/4cC needs 5 Strips and the card advantage suite of 4 Brainstorm, 3 Scrying, 1-2 Top in addition to Ancestral and Fact or Fiction, and it will still be outmatched by Control Slaver, Tog and Gifts.

Dozer