My go-to strategy in any new Standard format is Blue-White control. In a world full of aggro and midrange decks, I want to be playing better card drawing and sweepers. Unfortunately, we’re a long way away from the days of Snapcaster Mage and Day of Judgment, but Kaladesh has brought all manner of exciting cards like Gearhulks and Fumigate that may bring this classic archetype back into the spotlight. Plus, I’ve always had a hard time turning away from Landsellicious brews:

Blue-White Control - Kaladesh Standard | Chris Lansdell

• Creatures (6)
• 4 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
• 2 Sphinx of the Final Word

• Planeswalkers (5)
• 3 Dovin Baan
• 2 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets

• Spells (25)
• 4 Anticipate
• 3 Horribly Awry
• 3 Revolutionary Rebuff
• 3 Stasis Snare
• 2 Blessed Alliance
• 2 Fumigate
• 2 Negate
• 2 Scatter to the Winds
• 2 Summary Dismissal
• 1 Planar Outburst
• 1 Quarantine Field

• Lands (26)
• 8 Island
• 5 Plains
• 4 Port Town
• 4 Prairie Stream
• 3 Meandering River
• 2 Blighted Cataract

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The exciting pickups here are Cataclysmic Gearhulk and Fumigate. Cataclysmic Gearhulk is a great way to catch up on a board where you’re behind. Sure, your opponent gets to keep their best creature, but how likely is that creature to be better than a ?? Even if it is better, you’ve got plenty of spot removal to clean up whatever’s left over. In addition to that, Fumigate may just be the best five-mana sweeper we’ve seen to date. If you’re behind on board and looking for a sweeper, killing three or four creatures and gaining some life back is exactly what you want to do. The downside is that the mere presence of this card in the format is an enormous disincentive to play token decks and other aggressive decks that try to go wide with lots of creatures.

In addition to those two cards, Blue-White gets some exciting early interaction in the form of Revolutionary Rebuff. The addition of a two-mana counterspell that’s not Negate or Essence Scatter is absolutely huge, and helps to ensure that you don’t fall too far behind in the early game. Given that your sweepers are five mana and not four, that extra early interaction is absolutely critical.

Speaking of enabling sweepers, Dovin Baan is a subtle inclusion that makes a bigger impact than he first appears. At first glance, he may just seem like a pseudo Kiss of the Amesha that you get in pieces over a couple of turns. In this style of deck, that effect alone is plenty good enough. The real power here is that Dovin Baan turns off cards like Selfless Spirit and Duskwatch Recruiter. The ability to shut down Selfless Spirit in particular is important if you’re planning on resolving a card like Fumigate against various GWx midrange or aggro decks.

All in all, I’m not sold on the exact mix of spells and win conditions. Sphinx of the Final Word in particular seems like an ambitious card to be playing in an open format. However, I’m more than convinced that this style of deck is at least reasonable heading into this new format, and that makes me incredibly excited to find out what control decks look like in the new format.