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Kess, Dissident Mage - Control
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 8:56 pm
by duducrash
Hi there, I recently asked for help over in regards to building and piloting a control Deck. Thanks to the feedback I got something. I'm not going to say I'm new to the format but I'm not experienced either. and when it comes to control I've encountered a challenge in building a consistent deck
My goal with this deck is to have long grindy matches with my friends, The targeted removal seems better in a
Kess, Dissident Mage deck, I think I will stall the board not letting things get out of hand but trying not to make enemies either and try to win via the big spells, either the X ones or
Rise of the Dark Realms I want this deck built arround 50-75% and would very much like help to get that far. Im not intersted in infinite combos or super competitive gameplay
I feel like this deck in specific is maybe low on ramp? I don't know, I built some decks but I really like low curves so I usually run less artifact ramp, what do you think?
I'm open to all feedback, thanks!
Re: Kess, Dissident Mage - Control
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 10:50 pm
by Mookie
Looks good! I'll call out
Mental Note and
Thought Scour as two easy inclusions, possibly over
Faithless Looting or
Impulse.
Gitaxian Probe and
Gamble are also good options. There really are more good cantrips available than you can ever fit into the deck.
You do look to be a little light on ramp / mana rocks - if you're hoping to cast
Rise of the Dark Realms and
Cruel Ultimatum, it may be appropriate to run more. My own Kess list runs twelve rocks (including
Primal Amulet // Primal Wellspring,
Surveyor's Scope, and
Thaumatic Compass // Spires of Orazca). That said, hard to say what the correct number of mana rocks is without testing.
I'll also recommend
Rakdos Charm (both
Shatter and grave hate are useful) and
Sire of Insanity (because you can just play out of your graveyard).
I'm not a big fan of
Anger of the Gods and
Sweltering Suns, but that's ultimately a meta call depending on how relevant small creatures are in your meta. Kess living through them is definitely a nice upside.
Re: Kess, Dissident Mage - Control
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 11:27 pm
by duducrash
Mookie wrote: ↑3 years ago
I'll also recommend
Rakdos Charm (both
Shatter and grave hate are useful) and
Sire of Insanity (because you can just play out of your graveyard).
I'm not a big fan of
Anger of the Gods and
Sweltering Suns, but that's ultimately a meta call depending on how relevant small creatures are in your meta. Kess living through them is definitely a nice upside.
Thanks for the feedback! Yeah its definitely lacking graveyard hate, I think being unnable to playtest does that!
I did pick both 3 dmg "wraths" because of Kess, at first I had
Languish and the one from TBD bug changed.
Does flipcards like Search for Azcanta count as reliable ramp? I definitely should have it in the list
Re: Kess, Dissident Mage - Control
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2020 12:02 am
by Serenade
Kess is definitely a deck you need to try out as much as possible to see what has success in your group. Here a few ideas of cards that have worked their way into my deck...
In the late game you might find
Mystic Sanctuary helpful.
Volcanic Vision costs seven, but it's likely a one-sided board wipe on top of the recursion. I think it is the most under-appreciated red card.
Toxic Deluge is terrific for a number of reasons of which I am sure you are quite aware. I always feel like a jerk suggesting pricey cards, but in time this could replace a 3-damage wrath.
Decree of Pain is another wrath that works well with Kess.
Runechanter's Pike is a nice alternative wincon that draws little attention/removal.
Cut // Ribbons works well with Kess.
Re: Kess, Dissident Mage - Control
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2020 12:24 am
by Mookie
duducrash wrote: ↑3 years ago
Does flipcards like Search for Azcanta count as reliable ramp? I definitely should have it in the list
...I would count
Search for Azcanta // Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin as reliable ramp if I could reliably flip it.
![Sticking Out Tongue :P](./images/smilies/3-tongue-fb.png)
Whether or not that is the case would require testing. It probably won't help to accelerate Kess out on turn 3, but I would assume it would flip by the time you're ready to cast
Rise of the Dark Realms. That said though, I'd probably actually count Search for Azcanta as a draw spell - it fuels the graveyard to give Kess more action, while the flip side is a mana sink that draws more cards. I wouldn't anticipate tapping it for mana that often.
Re: Kess, Dissident Mage - Control
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2020 9:50 pm
by duducrash
Serenade wrote: ↑3 years ago
Kess is definitely a deck you need to try out as much as possible to see what has success in your group. Here a few ideas of cards that have worked their way into my deck...
In the late game you might find
Mystic Sanctuary helpful.
Volcanic Vision costs seven, but it's likely a one-sided board wipe on top of the recursion. I think it is the most under-appreciated red card.
Toxic Deluge is terrific for a number of reasons of which I am sure you are quite aware. I always feel like a jerk suggesting pricey cards, but in time this could replace a 3-damage wrath.
Decree of Pain is another wrath that works well with Kess.
Runechanter's Pike is a nice alternative wincon that draws little attention/removal.
Cut // Ribbons works well with Kess.
the lack os islands put me off
Mystic Santuary Running so few Idk how reliably I would have the benefits of it. I'm kinda excited about
Volcanic Vision, I almost put
Immolating Gyre in for the one side wipe. Ngl you got me interested in Runechanter PIke, specially with the build in evasion of kess
I'm considering either cutting
Cruel Ultimatum or putting more copy effects, I feel like paying it for a one time effect isnt that great I feel