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[Top 20 Masters] unitless control

Throne Deck By
evanescent
Evanescent+8038

+12

Cost Curve

Type

Faction

Information

This deck is based on my previous deck No-longer-unit-less unitless control. I’ve made some significant changes to the deck and it got me from gold 3 to master within 2 days.
This deck primarily preys on big clunky mid-range decks built to beat Combrei Aggro. Also it has a pretty good match up against Praxis token and other control decks.

Things I realized while playing with the previous version:
1. Rain of Frogs is bad in multiples, running 4 blue merchants and 1 in the market maximizes the chance of getting it early in match-ups where it’s useful.
2. The deck needs more board wipes to beat token and End of the Story happens to be amazing against mid-range as well.
3. Running too many card selection spells may result in them getting stuck in your hand in the early game when you are low on cards or short of power. So I cut 2 Cull the Deck.
4. Because I’m not running cards like Devastating Setback or Azindel's Gift which require a lot of shadow influence, now I’m afford to run less dual-lands and have some seek power and sigils to lower the chance of getting power screwed.

— Edited on August 26 —
- Added 2 copies of Unstable Form. I got the inspiration from Second Blue’s Icaria Blue list and tried this card, it ended up performing amazingly well. It pops 2 aegises, provides 2 cards for Strategize and merchants, and also happens to deal with a turn 2 teacher. May even consider playing a 3rd copy.
- 2 copies of Annihilate, I played some more games with it, and found it pretty good in the current meta, (thanks to people in the comment that suggested it). Very tempo efficient against Sheriff Marley and Jotun Feast-Caller. Remember to mark it back when playing against Icaria decks and scream decks.
- 1 less Vara's Favor and shadow sigil. I found that Vara's Favor doesn’t actually fix my influence, since I only need 1 shadow. Also we have Unstable Form to take care of enemy aegis. So I switched them out for 2 dual-lands.
- Also the Rank 20 click bait ^~^
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Thanks for reading my thoughts. If you want to know more about this deck, check out the previous version. I wrote a detailed analysis there. And finally I hope you have a good time with this deck.

Details

Shiftstone Cost
Does not include campaign cost
39,200
Premium Cost
179,200
Influence Requirements
2 4 1
Power Sources
13 17 12 16
Power Calculator
Shiftstoned Icon View Deck on Shiftstoned
Deck Rarities
14 25 30 5
Card Types
5 4 45 0 26
Contains Cards From Campaigns
The Tale of Horus Traver [Set1002]
Dead Reckoning [Set1003]
Archetype
Control
Updated
August 26, 2018
Added
August 6, 2018
Views
7,991
Eternal Version
Balance Changes
BBCode For Comments
Deck URL

Revisions (Since last major patch) August 26, 2018

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Comments

LordHoward Eternal Version: 1.42.3
I really really love your deck!! I’m your fan😆
Do you have a 1.42.3 after balance version!?
I’ll really appreciate that!!
evanescent Eternal Version: 1.42.3
Glad to hear that. But unfortunately between all the powerful displays/sites and blitz decks floating around, reactive control is not too playable on higher ranks atm, we’ll have to see what we get in set 6. I haven’t been playing for quite a while, and this is the deck that I made master at the start of the month:
4 Seek Power (Set1 #408)
3 Desert Marshal (Set1 #332)
2 Find the Way (Set1 #513)
4 Strategize (Set3 #165)
3 Vanquish (Set1 #143)
4 Auralian Merchant (Set4 #70)
3 Display of Instinct (Set5 #244)
2 Eilyn's Choice (Set2 #220)
1 Great Valley Smuggler (Set5 #204)
3 Hailstorm (Set1003 #11)
4 Wisdom of the Elders (Set1 #218)
3 Ancient Lore (Set1 #105)
4 Harsh Rule (Set1 #172)
2 Brilliant Idea (Set5 #143)
2 End of the Story (Set4 #138)
2 Sword of the Sky King (Set1 #186)
4 Channel the Tempest (Set1 #244)
1 Fire Sigil (Set1 #1)
2 Time Sigil (Set1 #63)
2 Justice Sigil (Set1 #126)
2 Primal Sigil (Set1 #187)
2 Cobalt Waystone (Set3 #151)
1 Crest of Impulse (Set3 #251)
1 Crest of Glory (Set4 #243)
1 Crest of Fury (Set3 #266)
4 Crest of Progress (Set4 #247)
4 Crest of Wisdom (Set3 #261)
1 Seat of Wisdom (Set0 #63)
4 Crest of Order (Set4 #253)
--------------MARKET---------------
1 Disjunction (Set3 #63)
1 Equivocate (Set1003 #21)
1 Eternity Core (Set5 #58)
1 Temporal Distortion (Set3 #96)
1 Pit of Lenekta (Set5 #74)
LordHoward Eternal Version: 1.42.3
Thx a lot~
Looking forward to your set 6
next version
Still love jps control><

How do you think about~
Base on your this version and Adding
Lost scroll to speed up
Defiance to counter aggro
Rindra’s choice to counter display
Regent’s tomb to gain more adventage?

