Topic: Numbers conflict

Hey guys!

So I recently made up a Bant Control list, and it's been doing very well in testing. Essentially, its the UW Control shell + Turbo Fog. [http://deckbox.org/sets/547939]
I based the idea around Utilizing Bow of Nylea to its fullest. There is a big Selesnya flavored creature package in the sideboard that I can shift into any time to take advantage of the Deathtouch and +1 counter abilities, though the mainboard is mostly focused on the +3 life and 4 cards from Grave to Deck abilities.

I am currently in conflict over whether or not to add a 3rd copy of the bow. I know that I want to be using it every game, and I will eventually get one, but by running 3, i'm more likely to get one out super early so I can use it for a longer time. However, its legendary status is telling me that I shouldn't be running 3 because its a dead card in hand if I get a second.

So i'd like to have some second opinions on this - Benefits of running 3 legendary utility cards over 2.

Also, Any advice on what to take out for the third if I should add one?

Thanks!

Last edited by DarrenM (2013-12-04 02:23:11)

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Re: Numbers conflict

To be entirely honest, this looks like a lesser version of Maze's End... either that or just straight up U/W control.  With Supreme Verdict you're not really worried about adding counters to stuff and otherwise Elspeth and Aetherling don't really need the support... but if you're set on running it (I'm not really seeing the benefit here), I would suggest going to 3x as you REALLY want to draw one and it's not that bad to have a second one come up if the opponent realizes its role and packs some removal for it.  For instance, when I ran my mono-black homebrew, I ran 3x Whip of Erebos and that ensured I almost always had one.  After the opponent used a Detention Sphere on my whip, I happily just cast a new one and went on about my business.  So I would suggest going up to 3x... now, what to cut for it?  I would say to drop one Defend the Hearth and swap the other one over to another Druid's Deliverance (you might as well get the populate for an Elspeth token while you're at it).

So the tl;dr version:

-2 Defend the Hearth
+1 Druid's Deliverance
+1 Bow of Nylea

Re: Numbers conflict

Alright, awesome. Thanks for the opinion.
And yes, I realize that this does look strikingly similar to a maze's end build. That'd be because it was one last week. lol The mana was far too inconsistent, and the only non-bant cards in the deck were Vraska, Far//away, and Crackling Perimeter, so I figured that going straight Fog Control would be a better option. And though it doesn't look like much, it plays extremely efficiently. The benefit of running it is that it doesn't have the early game vulnerability that most control builds have, and this deck will literally never run out of gas (Unless of course all of my bows get exiled). This deck treats Bow of Nylea as a planeswalker that says: +1 Gain 3 life, and +1 Move 4 cards from your graveyard to your deck. Its extremely effective, especially against my aggro-heavy metagame. Really the only bad matchups this deck has are against Mono Black that runs 8 copies of Grey Merchant, and against the clock (Control v. Control takes a little while). 

And I realize that supreme verdict makes counters unnecessary, and that Elspeth and AEtherling are tanks in their own right, but the counters effect was meant to be used strictly post board when I have elephants and wurms at my disposal.

But thanks for the input, i'll definitely be following your suggestion.

Last edited by DarrenM (2013-12-04 03:15:25)

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