2 color control (uw)

[merfolkOTPT]

I have been looking at the BBS and other MUC decks from "pseudo"-recent type 1 times and i feel like they may be focusing on the wrong things. I played mono blue for a long time simply because i had the cards but i noticed some trends. 
First, oath always beat me which seems silly.  Then you look at the deck list, wow they are running the same basic counters as you and have a better win condition. You generally have few early outs against there win condition and so it isn't really that surprising that they beat you. 
Second, as was mentioned in another discussion, B2B isn't the house it once was.  One of the problems I have had with this deck is that my win conditions take a long time to show up and the old solution was a playset of manlands, but B2B makes them "not quite"(read terrible) as good. 
Third, MUC can hang with a lot of tier one decks by having smart play, you have to know the must counters and things you can let go.
Fourth, Control Slaver and most other decks that run Joblin Welder are hell. 

With all these things in mind and especially thinking about how many problems MUC players have with creatures in this creatures in this "creature-less" vintage environment made me think about useful splashes and losing B2B in favor of lock components. This is for a powered non proxy environment and i have no power but the changes could be easily made IMO to more extensive resources on the part of the player.

The Deck(2 Color Control)
Control
4x Force Of Will
4x Mana Leak ( These were originally counterspell but having one wasteland down early was common so...)
3x Annul (having more answers to Oath and shoring up stax match never bad)
4x Chalice of the Void ( so much better then just set at zero against enemy moxen)
2x Null Rod
4x Swords to Plowshares ( discussed previously)
4x Meddling mage (actually unsure about this slot though it shores up matchups especially against combo)
1x Disenchant
1x Balance (very unsure about this slot/considering making this a mystical tutor)
1x Echoing truth
Draw
4x Brainstorm
4x Ophidian
Kill
2x Morphling (much maligned but still a pretty good finisher and not running moxen precludes DSC)
Mana
4x Faerie Conclave (probably should be Mishra's Factory)
4x Flooded Strand
4x Tundra
4x Wasteland
4x Island
2x Plains

SB
i considered completely converting the deck to Fish for the SB but currently i am unsure what to run at the moment so any suggestions would be great, i am also considering the 3-c or 4-c way but it seems like 2 may be enough, thanks for any suggestions.

[+t]

Is there a reason Strip Mine is missing?  Tinker?  Darksteel Colossus?  Sol Ring?

You need to be running Mystical Tutor.  You should not be questioning the inclusion of Balance.

I'll just go ahead and assume that Drain and Recall are missing for budget reasons.

I don't like Truth here.  A resolves Chalice for 2 really sucks for you.  I'd stick with Rushing River.  It takes two permanents out and dodges Chalice@2 like a charm.

Have you honestly played any games with Chalice?  Granted, you aren't going to be playing any Chalices for 1 turn 1, but Chalice for 1 is the most common number to set Chalice to.  You're shutting down key cards such as Brainstorm, Swords to Plowshares and Annul.  Terrible.  Chalice is at best a sb card for this deck.

Conclaves should NOT be run.  These should be islands.

Also, I've reported this post.  I think it probably belongs in casual.

[Null Rob]

This deck REALLY, REALLY wants Mana Drains.  You don't want to be tapping out to cast an Ophidian on turn 3...Draining a spell on turn 2 lets you cast Ophidian on turn 3 and still have UU or 1U available to cast another Drain or Mana Leak.  If you don't have them/can't proxy them (I know you mentioned it was a no-proxy meta) I would suggest just playing UW Fish.  However, I've always been a huge fan of Blue-based "underpowered" control decks, and they seem to be the only decks I can get consistent good results with.  I do like your idea, and I have a few comments that I think could improve the deck significantly.  If you do want to stick with a more controllish build, as opposed to UW Fish, here's where I would go with it:

1)  Morphling needs to go.  Desperately.  Without Drains you have absolutely no way to accelerate her into play...and as a control deck you NEVER want to be tapping down 5 lands on your mainphase to play anything.  4 Ophidians and 4 Mishra's Factories (and yes you are correct that the Conclaves should become Factories) should provide an ample enough clock with all the control elements you have.  And now you get 2 more slots for utility cards.

