BEATING CONTROL
For
many people, fighting the control match-up can be a dauntless endeavor. It can
seem like a constant up-hill battle that just gets more and more frustrating
with each passing turn. They counter everything you play, wrath away your
board, ‘Time Walk’ you with Azorius Charms, and Rev for 7.
Scoop.
It’s my most hated match-up no matter what I’m piloting, so
I’m doing my best to understand it and beat it. I get frustrated very quickly
against control and usually end up just conceding the games in the first 6 or 7
turns if it doesn't go my way.
Wrong answer.
It may seem like it’s all over when they Rev for 7, but in actuality,
there are a lot of things you can do throughout the game to keep the control
player sweating and constantly struggling to answer your threats. One of the
best bits of advice I’ve been hearing from my team lately is; “You have more
threats than they have D-Spheres”. That’s a good point. If they have already
used two Detention Spheres, you can safely assume that your chances are good
they don’t have a third.
Jam that Garruk!
Now, that’s not the only thing to think about. Of course
they have counterspells, but our current standard U/W control players usually
only run the 4 Dissolve, so it’s ok to jam your spells when you need to. They
don’t always have a counterspell. Still, you want to play around them and make
sure you’re playing the correct cards at the correct time. The most important
thing you should be asking yourself at every single turn in the game is; “What
answers are they using on my threats?” and, “What does that tell me they have
or don’t have?”
Let’s say for example you play a Polukranos, World Eater into
your 2 Burning-Tree Emissaries and a Sylvan Caryatid. This first piece of
information you can derive from the fact that it resolved is that they probably
have a Supreme Verdict. Even if they have a counterspell, they'll get much better advantage out of casting Supreme Verdict. So you pass turn, They untap, draw and cast
Detention Sphere on your poor Pokie. They used a Detention Sphere on your big
threat where they would obviously gain much better advantage by playing a Supreme
Verdict. This tells you another big piece of information about their hand. They don’t
have Supreme Verdict either. Now, you can’t just start jamming all of your
threats because they could still draw into their wrath, and they likely will
with the help of Sphinx’s Revelations and Jace, Architect of Thought, but it
lets you know that they will be frantically trying to keep up with your threats
until they see a wrath, if at all.
Focus…
Play conservatively and stay focused on their threats. Don’t
worry about their Detention Spheres, their Revs and their Supreme Verdicts. Think
about what information they’ve given you so far and play the most efficient
threat for the moment. Bait out Azorius Charms, force them to tap out on their
turns to answer your threats(D-Sphere, Jace, Verdict). They run a lot of
sorcery speed removal and you can take advantage of that. Another big bit of
information about control decks is;
They only have so many win-conditions!
Usually a single Aetherling, 2-3 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion, and
in rough circumstances, Jace, Architect of Thought can be a win condition. If
you have efficient ways to answer their win-conditions, do just that. If they
can’t win the game, then they can draw cards and verdict to their hearts
content. It’s only a matter of time! If you don’t have the best answers for their
threats, then you need to just keep applying pressure in the best way possible
and don’t give up just because it looks bad. Granted, if they jam an Elspeth
into your empty board, you might not have a great time.
So, in conclusion, the most important things to think about
during a control match-up is; Ask yourself what answers they’re using for your threats and what
that means, Don’t over commit to your board presence(play around wrath), be
patient and never give up!
The control player is playing a mental side-game outside of
the physical card game. They want you to go full tilt, they want you to get
frustrated and just scoop. Play that mental game right back! Don't show signs of doubt. Stay positive and confident. Pay attention to their facial expressions when they draw cards and when they react to your actions. Use any information you can to stay ahead of them and keep them struggling to keep up.
Hopefully this will get you guys(and me!) thinking a little outside
the box when it comes to control match-ups and start turning those dreaded
matches into favorable ones.
Until next time,
DannyO
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