but do you think this could be a decent place to start building something viable?
I almost put a Bolas in my SB, and had him and Ashiok sitting together on my final cuts list.
Initial Thoughts:
*Rework the mana. You don't need 4 Watery Grave, and only having 4 red sources (2 of which etb tapped) isn't a good setup. Scalding Tarn is an obvious swap over Bloodstained Mire. Checklands or Battlelands would be an upgrade over the Cycling Lands. You also likely want more lands if you're intent on making it to the long game and casting Bolas.
*Cut a Terminate for a Fatal Push, having another turn 1 interaction that can also kill almost everything in the format is good.
*Pact is...meh. It works best when you're winning the game that turn. If they have to spend removal to kill Bolas, you're already likely trading up between the Hymn, Mill, or blast for 7. Logic Knot and another Snappable Counterspell would likely be better. That or something like Serum Visions or Think Twice to keep playing on your opponents turn, just 4 Opt seems sub-optimal.
*Scarab God is much worse in Modern, there's plenty of wants to remove it for good, it just isn't as sticky in Modern as it is in Standard.
*Jace really is where it's at. At times he was the glue that held the deck together to make it to 7 mana between bouncing threats to buy turns, Fatesealing to ensure my opponent doesn't draw gas, it was likely the reason (along with the stall tactic of 4 Cryptic) that helped me win the games I did.
There were 48 players so that meant 6 rounds and a cut to Top 8. I was able to go 4-2 in the Swiss and sneak into Top 8 and ended up winning each of my Top 8 matches with Cruel Control.
My opponent got stuck on one land game one. Game two was able to Anger and then draw a Damnation in a key moment.
Round 2 Eldrazi & Taxes 2-0
Opponent mulled to 3 game one. Game two he flooded hard.
Round 3 Burn 2-1
Lost game one due to not having any counterspells. Game two my opponent sideboarded incorrectly and had a dead card in hand. Game three had the right mix of spells to snag the win.
Round 4 Breach Moon 1-2
Won game one. Was able to keep Blood Moon off the table. Games 2 & 3 Blood Moon resolved and I wasn't able to have a lot of basics out due to not having early fetches.
Round 5 Tron 0-2
Game one Turn 3 Karn scoop. Game two Turn 3 Wurmcoil Turn 4 Ulamog scoop.
Round 6 Jeskai Control 2-0
Game one was able to get him to tap out on a burn fight when I was low. Untapped and had Ultimatum + Counterspell. Game two he ran out of gas and was able to resolve Ultimatum again.
Top 8
Quarter Finals Bant Spirits 2-0
Opponent got stuck on one land game one. Game two was able to answer every spirit he played.
Semi Finals Tron 2-1
Same opponent from the Swiss. Knew I was probably going home. Lost a grindy Game 1. Game 2 I was able to get off a Crumble, take control of the game and resolve Ultimatum. Game 3 his lands were wonky and was able to finish him before he could get Tron going.
Finals Grixs Death Shadow 2-1
Game 1 my opponent got stuck on two lands (I think kinda ideal for GDS) but I was able to take over and win. Game 2 he had the clutch counterspells and died to a Gurmag. Game 3 he flooded a bit and was threat light. Was able to fight through disruption to win it all.
Thanks for reading!
EDIT:
Here are some thoughts about my opponents mulliganing decision since I think I might of not given enough information about my opponents losses and chalked them up to "they lost because lands".
Swiss
GW Coco: Keeps 1 landers all the time because mulling to 5 is just horrendous in that deck.
BW Eldrazi & Taxes: I definitely got lucky that match but I feel like it's a decent matchup for me anyways. He mulled to 5 Game 1 but had a SB card in and had to Mull to 4 then Mulled to 3. Game 2 he flooded.
Top 8
Bant Sprits: The guys mulled to 6 game one and had a Noble and a Land so I think it's a totally reasonable keep.
Tron: Game 3 he Mulled to 5 but still had Tron Land + Tron Land + a way to get the 3rd one, was able to interact and keep him off of the 3rd land.
Grixis Death Shadow: The dude got stuck on two lands Game 1 but I think GDS really only wants 2-3 lands anyways since all your spells are so cheap. Game 3 he interacted a decent amount but flooded near the end.
Hey, I've decided to dip my toe into the Cruel Control waters, and man is it fun. I had a quick draft of this deck last night during my local modern tournament, and went 2-2 with it (many close games). I even got to resolve Cruel Ultimatum and win from 1 life. This is the version of the deck I'm planning on playing next week.
As you can see, it moves away from card draw like Opt and Think Twice, in favor of the raw card advantage of Ancestral Vision, relying on the removal spells and counters to lengthen the game to that point. Nicol Bolas is a nice card I want to play, and a great target to buy back with Kolaghan's Command or Ultimatum. It's also a good extra win con if Ultimatum won't get there, and a 4/4 can close games fast vs non interactive decks. I'll post updates as i play and make changes. Any thoughts?
The idea of the deck isn't to use Cruel Ultimatum because the objective is to have the opponent have as little cards in hand as possible throughout the game. This is inspired by the Grixis Control decks that run Legacy. Obviously Legacy is a lot different with Force of Will, but the idea remains the same. That is why we are using Wrench Mind as a pseudo Hymn to Tourach. Yeah its worse, but most of the time its pretty close to just being a Hymn to Tourach.
That is why I want to play Nicol Bolas, the Ravager. It acts as a "early" threat and when it comes into play it makes the opponent discard a card. It also acts as a monster late game threat if we get to flip it, and should pretty much end the game it it does get flipped. This same idea can be applied to why I don't want to play Cryptic Command. I realize that its a great control card, but in my list, I don't want to wait to cast a 7cmc spell to win the game, and ideally sitting around on 4 mana to gain card advantage isn't what I want to be doing. I want to be proactive with discard rather than be reactive with counterspells.
This is why Kolaghan's Command is a 3x in this deck. With Snapcaster Mage and a bunch of discard spells, we should be easily limiting the opponent's resources. Kolaghan's Command will return Snapcaster or Nicol Bolas, both of which are great targets later in the game.
