Uh Oh! The big demon is back! But this time, rather than firing massive Sphinx's realising what they want for dinner (Sphinx revelation... boom boom) they are using a more midrange approach to controlling the board.
I certainly believed control was dead but Wizards seemed to not like that the usually most expensive archetype in standard was dead... I wonder why! However, it really does add a new dimension to the meta game, because it won't be some fringe and usually terrible control deck, you're facing down 8-10 counterspells before sideboarding and each one of those has your most important threat's name on it. Moreover, with Silumgar, The Drifting Death and the plethora of spot removal, it is more difficult to go under... although not impossible.
So in this article, we are going to go through some counter- control (as in beating control not countering) and how control can avoid losing to the strategies I talk about, its worth reading both whatever deck you play, because information is so important in countering your opponents counter-counter tactics... lots of countering...
THE AGGRO PLAYER: Well lets face it, this is a damn good match up for you. I'm gonna go ahead and assume you're playing Atarka Sligh or RDW because they are simply the best options right now for the aggressive mage (you warriors players take note!!!) So you want to deal as much damage quickly, without revealing yourself to blow outs and then finish with burn, simple enough so far. However, there is a mechanic that really helps you, Dash, so you start dodging their non-spot removal and board wipes. You should definitely be running Zurgo Bellstriker and Goblin Heel-cutter because from experience, they are so horrible and perfect against control. Don't over commit to the board when you don't need to, force them to answer your board before you fire off your burn spell, game 1 you spam that board full of goblins (3 at a time, don't open yourself to a Bile Blight blow out) and then in game 2 you put in as much burn as you can, because their slower counterspells and the like have now been removed for cards like Drown in Sorrow, which you can now fight around with dash and burn. Also expect to throw away a few cards, make sure they perceive the card you want to sacrifice to the inevitable counter spell or kill spell by attempting to force damage with it, especially if its slightly larger but doesn't need to be there for you to win. Just force as much damage through and then burn them out, simples.
THE MIDRANGE PLAYER: Again, lets face it, this is not a good match up for you, they have counterspells and that is a nightmare to your beloved siege rhinos or Butcher of the Horde. Midrange vs Control becomes a war of attrition, especially with control's reliance on dragons, however you have access to walkers like Sorin, which is quicker and doesn't get next leveled by either Silumgars (Looking at you Elspeth) but can ruin their dragon plan and also rip a counterspell or downfall which is pretty good, however he also slips under the net a lot of the time because they aren't considering how much of a thorn in the side he can be. Just remember, if you play Sorin on a clear board, tick up! You need to be able to either out draw your opponent or drop so many threats they eventually run out of answers, this can be incredibly tough and be prepared to fight to play creatures by throwing other creatures under the counter spell bus, sorry this can't be more detailed, but I'm having trouble solving this problem myself!
THE CONTROL PLAYER: Well apart from cursing me for showing people how to beat you, you need to know the mirror match! Rule number 1 is never ever to tap out, try and draw more cards than your opponent and when you land a threat, you defend it!! Watch out for random damage, because that can swiftly add up to 20! Post board you want to be bringing in something to give you an extra angle of attack, Soul Fire Grand Master for example where you can have extra counters with the buy back and also an early attacker which they will have removed easily game one, but they won't have that much removal game 2!
Above all, all players need to be speedy at the start and then be patient, you need to wait until their shields go down before you resolve your game changer, for example I was playing mono red against Jeskai Control, he was on 4 and I ripped the Stoke the flames, I left it for 4 turns waiting for him to mess up, when he did I stoked him for the game... that was a game I shouldn't have won, but did!
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Above all... keeeeeeeep Brainstorming