When people ask me what format I play I usually reply with Vintage. When someone asks me what my favorite format is I answer '100 card singleton or Vintage Cube'. Usually a question follows: 'why do you prefer 100CS or Vintage Cube over Vintage?'  There are two reasons for it. The first one has to do with the metagame. There are times when certain cards or decks become prominent and those times may not be something I'd enjoy. For example when Monastery Mentor was relatively new I seriously hated the card. I couldn't stand it and it didn't matter if I was the one playing it or my opponent. At one of the Power Nine Challenges I played 6 rounds against the same deck - UWR Mentor. At that time I just couldn't say that I liked Vintage the most, because I couldn't even bear playing it. In the case of 100CS and Vintage Cube though this has never happened to me. The second reason is probably more important even though it is something I do not usually mention. In Cube and 100CS you need to build your own decks. I know people can netdeck or read/watch some guides about how to draft Cube or what archetypes are good. In general though what you pick will make your deck and your ability to use them will decide if you win your matches. That is an aspect that other competitive formats like Vintage, Legacy, Modern, Standard do not have. Because no matter how well you brew, you will just build a future tier 1 deck of the format. While Vintage gives relative freedom in deckbuilding it still is not as diverse as 100CS.

Ugin might remove all my creatures from the game but then he will be mine!

When Stoneforge Mystic got banned it was the first time I felt cheated by Wizards of the Coast. It was the very first moment I felt the format I liked the most got spoiled. I thought that it wasn't a justified ban and I quit playing for a while. It was silly but I felt betrayed. During my 100CS break though I was still wondering what to play. I had to reevaluate my look on 100CS. At that time I played more to win. While I had lots of fun, learned a lot and piloted difficult decks to play, I yearned for something different. While there usually were about 20 blue cards in my decks, it wasn't enough for me. For that reason I built UW Combo-Control deck with a black splash for tutors. When I put this deck together I started to play again to big success and then stopped when the format started to wane and was later removed from Magic Online.

Fast forward to this year. On the 24th of December I could either use my PTQ Finals token or enter a Player Run Event - Christmas Special Chainsaw Massacre. The tournament series is hosted by ML_Berlin. For more about the series check out this forum post or check out one of my earlier articles about the format - 100C Singleton is not dead!. Since celebrating Christmas got the priority I wasn't sure if I could enter either of the events. I got lucky though because I managed to join the Chainsaw Massacre event. It was the best thing that happened that day. I had a few minutes to enter the event, so I just entered with UWb Combo Control list I played a few matches before. It is the deck I have the most experience with and it is also the deck I enjoy playing the most. It was a joy to play six rounds with it and because of that I decided to write a bit about my deck. The decklist I will talk about is from the event. It is not yet a fine tuned deck but it served me well and went 6-0 earning me 10 tix and a nice Christmas tree Trophy Michelle_Young created for me.

For whom is UWb Control

Players who like to sit back and wait until they gain control of the game will like this deck. For some players feeling that you have the game under control is important. For those players it is important to know that they are the ones who made the right decisions that led to victory. Such a victory is a well-earned one and feels rewarding. On the other hand knowing you misplayed feels really bad, the consequences are much harsher than when playing with a different deck archetype. This deck is for those who don't need creatures to win the game and do not mind winning the game with a combo. This requires the players to know when the moment is to go for the combo. Otherwise this deck is a very good choice for a big tournament if the player piloting the deck is capable to play long games and stay focused. The deck is not ideal for casual play or friendly games unless your friends do not mind a highly competitive deck that disrupts opponent's play. One could probably say that playing against this deck can result in a negative player experience. This deck's aim was to win tournaments and as such should be approached. It's not a budget deck, but many of the 10+ tix cards can be cut and the deck can be in 150-200tix range and still be very highly competitive.

Strategy and Card Choices

This deck started out as pure control whose win condition was either a planeswalker or Celestial Colonnade. The time limit for a match sometimes became a problem and for that I needed a faster win condition. Since my deck already ran some of very powerful enchantments and artifacts I decided to put two more - Helm of Obedience and Rest in Peace.

Let's look at the text on Helm of Obedience. The oracle text says:

{X}, {T}: Target opponent puts cards from the top of his or her library into his or her graveyard until a creature card or X cards are put into that graveyard this way, whichever comes first. If a creature card is put into that graveyard this way, sacrifice Helm of Obedience and put that card onto the battlefield under your control. X can't be 0.

So normally this effect for 4 mana is not so great but when you combine it with an effect written of Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void, it becomes a win condition. If an effect that prevents cards from being put into your opponent's graveyard, the process described in the first sentence of Helm of Obedience's effect will 'never' stop. Your opponent's entire library will be exiled, even if X is 1.

