Welcome Magic lovers!
With the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm, the dragons have landed in Standard, and several of them have begun tentatively seeing play, sprinkled among the top decks and top contenders.
One such dragon that's gotten plenty of buzz is Shiko, Paragon of the Way, with its high flexibility and power to match. It plays perfectly alongside cards like Split Up and Stock Up, which make it a perfect fit at the top of the curve in a control deck. One such list placed in the top 4 of the first bout of Magic Online Challenges that occurred this past weekend, so let's start there as we dive into Jeskai Control in Standard.
The Plan
Beginning on turn one, this deck aims to effectively manage the board with cheap removal like Torch the Tower, Lightning Helix, Ride's End, and Get Lost. Not only does all of this interaction cost two or less, it also covers several bases, with some of it exiling creatures with pesky death triggers, some of it gaining life, and some of it hitting non-creature permanents as well.
Backing that up are the two-mana counterspells, No More Lies and Change the Equation. The latter is a card that's recently shot up in value in the control shells for its ability to not only be effective against cheaply-costed aggressive decks in the early game, but to also remain relevant in the late game, continuing to counter cheap threats even when the opponent has enough mana to pay for something like No More Lies or Phantom Interference. Hitting midrange-sized, late-game red and/or green threats is the icing on the cake. Three Steps Ahead is a necessary hard counter in order to make sure big mid-late game threats don't hit the battlefield and take over the game, while also providing some card draw and, once in a while, copying an Overlord of the Mistmoors or even a Shiko in order to flashback something critical.
At three mana, we find the card draw engine, the ubiquitous Stock Up. It's clear now that Stock Up is one of the best card draw spells ever printed, and no less than four copies feels correct in any Standard control deck. If that wasn't enough, there's also a pair of Rediscover the Way to not only provide card draw and selection, but it also conveniently put itself in the graveyard for a future Shiko, Paragon of the Way. Additionally, it functions as a way to slam the door shut on a game out of nowhere by giving Shiko or some Overlord of the Mistmoors tokens double strike in order to present lethal damage.
The deck runs five sweepers, with Split Up being a full four-of, while only a single Sunfall at the top of the curve is kept in as a catch-all. Split Up is particularly powerful in this Jeskai deck because it costs only three mana, which allows Shiko to flash it back out of the graveyard, sometimes naming 'tapped creatures' to act as a pseudo plague wind, while other times simply naming 'untapped creatures' in order to sweep everything, Shiko included.
The creature suite features a single Beza, the Bounding Spring, a pair of Overlord of the Mistmoors, and a trio of Shiko, Paragon of the Way, easily the most powerful card in the deck, and the bomb that allows one to really pull away with the game once things are stable. It's hard to describe how potent Shiko is to someone who hasn't played with it, as it often feels like it's a wild card that can turn into the perfect solution to any situation. Need to kill something or gain life, or even burn out the opponent? Shiko back a Get Lost or Lightning Helix. Need to sweep the board? Shiko back a Split Up. Need some gas to refill your hand? Shiko back a Stock Up or Rediscover the Way.
Even a Three Steps Ahead can be flashed back to copy an Overlord or draw some cards, though the spree cost must still be paid, of course. The only spells that Shiko, Paragon of the Way doesn't synergize with are Ride's End and the two-mana counterspells, No More Lies and Change the Equation.
Its large, 4/5 body is also excellent at playing both offense and defense due to its vigilance ability, and it's often able to pressure the opponent’s life total or planeswalkers while simultaneously protecting its controller.
Once the deck stabilizes and its pilot has a Shiko in hand, it feels very difficult to lose.
The Mana
This is, unfortunately, the weakest aspect of the deck. The color requirements in this Jeskai list are steep, and the mana can be very unwieldy. Running the standard for a control deck at twenty-six lands, but with only seventeen white sources, eighteen blue sources and a paltry fourteen red sources, one often has to choose between getting double-white for Split Up or Beza, the Bounding Spring, getting red for a removal spell, or getting a second blue source to have Three Steps Ahead up on the opponent's next turn.
It attempts to remedy this by playing a full ten verge lands, which makes a playset of Fabled Passage almost a requirement. Fetching up a basic land so that one's 'dual lands' make both colors can be a pretty large inconvenience during a game. Often one must choose between which verge one would like to power up, leading to some very awkward turns.
This also means there is absolutely zero room for utility lands, such as Fountainport, Blast Zone or Demolition Field, which are all rather invaluable tools in a two-color control deck's arsenal.
One will also find zero creature-lands here, as the deck requires a minimum number of basic lands for its four Fabled Passage to function effectively.
That said, this mana configuration may not be optimal, and almost certainly requires further testing.
The Sideboard
In the sideboard we find the usual control deck stalwarts, with plenty of anti-aggro tech in Authority of the Consuls and an additional pair of Beza, the Bounding Spring.
Negate, Tishana's Tidebinder and Change the Equation come in against the control decks in order to combat their countermagic and planeswalkers.
Rest in Peace and The Stone Brain are primarily for the Omniscience Combo deck, though the former is also excellent against any reanimation strategies, such as Jeskai Oculus.
A single Lithomantic Barrage is excellent at killing everything from small creatures, to Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or the new Elspeth, Storm Slayer.
Conclusion
The Jeskai Control deck feels very powerful when its mana works and it's able to cast its spells in a timely fashion. The cheap removal, built-in life-gain, and large bodies is an excellent mix against aggressive decks, though its mana base leaves plenty to be desired.
If you love value (who doesn't?), and are looking for a new control list to play, I recommend taking Jeskai Control featuring Shiko, Paragon of the Way for a spin!
