B/W Control has become the new pet deck of Internet sites across the globe. A lot of work has gone into this deck, from pros like Kibler to unknowns like me. The problem is, most of the builds I see are quite similar in card and deck structure. The sideboards seem unspecified, and most of the main deck seems like no-brainer choices than actual ideas for the metagame. The version of this deck I have built attempts to counteract this stagnation in the community for this possibly Tier 1 deck. I have spent days upon days refining everything down to the absolute best version I could conceive, and despite the odd-looking deck, it is very potent and deserves a second look. Without further ado...

Piano Man.dec
Mirrodin Standard B/W Control

3 Exalted Angel
3 Eternal Dragon
3 Twisted Abomination
3 Damping Matrix
4 Akroma's Vengeance
3 Wrath of God
3 Decree of Justice
3 Persecute
3 Promise of Power
3 Smother
3 Terror
1 Decree of Pain
9 Plains
9 Swamp
3 Grand Coliseum
4 Temple of The False God

Sideboard:
2 Silver Knight
3 Sacred Ground
3 Ivory Mask
2 Worship
1 Withered Wretch
2 Cabal Interrogator
2 Story Circle

Now for a bit of card analysis. I won't bother with the obvious choices, but I'll rather devote time to cards that aren't in every build, or cards that I think are stronger that most people give them credit for.

Twisted Abomination
A lot of people scoff at this choice, since the deck has no way to recur it. But who cares? You have enough recurring threats as it is, and it is amazingly versatile. It gets land early - which is very good for the Promise of Power and Persecute - and if you draw them late, they are a fat beater that doesn't go down easy. It also lives through Akroma's Vengeance, but that's just gravy.

Exalted Angel
A lot of builds have dropped the old girl because of the big target painted on her. But she still draws threats away from your dome, as well as blocking, sailing over, and gaining life all the time. The life gain is a huge deal, and can usually stall Goblins enough to let you sweep and gain control. Very powerful, and is of the utmost importance in aggro matchups.

Damping Matrix
This card is the real gem of the deck. I have yet to see a Tier One (or even Tier 2) deck that this doesn't wound substantially. MBC can't use Oblivion Stone. Goblins can't throw men at you with Siege-Gang Commander. White Weenie can't equip their cats. And it hurts nothing in this deck. It's nutty how good this thing is, and it has to be dealt with quickly if your opponent wants to win.

Persecute
The main theme of this deck is card advantage: Almost every card in it nets two-to-one or three-to-one advantage, and sometimes more. Massive card advantage is the key to how this deck performs, and that is why I feel that Persecute is the best choice along those lines. I wish I could effectively run Mind Sludge, but it will never hit for as much as you want it to. Also, this is very effective against MBC, as it is a turn faster (barring any acceleration).

Promise of Power
This card is a house, plain and simple. If you're holding back threats, it can be a 6/6 flier on turn 5. You can recover from a Mind Sludge with ease. Or you can go for broke in the late game and make a 9/9 fattie that won't die to Terror. This card isn't"win more," it's just"win."

Decree of Pain
I like it as a one-slot mise because of the way it can wreck an end-step Decree of Justice or a Patriarch's Bidding. If you ever hard-cast it (which is so rare it shouldn't even be discussed), the game is essentially over from there. Board sweeper effects plus four or five cards all rolled into one is never a bad thing.

And in the sideboard...

Sacred Ground
In case you haven't heard, Kai just wrote a large article on Land Destruction... Which means that a large portion of the metagame will, like sheep, shift to Kai's whim. He may not even play it, but the fact that he suggested its potency is enough for players all over to grasp on to it. Expect massive showings at States. Sacred Ground is the only defense we have against it, and sometimes it may just be a speed bump. This deck flat out loses to LD, so this is the best insurance we can afford.

