If you’re a Control player in Modern, you know how unforgiving the format has been for us, most prominently due to variance. Maybe we’re gluttons for punishment, but we continue to find ways to improve, adapt, and persevere. BennyHillz, one of MTGO’s top UW Control players, is a prime example:

Benny Hillz UW Control [MTGO 5-0 on 10/30/17]

Benny has single-handedly made a name for himself and the UW control archetype in Modern. In my opinion, he’s essentially become the Wafo Tapa of UW Control, and rightfully so.

If you’re interested, you can check out his UW Control streams on his Twitch page.

There have been other variations of Benny’s deck, such as a recent list that finished 6-1 in a Modern Challenge on 11/4/17.

-Fish’s UW Control [MTGO 6-1 on 11/4/17]

As you can see, the core is very similar, but this version opts out of Wall of Omens in favor of more Snapcaster Mage and Vendilion Clique. There’s also 1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and a different counter package in the main. I applaud the addition of Spell Snare, which I think is reasonably positioned again, especially because of Storm. I put together the following guide as a resource for Spell Snare’s value in Modern: Modern Meta: Spell Snare. This should help players determine if it should be played, and how many.

The side, which is expected to vary, has its own viable configuration to address weaknesses and concerns.

That being said, where does UW Control go from here? How can we refine it to find success beyond MTGO, just as Jeskai Tempo (Queller) has?

After assessing the current state of Modern, such as the humans deck’s recent dominance, and Control’s place in it, I reached out to Benny with an idea and decklist that I was testing. His reaction surprised me!

“Wow that’s spicy!! I really like the look of that. Honestly, I’m sold. I want to try testing it.”

Building Bant Control

I asked myself one essential question which lead to the deck’s design.  How could I improve UW Control’s power, versatility, top decks, consistency (either mitigating ‘dead’ or the ‘wrong’ cards, or drawing the wrong half of your deck), and ability to adapt in a format with so much variance?

Furthermore, how could I make Bant Control relevant and competitive in Modern?

That’s right – a Bant deck without Collected Company, Eldrazi, or Aether Vial (like Eternal Command).

After delving into what Bant had to offer, I realized how easily one could be overwhelmed by the plethora of options. The key for me was to remain disciplined, have restraint in my card selection and design, and reflect on what I wanted to accomplish by splashing Green, particularly for Glittering Wish.

The most successful, but short-lived, Wish decks in Modern have been Ascendancy, Junk, Lear_the_Cat’s Bant Martyr Poc, and Bring to Light shells. Beyond those, the card hasn’t seen much Modern play and is more prevalent in Legacy and EDH.

Despite this, I was still intrigued by Glittering Wish’s unexplored potential in UW Control, particularly Benny’s established, stable, and consistent core. With that in mind, my intent wasn’t to reinvent the wheel. There’s no reason to fix or change what clearly isn’t broken. It was to simply address UW Control’s inherent issues in Modern, as I previously mentioned. Think of Glittering Wish as the icing, not the cake.

Without further ado, I present to you a logical and viable alternative to BennyHillz’s tried-and-true:

 Francesco Neo Amati’s “UWish” Control

Decklist on MTG Goldfish

I’ve had to revise the manabase to support the Green splash for Glittering Wish (the only Green spell in the main), while retaining at least 6 basic lands and 2 Field of Ruin. I opted for Field of Ruin because maintaining our own land base is very important, especially in 3 colors.

Mana Sources (SV indicates the value added by 4 Serum Visions):

• Blue: 17 (SV: 18.8)
• White: 17 (SV: 18.8)
• Green: 10 (SV: 12.8)

Frank Karsten-approved.

I’m playing Vendilion Clique in the main because its role is integral to the deck’s gameplan. Clique provides information to help you Wish more reliably and effectively, allowing you to sculpt your hand.  Additionally, it can bait counters and removal spells. It’s arguably our best pressure vs Combo, too, alongside Geist of Saint Traft from the sideboard. Depending on meta, you can play a 2nd copy in the main or side.

