Building Blocks: Blue-Black Control in Theros Block Constructed

Lee pilots a blue-black control list that went 4-0 in a Theros Block Constructed DE twice, but he can’t quite figure out why it’s good. Find out whether it can kick ass in a DE for Lee, too!





Lee McLeod
@leemcleo on Twitter
Gard on MTGO

 
  1. I think without Garys and your only lifegain being cure in the bored you cant afford read the bones at all. I would definitely swap to divination. it does what you need.

  2. I piloted this in TP for awhile before some of the major heads ran it. My build didn’t run ashiok in the main, you just cant afford it vs any deck with stormbreath or any sort of aggro. IF the meta is control, ashiok is obviously fine but i feel like if i have ashiok in at all in the main, im destined to run into every aggro deck out there.

    Baleful eidelon is a house. It’s like sedge scorpion, but in black. I would cut any phalanxes for 4x baleful in a heartbeat. Going aggressive on the discarding is awesome vs RG/RWB variants, i would almost always recommend 4x thoughtseize and 4x disciples.

  3. What size / resolution is your monitor? I think the MTGO freak out has something to do with that. I’ve seen it in tons of videos, but it’s never happened to me. I use a 15″ Mac laptop running Windows 7, I don’t remember what resolution I have it set at off hand… probably somewhere around 1400 pixels horizontal.

  4. The deck looks interestng, but I agree it isn’t good enough. There are just too little good interactive spells that cost 2 and even at 3, nor is there a revelation type cards that allows you to swing around a game in which you gradually give away card advantage and life.

    However, honestly, you made a couple of mistakes I couldn’t help but noticing, potentially costing you the games in the first two matches. I definetly think you could have won those. In general you are to liberal with your life total and your loyalty and play around things you cannot play around without giving too much ground. To not just randomly hate, here are the examples:
    G1G1 you killed the rider after taking 3 “playing around” god’s willing. Apparently it is that much beter to take a certain 3 damage instead of a possible 4. At 5 the last attack would not have killed you.
    G1G3: “I don’t think he has battle wise valor, but just in case he does”. Had you countered there, you would have had the hero (1), would not have to kill your ashiok for a chump blocker (2) and he would not have his soldier (3)… You would have been winning instead of bearly hanging in thanks to a lucky topdeck.
    Later that same game, you do not counter a pegasus to play around god’s willing, which he probably would have used already some time ago and you could not beat with your hand next turn anyway (if he gods willinged and you voyage end, he could just replay the soldier and have lethal on the board again with the pegasus in play), while not having a good answer to the pegasus either…
    M2G2: you have an ashiok at 7, 5 lands, 4 untapped, a downfall and a dissolve, he has an ember swallower, did not play a 5th land and attacked with the swallower. You let it hit your ashiok, which is your first in the sequence of mistakes, since killing it would save it damage, making it harder to deal with and you could potentially ride it to victory, either by getting a creature or getting rid of his hand. At the very least it would buy you more time. I guess you could debate this stating the threat of a dragon or elspeth or something, but not really. You were not winning on the board.
    The second mistake is much more puzzling. He plays a second swallower which you do not counter, but downfall afther letting it resolve for no reason at all. Not only did you not scry, you also used the card that can deal with resolved threats instead of the one you need to keep mana open for…

    I don’t think playing differently would make the deck suddenly top tier or anything, but you might have been able to eek out a couple more games or match.

    Anyway, appreciate the content, sorry the deck didn’t work out. Maybe once the next set comes out.

  5. Prognostic Sphinx instead of Omen Speaker? Blocks every flier in the set and Scry 3 every turn you need to is pretty amazing. Ive been tinkering with a similar build using mostly the sphinx and hythonia with returned phalanx to kill weenie and stall midrange….along with my favorite blue spell curse of the swine. Big nasty just hit he board you cant handle? Pork it! 3 mans to turn near any threat into a bear? Deal. 1 manaextra for each creature beyond that? And those little pigges gonna die to my phalanx…or when the gorgon goes Nova.