Worship
This card has never been mentioned in BW, and I don't really see why. We don't run many creatures, but we have plenty of recurring creatures and/or token generators, so the requirement for the effect is pretty easy to oblige. It makes Goblins cringe more than anything, and I find it very useful. Just be prepared with Decree of Justice and an Eternal Dragon to keep yourself afloat.

Notable Absences

Renewed Faith
The Damping Matrices filled the slots for these. I always thought they were marginal filler in the deck; the life gain was never substantial enough, and I'd rather be Smothering or Terroring a creature on turn 2 than this. Damping Matrix slows the game down much better than Renewed Faith, so Faith gets the boot.

Culling Scales
This card has received a lot of buzz as of late, yet I can't see why. Sure, it's a renewable Smother that can possibly net big gains, but it's much too slow to really be anything more than a one-turn nuisance. Any player worth his salt will simply wait a turn, then let the Scale kill itself and continue hitting you in the face. If the deck had more cards to sacrifice to keep the Scales in play I would consider it, but in this iteration, at least, it gets dropped.

Phyrexian Arena
Don't get me wrong; Phyrexian Arena is good. Very good. But it has to be in the right deck, and I just don't think that this one is it. MBC can abuse this much more as it has a slower opening, but we need to be able to kill everything that hits the table on turns 2, 3, and 4, so I really don't think it's a viable engine for cards. Promise of Power nets the gains much better, with five cards on turn 5 rather than turn 8. It's powerful - just out of place.

Wing Shards
I have never liked this card outside of block. Sure it can punish the occasional nuts Goblin draw, but the chances of that appearing on a regular basis are so low that this card doesn't merit much consideration. Double white open on turn 3 is hard enough, and it really isn't what it used to be. Terror keeps removal at instant speed while being much easier to cast.

Undead Gladiator
In MBC, this card is like Compulsion was in Wake or 'Tog. But in this deck, we do not have the abundant mana to break the card enough to warrant slots. The recurring threat part is okay, but Eternal Dragon serves that purpose better.

Phew... I think that's enough analysis for today on the card side of things. Now let's see how those cards fare against the other decks in the format. I am using the traditional gauntlet here of Goblin Bidding, Goblin Sligh, UW Control, White Weenie, MBC, and Land Destruction. I've also included the mirror, but that's just in case everyone reads this and rushes out to States with it, thus securing my status as a Magic deck building legend (Yeah, right).

Matchup #1: Goblin Bidding- Pre-Board 40%, Post-Board 65-70%
This is, in my opinion, the most stressful of all the matchups in the gauntlet. The Goblin player has an aggro start, then an aggro mid-game, then follows up with an aggro finish. You have to stay on your toes here. Leave mana open for Terror and Smother as much as possible, even if you aren't holding the cards. The key is making them slow down to the point where you can hold control of the game. Damping Matrix makes sure they have to attack with those red men, rather than just throw them at you. Use this to your advantage; keep opening hands with spot removal, a Damping Matrix, or a Decree of Justice. All of those cards will help immensely with the game.

After boarding, the Worship will help slow them down even more and maintain your position (provided you have some kind of creature backup). The Silver Knights, while more fragile than they used to be, are still ridiculously good here. As before, keep removal handy at all times and be very careful with your life total. Graveyard math every turn is recommended.

Sideboard:
+3 Silver Knight, +2 Scrabbling Claws, +2 Worship
-2 Persecute, -1 Promise of Power, -2 Akroma's Vengeance, -2 Eternal Dragon

Matchup #2: Goblin Sligh- Pre-Board 50-55%, Post-Board 50-55%
This match is like watching the last one on fast-forward. The Sligh builds on Goblins, with more burn and even faster starts, threaten to end your fun in a hurry. Be prepared with lost of removal early. Getting in damage early on is negligible; the key is to make them run out of gas and hurt them late. After boarding, you whole goal is to simply survive the rush again. Silver Knights shine again, as does Story Circle. Keep in mind that every version of this deck (that I've seen) can kill you by turn 3, so be prepared with removal early. An Exalted Angel helps a bit, as the life gain can staunch the bleeding to keep you alive to see the end.