Will it be more playable~?
Arcengal Eternal Version: 1.37.4
Currently doing great with this on ladder, mostly inspired by getting roflstomped by yourself twice with it on Sep 1st. :p

Are there specific criteria for mulligans that are important? Would you always mulligan a hand that can't deal with Teacher for example?
evanescent Eternal Version: 1.37.4
Btw, if you’re looking for a deck to climb the ladder with, I think Icaria Blue is the best one in the current aggro-control meta. It’s bad vs grindy midrange and TJP but is good against aggro and can easily crush any control opponents. I’m tuning my own version too.
Arcengal Eternal Version: 1.37.4
Cheers, I'm currently bouncing up and down Diamond 3 using the JPS list, don't have Icarias atm but working towards them dust-wise.

It's very galling that I can spend 10-15 minutes taking down a game with a hundred decisions but then lose to an aggro nut-draw on turn 4. :-/
evanescent Edited Eternal Version: 1.37.4
Well, I’d rather be the one that loses on turn 4 than the one that struggles to finish his opponent off for 20 turns, but gets all his units killed and the opponent keeps drawing cards while casting removals. In a sense, time-wise I always win more.
evanescent Eternal Version: 1.37.4
For now, my suggestion is don’t keep 2 power hands (seek power counts as a power); don’t keep hands that don’t meet our basic influence requirement JPPS; don’t keep hands that have 2 or more 8-cost cards. Unless you know what your opponent is on by their ID, a hand with too many spot removal / card draw spell is too risky to keep (The former loses to control, the latter loses to aggro, we never lose to midrange)
Jaklbye Edited Eternal Version: 1.37.4
This is the best deck I have played in a long time. I didn’t have two of SoTSK or EoTS so I added more utility. Very powerful deck with probably a 70% win rate. Still can’t beat Feln control, but this deck beats up on any sort of time deck.

Jaklbye Eternal Version: 1.37.4
Thanks for the suggestion
evanescent Eternal Version: 1.37.4
Glad to hear that. Some suggestions against Feln control: Try to get Rain of Frogs from the market and play it on curve. (Priority: Jotun Feast Caller > Champion of Cunning > Channel the Tempest > merchants.) Unstable Form and Vara’s Favor are valuable to pop aegises without losing tempo. Always hold 3 power for Eilyn’s Choice once they hit 8 power to counter Channel the Tempest. (One of our greatest advantages over Feln is having counter spells, so exchanging blows is actually what our opponent wants.) Sword of the Sky King is a good finisher as well as a good tool to help you stabilize. Feln have a hard time dealing with it. It’s the only legendary I recommend crafting 2 of. End of the Story is quite nice in a midrange-y meta, whereas in an aggro-control meta, Devastating Setback had worked out better for me.
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Silvernight Eternal Version: 1.37
Not very clear for what forms, for the removal of aegis? For a long time they just lay in their hands dead weight. The cult of the desks is also in question, we do not want to discard anything. In general, a strange deck, some cards need to be removed to make it work.
evanescent Eternal Version: 1.37
I used to run 0 Unstable Form and Annihilate. All I had were 3 or 4 cost removals. So when my opponent dropped Sheriff Marley on 4 or Jotun Feastcaller on 5, I had to spend 2 turns to kill it and got tempo out. Another reason for running Unstable Form is that we have 8 pseudo-discard spells (Strategize and merchants), so having some echo cards in our deck could net us card advantage. As for Cull the Deck, at only 2 cost, it helps us dig 3 cards deeper to find whatever we need atm, be it Harsh Rule, a missing power or one of our finishers. I hope my explanation helps, and feel free to leave a comment on what cards you think would help this deck better.
Eclipzerlol Edited Eternal Version: 1.37
Im not gonna lie, I hate you for sharing this list.
Very thoughtful and well-put together list and just does the work correctly.
Im gonna give it a shot because in the matches we had I already struggeled with my other lists.
Had some tough matches against other players picking it up but I think you piloted it the best.
evanescent Eternal Version: 1.37
Well, this deck is quite fun to play with, but not to play against I guess. I’m glad that you want to give this deck a try. I like your YouTube videos a lot.
Ynead Eternal Version: 1.37
Thanks for making this deck, it is a lot of fun, much like Temporal Control. Do you think Citywide Ban could fit in that deck ? I tried 2 main deck and it already saved me a few games.
evanescent Edited Eternal Version: 1.37
I’m glad that you like it. I’ve tried Citywide Ban when FOA just released. It’s very powerful when it works. Unlike Rain of Frogs it doesn’t require the opponent to have the card in hand when you cast it, and if the opponent draws the banned card later, they don’t get a redraw. It also gets through Eilyn’s Choice which is a big deal. But after a couple of games I realized that the biggest issue with this card is it can be removed with relic removals. And almost every deck has one in their market. Fire decks have Bore, Hooru decks have Vision of Austerity, time decks have Disjunction, and shadow decks have Burglarize. Once they hit a merchant and remove the ban, suddenly all Icarias or Champion of Cunnings in their hand are live again. It just feels less reliable than Rain of Frogs. And it can’t hit low-cost cards such as Haunting Scream. But it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on, in case the meta decks get greedy with their market.
Ynead Edited Eternal Version: 1.37
Thanks for your opinion ! I played a few more game with it and you're right, it is rather unreliable, even if locking the opponent that badly is a lot of fun. Bore and Passage of the Eons are really hard to come back from.
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Ninjacan Eternal Version: 1.37
Just used your list to get to masters. Thanks for posting it, finally found a post FoA control list that I like