As for the mana base, its not tuned, so bear with me here. I'm very skeptical of Creeping Tar Pit and Field of Ruin in a deck where turns 1-3 are super important. The only reason to play Field of Ruin is that Celestial Colonnade is a huge threat to this deck. Because of this, we might want more than just 1 Field of Ruin. As for Creeping tar Pit, I'm not really sure I need this
As you can see, it moves away from card draw like Opt and Think Twice, in favor of the raw card advantage of Ancestral Vision, relying on the removal spells and counters to lengthen the game to that point. Nicol Bolas is a nice card I want to play, and a great target to buy back with Kolaghan's Command or Ultimatum. It's also a good extra win con if Ultimatum won't get there, and a 4/4 can close games fast vs non interactive decks. I'll post updates as i play and make changes. Any thoughts?
Ancestral Vision is just a bad card for many reasons, mainly you basically just want to cast it turn 1 or not cast it. Cantrips like Opt and Serum Visions let you run less than 25 lands to hit consistent land drops and just make the deck more consistent in general. Sadly they are no Brainstorm or Ponder like legacy, which is actually a huge deal in a deck like this. As for Nicol Bolas, as you can see, I agree that I think its really good. The ETB is huge in a deck like this, as it could easily be a 2 for 1 sometimes.
I'm not a huge fan of wrench mind. It doesn't do much against aggro decks (except burn, probably the best deck for it honestly). Most combo decks can shrug it off (if you can't stand being down 2 cards in combo, good luck fighting jund). It's okay in the grindy matchups, but both players tend to have cards that they're willing to just ditch.
Cruel control is more of a meme than a viable deck at this point. I rocked it back during jund's heyday and I'll occasionally rock it at fnm or a side event if I'm feeling saucy, but if I'm rocking grixis and intending to win I'm likely playing a list similar to the one you posted but with anglefish as my big beater. That being said, Cruel Ultimatum has won me a number of games that other cards just couldn't and it'll be a go to for fun.
Edit:
Ancestral Visions vs cantrips. Cantrips help smooth out your draws making sure you make land drops and draw gas. I view AV as more of a wincon and it should take up on of those slots if you're playing it. personally, I run AV in the sideboard of control decks with burn and bring it in for the mirror or combo decks where removal and expensive planeswalkers can be a liability. I like to start fights at the endstep with snapcasters and bolts and AV enables that.
Has anyone thought of using Ral, Izzet Viceroy in this deck? It seems like it might be our colors Teferi, but maybe there is something better/not needed.
So is torrential gearhulk not viable in our deck(s) anymore?
Edit: Also what about Hieroglyphic Illumination? maybe as a 2 of, if not we run the full set for the cycling makes it ideal it seems for us. 1 mana for a draw spell that fits into our kit.
So is torrential gearhulk not viable in our deck(s) anymore?
Edit: Also what about Hieroglyphic Illumination? maybe as a 2 of, if not we run the full set for the cycling makes it ideal it seems for us. 1 mana for a draw spell that fits into our kit.
I've found Gearhulk isn't as great as it seems. You don't really need it to win games, and even though it flashes back the spell for free, the 6 mana up front is risky. It leaves you with no mana to fight a counter battle with, whereas Snapcaster Mage is cheap enough for you to cast multiple spells if you need. There's been many times where the 2 mana on Snappy has helped win against control decks.
Hieroglyphic illumination might be worth a try, but I'd start with one first and see how it goes. I know some of the UW decks play it, but I haven't heard if it's pulling it's weight.
I still run 2 gearhulk in my main. It's come in clutch for me at times late in the game where i had more mana open to cast other spells from my hand and grab a cryptic from the graveyard or something else, but i may end up swapping them out for some other cards that I have coming in (which is Hieroglyphic Illumination, Opt, and think twice). I like the draw-go aspect of the deck but my deck was severely lacking the draw part so i have those coming in and I'll be tweaking my deck once they come in. I would love to swap out the gearhulks for a nicol bolas, the ravager but haven't come across one yet that I can trade for but hopefully soon.
Are we also still reliant on a board sweeper such as damnation or not so much anymore? I'm sure it's still good to have around but do we actually need it?
I was reading Patrick Chapin's article on Modern Jeskai today on SCG, and he brought up playing Niv-Mizzet, Parun in the sideboard of that deck, and I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were on sideboarding it in Cruel Control. I'm not sure what matches it'd be good in though. I'm thinking control mirrors, but Teferi and Jace kinda laugh at it (though those aren't solid answers, and even Pathing it isn't great). There aren't many attrition decks like Jund floating around right now, and i think that's where Niv would shine, as he'd be a great haymaker top deck. What are your opinions?
Are we also still reliant on a board sweeper such as damnation or not so much anymore? I'm sure it's still good to have around but do we actually need it?
I've found that we really do need at least one Damnation in the sideboard (i play a 3 sweeper mix of Anger, Explosives, and Damnation). It's a great reset button against the creature decks that can overwhelm the spot removal. I can't count the number of games I've come back from with a timely Damnation. It's especially great against Humans and Spirits, as their creatures can get out of range of Anger. It's even decent against Dredge, but i'd always prefer to have a Nihil Spellbomb or Tormod's Crypt in play at the same time. I've even used it to beat Slivers, since it shuts down Sedge Sliver.
With the advent of MTG Arena: Beta, I've rediscovered how enjoyable 60 card formats can be. The last time I remember playing Standard was during the Zendikar block and the last deck I remember loving was 4 Color Cruel Control. Dear Lord, how I miss devastating an opponent with a 5-1 from Cruel Ultimatum...
And it turns out that the results from the most recent SCG Modern event are in. In 3rd and 4th place, respectively, were Azorius Control decks. The addition of W to a normal Grixis mana base offers up a whole new range of interactions. I admit that the list I've been goldfishing comes from a total noob perspective, and I haven't played any Modern ever. But it seems like a good 4 CCC list could be extremely effective right now. One of the trends that leads me to say this is in evaluating the 3rd and 4th place Azorius Control lists. They don't have a ton of interaction on T1, which means that the Control elements in the deck are good enough to help the deck survive into the late game.
So, the list I think I'd like to suggest/have criticized is the following. I've been able to successfully have any colors I need on time with the goldfishing, which has been quite pleasing since this is my second (EDIT: I forgot about a Mardu Control deck I had posted months ago) Modern deck idea ever.
