Who wants to spend the next hour of their life watching your opponent drop island after island, drawing card after card, and just sitting there with their rotten little Spire Golem waiting to counter your cards? Waiting, waiting, waiting.... Boy! Are we having fun yet or what! I'll personally take the what. In fact, on a more personal note, I'd rather take a real-life butt kicking than have to sit through an hour of MUC. But unfortunately for us, some guy has brought Ol' Blue to the table and now we have to deal with it. So how are we gonna do that?

First off, in order to beat mono-blue control, you have to understand it. And I don't mean just know the decklist.... I mean really understand it. As much as it pains me to say this, I actually suggest that to truly understand the way a deck ticks, you have to play it. So if you haven't played it already, check out the decklist I have posted, go out there and get you a heap of annoying blue magic, and start slangin'.

I'm not going to get crazy about explaining how to properly play this deck because that's not what this article is about, but I will hit a couple points of strategy. Against your average opponent, this deck is no harder to play than burn. Just keep playing islands, counter the big threats before they can get onto the board, drop your golem when you can cast it for free or have enough counter back-up, and try to avoid tapping out completely... EVER. Now don't get me wrong, in the hands of a skilled player this deck is menacing and requires a much higher level of play. And against a skilled opponent, the pilot has to be on their toes and play smart. But most players just aren't that experienced. So go out and play this deck however you like. Whether you win or not isn't important. You're simply trying to get a better understanding for the deck.

So hopefully to this point you've either taken my advice and acquired some hands on experience with the Blue Blaster or you already have some. So how does a typical mono-blue matchup go? You play a spell, your opponent counters it. You don't play a spell, your opponent draws a card. This continues until your opponent reaches their affinity mark on their Spire Golem, then they have enough mana to counter, draw cards, and pretty much do whatever they want. If you managed to get a creature through in the first few turns, that can't be handled with a Piracy Charm, their golem will just play defense until his brother arrives to peck at your life total for 2 points a turn. So where are Big Blue's weaknesses?

The Early Game

The early game can be the defining point of whether you win or lose against MUC. A second turn Qasali Pridemage on the play can easily spell game over for a mono-blue mage. Not only is it actively swinging for 3 on turn three, it can pump your one-drop, and is probably the best solution available for Spire Golem in it's colors. If you are on the play, and have the mana, you can drop it without having to worry about a Counterspell unless your opponent has a Daze or Force Spike, which is a gamble worth taking. Once on the board, it's ability provides an uncounterable Disenchant and it can't be picked off with a Piracy Charm. River Boa is excellent as well with it's unblockable 2 a turn but can easily be handled with a well placed Piracy Charm, so you need to protect it at all costs. Werebear is easy to get out early and is a major threat in the long-game. You will always meet your threshold due to their enormous amount of counters and it can walk through a Spire Golem. Really, if you can get any pressure at all on your opponent in the early game then you are in good shape. I'd even take a Grizzly Bears. It may not win you the game but it can often times lead your opponent to make game-losing mistakes.

This doesn't mean to just dump all your creatures though, that is the last thing you want to do against MUC. If you have the play, you have a decent chance at the early game. If not, you're probably screwed with getting a creature on the board for the first six turns or so. It all depends on your opponents mana. If they ever tap out, which most smart blue players never do, punish them for it. If you have burn in your hand and they tap out at the end of your turn to flash Think Twice hit them in the face with it and laugh. You have to seize every little opportunity you get against MUC even if it means breaking the traditional rules of when to cast stuff. Taking them down to seventeen on turn three may seem insignificant then but it isn't when it'll be impossible for you to cast it on turn ten. It's all about getting your spells through, not when you get them through. Always keep in mind that MUC is a very slow deck. Time is on your side.

 Don't Play Into Their Game

The ideal match for a mono-blue player would be for them to go first and for their opponent to play a single spell every turn for them to counter until they get their dirty golem on the board. So why play to their advantage? Playing against mono-blue means that they are not afraid of you hitting the perfect mana-curve. Go ahead... second turn two-drop, counterspell. Third turn tree-drop, counterspell. Forth turn four-drop.... and so on and so forth. It works well for them and it's part of the reason MUC decks are so powerful. They actually want you to hit a nice mana-curve.

Now most of the time, having three Wild Nacatls and all three land in your hand to get them to full power wouldn't be as impressive as say a Wild Nacatl, a Silhana Ledgewalker, and an Armadillo Cloak. In fact, I might even consider taking a mulligan with the first. Not with MUC though. I would possibly even call this a nut hand against MUC pre-board. Odds are, not all three of them are going to make it. But the point is to stockpile your hand until you can push through a reliable creature. Or in this rare case, your opening hand is already stocked for you.

