Control is a tricky prospect in Standard as it stands. Between Zombies and Ramunap Red, there are two aggressive decks that are quite fast and attack on very different axes. The one thing that’s consistent is if you stumble against either, you’re probably dead to rights. The key to winning these matchups is efficient interaction backed by large blockers and the ability to gain life. Unlike traditional matchups between control decks and aggressive decks, sweepers aren’t necessarily a high-value prospect against either deck. Taking this all into consideration, JayBoneCapone put together a control variant that put up very respectable results in the MOCS last weekend:

U/B Control ? Hour of Devastation Standard | JayBoneCapone, 5-2 Standard MOCS

• Creatures (7)
• 2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
• 2 The Scarab God
• 3 Torrential Gearhulk

• Instants (26)
• 1 Essence Extraction
• 1 Murder
• 2 Censor
• 2 Disallow
• 2 Negate
• 3 Essence Scatter
• 3 Grasp of Darkness
• 4 Fatal Push
• 4 Glimmer of Genius
• 4 Supreme Will

• Lands (27)
• 4 Island
• 7 Swamp
• 4 Aether Hub
• 4 Choked Estuary
• 4 Fetid Pools
• 4 Sunken Hollow

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Dispel
• 2 Essence Extraction
• 4 Gifted Aetherborn
• 1 Hour of Glory
• 1 Kefnet the Mindful
• 1 Negate
• 1 Never // Return
• 2 Summary Dismissal
• 2 Yahenni's Expertise

Buy This Deck

What’s really interesting is how Jay has opted to close out games. The deck includes Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet as a key roadblock against both Red decks and Zombies alike. The lifegain is critical, exiling opposing creatures matters against both Zombies and Earthshaker Khenra, and spare blockers are always going to be welcome in these aggressive matchups. Additionally, you have the typical Torrential Gearhulks, which are large enough to block through Earthshaker Khenra while re-buying key instants. Much like Snapcaster Mage, Torrential Gearhulk makes single copies of instants like Essence Extraction or Summary Dismissal far more impactful than they are otherwise.

Your last win condition is The Scarab God. This creature is a resilient threat in controlling matchups, and while you’re unlikely to get many scry effects, its activated ability is all kinds of unfair. It won’t be uncommon for opponents to be able to fight through a single copy of Torrential Gearhulk or Kalitas with something like Abrade or Grasp of Darkness. It’s much less likely that they can fight through a second copy, even if the backup copy is just a 4/4. This deck may look light on lategame advantage, but The Scarab God is just going to keep coming back, and you’re going to get two uses out of each of your Gearhulks. That ability to buyback key counterspells and removal spells so frequently means that you can quickly lock up the game if you can make it through the early turns at a reasonable life total.