Temporal Control

This is the list I’m using to climb ladder (Silver II as of January 6th).

The deck feels quite good, though it definitely has some tough matchups (I can count on one hand the number of Skycrag and Armory decks I’ve beaten).


Currently Testing:

2x Ephemeral Wisp - This is a card that I'm surprised I haven't seen in anyone else's list. There are games where one of these will you 10-15 life. On the other hand, there are games where they do stone nothing, or just give your opponents outlets for their silence effects. Overall, I catalogue these as a cheaper but more vulnerable Visage, gaining you 2+ life a turn vs. aggro, barring silece or overwhelm effects. If your meta has a lot of aggro decks, these can be a godsend. They're also quite good at buying you time vs. Armory. If your meta has lots of control, I'd steer clear.

1x The Great Parliament - I've found this to be mostly worthwhile as a one of. Temporal Control can really struggle to close the game out, and having one more bullet in the chamber has saved my skin a few times. Plus, it's not entirely dead early, as sometimes a flying blocker can buy you a critical turn or two.


Controversial Exclusions:

1x Lumen Reclaimer - I have been quite disappointed with this card. There's only been one game thus far where it would have won me the game, and it was against a pretty fringe life-gain deck. The unfortunate reality is that even in the mirror, the game is more likely to be decided by who draws their lands and Channels and Swords of the Sky King than it is to be settled by who doesn't deck themselves. And against Aggro, adding a bunch of 4/4s to your deck sometimes just puts your Harsh Rules out of reach. Maybe if the meta becomes a bit slower it'll be worth a slot, but for now I'm steering clear.

1x A New Tomorrow - I haven't gotten a chance to test this card, but I suspect it's not worth it unless your meta is control heavy. It's just too much of an ask to put a 10 cost card that does nothing to effect the board against decks that are trying to get you dead. If your meta is heavy on control, this could be an acceptable inclusion. If so, I'd recommend packing one or two off-color sigils so that this can help you dig. It may also be worth packing a copy of the next card to act as a one-two punch.

1x Aid of the Hooru - I had this in the deck for a while but never actually cast it. There have certainly been games where it would have been nice, particularly against control. Unfortunately, the meta where I'm at has been pretty heavy on aggro, so 12 cost cards are just too much of a liability. If the meta slows down or if I were playing A New Tomorrow, I would definitely consider it.