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Editor: Dan Turner. Wednesday 23 June 2004.
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 Seriously Fun Decks - T2 Monoblue Everyone remembers the first time they played control. You would look your opponent straight in the eye and whenever he/she casts a spell you would pause momentarily before declaring "Nope" or "Resolves". It can be extremely frustrating knowing your opponent dictates your every move: Player A : Cast Disciple of the Vault Player B : Nope . . Mana Leak Player A : Cast Orni Player B : Resolves Player A : Set a land Player B : Resolves Player A : Shut up! Of course setting a land resolves! Player B : Calm down . . . Player A : I had enough of this "resolves" or "countered" on everything I do! Player B : It's just a game. Calm down. Player A : You do not rule my life damn it. Player A : You're not my father!!! Player B : What the . . . [Brawl ensures and Player B moves onto the next round due to a DQ] Perhaps this is not the scenario that happens but against blue control players I know every opponent is thinking of the above scenario. [Note : I am not advocating violence but there have been "incidents" playing Stasis or counter decks] The pure counter deck was prevalent towards the time of Tempest with : 0 Round Counter : Force of Will 1 Round Counter : Force Spike 2 Round Counter : Counterspell Throw in a few Dismiss and it was extremely easy to have a 16 counter deck that would stop every single key spell before riding their Stalking Stones to victory. Stalking Stones as you could have mana open to counter (activating it @ the end of their turn) and you can't counter a land. Fast forward to today . . . What can we do with a monoblue build? To create a playable deck, 4 components of blue must be exploited namely : 1.Counter It was a very sad day when Memory Lapse and Counterspell no longer became T2 legal. Although they're gone, the ranks are filled with Mana Leaks. 2.Bounce Echoing Truth was the stand out card from Darksteel and a lot of fun. Bounce those multiple Myr Enforcers back to their hands. 3.Draw Serum Visions is the perfect addition. It replaces itself and scryes. Rest of the cards are standard T2 draws. 4.Control Shackles! Lots of fun to be had grabbing their creatures.
Before you criticize this decklist, please note this is a just a "seriously fun" decklist. It's main aim isn't to be Tier 1 but to introduce those who have never tried a mono-blue control deck to try one. If you are really after a nasty mono-blue control I suggest you look up the Keeper Type 1 decklist. How to play this deck? Slowly, very slowly. The trick is not to counter everything. Knowledge of your opponent's deck is very important as well as to identify "key" spells. Stopping those key spells will disrupt and hopefully play into your game. Even the Hoverguard Sweeper has a bounce element to it. Creatures can be handled very well with 7 different bounce spells and the shackles are the closest thing to Control Magic. Scry is the new Fifth Dawn mechanic which is very useful as a filter. With Serum Visions and Condescend you can send unwanted lands down to the bottom will drawing your stops. Eyes of the Watcher when it gets active late game will let you scry with almost all your spells. When you scry be aggressive, pick up the counters and your stops. Always leave mana open.... Always leave mana open.... Did I mention leaving mana open? Bluffing is a key part of this deck. Even if you don't have a counter in hand you have to give the illusion that you do. Your opponent might play around the fact and that could easily lead to a play mistake where you can capitalise. Always keep a poker face and keep your opponent guessing. Stalking stones fit in well . . activate at the end of their turn for very slow beats. And more importantly you can leave your mana open.Whilst this deck is not Tier1 and not Tier2 it is certainly a lot of fun to play. Although there may not be a resurgence in mono-blue, counters are one of the more interesting part of the MtG scape. Counter decks do take a while to learn to play but there's nothing quite so satisfying as denying their win condition. Except perhaps a mirror match . . . Player A : Land, go. Player B : Land, go. Player A : Land, go. Player B : Land, go. Player A : Cast . . Player B : Counter. Player A : OK. Player A : Land, go. Player B : Land, go. Player A : Land, go. Player B : Land, go. Player A : Land, go. Player B : Cast . . Player A : Counter. Player A : OK. Player A : Land, go. Player B : Land, go. Player A : Land, go. Player B : Land, go. Until next time may all your spells resolve. |
