Explore strategic identity, card composition, and version history for each Battle Deck.
Cruel Control
The cruelest thing you can do to your enemy is to make them think they have a chance…
Cruel Control is a Blue/Black/Red control deck full of counter magic, removal, card draw, and flash creatures that give you time to set up your devastating finale!
A Blue-Black-Red control deck that uses removal, and card advantage to answer every threat, grinding down opponents before deploying powerful finishers.
Signature Cards
Keywords
FlashScryCyclingJump-Start
Game Plan
Early Game
Turns 1-2
Prioritize hitting land drops and hold up interaction. Answer the most threatening plays rather than developing proactively.
Mid Game
Turns 3-4
Start transitioning from pure reaction to building card advantage. Identify your path to a win condition while keeping answers open.
Late Game
Turn 5+
Deploy Cruel Ultimatum and Lochmere Serpent when the opponent's resources are exhausted. Keep interaction mana open even when winning — never tap out unnecessarily.
Deck Play Profile
Derived from automated card-by-card analysis across all known versions. The Capability Profile shows how the deck measures up across six functional dimensions — pressure, interaction, card advantage, and more. The Play Style hexagon uses the same data to place the deck on the aggro–control–combo–midrange spectrum.
Capability Profile
Play Style
Deck average (all versions)
Strengths & Weaknesses
Answer-heavy gameplan that adapts to any threat type
Late-game card advantage overwhelms opponents who run out of threats
Slow to establish a win condition against very aggressive starts
Tight sequencing requirements mean misplays are punishing