Detention Sphere - this card seems extremely well positioned with the rise of Arclight Phoenix. It might be better to add more copies to the deck because it can hit multiple copies of it on the critical turn and keep us alive and answers the problem forever. It can also hit opposing planeswalkers or any other problem permanent, making it a decent catch-all answer. I don't think there are any token decks that are good, currently, but it can hose those decks too. Enchantment hate is also really scarce, it seems, so it's likely that this card will be a safe tap-out when needed.
Esper Charm - probably the main reason to add W in the first place. Being able to Mind Rot combo players and Tron players seems really good, especially in combination with Nicol Bolas, the Ravager. It answers opposing Search for Azcanta and is an instant speed Divination when we need to reload. Another great Snapcaster target as well, methinks.
Anyways, it goldfishes really well, which doesn't particularly mean anything, and it draws relevant answers frequently and often. Every card feels useful, but, most importantly, I can successfully cast Cruel Ultimatum again and relive the glory days!
I'm getting into Grixis Control, adding Cruel Ultimatum to the list and it has been working very well for me. No K-Command or Damnation mainbord, I'm leaning toward more Electrolyze and some more counterspells. My sideboard is still to be shaped up. What are you guys up to ?
I've been playing the deck for some time now and have recently been tweaking it. I don't play too serious, more casual, but from time to time I go to my local shop and interact. This is my current list that I'm working with, while still looking for some final pieces to add (such as Damnation and scalding tarn.)
My sideboard is not well put together at all. It's kind of the excess cards that I have removed over the course of time and just thrown in there with the exception being Suffer the past. Since I first opened that card I've loved it as a surprise/unorthodox finisher. As far as mainboard, 24 mana isn't too rough for me but I am not crazy about thoughtseize. I would much rather have some sort of counter in there whether it be Overwhelming Denial or Condescend which is another favorite of mine. With the amount of instant draw we have now I don't think Overwhelming Denial would be so bad as a 1 or 2 of since we can hit that surge pretty easily. I see people using logic knot but I prefer Condescend. Pulling it mid to late game with a stacked up dreadship reef makes it worthwhile, but even if that's not the case, you still get to scry without sacrificing our graveyard. But that's just my preference.
My mana base is a little shaky as well. I'm missing Scalding Tarn and that's solely because of budget restraints. I've never been too big of a fan of Wandering Fumarole/Lavaclaw reaches but I don't know what I would put in their place(s).
All in all I have a ton of fun playing the deck and it doesn't do too bad for the most part. My brother in law has a R/G Tron deck and Jund deck that I play against regularly and I don't do poorly. Game 1 is always rough but games 2 and 3 I can normally pull off the upset.
Any critiques/suggestions are much appreciated. I'd love to remove the thoughtseize if at all optimal and maybe even add 1 more spell/creature and another mana, or even 2 mana to bump me up to 26. I'm just not crazy about the card, even in the early game and especially not late. Just doesn't fit my style I suppose.
Edit: I just realized that I have Kolaghan's Command that I can put in place of the 2 thoughtseize but I'm not sure how that will make my curve go/affect my mana base, but it is an option now that I have Nicol Bolas.
Creatures.Snapcaster is pretty self explanatory in this deck. Recurring Kolaghan's Command, Cryptic Command, or even the (surprisingly achievable) Cruel Ultimatum is a good late game plan, and sometimes you can just slide into the Bolt-Snap-Bolt position to close games fast. Don't be afraid to trade a Snapcaster Mage off to protect your life total, as you do want some value if you draw Kolaghan's Command. Next up is Niv-Mizzet, Parun. This is just a fun-of I wanted to test, so it's probably not correct. I've cast it 3 times, and won, lost, and drew those three games. It does put a small strain on the mana, where you need to focus on getting triple R quickly, which also can lead to issues casting certain combinations of spells. I'm going to continue playing him for a few more weeks of testing, but it may be correct to swap in a Vendilion Clique (or maybe go back to the other fun-of, Nicol Bolas, the Ravager).
Enchantments and Planeswalkers. I'm going to cover these three all at once, as they basically fill the same role in the deck: Card Advantage. Ral is even sometimes a decent removal spell. There isn't much to go over about the planeswalkers or Search that haven't already been said in articles about other decks, but in this deck, you can pretty much slam on down if you can protect it. With Jace, brainstorming is usually the way to go (though 'fateseal' first if against a Bolt deck), as you can usually win the game without his ultimate. You have enough fetchlands to shuffle away cards you don't need, and finding the spells to protect Jace and yourself is more important than trying to ult. Ral, Izzet Viceroy, on the other hand, is definitely worth trying to ultimate. Not only does it go ultimate in about half the time as Jace, but he also nets a card each time. His ultimate may not win the game as quickly as Jace, but it's a pretty negligible difference, the opponent is dead anyway. Search for Azcanta is pretty much an auto include in any blue based control deck, and I originally started with two, but I always found the second one never did anything, and I wasn't relying on the first one as much as I thought. It's good to have in the opening hand or in the first couple of turns. It's less good late, paradoxically, as you want to leave mana open for other spells, though if you can sneak it in the curve, it's basically confirmed to flip the next turn. In control mirrors especially, Search can just snowball in your favor.
Spells. The spells category is pretty self explanatory, though some of the numbers may seem a little weird. Lets break them down into the groups:
Card Draw- Opt is basically the only dedicated card draw spell on the deck. It slots into the curve pretty nice, helps filter excess lands/spells you don't need, nice and cheap to pair with Snapcaster Mage. I've tweaked the numbers a few times, first having two, then four, and now I've settled on three. I have considered cutting one for a Think Twice, to have a more pure card advantage spell, but I haven't decided yet.
Removal- No deck is good in modern without at least some removal. I've eschewed the typical suite of board wipes in favor of some spot removal. Bolt, Fatal Push, and Terminate do a good job keeping things under control, while Dreadbore and Hero's Downfall are your anti planeswalker spells. Kolaghan's Command, while not solely removal, does a very good job in many match ups. Electrolyze is probably the weakest, and I have considered cutting it, but it mostly earns it's keep. The games you get to kill two x/1s are the games you wish you had more Electrolyze. I chose 3 Lightning Bolt over 4, as the extra one is never really a game changer, and something needed to be cut for other spells. 2 Fatal Push is pretty standard nowadays, but I could drop to 1 if the meta shifted away from creatures. It has come in handy against Izzet Phoenix, as Thing tn the Ice dies to it. Terminate rounds out the typical removal slots. I used to have 3, but cut one to make room for the Dreadbore, which does mostly the same job.