I’ve also added Runed Halo to the main as it allows us to stabilize and advance our gameplan while also addressing our weaker matchups and other problematic threats that are difficult to deal with.

I’m still on the fence about Search for Azcanta, but it can also help us find Glittering Wish, which is a loop hole for having access to creatures in the main. My qualm with the card here is that the deck functions similarly through Glittering Wish, it plays minimal counters for Azcanta to take advantage of, and its tapout design is more proactive than reactive. On the other hand, Dragonlord Ojutai is a powerful alternative since it’s essentially a Search for Azcanta attached to a body, that’s also a win condition. It’s arguably a better top deck, too, and can be sided out, but still Wished for. This is something to consider.

Visit the Deck’s original primer here: MTG Modern: UWish Primer

The “Wishboard”

While there are other reasonable multi-colored cards to choose from, it’s important that the ones you choose complement your deck’s gameplan, address a weakness or concern, and make a high impact vs their respective matchups.

In the same regard, don’t bastardize your sideboard with nothing but Wish targets, at least in this particular deck. I promise you that’s a recipe for disaster. You want to make sure you’re still able to side out cards that are less valuable in particular matchups. One way to do this is to pick sideboard staples that are similar to their Wish counterparts, such as Rest in Peace, Runed Halo, Wrath of God, Blessed Alliance, and even Timely Reinforcements. The other is to just play good sideboard cards like Surgical Extraction, Grafdigger’s Cage, Engineered Explosives, Ceremonious Rejection, Dispel, Negate, Disdainful Stroke, Celestial Purge, Stony Silence, Vendilion Clique, Elspeth, Sun’s Champion, etc.

There may even be times where you side out 1-2 Glittering Wish and side in Wish targets after you’ve assessed what your priority choices are. This may vary per matchup. The minimum number of Wish targets should be 8.

Wish Maybeboard

Though, I’m currently happy with my sideboard, here are a few possibilities that may find a home depending on changes to the meta.

I used Magiccards.info as my source to determine our best options within the context of this deck’s concept.

Creatures

Key Matchups: Tron, Storm, Ad Nauseam, Titan Shift

Key Matchups: Burn, Jeskai, BGx

Key Matchups: Various

Key Matchups: Storm, Ad Naus, Titan Shift, Burn

Spells

Key Matchups: Various

Key Matchups: Various

Key Matchups: Various

Enchantments

Matchups: Dredge, Living End, Jeskai Control, Grixis Death’s Shadow

Key Matchups: Elves, Merfolk, Grixis Death’s Shadow, Dredge

Planeswalkers

Key Matchups: Control, Midrange (14 or less creatures), Lantern

Key Matchups: Control, BGx, Grixis Death’s Shadow

I even shared this project with Gul_Dukat, another reputable UW Control player on MTGO. He was also intrigued and immediately put his own version of the deck together to run it through some competitive leagues. After a rough first outing, as he was adjusting to the deck’s new Wish and sideboarding dynamic, he went 4-1 in his 2nd league.

His initial feedback regarding Glittering Wish was positive and promising for the future of Bant Control:

“One of the main reasons to try Wish in UW Control is that it is an extremely fresh approach, and should be pretty exciting to play with. As for what it actually does, it allows us access to cards that make it so we can interact with almost any gameplan, meaning we gain a lot of % points vs decks that require specific answers (i.e. Combo), and giving us 4 extra Supreme Verdict is very handy in Modern.”

Besides Gifts Ungiven, this is without a doubt, the most ‘unfair’ angle we can possibly implement in a fair deck like UW Control.  I’d say it’s more skill-intensive than UW Control, so there’s definitely a learning curve, even if you’re a seasoned UW Control player, but I think it’s exceptionally rewarding – especially if you’re a metagamer.

Embrace it. BennyHillz and others already have.

It’s only a matter of time before the Control gurus put up consecutive 5-0’s with UWish.  Here’s hoping this paves way for competitive Bant Control in Modern.

Good luck, have fun, and never stop brewing!  I ‘Wish’ you the best!