Magic the Gathering TCG Strategy- The Green White Control Deck
Hey everybody, thanks for your readership and thanks for your support. I'm back with another one today, and I'd like to talk with you about a classic Magic the Gathering control deck build- Green White Control. I want to give credit to all the art here to Wizards of the Coast, of subsidiary of Hasbro 1993 to present. All images in this post were taken my myself on a smartphone, and all the artists are credited on the cards themselves in the images.
Green White control decks are something that's been part of the game for decades. One of the most famous Green White control builds was Ernageddon. This deck was famous for using an Erhnam Djinn as the finisher and Armageddon to clear the board of lands. The deck also featured a large number of control cards including Disenchant, Swords to Plowshares, library manipulation and search including Sylvan Library and board sweepers to ensure that you won the game. The deck showcased the Erhnam Djinn, which was a card that allowed or required as a drawback for you to make one of your opponent’s creatures unlockable if you had a forest in play. The deck used Armageddon to lock the board and make Erhnam Djinn’s drawback mute. Once you had destroyed all the lands and locked down the game with a Winter Orb and Icy Manipulator, you could control the tempo of the game and win.
Magic the Gathering- Green White Control Strategy
Green White control decks are still heavily played, and one of my favorite iterations of this deck utilizes spot removal, limited library search and some finishers to win the game. Back in the day in the Ernageddon days, I would drop an Erhnam Djinn and Serra Angel, but today they're much better alternatives. Man Lands including Treetop Village and Mishra’s Factory can be finisher alternatives and are mainstays when the game stretches on.
In terms of tempo control, Green White control is very similar to a blue control deck. Instead of using counterspells which aren't available to the Green White control deck, the deck actually utilizes a lot of spot removal, continuous library search and cards that interact with your opponent's lands. In the original iteration of this deck, Icy Manipulator and Winter Orb were used to break your opponent’s tempo. You could use your Icy Manipulator to tap out your opponent's permanents or the Winter Orb to ensure your lands would untap. You can continue your assault on your opponent like any other control deck, you have to break your opponent's tempo and in this deck there were a lot of answers. Cards like Disenchant and Swords to Plowshares were able to remove incredibly dangerous permanent on your opponent side while you were able to drop a finisher and control the board. Board sweepers like Armageddon, Wrath of God and Nevinrrayl’s Disk sealed your opponent’s fate and generally provided card advantage.
Playing the Green White Control Deck
When you play this deck, you need to be mindful that you're going to be a mid-speed deck. You're not aggressive and you're not a traditional control style blue deck. You are sort of in the mid-range, so you want to make sure you have mana ramp to get started. The original deck used Fellwar Stone, Birds of Paradise, Llanowar Elves and many builds used Wild Growth. The key really was to get out as many threats as you could after around turn four or five. T engine of the deck was the utilized Winter Orb and Icy Manipulator. Ivory Tower was also used to soft lock your opponent, and that way you could gain life to regenerate your total and dump one of your finishers to end the game. In the early days, Spirit Link was utilized. You could use it on your opponent's creature to nullify their attack or on one of your finishers to gain back life you had lost while you were setting up the board. Life gain is key in these decks, as is slowing your opponent's tempo down by throwing up roadblocks while you are setting up a win. During the Tempest era, Wall of Blossoms was key as you can stop when your opponent's early game threats and draw a card thus giving you card advantage.
Green White Control Decks- Pros and Cons
One of the biggest drawbacks to a Green White control deck is that it's kind of riding the fence between a blue control deck, which is pure control and a Beatdown deck. You have to realize that you have to play test this deck incredibly hard, and you have to have a great sideboard. What happens if you run against an aggressive deck or control deck is that you may be at a disadvantage and you need to utilize your sideboard. The build needs a few finishers, and I would say 6to 8 finishers is going to be key. The finisher should be something with power 4 or greater so that you can finish your opponent off quickly, and Manlands should be used to back up the finishers, as they can survive board sweepers. If the game continues to grind on, you may find yourself at the losing end, so controlling your opponent’s lands with cards like Armageddon is key and also making sure you have access to board wipers like Wrath of God or Nevinrayl’s Disk is very key as well. The deck also uses a lot of one-for-one spot removal cards- it's filled with Disenchant, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile and others that can be used one time. One time use spells eliminate one threat, so hold them until you have a credible threat. The deck also utilizes library search and manipulation, so Sylvan Library, Sensi’s Divining Top and the like are ways to manipulate your library to find answers make sure you play test so you have the right amount.
The strengths of the Green White controlled deck are that it is durable and can be consistent. One key thing to know is you will have answers to your opponent's threats- if they drop any kind of an artifact, enchantment, land or creature to attack you, you will have the ability to respond. You're going to drop a solid finisher on your opponent that is supported by board wipers like Armageddon, Wrath of God and Nevinrrayl’s Disk. Be prepared and you will be prepared to disrupt tempo, remove threats at instant speed, but really the key is surviving the first four to five turns. What this means is you have to play test, play test, play test and you have to have a good sideboard. If you're going to have a finisher, you need to know that once that's out there you have to protect it and you have to make sure that each attack counts.
All in all the green white control deck is one of my favorites. This deck performs and you can board wipe, drop a finisher, drop some land control like Winter Orb ir Armageddon and win the game. It can work like clockwork if you practice. it's really frustrating on your opponents and when you can continually answer their threats when you hold back and gain life later in the game. We used to use Ivory Tower and Spirit Link to regain our lost life. Make absolutely sure that each threat you drop is at the right time after you've cleared the board that way your opponent can be hand locked with no creatures and no answers. You are left with a full hand of threats and answers, and can take over the game. I highly recommend putting in Birds of Paradise, Fellwar Stone and other non-land sources so after you wipe the board of lands or you tap down everything with a Winter Orb.
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