[Deck] Mono Blue, with a red splash

[Iron_Chef]

This is a deck that I've been working on for a while now, it has cards MD devoted to every matchup.  I think it needs these MD hate cards to be effective.  It runs the following "standard" Mono Blue skeleton, with a red splash.

//Mana
 1 Library of Alexandria
 1 Strip Mine
 3 Wasteland
 4 Blue Fetches
 5 Island
 3 Volcanic Island
 1 Black Lotus
 1 Sol Ring
 1 Mox Sapphire
 1 Mox Ruby
 1 Mox Jet
 1 Mox Emerald
 1 Mox Pearl

//Permission
 4 Force of Will
 4 Mana Drain
 4 Mana Leak

//Utility
 1 Time Walk
 1 Ancestral Recall
 1 Tinker
 1 Rushing River
 1 Fact or Fiction
 1 Mystical Tutor

//Creatures
 4 Ophidian
 3 Gorilla Shaman
 1 Darksteel Colossus

//Hate Cards:
 2 Chalice of the Void
 2 Blood Moon
 2 Vedalken Shackles
 2 Fire/Ice
 1 Rack and Ruin
 1 Pithing Needle

//Sideboard:
 3 Rack and Ruin
 3 Flametongue Kavu
 3 Red Elemental Blast
 3 Annul
 2 Chalice of the Void
 1 Razormane Masticore

Matchup vs. Fish:  Pre-board, this matchup is decided by vedalken shackles, through and through.  Many times it is the best Tinker target, especially if it's the Blue White version, with access to STP that can take care of Colossus.  Post Sideboard, this deck absolutely rapes fish.  Bringing in 3 Flametongue Kavu, 1 Razormane Masticore, 3 Red Elemental Blast, and maybe even 3 Annul if you feel it's needed for Null Rod, or Aether Vial if they need it.  I've found that this deck has the advantage vs. fish in the end, although the UW version is the more difficult match.

Matchup vs. Stax:  Pre-board you have Shackles, Blood Moon, 1 Rack and Ruin, and the 3 Gorilla Shamans that are the MVP in this matchup.  Blood Moon isn't as effective against Uba Stax, because of the fact that it's Mono Brown/Red anyway, but against 5 color Stax, it is an absolute house.  Blood Moon combined with a Chalice of the Void for 0 equals game over.  Smokestack is a tough thing to deal with, if your opponent understands how to manipulate the counters.  Smokestack is what made me run the 1 Rack and Ruin in the Maindeck.  It's also what made me consider running Viashino Heretic over Gorilla Shaman, but the Shaman is more efficient in other matchups, and comes down turn 1.  Post sideboard the match improves immensely, bringing in 3 Rack and Ruin, and 3 Annul.  Fire/Ice deals with Welder, as does Vedalken Shackles.

Matchup vs. Oath:  This is this decks most difficult matchup in my opinion.  Again, Mono Blue, with a combo win condition is good.  Pre Sb your only chances are chalices, the permission, and the 1 Rushing River.  If you can hold them off long enough, and you resolve a shackles, then the game is yours.  Post Sb you get some more help via Annul, 2 more Chalices, and the Red Elemental Blasts.  Your game plan here is to out-control Oath.  Counter their Oath, and REB their counters.  If they get a resolved and triggered Oath, then the game is 95% over, but hopefully with your Sb, that won't happen.

Matchup vs. Gifts:  This matchup is decided by a few things.  If you can get Gorilla Shaman down early, and devastate their mana, then you pretty much win.  All you do is wait for Gifts, counter it, and wait for Yawg's Will, and counter it.  Try to play around their Drain, as taking care of their mana wins you the game.  Post SB bring in Annul and Red Elemental Blast, and it pretty much seals you the game.  I've found that this deck has the advantage in this matchup, and with some common sense, it's easy.

Some other cards that I've considered for this deck are the following:

Echoing Truth (or other generic bounce that has different cc)
Viashino Heretic
Arcane Lab
Sphere of Resistance
Energy Flux
Impulse
Merchant Scroll

And here's my question: Do you think this deck has the potential to be viable in a wide open metagame, such as GenCon or Waterbury?  What would need to be changed so it has better matchups?  What is bad about this deck? What is good about this deck?

[Sjoerd]

Hi!,

Just my thoughts on the deck. I think you have been a little bit too optimistic about some of the match-ups. You only have one real kill, which is DSC. Let's say you lose the die roll and go second and someone drops a red mana source with a red elemental blast as backup, or has a force of will and a random blue card. That makes you lose your fast (turn one or two) tinker. If that happens you hardly have a chance to cast DSC. I admit the disruption is solid, but disruption is far from a kill. I could walk into a mana drain, or a force and lose something important, but in stax, or control slaver there are lots of options to get the lot back. Most Yawgmoth's Will decks can handle the loss of a couple of spells, especially to force of will, since you lose two cards, against their one (except if they use lotus or another one time mana source to cast it).

Short, I think you need more kill, else people can just sit and wait for all the counterspells to disappear and start rebuilding a couple of turns later.

Could be that I am incredibly wrong, but I don't think I would be afraid of a match against this. (would love to try, since monoU is just plain cool)

Sjoerd

[TheOrangePet]

You should almost certainly be playing Mana Crypt for the 1^st turn Tinker->DSC.

Also, consider replacing Rushing River and try to solidify your "hate" cards into more 3-4 of's instead of 2 of's.

[Disburden]

I have a question about your matchups Vs. Control Slaver. How is it and what were your feelings about the matchup?

The reason I am asking is because you don't mention Slaver at all, meanwhile it is still the top control deck in Vintage format (by appearances and results).

Also why do you feel this has more advantages to being played over just playing Control Slaver yourself? Control Slaver runs red and has a lot of red goodies in the sideboard just like you do. The only big differences are that you don't have Yawgmoth's Will and slaver lock for the finish or Big beats with Tinker. But I feel if you sleeved Slaver up after putting this build you would see Slaver can play control and then just win randomly also.


Still though, my main question is how was your Slaver testing?

[49 Cents]

Remember that Phid and Shaman can also go deep. I do not think that Mana Crypt is needed, this is a slow control deck after all. + random 1st turn Tinkers aren't that good anyway.

[dskippy0]

I think you should run Back to Basics over Blood Moon. For starters Blood Moon shuts down your Wastelands and Fetchlands. Yes the turn into Mountains but that extra red mana isn't helping you. In addition Back to Basics is a lot worse for workshop decks. They still have the initial boost of a three mana Mishra's Workshop, yes, but that's it. Blood Moon can be played around more easily.

3 Gorilla Shaman is too much. It'd run sooner run Null Rod or Energy Flux in this slot. Maybe run one and consider swapping the other two out for Goblin Vandals or something that can nail artifacts other than moxen. Increasing the Rack and Ruin count also seems a reasonable idea.

Honestly, I don't think the red splash really gives you too much over typical Mono-U control decks but Rack and Ruin and Fire and Ice are two excellent cards. Actually it seems like the best thing you get from red is Red Element Blast.