Counterspells- I don't know if this deck has too few counters, or two many. It's one of those questions that everyone has different answers to. I originally had 2 Mana Leak, 2 Logic Knot, and 2 Spell Snare. I found that the only matches that counterspells really mattered in, Mana Leak and Logic Knot under performed. The opponent could easily pay for the Mana Leaks, or I didn't fill my graveyard enough to delve a lot with Knot. I decided to swap them to hard counters. Negate does a great job, and there are very few matches where it is stone dead. Counterflux is a new addition, and is pretty solid (and the overload text isn't always ignored). Cryptic Command is wonderful, and while I used to have the full set, I think 3 is the perfect number, as the curve does start to get clunky with multiple 4+ cost spells. Usually, it's a counter/draw sort of spell, but often you'll use it to tap creatures to buy a turn, and I've also used it to bounce problem stuff. It's an all around great card, and I can't see this deck without it.
Lands. Arguably the most important cards in this deck. The lands are the hardest thing to get right, as the color requirements are difficult to manage. The fetchlands are key, make sure to fetch blue lands first do you can cast Cryptic Command on time, Blood Crypt is usually the last shock you'll need/want to fetch. If you can avoid it, don't fetch-shock. If you really need to cast a spell end of turn, get a basic land, especially if under pressure. You're better off fetching the shock lands into play tapped, as I've found the life total really starts to matter. I've thought myself safe to shock for less important spells, and found myself nearly being burned out, even against control. Creeping Tar Pit is great for getting chip damage in, but I've found myself not attacking when I can, in favor of holding up counters or removal. Sulfur Falls and Drowned Catacomb are better than expected, usually coming into play untapped. I was originally playing a 1-1 split, but I added an extra Sulfur Falls to add an extra R source for Niv-Mizzet. I had considered Dragonskull Summit but the blue source is more important than another black.
Now, lets go into the sideboard guide for a minute.
Burn:
Surprisingly, I've won games with Cruel Ultimatum in this match. Collective Brutality and Kalitas are key here, and Dispel is handy to have. Take out some of the more expensive spells, don't be too adverse to using Snapcaster as Ambush Viper, and try to keep the opponent from stockpiling a grip of spells to overwhelm you with. I always take out at least one of the Ultimatums. Leaving one in is acceptable, just be cognizant of Skullcrack or having it jam up your hand.
Ironworks:
Pretty much the same sideboard plan as Tron (so I won't repeat myself), except you probably won't just get wrecked super quick. You can stunt the early development with a few well placed counterspells (I usually focus on the Wellsprings and mana and card draw artifacts). As with Tron, you will need to get aggressive. Kolagahn's Command is wonderful here.
I've seen most list not running maindeck wrath effect. I'm leaning toward having 2 Kolaghan's Command mainboard and 1 Damnation to deal with large board presence. Having Collective Brutality and Sun Droplet in the sideboard also seems essential to stay alive against Burn and aggro matchups. I'll be posting more in the next weeks.
Glad to see some discussion here again! I've been playing with Arena online so I'm becoming more and more aware of 60 card formats again, and I'm going to try and find some way to build a budget Cruel Control list.
In fact, I actually really like the new Plaza of Harmony as a replacement Reflecting Pool witha Gate themed land base for budget purposes.
Anyways, it's good to see some new testing being done. Niv-Mizzet, Parun is an absurdly strong card in the current Standard format and I've often thought about porting him over to Cruel Control. He does a great job of clearing the board of fliers and is bad news bears for any Control variants that exist. However, it just seems absurdly weak to 'Tron. Granted, Control archetypes are generally weak to 'Tron as is, but the Parun seems especially so.
Is the general strategy for this deck to simply accept the G1 loss against 'Tron and sideboard in better cards?
Anyways, it's good to see some new testing being done. Niv-Mizzet, Parun is an absurdly strong card in the current Standard format and I've often thought about porting him over to Cruel Control. He does a great job of clearing the board of fliers and is bad news bears for any Control variants that exist.
I've found Niv-Mizzet to be good, yet not terribly amazing, mostly due to the hard casting cost. I've had many games where it's been stuck in my hand, even with 7 lands or more on board, simply because I couldn't have triple red with the lands I drew. In some matchups, you take too much damage from your lands, and in others, the opponent can let you draw one card when they Path to Exile him. I've also found it's hard to leave up counterspells when you cast him, as he eats up much of your blue mana. I've moved him to the sideboard after playing a few gauntlets of assorted decks and I think that is where he will stay. I'd much rather bring him in when I expect him to be good, than have him taking up a card in my main deck, especially in fast matches. Versus control, he's been pretty good, but that's also a matchup where bringing him out of the sideboard would be better, as they'd be lower on actual removal spells.
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I almost put a Bolas in my SB, and had him and Ashiok sitting together on my final cuts list.
Initial Thoughts:
*Rework the mana. You don't need 4 Watery Grave, and only having 4 red sources (2 of which etb tapped) isn't a good setup. Scalding Tarn is an obvious swap over Bloodstained Mire. Checklands or Battlelands would be an upgrade over the Cycling Lands. You also likely want more lands if you're intent on making it to the long game and casting Bolas.
*Cut a Terminate for a Fatal Push, having another turn 1 interaction that can also kill almost everything in the format is good.
*Pact is...meh. It works best when you're winning the game that turn. If they have to spend removal to kill Bolas, you're already likely trading up between the Hymn, Mill, or blast for 7. Logic Knot and another Snappable Counterspell would likely be better. That or something like Serum Visions or Think Twice to keep playing on your opponents turn, just 4 Opt seems sub-optimal.
*Scarab God is much worse in Modern, there's plenty of wants to remove it for good, it just isn't as sticky in Modern as it is in Standard.
*Jace really is where it's at. At times he was the glue that held the deck together to make it to 7 mana between bouncing threats to buy turns, Fatesealing to ensure my opponent doesn't draw gas, it was likely the reason (along with the stall tactic of 4 Cryptic) that helped me win the games I did.
