Mono Blue Control

So this mono blue deck plays a lot like a control deck whereas the original mono blue deck played a lot like an aggro deck that curved out beautifully. Traditionally, I will always say “Don’t force an archetype.” And I've been dying for a mono color list to really come together. That said, I've been really torn on whether trying to rationalize a mono blue deck was something that was doable or if I was simply stuck in a phase of hopeful wishing. So I have been toying around with Mono Blue for about two weeks now.  With my two daytime jobs, I haven't had time to hit my LGS for tournament play as much as I would like. And I've been studying for Limited than I have been for Standard. The beta version of this deck was very aggressive and relied on evasion. The problem being it was simply too slow in terms of getting a good amount of damage through, and there wasn't enough tempo cards to answer all the big nasties that put you on a fast clock. So here, we rely on stalling the board state, tons of card advantage and a bunch of cards that can blow the opponent out. So let’s take a look at my list:

Creatures: 13

2 Dakra Mystic

2 Jeskai Windscout

1 Thassa, God of the Sea

1 Illusory Angel

4 Master of Waves

2 Prognostic  Sphinx

1 Pearl Lake Ancient

Spells: 23

1 Thassa’s Ire

4 Singing Bellstrike

2 Turn to Frog

1 Bident of Thassa

3 Encrust

4 Dissolve

2 Crippling Chill

4 Dig Through Time

1 Set Adrift

1 Curse of the Swine

 Lands: 24

2 Temple of Deceit

1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

21 Island

Sideboard: 15

1 Swan Song

1 Curse of the Swine

2 Nullify

1 Icy Blast

2 Disdainful Stroke

4 Negate

1 Mercurial Pretender

2 Quickling

1 Prognostic Sphinx

Stalling the Board State:

Thassa’s Ire is a card that was really popular for Limited players but it never really saw any Standard play. I like it because it only costs 1 to play and it’s an enchantment.  I only run 1 of it because I don’t want to get stuck with more than 1 in my hand, and it can be a mid to late game card. I also like it for the fact that I don’t have to tap it to activate its ability. In the late game, I can easily sink my mana into it during their turn and get more value out of Singing Bell Strike and Encrust.

Singing Bell Strike and Encrust. Some people might thinking Singing Bell Strike is only good for Limited. I really like it though because it’s cheap to play, and it forces my opponent to use up their mana. Some might argue that it’s weak because all they have to do is pay the 6 at the end of my turn to untap it. Which is true, however, the by leaving that much mana open by the end of their turn, or even using all 6 during their turn to get an attack in, it makes their lines of plays much more predictable, and I can formulate my  lines of play much more methodically.  Encrust is great in this deck because it adds 2 to my devotion and while it’s not as good as Claustrophobia,I have some mechanisms that can help me tap their creatures down.

Curse of the Swine was some questionable deck tech I threw in. I have 1 in my mainboard and 1 in my sideboard. I play it similarly to how I would have played Rapid Hybridization, its biggest flaw being that it is cast at Sorcery speed. Still, it gives me a couple of cool options. I don’t mind using it to get rid of big threats and giving them 2/2 Green creatures. When you think about some of the best threat creatures in the format right now, like Brimaz, Mantis Rider, Siege Rhino, Butcher of the Horde, etc., the idea of giving them some 2/2’s in exchange isn’t so bad. In tight spot, I can sink my mana into it after Combat, and exile my own tapped creatures AND their creatures at the same time, so I now have blockers and have basically proposed trading 2/2 creatures if they attack next turn. As one other note, if people are playing Mistcutter Hydra, especially after Game 1, Curse of the Swine provides blockers for me.

Card Advantage:

My deck tech here is Dakra Mystic. I’ve been trying to find a home for it since its release in Journey Into Nyx and everyone called me crazy. But I think it may finally have a home. Dakra Mystic reveals both my top card and their card. Again with Singing Bell Strike on the battlefield, I’ll be able to evaluate the value of their top card a little bit more versus mine. Even setting aside the Singing Bell Strike if it’s not on the battlefield, I don’t mind making the tough decision A.) Because the cards that I’ll be revealing typically provide card advantage or are well-timed bombs. And B.) Filter unneeded cards from my library while still giving me more Delve fodder.

Crippling Chill, Thassa, Prognostic Sphinx, Bident of Thassa, and Dig Through Time all play their predictable roles in this deck as well.

The Bombs:

Master of Waves is pretty self-explanatory. Unlike the original Mono Blue list, I don’t have the same consistent beautiful curve that it has. We have a lot of control permanents that sit on the battlefield for Mono Blue. Also, with the amount of control that we have in the deck, it's not unreasonable to have multiple Master of Waves in hand, or to hold off on casting Master of Waves until we can afford both it and a Dissolve if they try to get rid of it. Most of the time, I think we just cast it and see what happens in Game 1.

Pearl Lake Ancient is a card that I have liked a lot because it has Flash and it’s cannot be countered. And sure, if my opponent tries to threaten Pearl Lake Ancient, I can bounce it back to my hand. Even if that’s a possibility, it works great with Singing Bell Strike because I’ll be able to read my opponent’s line of play if something like that is viable for them.

Like any mono color deck, this deck’s mana makes it easier to perform consistently. Last night, I actually considered the possibility of splashing black. The idea of having access to Polluted Delta, Thoughtseize and possibly Hero’s Downfall was appealing. But I don’t think it’s necessary. The deck as it is right now has enough answers that as a new deck currently wouldn't be as predictable. Adding the presence of black to the deck would make it much more viable for my opponent to play around certain cards whereas, I would prefer to baffle my opponent while there is no demand for a mono blue list.