Feln Control [Masters March]

I'm a returning player (pre-Expedition format), and used Feln Control to make Masters in Expedition for the first time this month. I am a longtime MTG/Commander player and love to play UW and UB control. This deck appealed to me because it has all of the control aspects I enjoy, and has an amazing power base thanks to Direwood Pack, and that alone was my reason to play it over Hooru Control. I felt inspired to do a write-up about the deck because I feel there needs to be more Eternal content in general, and to share what I learned/wish I knew while playing this deck. It was quite a grind to Masters, but it was a labor of love. A lot of the learning curve was due to rust and re-learning the mechanics as well as what to expect in the matchups.

Deck Construction
I used a combination of deck lists from TheWamts as well as DonCoyote's Feln Sashenka. Credit and thanks to them for providing great theory and ideas!

I climbed to Diamond using a Ziat, Steelwarren Reeve/Feed the Hecaton version of the deck, and once the nerfs happened I had to adapt the list. While Ziat is still ok, losing the 2 toughness mattered against both aggro and control, so I dusted my copies. I really miss the sacrifice effect and potential card advantage that Feed the Hecaton provided, but it got worse now that Ziat couldn't be exhausted to "kick" it. So I decided to remove them both, and added Lipa plus additional card draw.

Lipa, Witch of the Woods is not always included in control lists, and I've tried the deck with and without her, but I faced the reality that this card is just too powerful not to play. Evasive attacking and clutch blocking are obvious, but she can also ramp us to early Sashenkas, subtley provides information about the opponent's decklist, and serves to remove opposing Aegis. Her ultimate effect came in handy a few times, but I used it rarely in a few niche situations, such as removing a re-applied aegis or dealing with crazy things like a late Hecaton, Centipede God or other extremely problematic cards like Tavrod, Bankroller. Overall the opponent must deal with her, and it's often tough to do efficiently before she gains me some advantage.

The first major problem I had to overcome was surviving against aggro, and I found that Tripwire Trap gave me the best chance, as well as Fissure in the market. I have also tried Coerce along the way in this slot to disrupt cards like the annoying Ascetic Lantern and other low-cost units before we get Shrivel, Lightning Strike and Heavy Hail online. Either way, they both double as an aegis remover in the control mirror.

Nothing is worse than when a deck runs out of gas, so card draw was my next major problem. I found that Furious Accusation is a fine card and is the best ratio of cards to power cost, but it failed me a few times against aggro when I stabilized at a very low life total (I've won several key games with 1-3 life remaining). The solution became Cull the Deck, which provides one less card, but I get to dig three cards deep, and this can be pretty important. I had to bottom deck a few cards that I hated to see go, but Cull often let me fix and find my power drops, or find that Sashenka or Heavy Hail when I needed it. The suite I ended up running was 4x Cull, 4x Wisdom of the Elders (standard) and 2x Boundless Knowledge. I often hated to see Boundless in multiples, and at 4 power it is often fairly useless against aggro, but it was handy against midrange and control. I considered running boundless in the market, and putting 2x Fissure in the main deck but it never came to that.

Finally, we needed to close out the game. Sashenka of Kosul is a versatile steamroller, and clever removal/mass removal can lead to some very large instances of Direwood Pack. The market also provided help against midrange and inevitability against control in the form of Crackling Bauble, and Champion of Cunning was often the right card for the right cost to break a stalemate. I made sure I at least had Aegis/Flying before playing him. Mistveil Drake was not something I considered to be a closer, and was usually just there to provide an Aegis or two. Occasionally I drew it from the market for an Aegis and Culled it away before drawing it again when I needed a more impactful card.

From the Market:
Backlash can be substituted for Skycrag Synthesis, Oxidize, Permafrost, or Formbend. This slot was a revolving door while the rest of the market was pretty solid. I found that Backlash was nice in that it removed the opposing Aegis in the control mirror, whereas the unit I gained from Skycrag Synthesis was often a non-factor. Oxidize was often a bit slow, and while Formbend got rid of a few problematic relics and weapons, the worst ones like Martyr's Chains led to another large problem on the battlefield.

