Wafo-Tapa style jeskai control already put up some good results on mtgo and made top 4 at GP Dallas. UW Control has also seen some success online lately. Grixis control seems to be more popular now than before, after Buckhart’s performance at GP Dallas. I think that Ux control players are about to find some good tuned lists for the current metagame

Actually UWx control is very bad against dredge. Against burn and jund it can be a very solid choice depending on your build. Burn can be a really good match up if your build rely on wall of omens, kitchen finks and spell snare and UWx definitely has the tools to grind Jund out (and a resolved liliana or unanswered dark confident are annoying but not game over by any means). Tron is bad indeed and will require some sideboard tech such as clock+disruption with stony sielnce and geist of saint traft. Against infect, blessed alliance is a really good way to improve the match up and is good enough to play main deck. As a UWx control player, I can tell you the archetype is totally playable but need a fine tuning and is extremely bad against dredge

Yes, it’s pretty easy to play around, and it hasn’t made a notable dent in my winrate. Just another thing to expect and prepare for.

It can do its thing against Dredge, but it falls flat against Burn (too slow), Infect (not enough cheap spot removal, especially post-Blossoming Defense), Jund (resolved Liliana = game over), or Tron (goes way over the top). Beating the top deck doesn’t do you much good if you get smashed by the rest of the top 5.

I agree Anger is pretty good positioned right now, but as a Merfolk player it’s quite easy to play around it, at least in my experience. Cursecatcher helps buying a turn, Adept cycles, it can’t get Mutavault and we have Vial end of turn. I won’t be too scared as long as not too many decks are playing it maindeck, which I belive will not happen.

I’m excited to see if a grindy blue-based control deck will eventually capitalize on what’s going on.

I’ve been saying that for some time now. I don’t see anything inherent in the format keeping one out other than players not finding the right shell.

As for Sun and Moon… I think the reason it does well is that it’s basically hate card roulette. It is a collection of cards various decks really don’t want to see rolled into a single shell. If it finds the right hate cards, it stuffs you. If it doesn’t, you run it over. In a metagame that features linears with such a wide variety of angles of attack, a deck that attempts to collect all of the ways to shut them down and then staples some win conditions on the back end was a logical conclusion. I think the deck is good, and recent results bear that out. Nahiri may not be the optimal finisher all the time, but (fortunately for the deck) it has a wide variety of “end-the-game” cards to choose from, provided the hate cards buy it time to cast them.

I personally love Anger of the Gods. I play a Mardu Midrange deck wth Anger as a playset in the main. I have found it to be one of the most useful and underrated cards in the current meta along with Thalia, Heretic Cathar. I believe that you didn’t stress how devestating this card is for Dredge. I have had several Dredge opponents scoop at a second Anger of the game.

Again thanks for a great article. Maybe do an article of underrated cards?