2)  Meddling Mage belongs in more of a Fish-style UW deck.  Don't get me wrong, he's awesome, but again, you don't want to be tapping down on your mainphase.  4 Ophidians are already a bit of a stretch without Mana Drains, but they're necessary to the deck.  Mages, on the other hand, are not necessary, so I would cut them. 

3)  For the most part, the manabase looks pretty solid.  However, I think 2 basic Plains and 4 Tundra are overkill, especially if you cut the Mages.  I would add a Sol Ring to get to 23 mana sources (it makes Phid way easier to cast, and lets you keep counter mana up after playing it), and swap one Plains and one Tundra for 2x Polluted Delta.  This way, you have more shuffle effects for your Brainstorms, which can function as a decent draw engine.  And you can still find your white mana when you need it.  Also, there is absolutely no reason to be running 4 Wastelands and 0 Strip Mine.  I would add the Strip Mine as a 24th "mana source," but it should really be considered a utility slot, because you don't ever want to be playing it on turn 1 (unless you're on the draw and your opponent plays a turn 1 Bazaar or Workshop).

4)  I would recommend cutting the Chalices and going up to 4 Null Rods, but without Drain, Null Rod is just another spell you don't want to play on your mainphase.  So instead, I would recommend losing the 2 Null Rods.  Chalice does come down for free, after all.  Plus, with all the utility room you have available, you can find other spells that can cover most of the things Null Rod did, and that also have other applications.

5)  So, here are the changes we have so far:
-2 Morphling
-4 Meddling Mage
-2 Null Rod
-1 Plains
-1 Tundra
+2 Polluted Delta
+1 Strip Mine
+1 Sol Ring

So we've got 6 more slots to get some additional utility cards into your build.  Here's what I would recommend:
+3 Stifle: I think Stifle is SO underplayed in decks like this.  It has so many incredible uses that I just can't justify not running it in this deck when you have the room.  Stifling a Mindslaver activation, a Welder activation, an opposing Wasteland, or even the trigger on your opponent's Drain mana can set them back a turn and really mess with their long-term gameplan.  Not to mention, you're running 4 Chalice of the Void, 4 Wasteland, and 1 Strip Mine, so Stifling opponent's fetchlands can help with your mana denial plan.
+1 Mystical Tutor: DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, CUT BALANCE.  After taking this deck to a tournament or 2, I bet that not only will you be glad you didn't cut Balance, but you'll find that Balance, more than anything else in the deck, is what you're looking for with the Mystical Tutor.
+1 Disenchant, +1 Echoing Truth: These are both very good additions to the utility section of your deck, and will further help you improve your Oath matchup, which is starting to look pretty darn good, at least on paper.

[Null Rob]

Yeah so I kinda missed that post there.  Oh well.  Anyways, I don't think that Tinker/DSC is the best idea in this deck.  He's not running Moxen, and there's really no need for another kill condition anyways.  Which brings me to the next point, that the manlands are a good idea, it's just that Factories are vastly superior to Conclaves.  No B2B means that running manlands are a fine idea as a win condition. 

Chalice for 1 isn't the most common number to set it to in this deck.  As a budget player, you need a way to compete against Moxen and Lotus, and dropping Chalice for 0 on the play is a much better solution than Null Rod, because you don't want to be tapping down to cast it. 

I completely agree with your comments about Sol Ring, Strip Mine, and Mystical Tutor.  Also, I play in New England, so there's a decent chance that I've never even seen a Chalice set at 2 before, because Workshops in New England are basically nonexistent.  It's a good observation, and I'd probably take +t's advice and throw a pair of Rushing Rivers into the deck, maybe in place of the second Truth and second Disenchant.

Sorry for the double post.

[merfolkOTPT]

Strip mine was just a dumb mistake, i have been playing legacy to much lately.  I was thinking of this deck along the lines of the Landstill decks in legacy but with less creature control because you don't need the board sweepers.  As far as tinker DSC i don't have moxen and i can't proxy them so it feels like  wasted slots to me.  I was questioning the use of Balance because i was worried about its use vs stax and oath.  My meta is mostly taken up by these two decks and Balance is not so good vs them as it doesn't hit artifacts and when oath's creatures are out you want to be STPing them.  I will keep it in for utility, however, as i haven't played against much variance yet so i don't know the other matchups well. 
As far as the changes you recommend, the Factories are already in i just didn't have them on me when i threw this together.
I am taking your advice mutually and switching as follows
-2 Morphling
-4 meddling mage
-2 Null Rod
+1 strip mine
+1 Sol Ring
+3 Stifle
+1 Mystical
+1 Rushing River
I think a second disenchant may be better served by something else and you may be noticing my not taking out the Tundra and plains, i was thinking could kjeldoran outpost be a good addition, it makes you have more attack doesn't take away mana during the main phase and doesn't really hurt the deck though you are losing a land drop vs Stax i feel like the total permananet count is more important and this could help.

