Video: BUG Control in Standard

Round 1

Embedded media

Playing that side of the matchup, it feels like Mono Blue Devotion is pretty well-positioned against me. I get punished a lot for being slower than Mono
Black Devotion, and the green doesn’t offer a lot since most of their guys fly and I often don’t really have time to take advantage of Courser of Kruphix.
The planeswalkers are a lot worse than Desecration Demon. Even compared to other builds of BGu, the extra damage I’m taking from my lands is a real
liability.

Round 2

Embedded media

Well, I lost when he stumbled on two mana which is pretty bad sign. I probably needed to leave up mana for Hero’s Downfall to play around Gray Merchant
earlier, and I probably needed to Thoughtseize at the end, but I think I was dead either way if I spent that much mana and life there. In the second game,
I kept a hand that was soft to Pack Rat and got punished. I probably need to mulligan those, but it’s tough against Thoughtseize.

Round 3

Embedded media

This is a matchup that I actually think is quite good for me. I have more card draw, while he’s relying on trumps, but the trumps are generally worse than
my trumps, and my removal is very good. I lost the second game because I was stuck on three lands long enough that Elspeth, Sun’s Champion was able to get
out way ahead of Prognostic Sphinx, but that’s not how I’d expect the game to go most of the time, and I was still very close to winning.

Round 4

Embedded media

That was an interesting match. I’m pretty sure my opponent drew really well every game–I thought the first game would be over several turns earlier than
it was, but he drew Elspeth to start threatening me into a chain of Sphinx’s Revelations to barely stay alive for awhile after my early sting of great
draws with Underworld Connections into my Planeswalkers at just the right times.

My plans in the second and third games both completely backfired. I don’t think I could have won the third game, but I do think I could have won the
second. I tried to blank Sin Collector with Aetherling, but took some hits to do that, forgetting that that would make Elspeth tokens a fast enough threat
that they would be hard to race. If I’d just killed his second Sin Collector right away, I don’t think he could have won the race against Aetherling.

In the third game, I tried to take advantage of the fact that I had more lands than he did by making him discard his cheap plays, but he drew lands and I
didn’t, and he very easily beat me. If I’d taken his threats instead, I might have had more of a chance, but it was tough because he had plenty of good
threats.

While trying not to be too results oriented, I don’t think this is the right way to build this deck. All the blue cards were pretty good when I cast them,
but I think they just make the deck too clunky. I like that Pack Rat is something I can do on the second turn that my opponent usually feels like they have
to answer right away, which makes it a great tempo play. This deck doesn’t have the option to play its finishers in that mode, and that’s a real problem. I
think if I really wanted more card advantage, which Jace, Architect of Thought offers, I’d rather just play Eidolon of Blossoms.