Sideboard:
+3 Silver Knight, +2 Story Circle
-1 Promise of Power, -1 Persecute, -3 Damping Matrix

Matchup #3: UW Control- Pre-Board 65-70% Post Board 75%
UW Control was a house in block. Standard, however, is a whole new neighborhood. There are a lot of cards that are dead in this matchup on both sides of the table (mass removal), so try and get an opening hand with persecute. The counter base from Blue will give you fits, but it's nothing really to be worried about. Continuously recur Eternal Dragon, and while it may take four hours, you will win. Watch out for Stifle when playing Decree of Justice, or at least expect it. Decree of Pain shines after the U/W player cycles for thirty soldiers. It's a long game, but it's not too hard.

Sideboard:
+1 Withered Wretch, +2 Story Circle, +2 Cabal Interrogator
-2 Wrath of God, -1 Akroma's Vengeance, -2 Damping Matrix

Matchup #4: White Weenie- Pre-Board 75% Post-Board 85%
White Weenie, while moderately popular, should not be Tier One. It is capable of some broken starts and excruciatingly powerful men out within the first few turns. But that doesn't mean it should be Tier 1. You can Terror or Smother just about every man in their deck, and Wrath mops up everything else. Damping Matrix means that they can't equip creatures, which is huge as well. They will occasionally steal a game from you, but expect the win more often than not in this one.

Sideboard:
+2 Story Circle, +2 Worship
-1 Wrath of God, -1 Persecute, -1 Promise of Power, -1 Exalted Angel

Matchup #5: MBC- Pre Board 35-40% Post Board 55%
This is another big matchup for you. MBC will be out in force this year, and there are several of their threats you can't deal with as readily as you'd like. Grid Monitor can't be Terrored or Smothered, forcing you to Wrath as soon as you can. Persecute is huge here, as it is faster than Mind Sludge. Turns 4 and 5 are the turning point of this matchup; if you persecute before they Mind Sludge, you basically win.

The Damping Matrix is mainly here because of this deck; they can't use Oblivion Stone, which gives them an awful short list of answers to anything but creatures. After boarding, the Ivory Mask means that they can't cast Consume Spirit on you. With this and Damping Matrix, they basically have no way to win past Visara the Dreadful, Grid Monitor, and the Demon tokens. Don't keep mass removal hands, but always keep one with Persecute in it.

Sideboard:
+2 Story Circle, +3 Ivory Mask, +2 Cabal Interrogator
-3 Wrath of God, -3 Terror, -1 Exalted Angel

Matchup #6: Land Destruction- Pre Board 20%, Post-Board 35%
This is where the deck falls apart. It is much too mana-intensive to live through repeated mana denial for very long. If you can get to enough mana to lay a threat (Exalted Angel or Persecute) you might have a chance, but this is most often just a loss for you. The Sacred Grounds help after sideboarding, but if they run the R/G version with Naturalize (the superior build in my opinion) it will matter little. All it will do is buy you a turn or two, and most of the time that's not enough. Just accept that this is going to hurt a lot, and move on.

Sideboard:
+2 Silver Knight, +3 Sacred Ground
-3 Damping Matrix, -2 Temple of the False God

Matchup #7: The Mirror- Pre-Board 50% Post-Board 50%
This match is just a test of skill. The better player will most often win the match. It also comes down to who can board more effectively. There isn't a whole lot to say, really. Just kill their threats before they just you and wait for it to become a race of recurring Eternal Dragons.

Sideboard:
+2 Cabal Interrogator, +1 Withered Wretch, +2 Story Circle
-3 Damping Matrix, +2 Akroma's Vengeance

So there you have it; everything you need to know about B/W Control for States. I wish everyone the best of luck with this deck, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. If you have questions, comments, or blatant criticism, you can reach me at youngmecca@cs.com. Good luck all, and happy playing!

Kyle Eck