Sometime the Helm of Obedience without Rest in Peace can win the game. There are players I milled with it and there are also reanimator players that died to one of their own creatures I stole. It does not happen often but the pilot of this deck should keep in mind that the effect of this card can still be used in other ways than just winning the game instantly.

In order for the deck to function it needs:

• Card draw/selection
• Removal
• Permission
• High impact/variance cards
• Strong cards gaining card advantage
• Win condition

Blue has the best card draw and card selection spells in Magic. Since the best cards at card drawing and selection are banned (see Dig Through Time, Treasure Cruise) in 100CS I had to do with other cards. Brainstorm and Ponder got unbanned which is good. Preordain is little brother to Ponder so it has its place in the deck. Portent is neat card as well. It works similarly to Ponder but it can target your opponent as well which sometimes is actually relevant. The fact that you draw a card at the beginning of next upkeep is usually not an issue since the deck mostly plays at instant speed. It is a problem if what you are looking for is a land though. Impulse is the best card selection spell, Fact or Fiction is very good at finding what you need and Mystic Confluence can draw you three cards (even though it usually draws just 1)!

White gives us access to global removal and the best spot removal ever printed in the form of Swords to Plowshares (and Path to Exile). This deck needs about 3 global removal spells if the deck runs other means of dealing with bigger creature presence (Humility, Moat). In addition I put Toxic Deluge in the deck. It costs black which is sometimes a problem but costs less mana and does not care about creatures with Regeneration or Indestructibility. This card is especially good against Elves since turn 4 removal can be too late. The last card worth mentioning is Council's Judgment. This card can deal with cards like True-Name Nemesis or cards with Hexproof/Shroud, it is more or less a must-have card in a deck that can support WW.

Permission is the most important in this deck or rather it is something that decides whether you survive or not before you manage to play your win condition in the form of a planeswalker like Elspeth, Sun's Champion or the combo. I run a mix of 25 counterspells. I choose from the best and classic ones and added some that are rather odd. One of the odd ones is Dissipate. It is the weakest of the counterspells in the deck. Another one is Forbid. I always liked this card and played it mostly in mono blue control or Turboland decks. But even in this deck it can sometimes be replayed several times without losing precious cards that one needs and for that reason I decided to keep it in my deck. Absorb might seem odd to those who do not know the card, but it is a good one. Gaining 3 life is important against aggressive decks. Ojutai's Command is the latest addition to the deck and while I'm not really a big fan of it still, it also helps with Red Deck Wins and similar decks. Often this card becomes gain 4 life, Draw a card but I always found it worth it during my matches and tournaments I played with this deck. The last counterspell that you don't usually see other play is Complicate. This card does not seem to be worth it since it costs 3 mana but so far it has performed better than I would have thought (being able to actually use it as a Force Spike and draw a new card). If I were to cut the card though I'd replace it with Negate. The most dangerous cards I need to get rid of are noncreature spells (notably planeswalkers) and if possible I need a maximum CMC 2 counterspell.

I planned to kill my opponent with True-Name Nemesis and expected Kitchen Finks but Courser of Kruphix changed the math. So had to change my plan, play Moat and sit behind it till I could deal with the board or win the game in another way while hoping my opponent wouldn't draw a Disenchant effect or Hornet Queen.

What do I mean with high impact/variance cards? For example look at Back to Basics. Against some decks it will be stellar and will decide the game, against other decks this card will be more or less useless. Moat is such a card as well since it is good against creature decks, but against control decks it won't do a thing. Humility is also one such a card. I do not run it now, because I put some important creatures in my deck. But if I wouldn't be playing any creatures I'd certainly put the card in my deck.

With strong cards gaining card advantage I have planeswalkers in mind in general. In this era of very strong creatures and powerful planeswalkers a control deck needs to catch up and the only way to do so is to play the planeswalkers as well. My planeswalkers of choice are Jace, Architect of Thought, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Gideon Jura and Elspeth, Sun's Champion. Jace, Architect of Thought is often not considered good enough but all his abilities are good. It can save a lot of life with its first ability and with Humility in play it becomes a fog effect each turn. The second Fact or Fiction ability lets us look for cards we need or just draws us cards. The ultimate ability is not only a tutor but usually finds a card that just wins the game on the spot. In most cases I look for Elspeth in my deck, but sometimes I also look for the other part of the Helm combo. The Gideons are planeswalkers that themselves can attack which means that they alone can deal lethal damage or kill opposing planeswalkers. One creates tokens and the other one can slow an opponent down or kill off their creatures. Elspeth, Sun's Champion is a very strong card. It stops any aggressive deck and provides a win condition against any deck. She can also destroy big creatures (with power 4 or more) which comes in handy sometimes but not often. Jace, the Mind Sculptor is the epitome of overpower that provides its own protection, card advantage and win condition.

