Control decks in Modern are very interesting because of the huge diversity of strategies that are viable in the format. The breadth of things that you have to be prepared for means that players try all manner of crazy combinations in order to make sure that their answers stretch far enough. Jeskai control has always existed in the format, and has been popular in recent months. Habakiri is eschewing those options in favor of looking into straight Control:

Blue-Red Control - Modern | Habakiri, 5-0 Modern League

• Creatures (11)
• 1 Grim Lavamancer
• 1 Keranos, God of Storms
• 1 Torrential Gearhulk
• 4 Snapcaster Mage
• 4 Young Pyromancer

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 1 Chandra, Pyromaster
• 1 Jace, Architect of Thought
• 1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

• Instants (14)
• 1 Shadow of Doubt
• 3 Cryptic Command
• 3 Electrolyze
• 3 Mana Leak
• 4 Lightning Bolt

• Sorceries (7)
• 1 Sleight of Hand
• 2 Roast
• 4 Serum Visions

• Artifacts (1)
• 1 Crucible of Worlds

• Lands (24)
• 2 Mountain
• 6 Island
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 1 Spirebluff Canal
• 1 Sulfur Falls
• 1 Wandering Fumarole
• 2 Steam Vents
• 2 Tectonic Edge
• 4 Flooded Strand
• 4 Scalding Tarn

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Blood Moon
• 1 By Force
• 1 Dispel
• 3 Dragon's Claw
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 1 Grim Lavamancer
• 1 Izzet Charm
• 1 Izzet Staticaster
• 3 Relic of Progenitus
• 1 Spell Pierce

Buy This Deck

This is a deck that is built to prey on creature decks. The raw efficiency of Lightning Bolt, Snapcaster Mage, and Electrolyze is hard to keep up with, particularly when it’s backed up by Mana Leak and Cryptic Command to prevent cards like Collected Company helping your opponent pull ahead of your removal.

For me, the biggest draw to this deck is the top end. Keranos, God of Storms is an incredible way to pull ahead, particularly against opposing control decks. Keranos doesn’t get hit by Supreme Verdict, Lightning Bolt, or Path to Exile and will just sit in play generating card advantage and dealing damage to your opponent. Torrential Gearhulk is similarly powerful, and teams up very well with Snapcaster Mage and Lightning Bolts to help you turn the corner quickly and get your opponent dead.

If you expect to play against a lot of creature decks, this seems like a fantastic choice with a lot of flexibility. For example: Roast is good choice for opposing Reality Smashers, but you could easily play more copies of cards like Flame Slash, Burst Lightning, or Dismember depending on exactly what it is you’re trying to kill. You can also choose whether you want Young Pyromancers to give you the ability to play more aggressively, or if you’d prefer to play longer games with cards like Vedalken Shackles or Blood Moon. There’s tons of variations, which means you can always find a way to take advantage of what your opponents are doing while keeping them guessing the whole way.