If you can't get out a decent creature early though, and in most cases you won't, you need to load up your hand and wait for your shot. Even if their golem and Fathom Seer and nipping at you, be patient. Count their lands, count their cards in hand, and assume every single one of them is the exact counterspell (or other threat) that they need against you. Don't gamble. Good magic players don't do that. If you want to gamble, go play slot machines and you'll actually have a chance at winning some real money. The only cases you want to gamble on are the ones that will basically seal the game for you and when the odds are heavily in your favor (like that Qasali Pridemage scenario).

If they have enough mana open for two counters, and you have three creatures in hand that you can cast, this is your turn to go off. In most cases, you'll want to assume your first two dudes are going to get countered so save the best for last. In the event they let one of your lesser creatures through, still assume they have the counter and are waiting for something better. Especially if it's a one-toughness creatures because they are probably going to ice it with a Piracy Charm at the end of your turn anyway. So keep hanging onto that last card and re-stock yourself before you give it another shot. Patience grasshoppa.

Post-Board

Post-board gets much better in the mono-blue matchup.... if you have the right side and know how to utilize it. Pyroblast is an obvious staple for any red deck and is self-explantory for the most part, but I will mention a couple things. First of all, it's best to assume you're only going to get one (if you get any at all) and you should treat it as such. Only use it for an emergency. Use it to push something through the barrage of counters that will significantly change the game, like a Rhox Brute, or to protect your River Boa from their Piracy Charm. Don't do something stupid like counter a Think Twice. Only use it for game-changing events.

On a side-note, MUC is one of the most powerful decks in the format due to it's lack of hate cards. Most of your serious anti-blue cards are either uncommon or even rare, so that means we have to get creative. One thing I've discovered about Ol' Blue is that if you stop their Spire Golem, you can often times win the game. The golem is a huge part of their defense and one of their only win conditions. If you stop the golem, your odds increase dramatically. This raises the value of cards like Divine Offering, Disenchant, Dispeller's Capsule and Naturalize. Three of them are instants which give you the option of taking out their no good golem when they tap out to re-think things. The Dispeller's Capsule is great because it lets you get it on the board turn one. Three of these cards also deal with enchantments which is just gravy against the Cloak matchup.

Most of the "Resounding series" of cards are good because their cycling ability can't be countered. The thunder lets you kill that stinkin golem or deal those last few points of needed damage. The silence removes that goofy golem as well... or even better, two goofy golems. The scream nukes two of their counters. The roar and wave I wouldn't recommend. There is better side available and they don't do much. Bouncing one of their golems is completely useless and pumping a creature that you can't get on the board anyway isn't that great either. The others are bombs though if you can cast them.

Gigadrowse is good mainly because there is a lack of blue-on-blue crime in the Pauper world. Just through a loaded Gigadrowse at them at the end of their turn and you'll have a turn that will be worry-free of that pesky counter-magic. The best they can do is counter some of the replicated spells but that would be foolish on their part and would probably never happen unless they didn't understand the rules. So the Giga buys you a turn. The only other blue option I'm aware of is to simply side in counters for their counters so you can push your serious spells through. Negate is great, Force Spike is decent, and Mana Tithe isn't bad in case you aren't running blue.

If you can destroy their golem and just wait it out, they will deck themselves due to all their card drawing. I know, I know, it's not very fun, but it's a way to win. You have to watch out for their little Fathom Seer as well. But usually, a blue player will let their seer die if you hit it with removal. They just want the little bit of defense it provides and the extra cards anyway so it's usually not a threat.

I Will Always Hate MUC

MUC is like the MMA fighter or boxer you see that "picks points" instead of going for the knock out. MUC is a strict tactician that has a solid game plan and tends to execute it very well. It also tends to have a solution for most anything that any deck can through at it, especially since Counterspell itself can handle almost anything. It is an excellent deck, arguably the best in the format, but I am a KO kind of guy and I like to see my opponents bleed.

I hope I gave you all something to think about the next time you are building a sideboard or are looking directly in the ugly face of one of those nasty golems. So remember, patience is key. I will continue doing "How to Beat" articles in the Pauper format so if you'd like to see a particular deck disected, send me an e-mail at: rickybaird118@yahoo.com

Thank you all for reading and kick Ol' Blue in the face for me next time you see him!