Double Tide

[raid]

Hallo in this thread I want to talk about an idea i recently run at a LGS to top 4 finish (5 Rounds).

Decklist

5 Snow-Covered Island
2 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Field of Ruin
3 Mishra´s Factory
1 Fairy Conclave
4 Flooded Strand
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
2 Tundra
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
2 Portent
4 Force of Will
2 Daze
2 Snapcaster
4 Stifle
2 Parallax Tide
4 Devastation Tide
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Standstill
2 Predict
1 Unexpectedly Absent
2 Monastery Mentor
Sideboard:
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Circle of Protection Red
4 Spell Pierce
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Parallax Tide
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Field of Ruin

The Deck in a way is a mash up of the new Miracles and a U/W Standstill Controldeck, which tries to forces the game to the mid-, lategame by cheap interaction. I won´t discuss the classic Blueshell concepts we all know, but rather the seemingly odd card choices.

Why Double Tide?


Parallax Tide + Stifle: This is an old, well known Combo, which results in an onesided Armageddon, if you can succesfully Stifle the enter the battefield trigger. You can achieve the same thing by holding priority and using an Unexpextedly Absent or a miracled Devestation Tide to "Bounce" your Parallax Tide.
Is this better then Jace? No, obviously not, but Parallax Tide is still an extremly powerfull card that generates value on the spot. Even if you can´t get the Combo off, nuking all the enemy Lands for a couple of turns or even just one can swing the game dramatically into your favor.
Stifle on the other Hand isnt a dead card on its own either. Getting an early Fetchland can really hurt your opponents, but also protecting your manlands from Wasteland or getting some triggers like Stoneforge Mystic, Snapcaster Mage, Mother of Ruins etc. can be very helpful.

Devastation Tide + Standstill: This is Probably the key interaction of the Deck. I won´t argue that Terminus is objectivly the better card, I mean for starters Devestation Tide is card disadvantage since it bounces the permanents only to the hand, but nevertheless DeTi has some advantages. The biggest of course is it handles non-creatures as well. Aethervial has been a card hard to beat for Standstill decks for a long time, but also Chalice of the Void, Choke, Sylvan Library, Planeswalker etc. are all annoying cards you always needed another answer for in your hand. People talked about Terminus as a resetbutton, but DeTi really IS a resetbutton. There is also the cute interaction with your own Snapcaster Mages and Parallax Tide. Noteworthy also: Five mana and double Blue is quiet a bit easier to cast than six and double white.

Daze: Quiet an odd choice for a controlldeck, but it fits the bill very well, since it gives you early interaction and your gameplan of nuking their lands keeps it relevant later in the game. It also helps a lot protecting your big plays.

Field of Ruin: Why this card over Wasteland? Fair question. But it provides so much more than you would think at first sight. It provides you with a shuffle effect, it fixes your colors, it can be a two for one. All this while protecting you from scary lands like Dark Depths, Boseiju or opposing Manlands almost as well as Wasteland would. Furthermore hitting Caverns, Wastelands or Ports while not losing mana on the board is really nice for a controldeck.

Common play patterns:


There isn´t that much difference to other blue controldecks in terms of absorbing damage while digging for answers, but i want to briefly touch some plays you are looking for.

Miracled Devastation Tide into Standstill: It`s a four mana play that usually gives you the time and resources to stabilize the game.

Parallax Tide, nuke lands, pass then Devastation Tide: If you can pull it off you usually get around 2 turns where your opponent is working on max one mana and minimal pressure, which is a lot in legacy. And theres always the potential to finish the sequence of with a Stifle.

Also theres always the potential for a Mentor running wild.

Sideboard and cards to consider:


Search for Azcanta / Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin: Another two mana cardadvantage piece next to Predict and Standstill. I really like this card and it´s lategame potential, but in this deck its literally the only card your opponents can abrupt decay without you getting value out of it.
Ankh of Mishra: The prospect of dealing 10 Damage with Parallax Tide, while making Fetchlands costing 5 life has some appeal, but would push the Deck in a whole other direction. But it should be a card to keep in mind.

Parallax Wave: Why wouldn´t you play the other Fade card as well? Truth is it should be considered, but i dont think the four mana Wrath that can`t handle True-Name Nemesis or more than five Creatures is the right card in legacy right now.

Surgical Extraction: At the moment this is my preferred sideboard gravehate. It´s fast and synergizes well with Snapcaster. Although Containment Priest with its Flash EoT into Standstill potential against Vial Decks could be fun.

Planeswalker: Jace, Gideon, Elspeth are all worth considering but for me more Parallax Tides seem better since they come in at roughly the same match ups and the immidiate value Parallax Tide generates just outshines, the long-term advantages of these Planeswalkers.

Spell Pierce/Flusterstorm/Invasive Surgery/Spell Snare/Counterspell: At the moment im running a playset Spell Pierce since being able to stop early Planeswalkers and cards like Defense Grid or Chalice of the Void seems very important. I can see a point for any of these cards and it is worth noting that with Standstill Delirium is much easier to achieve than for other blue decks.

Supreme Verdict/Terminus: Wraths that actually get rid of the creatures are a nice addition in some Matchups. For me personnally it´s Supreme Verdict hands down since the "can´t be countered" clause is just too good.

More Spotremoval: Right now i have the fourth StP and another Unexpectedly in the side. You could consider also cards like Path to Exile or Council´s Judgement, but i dont think these are the cards you want.

Disenchant: I don´t run it at all since Devastation Tide + Unexpectedly Absent do this job just fine.
Circle of Protection: Red/Kor Firewalker/Hydroblast/Chill: Burn seems like a bad Matchup and I´m not sure if we should even bother, but i could see those cards finding a place.

More creatures: I would like to run more Snapcaster Mages and Monastery Mentors main but couldn´t find the space. Still a sort of transformation sideboard and adding creatures like Delver of Secrets, Phyrexian Dreadnought, Vendilion Clique or Nimble Obstructionist could be worth testing, since a more aggressive approach would be what you want in some Matchups.


All in All I had a fun time playing with this deck beating several opponents with zero permanents in play, giving all of my opponents a hard time to Sideboard properly and generally doing stuff a controldeck shouldnt be allowed to do. :)
This approach definitely needs some fine tuning, but i see the potential for a solid deck so i wanted to share it. Parallax Tide is underplayed, let´s make it work!