Control Slaver...a new idea

[sean1i0]

I was taking a look at my Slaver deck the other day and decided to see what I could do with it.  The first thing I tried was to convert into a Goth Slaver build.  After doing that, however, I started to get an idea about the whole thing.  This is the build I currently am running.

2 Mindslaver
1 Pentavus
1 Platinum Angel
4 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Blood Moon
4 Ophidian
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Mana Leak
1 Counterspell
1 Prohibit
4 Goblin Welder
4 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
6 Island
4 Volcanic Island
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker

SB:
4 Phyrexian Furnace
4 Control Magic
4 Stifle
3 Red Elemental Blast

I don't think the theory of this deck is to mystic to anyone, but just to cover all angles I'll go through my thoughts on it.  I carry a total of 14 counterspells in the deck, a number equaled only by Mono Blue Control, so that I can throw up a counter wall long enough to do one of a few things.  Of course, the best case scenario is that the thing I do is activate a Mindslaver.  Just in case this is not so, however, I have 3 Blood Moons in the maindeck to use the same theory that some other Control Slaver Builds use and that Mono Blue uses:  If I can deny them sufficient mana, then my job of countering their spells obviously becomes much easier.  It's virtual card advantage.  The Ophidians are in the deck for the same reason that they're in Mono Blue:  Given a situation in which a player has an extended amount of time and an obnoxious amount of counter magic to work with, Ophidian is an amazing powerful card drawer.  Now, obviously there are other things I can do such as start beating down with a Pentavus and just keep coutnering until they die or do the same with Platinum Angel if necessity calls for it.  I thought for some time, after putting this together, why I should play this instead of Mono Blue Control if the two were so similar.  What I quickly put together, a rather obvious thought really, is that a Mindslaver is a much more effective kill than even the mighty Morphling will ever be.  Depending on the match-up, even a Platinum Angel or a Pentavus can be a better play than the Superman of Magic.  As for the sideboard, this is the theory behind it:  4 Phyrexian Furnaces should be enough to deal with graveyard based decks, including opposing Welder decks, 4 Control Magics can either be used to steal an Oathed up creature or a Welder, Stifle trumps every combo deck I can think of, 4 thus seeming appropriate, and just in case I run up against a deck with more counter magic than I have, 3 Red Elemental Blasts should fix things.  Anyway, I would like to hear what everyone thinks about it and would be glad to take any suggestions.  Thanks.

[Toad]

CTRL+F "Brainstorm"

"The text you entered was not found"

[doylehancock]

no brainstorm.

Why are you running so much counters (which are blue) with 3 blood moons?  Does that counterdict? 

What about oath, why run ophidian?

I am glad you are trying new things in such a great deck but I just think that there has to be changes.  Drop some of the couters, add brainstorms, and drop the phids

[jazzykat]

Don't bother with counterspell and prohibit.

MD Bloodmoons are a metagame call

Everyone else said it but it is important enough to say again. Put in 4 Brainstorms!!!!!

[Zeus]

I don't think this mix of Control Slaver and Mono U is as good as one of the original builds.

With the lack of Powder Kegs or any other Removal/bounce, there is no way in the MD to deal with Welders, Lackeys or what ever else may come in the early turns.

Against fast combo decks Chalice of the Void or Arcane Laboratory might be better than Stifle.

And I don't think this deck draws and tutors enough Cards to run Welders. 4TfK are to less to make sure you get the Platinum on the table against FCG or other fast Aggrodecks.

I don't know how your meta looks like, but for me it would be too risky running this Deck that only seems to do well in the Control matchup.

What about Mystical? What about Intuition?

-4 Ophidian

+ 2 Intuition
+ Mystical Tutor
+ Lava dart/Triskelion (?)

Or 2 Deep Analysis instead of Mystical and Dart.

Something like that.
Maybe cutting a Fetchland for Strip Mine.

[crazynlazy]

All of these idea's are good ones and will make the deck better but if he makes the changes it will be the exact same CS as everyone else plays so it will be like: "CS new ideas (rich shay's build inside)." People keep trying to make CS better but as if it's not already awesome as it is. I don't see much point in improving CS it is just too good already to be making it better. I'm not saying innovation is bad but how about innovating a deck that is more new thus having more room to get better. But keep innovating just with different decks.

[warble]

So Placebo blue goes and hits on this Control Slaver chick.  They hit it off, get married, and journey on their honeymoon to the non-basic land.  While there, a bunch of Ophidians hassle them so they attempt to brainstorm for a solution which leaks right through their fingers.  With no solution, the Control Slaver chick runs away with gifts from her tutor, and Placebo blue says, "screw the Ophidians and screw the non-basic land.  I'm going back to basics."

Yeah that's what I feel like when reading your decklist.  Very confused, and wanting to go back to my basics.

Just for the record, that is the worst metaphor I've ever come up with.  Goodness, someone smack me I'm freaking out working a whole 8 hours a day like normal people.

[sean1i0]

Yes, I thought about brainstorm when I put it together.  I eventually decided to leave it out on the theory that Stephen Menendian left them out of Mono-Blue and it worked fine.  Yes, the Blood Moon's are definitely a meta-game call.  Also, the reason I had decided on the singleton counterspell and prohibit was the same reason Mono-Blue did.  All of that was said as a way of letting you know that I did think about it, but was trying to innovate instead of just copy something that's been done before.  However, after reading some of the insights that were posted it might indeed be true that the only way to run Slaver decks is how Rich Shay and Team Meandeck have shown us.  If this is so, then I'm greatly saddened.  Maybe, if we continue to play around with other things though, we could come up with something different.  Powder Kegs would definitely be a nice addition if I could figure out what to take out of the deck to make room for them.  I say we continue to brainstorm (no pun intended) different ways to make a new slaver deck.  And thank you to everyone who posted insights into the deck.

[M.Solymossy]

I'm  just going to throw up some of MY ideas here:


- 3 Blood Moon
- 4 Ophidian
- 4 Mana Leak
- 1 Counterspell
- 1 Prohibit

+ GOOD CARDS

and for the sideboard

- 2 Phyrexian Furnace
- 4 Control Magic
- 2 Stifle

+ good cards that ARNT overkilled REDICULOUS numbers of stifle or furnace.

[rakso]

This build is really close to Rich Shay's original build, the one he was running before the German's build - originally named Enslaver by its creator, Kim Kluck - got popularized in the United States. You can probably find the discussions on the old TheManaDrain temporary boards.

Time has shown us the German build is the superior one.

You're probably referring to this old decklist. Oddly enough, ELD tested out phids in the deck at one point too, I believe this past February or so.
-Jacob

[ProZachar]

Yes, I thought about brainstorm when I put it together.  I eventually decided to leave it out on the theory that Stephen Menendian left them out of Mono-Blue and it worked fine. 

IIRC, the reason Brainstorms were absent in Mono-Blue was so that you could play Chalice for 1 and not kick yourself in the balls.  You don't seem to run Chalice, so that reasoning for not running Brainstorm doesn't apply.