Standard has always been my favorite constructed format. Since nobody locally plays block and the Extended season is over, I now have reason to focus on Standard. We have Type 2 tournaments here about once or twice a month, so it’s definitely a good thing to know the format.

For the most part, I am a control player. Sure, sometimes I have been known to turn lots of men sideways and aim burn at the skull, but for the most part I enjoy being in firm control of the game. I love countering target spell, drawing cards, and I definitely love swinging with huge fatties for the win. Is there a deck out there that fits those criteria and wins? You’re damn right there is, and it might be the best control deck, if not the best deck in Standard overall.

For those of you who don’t know this deck, let me introduce you to it. Some call it Kibler (myself included) after the deck’s creator, some call it Blue/White/Green control. And some call it...

Enforcer (played by Brian Hegstad at San Diego Masters)

Maindeck:

4 Adarkar Wastes
3 Brushland
4 Coastal Tower
7 Island
2 Sungrass Prairie
3 Yavimaya Coast

4 Mystic Enforcer

3 Absorb
4 Counterspell
3 Disrupt
4 Fact or Fiction
3 Memory Lapse
3 Opt
4 Peek
2 Predict
4 Repulse
3 Wrath of God

Sideboard:

2 Aura Mutation
4 Call of the Herd
4 Meddling Mage
2 Questing Phelddagrif
3 Wild Mongrel

This is the version Brian Hegstad played to a Top 4 finish at the San Diego Masters, losing to the monster we know and love - Psychatog. Since then, considerably advances have been made.

I’ve already thought up of a theme song for this deck. Simply sing the words to the song “Informer” by Snow, but replace Informer with Enforcer. Works like a charm.

The premise of this deck is surprisingly simple. Counter any real threats, Wrath away creatures that slip through the counters, and frantically cantrip your way to a good hand (and threshold). Notice that the deck plays only twenty-three land. This is realistic because of the Opts, Peeks, Disrupts and Predicts. More cantrips allow for less land. Finally, once you’ve taken control of the game, four swings with a Mystic Enforcer (also known to some as Mr. Happy) will end the game in your favor.

The sideboard is a transformational one. It allows for better control matchups. If you side into an aggressive deck and your opponent is expecting a boring control-on-control game, you will have the advantage. Dropping a turn 2 Meddling Mage and turn 3 Call of the Herd against a control player expecting nothing but land drops is definitely an unpleasant surprise for them.

However, times change and decks evolve. I’m currently testing a new version of the deck. Without having played many games, I can’t quite sing its praises...yet. So far the deck seems promising, and if it turns out to be shit, I can always change it back.

Enforcer v2.0

Maindeck:
7 Island
4 Coastal Tower
4 Yavimaya Coast
4 Adarkar Wastes
2 Sungrass Prairie
2 Brushland

4 Mystic Enforcer
4 Meddling Mage

4 Counterspell
4 Fact or Fiction
4 Opt
3 Repulse
3 Absorb
3 Wrath of God
3 Peek
3 Memory Lapse
2 Disrupt
1 Rushing River

Sideboard:
1 Persuasion
1 Circe of Protection: Black
2 Compost
2 Aura Mutation
3 Gainsay
3 Wild Mongrel
3 Hobble

The only real obvious difference is the addition of the maindeck Meddling Mages. This is mainly in anticipation of the addition of Torment to Standard (to be more specific, the addition of Chainer’s Edict). This deck hates Edict, it really does. Innocent Blood too, but people won’t be playing that as much now that Edict is around. Without Mages, my only creatures are Enforcers, therefore they’re the only things I can sacrifice if an Edict resolves. And usually that’s bad times. So now, with Mages in the maindeck (possibly even naming Chainer’s Edict themselves), the deck is not only better against control, but also against Black in general.

One of the most endearing qualities of this deck is its consistency and versatility. One the one hand, it absolutely smashes RG because of the copious Wraths and Repulses in the maindeck. It’s really hard to deal with a 4 mana dragon too, I hear. And on the other hand, it has the tools to often out-counter and out-draw control decks. Its draws are generally consistent because of the large number of cantrips. The mana is fairly simple...lots of Blue, medium amounts of White and a few Green sources. Cantrips are also good to help find land in times of mana screw.

So, with all of those advantages, this deck should be the perfect deck, right? Well, yeah, but it’s not. It has its shortcomings as does every deck.

Firstly, before the addition of Meddling Mage, its only win condition was Mystic Enforcer. This meant that a resolving Innocent Blood or Pernicious Deed meant you needed to draw (and resolve) two Enforcers. Before sideboarding in the original version, you have no way of removing a Deed, so I added a Rushing River, partly for that reason. Pro-Black is nice, but you can’t do much about two Rages aimed at Mr. Happy. Also, with the abundance of quality bounce in the format, you will often find yourself casting the Enforcer multiple times per game, a very frustrating experience.

Aside from problems with the kill (which are minor problems themselves), the deck itself has a few problems. An early Psychatog backed up by lots of counters can spell trouble for you as you don’t have much removal. They will allow you to filter through your deck as much as you want, but as soon as you try to touch the Tog, expect to hit a brick wall of countermagic. The Psychatog matchup isn’t an unwinnable one, but that sneaky little Atog has a way of just winning against almost everything.

New changes help offset those disadvantages. Meddling Mage provides another body ready to be sacrificed if a Blood or Edict resolves, and is a superb creature itself. A single maindeck Rushing River can help get a harmful Enchantment, Creature or Artifact off the board if it slips through your counters.

The sideboard is currently undergoing many changes, but for now I’ve settled on this build. With three colors, there are so many options that it’s difficult to decide exactly what I want my sideboard to be against, and what cards to use.

Gainsay is an obvious choice. My metagame is so saturated with control that in our last Top 8, 7 of the eight decks contained Blue spells (6 contained Islands; the odd one out was a Balancing Tings deck). You can never go wrong sideboarding Gainsay.

Moving along we have three Wild Mongrels. Those are there because they’re cheap beatdown. They’re very good against Balancing Tings, forcing them to remove it before they Balancing Act or they will lose their hand. It’s also good against control decks, giving you a turn 2 bear that is ready to apply the beatings. Plus, it’s always fun to say “a boy and his dog” when you have Enforcer and Mongrel in play.

Hobble is pretty much there for one reason and one reason only: Psychatog. Unless they feel like using a bounce spell to return Psychatog to their hand, Hobble completely nullifies the Cookie Monster. It’s also great against Shivan Wurms, Spiritmongers, Nantuko Shades, Beast tokens and a whole range of fatties. It’s chosen over Pacifism because of the cantrip ability. Yeah, big surprise.

The two Aura Mutations are an absolute must. Things like Phyrexian Arena (about to see much play with the coming slew of Black decks), Opposition, Worship and Goblin Trenches are hazardous and must be dealt with if they hit the board. Opposing Persuasions also make a fabulous target, giving you your creature back and giving you five more.

Finally, we come to the Black hosers, Compost and CoP: Black. They were a last-minute addition after getting absolutely smashed online by a Black deck. A resolving Compost on turn 2 is very likely game unless they can destroy it somehow (which is, barring Pernicious Deed, almost impossible). CoP Black is also good against Nantuko Shade, Ichorid and Corrupt.

This deck is definitely a Tier One contender. Expect to see this deck in multiples if you go to a Type 2 tournament. That being said, if you expect nothing BUT this deck, then play a creatureless Mono-Black deck and you’ll do fairly well versus all the Kibler decks you’ll see. However, don’t expect a surefire victory, because this deck is extremely versatile and will always find a way to win against almost any given opponent.