Main:
-1 Snapcaster, +1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
-1 Electrolyze, +1 Collective Brutality
-1 Logic Knot, +1 Mana Leak
Sideboard:
-1 Engineered Explosives, +1 Damnation
-1 Countersquall, +1 Counterflux
I posted my thoughts on the previous page.
I attended a Modern Invitational Qualifier that leads into an Invitational tournament for one of my local gaming stores.
https://imgur.com/a/0M6g5DG
There were 48 players so that meant 6 rounds and a cut to Top 8. I was able to go 4-2 in the Swiss and sneak into Top 8 and ended up winning each of my Top 8 matches with Cruel Control.
Here's the decklist:
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/633475#online
They did do video coverage of the event so if you wanna watch some of the games that were streamed check out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2jQILOFNWE&feature=youtu.be
In the description, they were able to put timestamps of all the matches.
SPOILERS FOR MATCH RESULTS BELOW
Swiss
Round 1 GW Coco 2-0
My opponent got stuck on one land game one. Game two was able to Anger and then draw a Damnation in a key moment.
Round 2 Eldrazi & Taxes 2-0
Opponent mulled to 3 game one. Game two he flooded hard.
Round 3 Burn 2-1
Lost game one due to not having any counterspells. Game two my opponent sideboarded incorrectly and had a dead card in hand. Game three had the right mix of spells to snag the win.
Round 4 Breach Moon 1-2
Won game one. Was able to keep Blood Moon off the table. Games 2 & 3 Blood Moon resolved and I wasn't able to have a lot of basics out due to not having early fetches.
Round 5 Tron 0-2
Game one Turn 3 Karn scoop. Game two Turn 3 Wurmcoil Turn 4 Ulamog scoop.
Round 6 Jeskai Control 2-0
Game one was able to get him to tap out on a burn fight when I was low. Untapped and had Ultimatum + Counterspell. Game two he ran out of gas and was able to resolve Ultimatum again.
Top 8
Quarter Finals Bant Spirits 2-0
Opponent got stuck on one land game one. Game two was able to answer every spirit he played.
Semi Finals Tron 2-1
Same opponent from the Swiss. Knew I was probably going home. Lost a grindy Game 1. Game 2 I was able to get off a Crumble, take control of the game and resolve Ultimatum. Game 3 his lands were wonky and was able to finish him before he could get Tron going.
Finals Grixs Death Shadow 2-1
Game 1 my opponent got stuck on two lands (I think kinda ideal for GDS) but I was able to take over and win. Game 2 he had the clutch counterspells and died to a Gurmag. Game 3 he flooded a bit and was threat light. Was able to fight through disruption to win it all.
Thanks for reading!
EDIT:
Here are some thoughts about my opponents mulliganing decision since I think I might of not given enough information about my opponents losses and chalked them up to "they lost because lands".
Swiss
GW Coco: Keeps 1 landers all the time because mulling to 5 is just horrendous in that deck.
BW Eldrazi & Taxes: I definitely got lucky that match but I feel like it's a decent matchup for me anyways. He mulled to 5 Game 1 but had a SB card in and had to Mull to 4 then Mulled to 3. Game 2 he flooded.
Top 8
Bant Sprits: The guys mulled to 6 game one and had a Noble and a Land so I think it's a totally reasonable keep.
Tron: Game 3 he Mulled to 5 but still had Tron Land + Tron Land + a way to get the 3rd one, was able to interact and keep him off of the 3rd land.
Grixis Death Shadow: The dude got stuck on two lands Game 1 but I think GDS really only wants 2-3 lands anyways since all your spells are so cheap. Game 3 he interacted a decent amount but flooded near the end.
UBRGrixis ControlUBR | URPhoenixUR | UWMiraclesUW |GBRJundGBR | UBFaeriesUB | UBWAd NauseumUBW |GBRWBlueless ShadowGBRW |
MTGA
UBRGrixis ControlUBR | UTempoU
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Enchantment
1 Search for Azcanta
Land
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Blood Crypt
2 Steam Vents
2 Watery Grave
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
2 Swamp
1 Mountain
3 Island
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Field of Ruin
2 Sulfur Falls
2 Logic Knot
2 Spell Snare
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Kolaghan's Command
4 Cryptic Command
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Electrolyze
1 Mana Leak
3 Fatal Push
1 Abrade
2 Terminate
Sorcery
3 Ancestral Vision
2 Cruel Ultimatum
2 Collective Brutality
Planeswalker
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Countersquall
1 Dispel
2 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Infernal Reckoning
3 Thoughtseize
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Damnation
1 By Force
As you can see, it moves away from card draw like Opt and Think Twice, in favor of the raw card advantage of Ancestral Vision, relying on the removal spells and counters to lengthen the game to that point. Nicol Bolas is a nice card I want to play, and a great target to buy back with Kolaghan's Command or Ultimatum. It's also a good extra win con if Ultimatum won't get there, and a 4/4 can close games fast vs non interactive decks. I'll post updates as i play and make changes. Any thoughts?
Here's a list I brewed I want your opinions on:
3 Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
4 Snapcaster Mage
Sorcery
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Wrench Mind
4 Serum Visions
3 Thoughtseize
Instant
3 Kolaghan's Command
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Logic Knot
3 Fatal Push
3 Opt
1 Countersquall
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Land
1 Steam Vents
4 Polluted Delta
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Swamp
3 Watery Grave
2 Blood Crypt
3 Bloodstained Mire
1 Field of Ruin
1 Mountain
2 Island
1 Abrade
3 Anger of the Gods
3 Collective Brutality
2 Countersquall
1 Dispel
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Consign // Oblivion
The idea of the deck isn't to use Cruel Ultimatum because the objective is to have the opponent have as little cards in hand as possible throughout the game. This is inspired by the Grixis Control decks that run Legacy. Obviously Legacy is a lot different with Force of Will, but the idea remains the same. That is why we are using Wrench Mind as a pseudo Hymn to Tourach. Yeah its worse, but most of the time its pretty close to just being a Hymn to Tourach.