Opening Hand:
I always wanted to see at least 2-3 power, counting Direwood Pack, as well as a way of getting Aegis in the first 2-3 turns, and some single-target removal. Draw was less of a priority in the opener, but I generally liked to see Cull early. I'd consider mulligan-ing hands with too many Wisdoms or Boundless Knowledge. An opening Heavy Hail with the power to play it on turn three was usually an auto-keep, and an opener with Sashenka and no removal was often a mulligan. For power fixing, It was often best to get double or triple Primal first, unless I had Shrivel in an otherwise solid opener.

Matchups and Gameplay: I hesitate to list percentages because my sample size is probably only 100 games total, but I will for fun and to maybe stir up conversation. I didn't really keep a spreadsheet or anything, I'm just going by "feeling" here.

Hooru Control: I often found that keeping the board clear and aegis up was reasonably achievable, eventhough we only play two Eilyn's Favor. Next, I raced to get Crackling Bauble while attempting to keep the board under control. 60/40 mainly due to our superior power base. I was blown out a few times by Duelist's Blade on an empty board, which can be tricky to remove with its aegis and high armor. Keep that Backlash handy for their mass removal or Save the Day

Feln Control Mirror: This was similar to the Hooru Control matchup, but Aegis was even more important because there are still some Ziat/Hecaton holdouts. I usually gained advantage by forcing them to answer Lipa. I often used a combination of Shrivel and Heavy Hail to deal with opposing Sashenkas, or saved Display for their Crackling Bauble if they had it. I didn't see this matchup too many times, and was generally able to outplay them. 50/50. Props to my Feln Brethren.

Hooru Hunt variants: Some of my "notes to self" were: Always try to balance taking a few points of damage before using a sweeper. Always try to kill 2 or more units with Heavy Hail or at least 3 with Fissure. It is difficult to keep Aegis up because of all the hunt, but it is worth it to try. Remember that you want to preemptive Aegis, because you don't get a chance to respond to the effect when a unit with hunt is played. General Fiera and Hero of the People are key cards to remove as soon as possible. Remember to save Shrivel or Vara's Favor for popping Fiera's Aegis before sweeping or playing Display of Survival on her. Quinn, Beast Heart is dangerous as well, but can be left alone if all other units are kept under control. The scariest unit was The Winter Fox because it can power through your Sashenkas rather handily. Many players just had one in their market, but others had it in multiples. While I was always scared to see the Fox, I was never scared to see this deck, I'll call it 65/35.

Mono-Fire Aggro: While it's tempting and often correct to remove the early Ascetic Lantern or Twilight Lantern they have some very dangerous cards in the midgame. Save your Lightning strike for Ossuar Longbow and your Shrivel for Karrina, Embercaster. The versions that play Kaleb, Glory Seeker are particularly scary because we can only really remove him efficiently with Display of Survival, but that is problematic because we need to keep Aegis up against this deck. Sometimes they just "get you" with Solfire. A tough matchup but winnable with the right mulligan and draw. 45/55 in their favor.

Praxis Aggro: This deck presents a lot of the same problems as Mono-Fire, but I feel that they lose some of the speed by adding Time units to their deck. They gain Teacher of Humility, which is easy to single-target remove or sweep. I was never hit by it, and if I was my Aegis would have protected me from getting the Disciplinary Weights. The deck uses a lot of nightfall, which can often increase their inevitability, but it also really helps us draw answers when we need them as well. They have game against us, but I found it easier to beat than Mono-Fire. 55-45 Feln

Stonescar Midrange: Another tough matchup! They can come out quickly with Ascetic Lantern, Champion of Chaos, then tax our resources with hard-to-block-or-remove cards like Sadistic Grimalkin and Blackmaw Carnosaur. They can also finish strong with reanimation spells. Raniya, Miviox Maniac played after we play Sashenka was often just game over due to Breath of Miviox. If I were playing a midrange deck, this is what I would play! 30/70 in their favor.

Random Problematic Cards to Deal With for This Deck:
Tavrod, Bankroller he is a must-answer, or the opponent will bury you in card advantage.

Rakano decks with a warcried-up Steelfang Chakram. We have nothing to remove attachments with, so this card alongside overwhelm units can be a blowout. If I saw more of it, I may have included Sabotage in the main deck, or gone with a shadow market to get it, Egg Snatch or Devastating Setback.

Thank you for reading! Let me know if you have any questions or want me to discuss another matchup. Friendly disagreement is welcome. I'm here to learn!