About the Card
One of control decks' main traits is that this archetype doesn't need many win conditions. These deck's strategy is focused on your opponent's strategy - you want to prevent them from developing their game plan, countering their spells, removing their creatures and hoarding value to do that again and again until your opponent can no longer do anything and the game is completely under your control. Only then you'll play the card that will end the game for you.
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Teferi is a good example of a win condition in this archetype, and is usually found in decks full of counters and global removals.
With the release of Lost Caverns of Ixalan, this archetype will get Unstable Glyphbridge, an artifact that acts as a board wipe for five mana and that has a new ability introduced in this set.
Craft is an ability that allows you to transform a permanent by exiling it alongside another permanent that is on board or in your graveyard. In Unstable Glyphbridge's case, you need to have another artifact on board or in your graveyard to transform it into Sandswirl Wanderglyph.
This card's transformed side brings even more interesting abilities than its main side. Any time an opponent casts a spell during your turn, they won't be able to attack you or the planeswalkers you control - and if your opponent does attack, they won't be able to cast spells for the rest of the turn.
Besides these powerful abilities, Sandswirl Wanderglyph is a 5/3 body with Flying, which makes it an incredible card to use in control decks.
Unstable Glyphbridge in Standard
Standard has good control decks currently.
Bant Control is a deck that leans on the card advantage generated by Up the Beanstalk through powerful cards such as Leyline Binding. This deck's only win condition is The Wandering Emperor, which is an extremely powerful card, but recently the format got The End, which is a very strong card against these types of decks.
In this build, Unstable Glyphbridge could go in as an extra win condition, besides being a board wipe and bringing a Stax element to this deck.
In Esper, this card could do the same thing. Both decks benefit from this addition, and can only adjust their artifact sources, such as Mirrex, according to the number of Unstable Glyph copies being used to make it easier to use the card's Craft effect.
When compared to Sunfall, which is the format's main global removal, Unstable Glyph works almost in the same way, clearing the board and leaving a potential body behind, but even the biggest token created by Sunfall can't compare with Sandswirl Wanderglyph.
Another advantage to using Unstable Glyph is that, as it is a permanent, you can return it to your hand with Otawara, Soaring City to use it again.
Unstable Glyphbridge in Pioneer and Explorer
Azorius Control is the perfect home to Unstable Glyphbridge. The deck even became one of the top 3 most played decks lately, but it went down after the release of
Wilds of Eldraine as aggro decks grew and Izzet Phoenix returned.
Unstable Glyphbridge might give a new game angle to Azorius Control, even allowing this deck to fully incorporate the package of Up the Beanstalk + Leyline Binding, which became popular in Control decks through various eternal formats.
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This deck has great options to activate Unstable Bridge's Craft, and the Stax element that its transformation provides might make a difference in harder games, such as the match against Phoenix or Rakdos, in which your opponent tries to control Azorius' resources while they hit them with their creatures.
With Sandspout Glyph on board, the opponent will be faced with the choice of trying to attack and losing a turn or not attacking, giving Azorius time, or attempting to remove Glyph and risk getting hit with a counter as an answer.
Final Words
Unstable Glyphbridge // Sandswirl Wanderglyph is another great addition that will come to constructed formats in Lost Caverns of Ixalan. It is a card that fits Control decks like a glove and will be a very welcomed backup.
One more article down. Thank you for reading this far. Leave your card impressions, opinions, suggestions or feedback down below in the comment section. I'll try to answer all. See you next time!
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