thedixman2000

Deckbuilding By Dix - Color Coordination - Blue

Welcome back to Color Coordination, a series of articles discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each color. This installment deals with Blue.

Blue, unlike white, is not known for its creatures at all. Blue is best known for its Instants, and it has more of them than any other color. Blue is generally considered to be the color of control, which basically means that rather than doing something to your opponent, it controls what they can do to you. The most common form of control is counterspelling. There are few methods of threat killing more effective than simply never allowing your opponent to play a card.

Blue is also the color of deception and surprise. To explain that, consider two of the oldest cards in the game: Flight and Jump. Now, at a glance, Jump is a strictly inferior card. For the same price as Flight, it gives the same ability, but only for 1 turn. So, why would these two cards be out together at the same time? The answer, of course, is surprise. Jump lets you use an attacker or blocker in a way that your opponent didn't expect.

Another fearsome Blue tactic is the process known as decking, which is making your opponent run out of cards, and therefore lose the game. This can be done through discards or draw/discards, such as Wistful Thinking. More common, however, is the process of milling, named for the classic Millstone.

Last, and possibly least, of Blue's major tactics involves their creatures. Which is not to say that they can't be effective in their sneaky way. Blue creatures tend towards evasion, meaning that they are difficult to block for some reason. The most common form of evasion is flying, which Blue has in abundance, along with Shadow and the rare and feared "unblockable".

Now, because Blue is so complicated, I couldn't think of one deck that would effectively demonstrate the concepts that I've talked about. So, I've made two example decks for you at no extra charge. The first one is a control/mill deck:

24 Islands
_____

4 Cathartic Adept
4 Sage Owl
4 Scrivener
2 psychic membrane
1 Thieving Magpie
1 Arcanis the Omnipotent
_____

4 Cancel
4 Logic Knot
4 Remove Soul
4 Force Spike
4 Boomerang

The key to this deck is patience. You have to remain calm and stick to the plan. The idea is to counter your opponent's major moves and bleed them dry with your Cathartic Adepts. The trick is that although they only cost 1 mana, you don't want to play them until you're SURE you can protect them. If you drop them early and they end up dead, then you will probably be in for a LONG game. The Sage Owls will help make sure you get the cards you want, when you want them, and afterwards they are disposable blockers. Scrivener costs more mana than I'd like, but it can be invaluable to making sure that you don't run out of Cancels. And of course, then you can block with it. The remaining creatures are to help block, as well as make sure you don't run out of cards, which is the key to most control decks. If you ever find yourself out of either cards or mana, then you are probably in for a world of hurt.
The rest of the cards should mostly be self-explanatory, but there are a few points that I want to touch on. The first point involves both Force Spike and Logic Knot. One of the main strategies for beating this kind of deck is to load up on threats and play them all in one turn, hoping that you don't have enough counters or mana to handle them all. Both of these cards allow you to counter a spell for a little less mana than a Cancel. Logic Knot can be especially effective, since decks of this type tend to fill up the graveyard. Force Spike can help you rein in a player who is trying to raise the tempo of the game by playing cards as fast as they can afford to pay for them. Finally, the Boomerangs are for threats that made it through, or else to save your cards from destruction. In a pinch, you can Boomerang a card so that you can Cancel it when they try to play it again. However, I don't usually recommend it because of the card disadvantage.
I can't stress enough that this deck relies on CALM and PATIENCE. If you're playing a fast deck, there is a good chance that you'll take a lot of damage before you can take control of the board. That's okay, because once you're firmly in control, you shouldn't take any more damage. And stay calm. Don't feel like you have to counter everything that your opponent plays. You only have to counter what is actually a threat.

The second deck is a control/aggro deck:

24 Islands
_____

4 Thalakos Dreamsower
4 Thalakos Deceiver
4 Jodah's Avenger
4 Phantom Warrior
4 Hammerhead Shark
_____

4 Cancel
3 War Tax
3 Propaganda
3 Dream Leash
3 Coastal Piracy

This deck is built around the idea of making your opponent unable to attack or defend. Thalakos Dreamsower is hard to block, and can lock down a troublesome creature. Thalakos Deceiver goes one step further by actually GIVING you your opponent's creature, which allows you to turn their best weapons against them. Phantom Warrior will be a regular attacker, and can draw a lot of attention. Jodah's Avenger can be a star in a long game, and has the versatility to cover a number of situations. Hammerhead Shark is probably my least favorite card in this deck, but it allows for a beefy defender early on. War Tax and Propaganda make it hard for enemies to attack you in force, especially if you can get them both in play, while Dream Leash makes sure that their best attackers only strike you once. Cancel is there as a catch-all, just in case the opponent does something unexpected. Finally, Coastal Piracy is there just in case you find yourself needing more threats.
The key to this deck is to remember that it's okay to panic. If your opponent doesn't seem to be playing a creature-based deck, you could be in trouble. Your best bet in this case is to play your creatures as fast as you can and hit hard.

Next time, we will be covering Black. Join me as we explore the dark side.

1. Comment by Onyx, Jan 29 2009, 11:18 AM

   1-- I disagree very much that Blue isn't known for its creatures. Blue has always been the realm of small flying creatures and HUGE creatures. Blue has the very biggest creatures in the game, and always has. Green is also known for large creatures, but the Blue ones are always just a smidgeon bigger.
   2-- Now that Lorwyn and that block (and its twin block Shadowmoor) have come out, the bridge between Blue's creatures and its instants has been completed with the Faeries, so that you can now have a blue creature deck, inwhich all the creatures have flash and a comes into play effect, making it a control deck with thousands of mini flying creatures. One of the most brilliant moves ever. Just Sayin'...

2. Comment by thedixman2000, Feb 3 2009, 10:16 PM

   I am not saying you're wrong on either count. But Blue isn't best known for its large creatures, just as Green isn't known for fliers, even though Birds of Paradise has been in since forever. Blue fatties are there, but they're on the backburner. And yes, Faeries have totally changed the way you CAN play control. But these articles are designed to be generalized and broad, and so I don't want to single out a block. One of the problems that I have had with other deckbuilding columns is that the strategies require you to have a specific card or set of cards. So, I've tried to make strategies and example decks that can be used regardless of what cards you happen to have.

3. Comment by Onyx, Feb 5 2009, 12:25 PM

   DIX WROTE: "So, I've tried to make strategies and example decks that can be used regardless of what cards you happen to have."
   
   No such thing. No such thing as a generic deck, and no such thing as a generic card. Just like there are not generic friends or generic memories.

4. Comment by thedixman2000, Feb 5 2009, 11:12 PM

   I respectfully disagree with every point you just made.

5. Add new comment:

   Post Comment