Ever since we got
Hailstorm, I have been building and improving my control lists. This post explains my entire progress:
Unitless X Blue v.4.3. And I have finally made the control list that got me to Top 10 Masters and might be the best control list in the entire set 3 meta. It's probably not original, but it's certainly my best achievement. I have to thank everyone on the reddit and discord who helped me improve the list.
There's really not much to explain when it comes to the game plan. You use
Hailstorm and
Slay in the early game to put yourself in a good position. Then you build up card advantage through a string of
Strategize and
Wisdom of the Elders.
Harsh Rule and
Throne Warden stabilize the mid-game.
Jotun Feast-Caller and
Black-Sky Harbinger provide value and finish the game out.
Channel the Tempest is card draw, removal, and a win-con.
Sword of the Sky King is life gain, removal and a win-con.
Eilyn's Choice, and
Feeding Time round out a really solid removal package,
Eilyn's Choice doubles as a finisher when it counters
Channel the Tempest in control mirrors.
And finally, the most instrumental tech in making the deck work,
Vision of Austerity. It's useless against skycrag aggro decks, but it wins games in every weak matchup. Unitless control relies on
Azindel's Gift and
Sword of the Sky King. It's also the best removal for
Sword of Icaria, and
Auric Runehammer. Any deck that relies on
Mask of Torment will find themselves without ramp and a win-con.
Xenan Obelisk is demolished.
Flamestoker,
Starsteel Daisho,
Crown of Possibilities,
Crystalline Chalice, and
Shepherd's Horn can also win the game and have no other good removal. Control is notoriously weak to relics, and this single card solves most of that issue.
Seek Power
x4
2
Eilyn's Choice
x2
2
Strategize
x4
2
Vision of Austerity
x2
3
Feeding Time
x3
3
Hailstorm
x4
3
Slay
x4
3
Wisdom of the Elders
x4
4
Throne Warden
x3
5
Harsh Rule
x3
5
Jotun Feast-Caller
x3
6
Black-Sky Harbinger
x4
8
Sword of the Sky King
x2
9
Channel the Tempest
x4
Justice Sigil
x5
Primal Sigil
x5
Shadow Sigil
x3
Cobalt Waystone
x4
Crest of Cunning
x4
Crest of Vengeance
x4
Seat of Order
x4
View Deck on Shiftstoned
I haven't really had power issues though, but I also have a lot of experience with control (specifically PJS and Hooru) and I can say that there is a little skill to having all the power you need when you need it. Basically, hitting your power is the most important thing, which means you should prioritize keeping power with Strategize and Scout. As long as you can keep surviving you'll win eventually so don't worry too much about sending wincons to the bottom if you need power (or answers). In a vacuum getting PP is your highest priority followed by J and S, then JJ, then PPPP, but this may change a little depending on the draw. Always throw away opening hands that have 2 power (unless it also has 2-3 Seeks), and unless a 3 power hand has a bunch of cards you can play with those power and nothing else, probably don't keep it either. And remember that sometimes you're just going to get screwed no matter what, you might be playing it just fine and getting unlucky.
As for TJP my main tips would be to play around Mirror Image by getting rid of Svetya ASAP, and to try to bait out Stand Together. Sometimes you have to just hope they don't have it, but a lot of the time you can do things like try to remove something with Hailstorm to bait out Stand in response (so all the Aegis's get popped at once), or having two removals to use in a turn. Another thing to keep in mind is they have basically no reach so you can afford to go down to 1 against them as long as they don't have any units. If they have units you risk them using Stand or Finest Hour to push through the extra bit of damage (especially with Aegis-less Shelterwings out), but they don't have weapons, charge units, or any kind of damaging spells so as long as the board is clear you don't have to worry about your life total.
A couple more tips I thought of: If you can, use Seek Power before drawing or scouting, because sometimes it'll grab a Sigil from the top of your deck. And don't play power if your hand isn't full and you have at least 10 power because you want your hand to be as big as possible for Channel. You can stop at 8, but I like 10 because you can play Channel and a 3 drop in the same turn as long as you have an undepleted Sigil. Oh, and be as greedy as possible with the Waystones - face Aegis is really useful in most matchups. Good luck and have fun!