Explorer: Jeskai Control - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Azorius Control is one of the strongest decks in Explorer nowadays. No More Lies gave this deck other game possibilities, which are still yet to be explored.

I'm talking about Lightning Helix, an instant that costs , deals three points of damage to any target, and gives you three life. With this card in mind, I decided to create a version of Jeskai Control with an Azorius base, and splash to Red so we can access Lightning Helix and other great cards.

The main reason we use Helix is that it is an excellent spot removal, considering it deals with early game threats and can even remove a The Wandering Emperor or a Liliana of the Veil. The extra life we gain can also make a lot of difference, particularly against Aggro decks.

The main idea with this deck is to control the game with removals that can deal with any type of threat. Besides Helix, we have Get Lost and March of Otherworldly Light, which will deal with a greater variety of threats. Supreme Verdict, Temporary Lockdown, and Farewell are our global removals.

To help us control the game better, besides the removals we've already mentioned, we use the best counterspells in this format: Dovin's Veto and No More Lies.

Memory Deluge and Dig Through Time will keep your hand full of resources and will help you find your deck's finishers.

Like any good Control deck, this list doesn't need many win conditions. Teferi, Hero of Dominaria is still indispensable, but, if we splash Red, we can use Chandra, Awakened Inferno as well. She offers us different play lines which many times finish the game faster, besides the fact she has two abilities that we can use to remove creatures.

The Wandering Emperor is also indispensable and can be impactful in almost any situation. Shark Typhoon is another win condition; we can also use it to create a single token that will attack and put pressure on our opponent, or use it as a chump blocker, besides creating card advantage or even putting it on the board to create several shark tokens.

Our mana base is important as well, considering we use three colors. We need to guarantee we can play the cards we splashed, and guarantee this deck's consistency at the same time.

Mulligan and Game Style

As I mentioned before, our plan is to control the game. So, you'll prefer hands that have efficient interactions and guarantee the land drops you need, besides card advantage. Avoid hands with too many planeswalkers, or hands that don't have any removals, and also avoid hands that don't have as many lands as you'd want, or that have too many cards of one specific color and lands that don't let us play the cards we splashed.

Vs. Rakdos Vampires

Rakdos came straight from the Pro Tour and has been invading Arena's ranked queue. With this in mind, and because of the strong presence of other black decks in this format, I decided to use 4 Leylines in the sideboard, precisely because of this match.

The idea is to survive and force your opponent to spend all their resources. Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is still incredibly strong, and, with Vein Ripper, it is simply absurd. Control your opponent's board at all costs, and be careful with Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord on turn three, which can be as strong as a Fable.

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Vs. Izzet Phoenix

This matchup is quite complex. Phoenix can take on a Control approach or be extremely aggressive, depending on your starting hand. It can also put on pressure quite effectively in game 1. From game 2 onward, we have access to Rest in Peace, which is a great hate against this deck, but we'll still have to deal with our opponent's alternative game plan.

Keep in mind that, even with graveyard hate, Phoenix is still difficult to deal with because of the card advantage it can create, and we'll always have to consider their counterspells.

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Vs. Boros Convoke

I consider this a good match, even more if we consider the number of global removals in this deck and the two copies of Temporary Lockdown, which are simply incredible in this match. So, your strategy will be to survive long enough to clear your opponent's board and then carry on controlling the game.

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Vs. Azorius Control

This is almost like a mirror, and I consider it slightly favorable to Jeskai. Helix can deal both with shark tokens and with a The Wandering Emperor, which is great, but the game will still depend heavily on whoever draws the best and has more counters to interact with their opponent.

Don't let your opponent resolve Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, and, as soon as you can, play your own Teferi on the board, always with a counter as "backup". Dovin's Veto is one of the best cards in this match.

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Vs. Abzan Greasefang

No More Lies is the best card in this match. Your opponent will usually play Greasefang, Okiba Boss on turn 3 with a vehicle on the graveyard, so having a counterspell will be essential.

If you can't counter it, remove Greasefang from play before combat starts. If your opponent puts it into play even if they don't have artifacts in their graveyard to bring to the board, kill this rat anyway. Keep on controlling the game, and everything will go well.

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Another article is finished! Jeskai Control is definitely a very fun deck, and Lightning Helix offers play lines that are much more active than traditional Azorius, considering it can be a removal and create extra resources for us. If you want a different deck to venture into Explorer, I recommend Jeskai!

If you have any questions or suggestions, leave them in the comment section. See you next time!