The popular trading card game Magic: the Gathering offers a variety of formats for players, ranging from Standard and Draft to creative formats such as Commander and Cube. Meanwhile, a robust and diverse format is Modern, which features control decks, combo, aggro, midrange, and even more.
When it comes to control decks, few are as powerful and formidable as UW Control builds. Each deck may look a little different, and some might splash in black for a UWb build. But the core idea is the same: use card draw, counterspells, enchantment-based removal, and powerful finishers such as Celestial Collonade to close out the game. But there are ways to fight back. No matter what colors you’re using, there are some cards in your sideboard that can give UW Control a tough time in games 2 and 3. Which in particular should you consider?
10 Blood Moon
This enchantment works well against a number of decks in Modern, and list includes UW Control for sure! This deck has no use for red mana, and it would rather get Hallowed Fountain and Glacial Fortress on the battlefield for flexible mana. But once Blood Moon comes down, your opponent had better get a Detention Sphere quick, or their mana base is going to get ugly, fast.
9 Pithing Needle
A number of staple cards in Modern are scary not when they’re cast, but when their abilities are activated. When it comes to UW Control, try siding in Pithing Needle and cast it as soon as possible to get in under those counterspells. What to name with the Needle? If your land destruction options are limited, name Celestial Collonade, so it cannot become a 4/4 finisher.
If a planeswalker such as Jace the Mind Sculptor is ruining your day, try naming him instead. Finally, some UW control decks are known to cast Batterskull as a finisher, so name it to shut down its self-bounce and its equip ability. Once you get rid of the 0/0 Germ creature token, Batterskull becomes a total paperweight!
8 Dispel
If two dueling decks in Modern (or Legacy) are running blue, they might end up in a counterspell war! When a nasty spell hits the stack, players may fight over whether or not that spell resolves. For games 2 and three 3 against UW control, side in one or two Dispel.
For single blue mana, this spell can counter any instant, nailing the likes of Man Leak, Spell Snare, and even Path to Exile. Better yet, it’s not a two-drop, so the ever-popular Spell Snare can’t hit it. But be aware that your opponent might have some Dispels of their own. Be ready.
7 Spell Snare
This card doesn’t do well against Dispel, but it is a popular Modern card for a reason. Against UW control, it can counter a Snapcaster Mage, ensuring that your opponent isn’t about to flash back a spell and get a 2/1 body in the process. Or, try countering a timely Remand or Mana Leak and get the upper hand in a counterspell war.
Players often cast Remand to win counterspell wars or to hit a card that can’t be cast again in that turn. Spell Snare, though, may get the last laugh. And if the UW Control deck splashes black for Countersquall (costing UB), Spell Snare hits that, too. Lastly, try Spell Snare against a Journey to Nowhere that’s intended to lock away your best creature.
6 Counterflux
This will be the last counterspell to show up on this list, and it’s packing some power that neither Dispel nor Spell Snare can offer. It’s color-heavy, costing UUR, but if you can afford that, prepare for victory in any counterspell war.
Counterflux can counter any spell that you do not control, and it cannot be countered in return! Sorry, Mana Leak or Remand, but you’re powerless here. In a pinch, you can Overload this card to counter everything on the stack that you don’t control!
5 Spirit of the Labyrinth
While Born of the Gods wasn’t the most spectacular set, it did bring us this stern enchantment creature. Costing just 1W, this 3/1 spirit shuts down any fancy card draw tricks for all players.
No one can draw more than one card per turn, so a Sphinx’s Revelation or Divination is going to look pretty silly with this thing around. Make sure to protect it somehow, though. It doesn’t have hexproof or protection from white or blue.
4 Duress
Suppose you don’t run blue, and you can’t counter anything. Don’t despair! Side in Duress, and you’ll knock your opponent’s spells before they even hit the stack at all. For just one black mana, Duress can force your opponent to discard a nonland, noncreature spell.
Not only can this get rid of Detention Sphere or Cryptic Command, for example, but you see your opponent’s entire hand. Playing around your opponent’s plans should be pretty easy after that.
3 Leyline of the Void
A deck doesn’t have to run black mana to care about the graveyard. UW Control decks typically play with a few Snapcaster Mages, and that 2/1 Wizard is going to rummage through the graveyard to find the perfect spell to flash right back. Often, UW Control players will do this to get a Path to Exile, counterspell, or Cryptic Command and generate some serious value for a grindy game.
Deny them that luxury with this black enchantment, which erases their entire graveyard! And as a Leyline, you can start the game with it in play if it’s in your opening hand. Try countering that.
2 Krosan Grip
Time to think about how to deal with those enchantments. Not only does a UW Control deck counter spells or cast Path to Exile, but Detention Sphere and Journey to Nowhere can exile all kinds of threats. Many green and white cards in Magic can destroy enchantments, but they’re vulnerable to counterspells. Not so with Krosan Grip!
With Split Second, this card won’t allow anyone (including you) to put any more spells on the stack until it resolves. Even activated abilities (outside of mana abilities) are blocked off. You want those enchantments dead, and no Cryptic Command will stand in your way!
1 Vexing Shusher
Let’s wrap up the list with some more counter-countermagic tech. This 2/2 Goblin can’t be countered, so it can hit the battlefield without much trouble. But it gets better: for just one red or green mana, you can make a spell of yours totally immune to countermagic while on the stack.
Keep a land or mana dork open, and now your spells can cruise right past those counterspells and resolve with leisure. Just make sure to have a backup plan in case a Path to Exile or enchantment tries to take the Shusher out of the picture.
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