THings i also wanted to consider were flat out adding in Standstills in place of ophidians as the draw engine, i know this is more landstill/fish "esque" but is it a better way to go?

[Harlequin]

I have 2 suggestions:
#1 you seem to have cut your primary "win" when you cut morphling.  You might consider a more mana friendly creature like an exaulted angel or 2.  Esp if your adding the sol ring.  Most decks cannot race and angel.  it nets an 8 life differance every attack.
#2 If you deside to run the standstill, you might want to re-adjust your counter magic base slightly.  You'll definatly want at least 2 misdirrections, and posibly 2 to 3 dazes.  The idea being your turn 2 or 3 standstills will be much better.  because a good player will brake it the first turn its inplay.  That way you wont have open mana when it pops.  If you run the "free" counterspells then you can catch them more off guard, and ulimately be happier with your standsills.  If you stick to standstill aslo definatly include strip mine in addition to your wastes and manlands.  Personally i think the phids are good.  Land still is just a different deck.

[merfolkOTPT]

1)  Morphling needs to go.  Desperately.  Without Drains you have absolutely no way to accelerate her into play...and as a control deck you NEVER want to be tapping down 5 lands on your mainphase to play anything.

This is a true statement.  The Factories are more then enough.  Further stripmine is already in i just forgot.  I feel as though misdirection isn't as good in this format as a lot of other things.  What am i going to misdirect besides recall and counters which people don't play once the standstill is on the board 'til after it gets cracked, cause i need to play a spell first.  I might run daze but i will have to test it. Why should i ever be tapped down completely going into my opponents turn even when playing landstill. 

In conclusion no main MisD, test Daze, make a board.

[Harlequin]

The reason behind misdirrection is really two fold.  If you have standstill as your primary draw engine your going to want to use it early and often.  that means on turn 3 you'd still have to tap down to 1 open mana.  If you are planing on waiting to play stand still on tunr 5 or later.. its worthless to you.  You will need to tap down to play standstill if you want to it be effective.  So that being said, standstill gives your opponent a slight advantage in play choice.  Even under say a 6 turn clock bc of mishra's factory, your opp will wait a few turns and build a good hand (meaning it will be ripe with counterspells) before they break the standstill.  This is good for you bc you will have a few open mana (because remember in order to have a "clock" you need to attack each turn with your mishras and thats 2 lands for 2 dmg).  so right there you can say.. reliable have 1 counterspell (say mana leak with 2 open lands) under standstill.  Because a good opponent will anticipate at least 1 counterspell when breaking the standstill, they won't do so until they are packing a multiple threat hand, or a hand with at least 1 counterspell.  So the stand still breaks, at this point (lets say you have 5 lands in play and have been attacking with mishra each turn so you have 3 untapped lands) you have one mana leak and drawing another mana leak or counterspell (the UU card) will not help you at all bc you dont have the mana to play it.  haveing a deck full with 6 free counter-war winners will make standstill actually worth playing.  you leak, they counter, you MD.  Ultimately standstill is not a "draw engine" bc good players know when and how to break it in thier favor.  example, you have 6 cards in hand and at EOT i play mystical tutor breaking standsitll... now you have to discard 2 cards OR frivously use a force of will + blue card to counter the mystical and avoid the discard. 

I would say stick to the phids, and if that doesnt cut it for you, you might try adding some other card advantage cards like AK + intution, Deep analysis, or Fact or fiction (all are signifigantly less awsoem without mox and drains). 
If your really not fealing phids...Even something like brainstorm + more fetches and tutors (like enlightend + some good targets like Seal of cleaning and tormods crypt on the main)... this could give you the draw a control deck ought to have.
If you still dont like phids because your in the aggro matchup you might try more swords to plow.