Control

Control is the most non-linear and perhaps the most skill-intensive of the main four archetypes of cEDH. Control decks lean heavily on countermagic and card draw engines to slowly grind out advantage over the course of many turns and win the game. Pilot skill, experience, and knowledge are key to playing a control deck well, and the pilot is heavily punished for misplays and bad threat assessment. However, in a skilled pilot's hands, a control deck can keep an entire table on lockdown, stopping wins left and right, before attempting its own win and coming out on top. If Turbo decks are the sledgehammer that smashes entire pods in one swift blow, Control decks are the scalpel that kill by a thousand tiny cuts.

## Control Decks

*This list is not exhaustive*

*See Also:* Control (Category)

### Mono-Color

Azami, Lady of Scrolls: A Wizard Tribal deck that uses its commander as a draw engine and combo piece. Also a one-card combo with Mind over Matter.

Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar: A combat-centric deck that sets up wins with infinite turns through its brain-slurping commander.

Orvar the All-Form: Commander-centric deck that uses very unique cards to assemble a win through infinite clones of several of its value permanents.

Teferi, Temporal Archmage: A big mana stax-control deck that uses its commander as a one-card combo with The Chain Veil.

Urza, Lord High Artificer: A control-stax hybrid deck that breaks parity on Winter Orb and other stax effects, and wins through Polymorphing into Hullbreaker Horror, or cast its entire deck after assembling infinite mana.

### Dual Color

Grand Arbiter Augustin IV: Azorius Control-Stax that uses the commander's mana advantage to enable combos and slow opponents down simultaneously.

Jeska, Thrice Reborn + Kraum, Ludevic's Opus: Izzet Midrange-Control that uses Jeska as an infinite mana outlet and Kraum as a card advantage engine and two-shotting menace with Jeska's 0 ability.

Nymris, Oona's Trickster: A Tempo deck that uses its commanders card draw to set up Thassa's Oracle wins.

Niv-Mizzet, Parun: A classic Izzet deck that uses Curiosity effects with its commander to mow down the table. Commander is also generally pretty powerful on its own.

Rashmi, Eternities Crafter: A Simic deck that uses its commander to cantrip off of countermagic. How does it win? Nobody knows.

Shorikai, Genesis Engine: A control-stax deck that can play Humility. Usually wins through drawing its deck after infinite mana is achieved with Hullbreaker Horror or Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal.

Taigam, Ojutai Master: A meta-buster control deck that uses its commander as an insane value piece and win condition to loop infinite turns.

Tatyova, Benthic Druid: A landfall deck that uses its commander as a wildly powerful card advantage engine and combo piece.

Toxrill, the Corrosive: An anti-creature deck that also has an outlet for IsoRev in the command zone.

### Tri-Color

Jeska, Thrice Reborn + Thrasios, Triton Hero: A control deck that gives you everything you could want in the command zone: Ramp, infinite mana outlets, removal, and card draw.

Kalamax, the Stormsire: Temur Value that uses its commander to double up on powerful instants, most notably Nexus of Fate. Also uses Breach loops.

Tasigur, the Golden Fang: A Sultai deck that uses its commander to rebuy counterspells, be an infinite mana outlet, and cheat in massive creatures like Nezahal, Consecrated Sphinx, and Hullbreaker Horror.

### 4+ Color

Vial Smasher the Fierce + Thrasios, Triton Hero (Curious Control): Meta-buster control that puts a Curiosity effect on Vial to cantrip off of countermagic, while layering Niv Parun and Oracle Consult as win conditions.