When we last left, we had listed the control decks in Legacy, with the word control apparently hotly debated. I had lumped the mid-range decks in with the control decks. While I will concede that they are certainly not control in the purest sense of the word, they do fit better in that category than they would in aggro. Fortunately for us, Extended doesn't have the same issue. The only Extended deck to really be considered mid-range is Jund, which I believe I listed in with aggro. That being said, control decks are slightly awkward in Extended.

Extended control decks are a weird amalgamation of control and combo/aggro. Many of the pure control decks really do not evoke the memories of control from eras past. Simply put, most decks in Extended do not have a high-enough threat density for control to be concerned about packing in a high number of counterspells. We pick up a dearth of good counters with the extra sets, and so I fully expect a few of these decks to get a little more aggressive with their counter package.

One of the most common archetypes for control has always been Blue/White. Extended Blue/White has taken a fairly odd look as of late. Here we have a prototype for the deck as played in GP: Atlanta:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

2 Sun Titan

3 Baneslayer Angel

3 Vendilion Clique

3 Kitchen Finks

3 Wall of Omens

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

4 Mana Leak

3 Oblivion Ring

4 Cryptic Command

3 Path to Exile

3 Day of Judgment

[/Spells]

[Lands]

4 Island

5 Plains

3 Glacial Fortress

4 Tectonic Edge

4 Celestial Colonnade

2 Mystic Gate

2 Marsh Flats

2 Misty Rainforest

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

1 Path to Exile

1 Jace Beleren

3 Wispmare

2 Negate

1 Ratchet Bomb

3 Runed Halo

1 Kitchen Finks

1 Day of Judgment

2 Spell Pierce

[/Sideboard]

[/cardlist]

Only eight counters! This clearly is not our parents' control deck. There are a few things that go without saying. First off, Day of Judgment is strictly upgraded by Wrath of God. Next, we would probably upgrade Mana Leak with either Counterspell itself or Rune Snag. Depending on the metagame, I would not be surprised to see Daze or Spell Snare show up as well. The sideboard choices obviously get more robust. Gainsay is a possible choice, as is Time Stop, if necessary. If big creature and trap decks end up becoming a problem, we have Bribery as punishment, and of course Telemin Performance for pure combo lists.

A mainstay in Extended and a former contender in Standard five-color control, or the infamous 5CC, has what it takes to be a top-tier control deck in Throwback. This deck is actually a little odd. Most of the card choices are suited to the current metagame, but I honestly have trouble thinking of different things to put in their place. Another successful list from Atlanta, we have:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

1 Mulldrifter

2 Wall of Reverence

2 Wurmcoil Engine

4 Reflecting Pool

3 Mystic Gate

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

1 Path to Exile

2 Hallowed Burial

4 Cryptic Command

4 Mana Leak

2 Cruel Ultimatum

3 Volcanic Fallout

3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

2 Lightning Bolt

4 Esper Charm

[/Spells]

[Lands]

3 Plumeveil

2 Vivid Meadow

4 Vivid Creek

3 Vivid Marsh

2 Cascade Bluffs

3 Island

2 Sunken Ruins

2 Creeping Tar Pit

2 Vivid Crag

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

2 Obstinate Baloth

3 Thoughtseize

4 Great Sable Stag

3 Vendilion Clique

1 Negate

2 Runed Halo

[/Sideboard]

[/cardlist]

Again, we could upgrade the counter suite to be something more akin to Rune Snags. Depending on how big aggro ends up being, the Volcanic Fallouts might not be necessary, but this really is a very tuned deck for the metagame. The mana base is actually quite fine the way it is; there's no good reason to tool around with the filters and Vivids until something problematic arises. Five-color control is in a very odd place. We could make sweeping changes, and the mana base supports them all. Once the metagame has had a chance to develop, we can revisit 5CC and look into something new.

So, this brings us to the control deck that is sort of the elephant in the room: Faeries. If you're unfamiliar with Faeries, it runs essentially an enchantment and some lands and fifty-six instants. Bitterblossom is silly card advantage, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor sometimes makes an appearance. The lists for Faeries can vary wildly, with Frank Karsten providing the precedence that sometimes mathematically precise one- and two-of spells are the correct call. Here is a list that I favor:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

4 Mistbind Clique

4 Scion of Oona

4 Spellstutter Sprite

1 Vendilion Clique

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

2 Peppersmoke

4 Cryptic Command

3 Thoughtseize

4 Bitterblossom

2 Inquisition of Kozilek

1 Grasp of Darkness

2 Mana Leak

2 Agony Warp

2 Disfigure

[/Spells]

[Lands]

3 Swamp

3 Island

4 Secluded Glen

4 Mutavault

4 Darkslick Shores

1 Tectonic Edge

3 Creeping Tar Pit

3 Sunken Ruins

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

2 Flashfreeze

1 Countersquall

1 Glen Elendra Archmage

1 Jace Beleren

2 Peppersmoke

1 Sower of Temptation

1 Thoughtseize

2 Consume the Meek

1 Wurmcoil Engine

1 Wall of Tanglecord

2 Spell Pierce

[/Sideboard]

[/cardlist]

Countersquall seems like it will be replaced with some quickness. Vedalken Shackles also pretty much immediately enters the deck, probably in place of Agony Warp or Grasp of Darkness. I feel that this will also let us drop suboptimal sideboard cards like Wall of Tanglecord. Another mainstay of the deck in the past was Ancestral Vision, which may have been replaced by Jace, but could still return to provide excellent card advantage.

Control decks in Extended are certainly a little less robust than they are in Legacy. That being said, it would not surprise me to see an old favorite return. In this particular instance, I'm considering Psychatog. "Dr. Teeth," as he was affectionately referred to, was once the most dominant card in multiple formats, and I think he would certainly be a force in this one as well. Gush is legal, and that's been known to fuel many a 'tog attack. Similarly, we have both the Cunning and Burning 'tog variants available. There is even a card comparable to Berserk, Fatal Frenzy, to make the Vintage gro-a-tog deck viable. Here is an example of a classic 'tog list:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

4 Psychatog

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Accumulated Knowledge

4 Brainstorm

4 Counterspell

3 Cunning Wish

1 Deep Analysis

3 Fact or Fiction

2 Intuition

3 Mana Leak

4 Smother

1 Thwart

3 Duress

1 Upheaval

[/Spells]

[Lands]

12 Island

4 Underground River

4 Polluted Delta

3 Swamp

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

2 Annul

1 Capsize

1 Corpse Dance

2 Deep Analysis

1 Diabolic Edict

1 Fact or Fiction

1 Mana Short

4 Powder Keg

1 Shadow Rift

1 Vampiric Tutor

[/Sideboard]

[/cardlist]

This is an old list that Eugene Harvey played in a masters tournament in Yokohama. Apparently, back in those days, we did not know how good Daze really was. Additionally, the mana base gets very consistent and we lose all of the nonbasic land hate that was rampant in Extended. Intuition is a rough loss, but more than made up for by whichever wish package we incorporate. It's also important to note that Ratchet Bomb is a functional replacement of Powder Keg, so we still have plenty of access to colorless removal. Stay tuned, as I plan on making this my pet deck for the control archetypes. (It's much more fun to brew something new!) Join me next week when we discuss my personal favorite, combo!