That is why I want to play Nicol Bolas, the Ravager. It acts as a "early" threat and when it comes into play it makes the opponent discard a card. It also acts as a monster late game threat if we get to flip it, and should pretty much end the game it it does get flipped. This same idea can be applied to why I don't want to play Cryptic Command. I realize that its a great control card, but in my list, I don't want to wait to cast a 7cmc spell to win the game, and ideally sitting around on 4 mana to gain card advantage isn't what I want to be doing. I want to be proactive with discard rather than be reactive with counterspells.
This is why Kolaghan's Command is a 3x in this deck. With Snapcaster Mage and a bunch of discard spells, we should be easily limiting the opponent's resources. Kolaghan's Command will return Snapcaster or Nicol Bolas, both of which are great targets later in the game.
As for the mana base, its not tuned, so bear with me here. I'm very skeptical of Creeping Tar Pit and Field of Ruin in a deck where turns 1-3 are super important. The only reason to play Field of Ruin is that Celestial Colonnade is a huge threat to this deck. Because of this, we might want more than just 1 Field of Ruin. As for Creeping tar Pit, I'm not really sure I need this
URStormRU
GRTitanshift[mana]RG/mana]
Ancestral Vision is just a bad card for many reasons, mainly you basically just want to cast it turn 1 or not cast it. Cantrips like Opt and Serum Visions let you run less than 25 lands to hit consistent land drops and just make the deck more consistent in general. Sadly they are no Brainstorm or Ponder like legacy, which is actually a huge deal in a deck like this. As for Nicol Bolas, as you can see, I agree that I think its really good. The ETB is huge in a deck like this, as it could easily be a 2 for 1 sometimes.
URStormRU
GRTitanshift[mana]RG/mana]
I'm not a huge fan of wrench mind. It doesn't do much against aggro decks (except burn, probably the best deck for it honestly). Most combo decks can shrug it off (if you can't stand being down 2 cards in combo, good luck fighting jund). It's okay in the grindy matchups, but both players tend to have cards that they're willing to just ditch.
Cruel control is more of a meme than a viable deck at this point. I rocked it back during jund's heyday and I'll occasionally rock it at fnm or a side event if I'm feeling saucy, but if I'm rocking grixis and intending to win I'm likely playing a list similar to the one you posted but with anglefish as my big beater. That being said, Cruel Ultimatum has won me a number of games that other cards just couldn't and it'll be a go to for fun.
Edit:
Ancestral Visions vs cantrips. Cantrips help smooth out your draws making sure you make land drops and draw gas. I view AV as more of a wincon and it should take up on of those slots if you're playing it. personally, I run AV in the sideboard of control decks with burn and bring it in for the mirror or combo decks where removal and expensive planeswalkers can be a liability. I like to start fights at the endstep with snapcasters and bolts and AV enables that.
Edit: Also what about Hieroglyphic Illumination? maybe as a 2 of, if not we run the full set for the cycling makes it ideal it seems for us. 1 mana for a draw spell that fits into our kit.
I've found Gearhulk isn't as great as it seems. You don't really need it to win games, and even though it flashes back the spell for free, the 6 mana up front is risky. It leaves you with no mana to fight a counter battle with, whereas Snapcaster Mage is cheap enough for you to cast multiple spells if you need. There's been many times where the 2 mana on Snappy has helped win against control decks.
Hieroglyphic illumination might be worth a try, but I'd start with one first and see how it goes. I know some of the UW decks play it, but I haven't heard if it's pulling it's weight.
Are we also still reliant on a board sweeper such as damnation or not so much anymore? I'm sure it's still good to have around but do we actually need it?
I've found that we really do need at least one Damnation in the sideboard (i play a 3 sweeper mix of Anger, Explosives, and Damnation). It's a great reset button against the creature decks that can overwhelm the spot removal. I can't count the number of games I've come back from with a timely Damnation. It's especially great against Humans and Spirits, as their creatures can get out of range of Anger. It's even decent against Dredge, but i'd always prefer to have a Nihil Spellbomb or Tormod's Crypt in play at the same time. I've even used it to beat Slivers, since it shuts down Sedge Sliver.
And it turns out that the results from the most recent SCG Modern event are in. In 3rd and 4th place, respectively, were Azorius Control decks. The addition of W to a normal Grixis mana base offers up a whole new range of interactions. I admit that the list I've been goldfishing comes from a total noob perspective, and I haven't played any Modern ever. But it seems like a good 4 CCC list could be extremely effective right now. One of the trends that leads me to say this is in evaluating the 3rd and 4th place Azorius Control lists. They don't have a ton of interaction on T1, which means that the Control elements in the deck are good enough to help the deck survive into the late game.
So, the list I think I'd like to suggest/have criticized is the following. I've been able to successfully have any colors I need on time with the goldfishing, which has been quite pleasing since this is my second (EDIT: I forgot about a Mardu Control deck I had posted months ago) Modern deck idea ever.
3x Reflecting Pool
3x Vivid Creek
2x Vivid Meadow
2x Vivid Marsh
3x Scalding Tarn
2x Polluted Delta
3x Watery Grave
2x Steam Vents
3x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
1x Swamp
Instants (22)
4x Path to Exile
2x Mana Leak
2x Logic Knot
3x Cast Down
3x Electrolyze
4x Esper Charm
4x Cryptic Command
3x Supreme Verdict
2x Cruel Ultimatum
Creatures (4)
3x Snapcaster Mage
1x Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Planeswalkers (4)
3x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Enchantments (1)
1x Search for Azcanta
3x Rest in Peace
2x Ceremonious Rejection
2x Detention Sphere
2x Negate
2x Thoughtseize
2x Fatal Push
2x Anger of the Gods
Some card explanations:
Anyways, it goldfishes really well, which doesn't particularly mean anything, and it draws relevant answers frequently and often. Every card feels useful, but, most importantly, I can successfully cast Cruel Ultimatum again and relive the glory days!
