UB Steel

[Bongo]

While not as splashy as Blightsteel Colossus, I think that Steel Sabotage is the key that might revitalize the classic UB control archetype. As Brassman pointed out in his article, Sabotage allows you to have a versatile answer to Shops without dipping into another color. If you can do as much with fewer colors, then that is the better option in my opinion. There are just so many hidden benefits of playing fewer colors regardless of format. I love doing something in fewer colors than what other people want to do in more.

UB Steel

1 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Tendrils of Agony

1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Tinker
1 Gifts Ungiven

4 Dark Confidant
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
2 Jace, The Mindsculptor

4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
2 Steel Sabotage
2 Thoughtseize
1 Hurkyl’s Recall

1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt

4 Polluted Delta
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Flooded Strand
3 Underground Sea
2 Island
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Swamp
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Library of Alexandria

SB:
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Extirpate
1 Pithing Needle
2 Steel Sabotage
2 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Doom Blade
2 Duress

The list is pretty straightforward. VaultKey, Tendrils and TinkerBot are still the best win conditions in the format and having a solid two-color shell around them is a tremendous boon. Battlesphere was chosen over BSC because in the matchups where I want to win via Tinker (Fish and Shops), Battlesphere is the best robot for the job. Being easily hardcast with Drain mana and having synergy with Academy is a nice bonus.

On the play, a first turn Sabotage that transitions into a second turn Drain is a good start to combat shops (in addition to something like first turn Confidant). Even though Steel Sabotage improves the Shop matchup, I still think it's unfavorable pre-board (especially on the draw). However, Sabotage allows us to more consistently stop the broken starts of the Shop player, which gives you more time to set up a Hurkyl's Recall. Though my sideboard is still under construction, I think that more Sabotages & Hurkyls/Rebuild is a good way to combat Shops without dipping into another color. I also like that Sabotage is pretty versatile and can be used to increase the Storm count for Tendrils, cycle in conjunction with Top or save a combo piece from destruction. If people switch to BSC as the default Tinker target, it increases the power of Sabotage even more.

The rest of the sideboard is built with other control, Fish and Dredge in mind. I guess I'm slightly unfavored against Gush and Oath, but with 4 Duress effects, 8 counters and an Extirpate postboard, I should have a chance. I haven't tested against Fish, but I think with Sabotage acting as a foil to Null Rod and Doom Blades & Needle coming in, it shouldn't be too bad.

I'd be glad to hear your opinions.

[Troy_Costisick]

Steel Sabotage is nice, I guess, but it is dead in so many cases.  Against Drain decks, it doesn't really help- especially if they're playing Inky.  It does nothing in the Oath matchup.  It's exactly the wrong card to play against Storm decks.  It means nothing to Fish.  Dredge totally laughs off the card.  To me, it looks so much more like a sideboard option instead of a main deck option.

[Bongo]

Isn't your benchmark a little too high? Especially in control with a multitude of answers, there are bound to be cards that suck in some matchups. You try to mitigate this by drawing and filtering. While true that Sabotage is suboptimal against Drains, Combo and Oath, you can still counter a Lotus, Moxen, Top, hard-cast Jar or VaultKey. Even in the worst-case scenario, you can use it to up the storm count for Tendrils or pitch it to Force.
I have to disagree with Fish though, the ability to handle Null Rod is relevant. Without a Rod on the board, I feel that UB has a major advantage. The usage of Inkwell has declined sharply, so I think that point is not really relevant. Besides, if they play Inkwell, you can simply bounce it with Hurkyls. I agree with Dredge, but then again, Dredge laughs off half of the deck..

I might be influenced by my view of the current metagame, but I see Shops as the clear deck to beat. As such, I feel it is necessary to include cards in the maindeck to fight it, preferrably cards that aren't completely dead in other matchups. Steel Sabotage fits the bill for me. I tried stuff like 3 Hurkyls main, but it didn't work out often enough. The ability to start countering on the first turn is really really important. Besides, they were even "more dead" against the other matchups.

[Tobi]

I agree with Bongo, and I like Steel Sabotage for being kind of a hate card against shops while not being useless against other decks. It is also worth to mention that with Top Steel can be cycled away.

[Cyberpunker]

With all the available options, why would you pick Steel Sabotage over Thoughtseize or Spell Pierce (More Thoughtseize though lately).
My personal benchmark is high too because there are just other options that answer more things. Bounce is important, but why not just counter/discard their Tinker/threat? Jace himself is already bounce too, not to mention you are running maindeck Hurkyl's Recall.

[Bongo]

I run Thoughtseize too, so Steel Sabotage is more "in addition" than "over" Seize. Spell Pierce has disappointed lately, so I cut it. Pierce is a good card, but I think it's better suited to Oath or Fish.

Jace is pretty hard to resolve against Shops, and a single Hurkyl's Recall is not enough in my experience. Discard has also been suboptimal, which is why I've chosen to go for the 2/2 split of Sabotage/Seize at the moment.

[trikky]

Seems like every other drain/tendrills deck out there with 2 Steel Sabotage tossed in.

Steel sabatoge is better than annul but just barely or maybe not at all?

My 2 cents worth.

[Bongo]

Yes, it is. As long as Shops are good, I feel that Drain Tendrils is a better approach than anything Ritual-based. Drain is also quite good against Gush. In my limited experience, Sabotage has been better than Annul, as it is not dead after the opponent has played some artifacts. The only relevant targets Annul can hit are Oath of Druids, Fastbond, Necropotence and Bargain. While all of those are dangerous, I feel that they are not common enough to justify Annul. With 4 Duress effects and 8 counters postboard, you should be able to fight these enchantments.

[heiner]

I would say Steel Sabotage rather competes with the 1/2 Chain of Vapor/Hurkyl slots than with thoughtseize/spell pierce.