Grixis Control Deck (1st Place and 7th Place Finish)

May 16, 2010

If you’re looking for a strong Standard deck that’s under the radar, you might want to consider Grixis Control. This deck has a 1st place PTQ finish.

The decklist I’ll be examining has done well in two premier tournaments on MTGO (Magic Online). The player with the user name Money got 1st place on May 11 and 7th place on May 13. He used the same deck in each tournament.

Here is his list.

Grixis Control

Creatures (10)

Spells (23)

Lands (27)

Sideboard (15)

Creatures

One of the reasons the deck is a contender is because it plays so many cards that provide card advantage.

Gatekeeper of Malakir kills a creature and beats down for two. Three copies is probably the right number because of his steep casting cost with kicker. You don’t want to draw multiples early in the game while you’re stuck on two black mana. Also, in some situations versus decks with tokens, he’s not that good.

You do want a full set of Sedraxis Specter though. Its discard ability works well with Blightning and it can quickly dominate a game if your opponent doesn’t have removal. It has unearth so even if your opponent kills it right away, you can still get card advantage. Unearth also makes Sedraxis Specter a good card to discard against opposing Blightnings. Its flying ability is very relevant with all the Wall of Omens being played.

Siege-Gang Commander is one of the best creatures in Standard. You get five power worth of guys for five mana and you have the option of sending burn to your opponent or his creatures. Siege-Gang is a little expensive in a deck with two copies of a 7-mana spell, no mana ramp, and not much card drawing. Therefore, three copies seems like a good number for the mana curve.

Check out the latest eBay auctions for the creatures. Click the following links:

Spells

This deck has many of the usual cards you see in the top decks. Lightning Bolt is as good as ever with Red Deck Wins and planeswalker decks making a comeback. Spreading Seas is great since Jund is still a popular deck. Also, the blue enchantment stops all the manlands running around.

Terminate destroys just about everything – from Goblin Guide to Baneslayer Angel. It’s especially useful against a turn two Putrid Leech since many players fear Lightning Bolt and won’t pump Leech. Countersquall helps you fight planeswalkers and other powerful non-creature spells like Devastating Summons, Mind Sludge, Blightning, Mind Spring, and Martial Coup. Also, the life loss is often relevant since you’re playing with direct damage (Bolt and Blightning) and Cruel Ultimatum. In some games, you just kill your opponent by sending Bolts to the dome.

Blightning gives you more card advantage and is helpful in taking down planeswalkers. Jace, the Mind Sculptor is pretty much a given in any blue deck. You need your own Jaces to stop other Jaces and he’s the best card drawer in Standard.

This version of Grixis Control doesn’t rely as much on Cruel Ultimatum as previous versions. Cruel Ultimatum is a powerful card but it’s gotten a little bit weaker with the popularity of Sprouting Thrinax, manlands, Spreading Seas, Goblin Ruinblaster, Martial Coup, Mind Spring, planeswalkers, and Polymorph. Also, there are a couple fast aggressive decks in the metagame and you don’t really want a seven mana spell early against those decks. Still, Cruel Ultimatum is a great topdeck late in the game so the deck has two copies.

Click the following links to check out eBay’s low prices for the spells:

Lands

Between Cruel Ultimatum, Siege-Gang Commander, six manlands, and unearth, Grixis Control needs a lot of mana to function well. Also, Jace can keep your hand full of action so you want a lot of mana to cast multiple spells in a turn.

The deck has many multicolor cards and Cruel Ultimatum and Gatekeeper of Malakir have steep color requirements. Therefore, you have to play a lot of dual lands. Fortunately, Creeping Tar Pit is a great dual land that can attack past blockers like Wall of Omens to deal damage or hurt planeswalkers. Lavaclaw Reaches is not as good but it can deal a ton of damage late in the game. Scalding Tarn combos with Jace’s first ability. If you don’t need the mana from the fetchland, wait until you cast Jace before searching up a basic land.

Save money on the lands by buying them on eBay. Click the following links:

Sideboard

Magma Spray comes in against Vampires to stop Bloodghast permanently. Also, the red instant is useful against Mono Red Aggro. Countersquall is great against decks with a lot of non-creature spells like UW Control, UWR Planeswalkers, Open the Vaults, Turbo Fog, and Polymorph.

The extra Terminate is there for creature decks like Jund, Mythic, Boss Naya, Vampires, and Allies. Consuming Vapors comes in against any creature deck without tokens. Thought Hemorrhage comes in versus combo and control. Malakir Bloodwitch is good against white non-combo decks.

Buy the sideboard cards at eBay. Click the following links for the latest auctions:

Deck Price Tag

Find out how much this deck costs.

Posted by Dee | Filed Under Standard

7 Responses to “Grixis Control Deck (1st Place and 7th Place Finish)”

Jon Watson on May 25th, 2010 4:05 pm

Good list! I Like it. I run the jar jar sphinx/turtle turtle version of grixis control but this is a very good list!
Dee on May 25th, 2010 10:46 pm

Thanks! What’s your list? I’ve heard about that version but I haven’t seen a list.
Bla on June 4th, 2010 1:35 am

Too bad soon you can get a new car for the price of 4 x Jace -.-
Jon Watson on June 28th, 2010 1:54 pm

4 calcite snapper
3 sphinx of Jwar isle
1 sorin markov
3 cruel ultimatum
4 lightning bolt
4 terminate
4 into the roil
2 negate
2 essence scatter
2 earthquake
4 treasure hunt
1 mind springs
Sideboard:
2 duress
2 deathmark
3 flashfreeze
1 negate
1 essence scatter
4 vampire nighthawk
2 malakir blook witch
Land is pretty much the same base as yours. We see lots of superfriends and jund. And I don’t have the cash 4 four sculptors lol! Email me with any idea feel free!
Dee on June 28th, 2010 8:47 pm

Jon, thanks for sharing your list. Looks solid.

Have you seen Zach Jesse’s list that got 3rd place in an MTGO PTQ? It’s pretty crazy with only 1 Cruel and 2 Jace main deck. And it had Cunning Sparkmage, Contaminated Ground, and Aether Tradewinds main deck!

Here’s the link. It’s the second deck on the page.
jon watson on July 5th, 2010 7:27 pm

Ran this list at my last fnm and placed 3rd. Its good! I’m generally a solid control/no guy deck builder, but this list cremated most. I’m testing some blue whit control builds now.
Dee on July 11th, 2010 8:47 pm

Congrats!