I have to agree with those who want annihilate though, there's just too many time decks running around not to play it imo.

My list is - 1 cull, -1 Eilyn's choice, -1 vision of austerity, +3 annihilate. Vision was too dead too often, I'm happy with 1 in the market. The only other potential change I would make is the Scourge of Frosthome, I never played it, and it costs infinite. The only matchup you really want it is control mirrors and it just dies to Sword of the Sky King. I'm not sure what to replace it with. Maybe the 4th Eilyn's choice.. idk. My biggest problem matchup is definitely Icaria. The combination of Icaria and relic weapons is hard to deal with. But maybe that's just a flaw if the deck. Rain of frogs and Omen of Austerity are already there.. I think that's all we can do
evanescent Eternal Version: 1.37
Glad to hear that you like the deck. My reasoning for not playing Annihilate is that midrange time decks are already my best matchups, I hardly ever lose to them so I care more about my cards not being dead in worse matchups such as scream decks and Icaria armory decks. Playing 2 Annihilate is probably right in the current meta though, plus you can mark it back with strategize/merchants. I’ve seen almost everyone cutting the one vision of austerity in the main. Sometimes I just desperately need a second piece of relic removal. For instance, against Kennadin after I removed their combustion cell, I had to scoop to their flame stoker. It’s also really rough if you use it to remove disciplinary weigh (well, it’s one way to deal with turn 2 teacher), and your opponent just slams a Xenan Obelisk. Currently JPS has access to only one relic removal (vision of austerity), but there is no way to get the one copy in the main consistently, so you’re probably right to cut it. Or maybe we can consider playing Celestial Omen in the market to tutor for whatever we need atm.
Ninjacan Eternal Version: 1.37
I totally get why it's there, but I just thought it was rarely relevant, and i really wanted annihilates with what I was facing on ladder.
hsgroot Eternal Version: 1.37
Really not a fan of the deck not having a singular answer to teacher on 2 if you're on the draw. Is it not possible to add annihilates in?
evanescent Eternal Version: 1.37
If you encountered a lot of teacher on the ladder, could be a good idea. It makes haunting scream, FJS removal pile, Feln control worse matchups for us though.
hsgroot Eternal Version: 1.37
Pretty fair reasoning. I just hate not having any answer to teacher in a deck like this. I can see why though
Microtek Eternal Version: 1.37
Just made Masters after 3 days struggling in Diamond 1 with a sweet run with this deck. I don't agree with your first point, Rain of Frogs is a card I absolutely want to see nowadays with all those Icarias running rampant. Even got to cast 2 in some games and didn't feel bad at all. Went -1 Vision of Austerity, -1 Eilyn's choice to make room. The rest of the list was very good and the 2nd Sword is bananas.
evanescent Eternal Version: 1.37
True, there are games I wish my whole hand were Rain of Frogs, like against charge rod, I want to hit both their Icarias and Kalebs, and vs Feln, feast caller and champion. It’s a bit risky, but I think running 2 copies main deck is probably worth it if the meta gets slow. I would still keep the one in the market because getting one copy early is very important, cuz once they reach 7 power, you can’t hit their Icaria any more.
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anomia Eternal Version: 1.37
That's a very interesting list. How can we compare this deck to Temporal Distortion TJP decks? I mean, both are control decks without units (TJP run counter units like marshal and wasps but still unitless). It seems to me that getting spells fast is really good for a control deck.
Ninjacan Eternal Version: 1.37
Comparison:
Shadow offers us really insane removal with slay and feeding time being able to just kill anything, and vara's favor to kill oni ronins and pop aegis(es? aegi?) without losing card advantage. We also get the blue merchant and market which gives significantly different options, and is also a good threat as a 3 power aegis creature.