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
4x Snapcaster Mage
1x Nicol Bolas, The Ravager
Planeswalker: 1
1x Jace, Unraveler of secrets
Spells: 30
4x Cryptic Command
4x Opt
4x Think Twice
3x Terminate
3x Electrolyze
3x Remand
3x Lightning Bolt
2x Countersquall
2x Thoughtseize
2x Cruel Ultimatum
4x Polluted Delta
3x Creeping tar pit
3x Drowned Catacomb
3x Island
2x Watery Grave
2x Steam Vents
2x Sulfur Falls
1x Blood Crypt
1x Sunken Ruins
1x Dreadship Reef
1x Wandering Fumarole
1x Swamp
3x Spell Snare
2x Crumble to Dust
2x Slaughter Games
2x Geth's Verdict
1x Dispel
1x Consume the Meek
1x Counterflux
1x Pithing Needle
1x Suffer the past
1x Torrential Gearhulk
My sideboard is not well put together at all. It's kind of the excess cards that I have removed over the course of time and just thrown in there with the exception being Suffer the past. Since I first opened that card I've loved it as a surprise/unorthodox finisher. As far as mainboard, 24 mana isn't too rough for me but I am not crazy about thoughtseize. I would much rather have some sort of counter in there whether it be Overwhelming Denial or Condescend which is another favorite of mine. With the amount of instant draw we have now I don't think Overwhelming Denial would be so bad as a 1 or 2 of since we can hit that surge pretty easily. I see people using logic knot but I prefer Condescend. Pulling it mid to late game with a stacked up dreadship reef makes it worthwhile, but even if that's not the case, you still get to scry without sacrificing our graveyard. But that's just my preference.
My mana base is a little shaky as well. I'm missing Scalding Tarn and that's solely because of budget restraints. I've never been too big of a fan of Wandering Fumarole/Lavaclaw reaches but I don't know what I would put in their place(s).
All in all I have a ton of fun playing the deck and it doesn't do too bad for the most part. My brother in law has a R/G Tron deck and Jund deck that I play against regularly and I don't do poorly. Game 1 is always rough but games 2 and 3 I can normally pull off the upset.
Any critiques/suggestions are much appreciated. I'd love to remove the thoughtseize if at all optimal and maybe even add 1 more spell/creature and another mana, or even 2 mana to bump me up to 26. I'm just not crazy about the card, even in the early game and especially not late. Just doesn't fit my style I suppose.
Edit: I just realized that I have Kolaghan's Command that I can put in place of the 2 thoughtseize but I'm not sure how that will make my curve go/affect my mana base, but it is an option now that I have Nicol Bolas.
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
Enchantments (1)
1 Search for Azcanta
Planeswalkers (2)
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Ral, Izzet Viceroy
Spells (26)
1 Counterflux
1 Logic Knot
2 Spell Snare
1 Hero's Downfall
2 Kolaghan's Command
1 Negate
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Electrolyze
1 Mana Leak
2 Fatal Push
3 Cryptic Command
2 Terminate
3 Opt
2 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Dreadbore
3 Island
1 Mountain
3 Swamp
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
2 Steam Vents
1 Blood Crypt
2 Watery Grave
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Drowned Catacomb
2 Sulfur Falls
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Countersquall
1 Dispel
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Jace's Defeat
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Collective Brutality
1 Damnation
Lets start from the top and work down shall we?
Creatures. Snapcaster is pretty self explanatory in this deck. Recurring Kolaghan's Command, Cryptic Command, or even the (surprisingly achievable) Cruel Ultimatum is a good late game plan, and sometimes you can just slide into the Bolt-Snap-Bolt position to close games fast. Don't be afraid to trade a Snapcaster Mage off to protect your life total, as you do want some value if you draw Kolaghan's Command. Next up is Niv-Mizzet, Parun. This is just a fun-of I wanted to test, so it's probably not correct. I've cast it 3 times, and won, lost, and drew those three games. It does put a small strain on the mana, where you need to focus on getting triple R quickly, which also can lead to issues casting certain combinations of spells. I'm going to continue playing him for a few more weeks of testing, but it may be correct to swap in a Vendilion Clique (or maybe go back to the other fun-of, Nicol Bolas, the Ravager).
Enchantments and Planeswalkers. I'm going to cover these three all at once, as they basically fill the same role in the deck: Card Advantage. Ral is even sometimes a decent removal spell. There isn't much to go over about the planeswalkers or Search that haven't already been said in articles about other decks, but in this deck, you can pretty much slam on down if you can protect it. With Jace, brainstorming is usually the way to go (though 'fateseal' first if against a Bolt deck), as you can usually win the game without his ultimate. You have enough fetchlands to shuffle away cards you don't need, and finding the spells to protect Jace and yourself is more important than trying to ult. Ral, Izzet Viceroy, on the other hand, is definitely worth trying to ultimate. Not only does it go ultimate in about half the time as Jace, but he also nets a card each time. His ultimate may not win the game as quickly as Jace, but it's a pretty negligible difference, the opponent is dead anyway.
Search for Azcanta is pretty much an auto include in any blue based control deck, and I originally started with two, but I always found the second one never did anything, and I wasn't relying on the first one as much as I thought. It's good to have in the opening hand or in the first couple of turns. It's less good late, paradoxically, as you want to leave mana open for other spells, though if you can sneak it in the curve, it's basically confirmed to flip the next turn. In control mirrors especially, Search can just snowball in your favor.
Spells. The spells category is pretty self explanatory, though some of the numbers may seem a little weird. Lets break them down into the groups:
Card Draw- Opt is basically the only dedicated card draw spell on the deck. It slots into the curve pretty nice, helps filter excess lands/spells you don't need, nice and cheap to pair with Snapcaster Mage. I've tweaked the numbers a few times, first having two, then four, and now I've settled on three. I have considered cutting one for a Think Twice, to have a more pure card advantage spell, but I haven't decided yet.
Removal- No deck is good in modern without at least some removal. I've eschewed the typical suite of board wipes in favor of some spot removal. Bolt, Fatal Push, and Terminate do a good job keeping things under control, while Dreadbore and Hero's Downfall are your anti planeswalker spells. Kolaghan's Command, while not solely removal, does a very good job in many match ups. Electrolyze is probably the weakest, and I have considered cutting it, but it mostly earns it's keep. The games you get to kill two x/1s are the games you wish you had more Electrolyze. I chose 3 Lightning Bolt over 4, as the extra one is never really a game changer, and something needed to be cut for other spells. 2 Fatal Push is pretty standard nowadays, but I could drop to 1 if the meta shifted away from creatures. It has come in handy against Izzet Phoenix, as Thing tn the Ice dies to it. Terminate rounds out the typical removal slots. I used to have 3, but cut one to make room for the Dreadbore, which does mostly the same job.