The win conditions in this deck are either the combo, planeswalkers or creaturelands. Sometimes even some of the few creatures in the deck can win the game, notably True-Name Nemesis. Some of the creatures I put in the deck I'd just replace with other cards. For example I was always siding out Restoration Angel and Venser, Shaper Savant. Siding cards like this out all the time means that the cards should not be in the in the first place. Instead of these I'd put in some card selection spells - See Beyond comes to mind. Serum Visions would do. The problem with the cards is primarily their mana cost. For 4 mana I have a 3/4 Flying body that can hardly blink anything. Venser, Shaper Savant is a good card but 4 mana is expensive even for this effect. The card is very good late game with Karakas in play but this deck does not really need to profit that much from that in late game since the game should be already over. Instead I'd rather play a bounce effect in the form of Into the Roil that for 4 mana draws a card while it bounces something. Batterskull while a good card as well is also very expensive for this deck and is 'worse' compared to the planeswalkers or even Celestial Colonnade. Against some decks though the card is better and I'd move it into my sideboard if I'd want to keep it in the deck.

There are few tutors in the deck. Muddle the Mixture is primarily a tutor for Rest in Peace but other common targets are Impulse and Counterspell. It also can fetch Warmth, Dragon's Claw, Disenchant and Containment Priest which are important sideboard cards. Enlightened Tutor is THE tutor in this deck. It fetches the other half of the combo you don't have and also looks for all the high impact/variance cards. Mystical Teachings is usually a card that most of the time looks for Enlightened Tutor or a counterspell of choice - Force of Will in a dire situation and Cryptic Command when we can wait half a turn to get the spell. Mystical Teachings is one of the reasons why there is black in the deck, its Flashback cost requires B (5B). Trinket Mage can also tutor some interesting cards. In my case it's just Engineered Explosives and Seat of the Synod. A land is often needed and Engineered Explosives can deal with different kind of permanents. Against aggressive decks it can usually deal with several cards at once.

The game plan of this deck is very simple, its execution might be more tough - take control over the game, land a win condition and win. Against some decks this is not possible so it is better to switch to only combo approach. Against some decks it is easier to just go for the combo. Certain decks run more permanent removal then others, notably BUG Midrange/Control decks. Against these trying to win with the combo is way more difficult and is not advised unless it is the only chance how to win.

Sideboard

My 100CS sideboards are not ideal. First of all do not consider them real sideboards, so if you'd want to play with my deck, create your own sideboard. My sideboards are more of a placeholder for cards that I wanted to play plus some cards that could come handy against certain matchups. I usually want to have all the cards I might need main deck, the cards in my sideboard are often cards that did not make it to the main deck. For example I have a Blue Moon deck built. In its sideboard I do run some hate cards against white decks primarily. The sideboard does not include cards like Anarchy or Flashfires but rather cards like Sulfur Elemental or Stormbreath Dragon that I can side in against other decks as well if I choose to.

What I was certain about in this deck was that I needed cards against RDW which is the most played deck. I usually run a Circle of Protection: Red effect but for some reason I don't have it in my sideboard, I put Warmth there instead of it. The only card I never really played from my sideboard was Lone Missionary. Kor Firewalker is a card I'd rather run even though it costs WW. Against RDW though having access to WW is important. I don't usually want to hate some decks or colors out but after last tournament's experience with Tsunami I would consider running Acid Rain (that's more of a joke though). Green ramp decks are a problem because I can't keep up with them usually. More Disenchant effects wouldn't hurt either but otherwise I'm not entirely sure what I would want in my sideboard. The deck's weak point is the inability to deal with planeswalkers.

Budget friendlier cards

The price of the deck can be reduced while keeping the deck good. There are cards in the deck that I put in there without much thought like Batterskull or Restoration Angel. These are cards that are totally unnecessary and any cantrip or counterspell of low cmc is good. Some cards can be replaced by spot removal like Condemn or Oust because your opponent's life total won't ever be an issue. Some cards work like win conditions so they would be replaced by a card that can win the game. I used to run the other Elspeths when Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar did not exist yet. They were performing quite ok. Elspeth Tirel actually turned to be pretty good, better than the 4 mana Elspeth in this deck. If the mana base is expensive it can be reworked. The deck can run more cards that produce two colors and lands like Calciform Pools are not bad either. If you can't afford a 3 colored mana base you can cut black because the deck won't lose that much. Lingering Souls are not important and Mystical Teachings can still be played. Other black cards in the deck also have replacement. Since creatures in the deck are expensive they can be totally cut from the deck and Humility can be put in.

Decklist