Time gives you the time merchant which although does not have aegis, is a great blocker and ranps you. Temporal also usually plays desert marshal which is at least a pseudo answer to teacher of humility, where this list has almost nothing. Time also gives acess to a new tomorrow, and the great parliament, although these aren't usually necessary. Most of the time channel the tempest and swird of the sky king do all the work.

Imo temporal is kinda more cutesy with lifegain and making spells fast, and this deck is more straight down to business. Kill everything you play, draw cards, make you miserable.
anomia Eternal Version: 1.37
Thanks for answering so fast, buddy. I am asking because I am currently playing this list [Rank 1 masters clickbait] cranky's Temporal Visage and while it's really funny (to me and not to my enemy), it takes time to get at some point. I feel the pre master meta so driven towards aggro and this seems kinda slow. It seems like you have faster response to threats (if we ignore marshall).
Ninjacan Edited Eternal Version: 1.37
I think both decks struggle against red aggro decks, it's really play t3 hailstorm or you're dead. I've played both, personally i prefer shadow, but it's not for everyone. If you like temporal, I would at least suggest trying JPS and see how it does for you. I got my 10 ranked win streak achievement with this deck pre-FoA, and i just flip tables whenever I try temporal, I can't win with that deck.
anomia Eternal Version: 1.37
I will probably try this! Do you feel like Scourge of Frosthome is an essential card? My collection is not so high on legendaries and I am not sure about crafting him since I don't know if he will ever come to other deck (or maybe I can try him at temporal too). I appreciate your feedback, really.
Ninjacan Edited Eternal Version: 1.37
Absolutely non necessary lol. The only time I've played that card was in the "company of exiles" event about a month or so ago. I haven't tri3d it as a market target yet. But I'd still say no
anomia Edited Eternal Version: 1.37
Maybe we can replace him with Staff of Stories or Celestial Omen? Or even Black-Sky Harbinger for almost unitless. haha
evanescent Edited Eternal Version: 1.37
Here’s my reasoning for playing Scourge of Frosthome in the market: At first I wanted to find a primal substitution for Sword of the Sky King as a finisher I can grab from the market. Since I’m intentionally blanking opponent’s removal, I chose scourge cuz it is close to being “hexproof” (except it can be dealt with by Permafrost), well, also cuz I got one from pack. I don’t recommend crafting him if you’re short on shiftstones. Any (preferably resilient) finisher would work (eg. Thunderstrike Dragon, Aid of the Hooru). Or you can put in Hailstorm if the meta goes aggro.
MajorMozzarella Edited Eternal Version: 1.37.4
I wanted to replace Scourge of Frosthome with either:

Daraka, Queensguard

Rimescale Draconus

Eilyn, Queen of the Wilds


Any thoughts on these replacements? It's the legendaries I have that fit in JPS.

Would love if you could share your thoughts, as I'm considering crafting this deck :)
evanescent Eternal Version: 1.37.4
I'm skeptical about Daraka, Queensguard and Eilyn, Queen of the Wilds in unitless decks where they are the only target for the typical 10~20 removals in the opponent's deck. The summon effect of Eilyn could be useful, but spending an entire turn 7 for a unit that's very likely going to be answered by one of the opponent's dead cards for very little power is not a good spot to be in.
Rimescale Draconus is better, the face aegis when drawn comes in handy against feln type of control decks, 766 aegis flying is still a very relevant body but much more resilient. Besides, I think most spot removals are good substitutes too, e.g. polymorph, Eilyn's Choice, lightning storm.
Overall I think Scourge of Frosthome fits the slot the best. Most of the times it just ends games on the spot. But I'd say it's the least important legendary in this deck.
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Ninjacan Eternal Version: 1.37
Even a land is good
Ninjacan Eternal Version: 1.37