Counterspells- I don't know if this deck has too few counters, or two many. It's one of those questions that everyone has different answers to. I originally had 2 Mana Leak, 2 Logic Knot, and 2 Spell Snare. I found that the only matches that counterspells really mattered in, Mana Leak and Logic Knot under performed. The opponent could easily pay for the Mana Leaks, or I didn't fill my graveyard enough to delve a lot with Knot. I decided to swap them to hard counters. Negate does a great job, and there are very few matches where it is stone dead. Counterflux is a new addition, and is pretty solid (and the overload text isn't always ignored). Cryptic Command is wonderful, and while I used to have the full set, I think 3 is the perfect number, as the curve does start to get clunky with multiple 4+ cost spells. Usually, it's a counter/draw sort of spell, but often you'll use it to tap creatures to buy a turn, and I've also used it to bounce problem stuff. It's an all around great card, and I can't see this deck without it.
Lands. Arguably the most important cards in this deck. The lands are the hardest thing to get right, as the color requirements are difficult to manage. The fetchlands are key, make sure to fetch blue lands first do you can cast Cryptic Command on time, Blood Crypt is usually the last shock you'll need/want to fetch. If you can avoid it, don't fetch-shock. If you really need to cast a spell end of turn, get a basic land, especially if under pressure. You're better off fetching the shock lands into play tapped, as I've found the life total really starts to matter. I've thought myself safe to shock for less important spells, and found myself nearly being burned out, even against control. Creeping Tar Pit is great for getting chip damage in, but I've found myself not attacking when I can, in favor of holding up counters or removal. Sulfur Falls and Drowned Catacomb are better than expected, usually coming into play untapped. I was originally playing a 1-1 split, but I added an extra Sulfur Falls to add an extra R source for Niv-Mizzet. I had considered Dragonskull Summit but the blue source is more important than another black.
Now, lets go into the sideboard guide for a minute.
Control:
Countersquall, Dispel, Disdainful Stroke, and Jace's Defeat all come in, usually replacing various removal spells and at least one Cryptic Command (I don't like being the player with Cryptic in a counterspell war, but I like having them around). Jace's Defeat is pretty nice, as it's basically a hard counter, being able to even hit a Vendilion Clique or Snapcaster Mage. Regarding control matches, I always leave in the Dreadbore and Hero's Downfall (to kill Jace or Teferi), and at least one Fatal Push and a Terminate (Fatal Push to kill a Celestial Colonnade or Snapcaster Mage, and Terminate for any sideboarded Lyras or Baneslayers). Usually, I cut one Cruel Ultimatum, but you don't have to. it may win the game, but you really have to know where to pick your fights. In this match, I've thrown Kolaghan's Commands at the opponent to run them low on cards before picking a counter war, but depending on the opponent, that plan may not work out.
Creature based decks:
Damnation, Engineered Explosives, Kalitas, Anger of the Gods, occasionally Collective Brutality (depending on what creature's you're against). Basically, cut the counterspells and at least one Cruel Ultimatum, as most creature decks right now are running Cavern of Souls or Aether Vial, bring in things to kill dorks with. Kalitas is basically your way to victory. If you can cast a removal spell right away with him, you're in a pretty good spot.
Tron:
Bring in Ceremonious Rejection, Disdainful Stroke, and Countersquall. Hope you don't get cheesed, and get aggro with Snapcaster Mage. If you live long enough to get a Cruel Ultimatum off, you'll be in good shape, but this isn't a good match.
Burn:
Surprisingly, I've won games with Cruel Ultimatum in this match. Collective Brutality and Kalitas are key here, and Dispel is handy to have. Take out some of the more expensive spells, don't be too adverse to using Snapcaster as Ambush Viper, and try to keep the opponent from stockpiling a grip of spells to overwhelm you with. I always take out at least one of the Ultimatums. Leaving one in is acceptable, just be cognizant of Skullcrack or having it jam up your hand.
Ironworks:
Pretty much the same sideboard plan as Tron (so I won't repeat myself), except you probably won't just get wrecked super quick. You can stunt the early development with a few well placed counterspells (I usually focus on the Wellsprings and mana and card draw artifacts). As with Tron, you will need to get aggressive. Kolagahn's Command is wonderful here.
Izzet Pheonix:
Countersquall, Nihil Spellbomb, Anger of the Gods, Kalitas, Dispel, Collective Brutality. Take out a Cryptic Command, one or both Cruel Ultimatums, Dreadbore, Electrolyze, and anything else you think you can do without. Fatal Push Thing in the Ice when you can, try and hit Arclight Phoenix with Spellbomb or Anger, and Spell Snare is great at hitting Manamorphose. You can try and run them out of cards with Collective Brutality and Kolaghan's Command, but always make sure you can't get punked by a good chain of spells from their side. I've lost games to a Crackling Drake and double Lightning Bolt when I've been at a high life total.
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
In fact, I actually really like the new Plaza of Harmony as a replacement Reflecting Pool witha Gate themed land base for budget purposes.
Anyways, it's good to see some new testing being done. Niv-Mizzet, Parun is an absurdly strong card in the current Standard format and I've often thought about porting him over to Cruel Control. He does a great job of clearing the board of fliers and is bad news bears for any Control variants that exist. However, it just seems absurdly weak to 'Tron. Granted, Control archetypes are generally weak to 'Tron as is, but the Parun seems especially so.
Is the general strategy for this deck to simply accept the G1 loss against 'Tron and sideboard in better cards?
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
I've found Niv-Mizzet to be good, yet not terribly amazing, mostly due to the hard casting cost. I've had many games where it's been stuck in my hand, even with 7 lands or more on board, simply because I couldn't have triple red with the lands I drew. In some matchups, you take too much damage from your lands, and in others, the opponent can let you draw one card when they Path to Exile him. I've also found it's hard to leave up counterspells when you cast him, as he eats up much of your blue mana. I've moved him to the sideboard after playing a few gauntlets of assorted decks and I think that is where he will stay. I'd much rather bring him in when I expect him to be good, than have him taking up a card in my main deck, especially in fast matches. Versus control, he's been pretty good, but that's also a matchup where bringing him out of the sideboard would be better, as they'd be lower on actual removal spells.