Dies to Removal

WHAT IS KIKI CONTROL?
Kiki Control is a merging of UWR Control and UWR Twin lists. This new UWR lists brings in the disruptive elements of the control lists while providing an abrupt combo finisher that allows the deck to win games that may be unwinnable. Unlike the UWR Twin lists Kiki Control drops many of the staple Twin combo pieces for a more streamlined approach to the combo in Restoration Angel and Kiki-Jiki but also utilizes both pieces to provide powerful interactions with other creatures in the list.

Updated list after some testing tonight. Testing was almost a bust with variance striking me pretty bad with a majority of my matches with Affinity started me off with openers contained 6 lands and a spell, all spells or 2 colorless producing lands and spells.

[deck]Creatures (14)
4 Restoration Angel
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Wall of Omens
3 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Vendilion Clique

Lands (26)
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
4 Arid Mesa
1 Cascade Bluffs
4 Celestial Colonnade
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
3 Tectonic Edge

Spells (20)
3 Electrolyze
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Mana Leak
4 Path to Exile
2 Remand
2 Izzet Charm
1 Cryptic Command

Sideboard
2 Relic of Progenitus
3 Stony Silence
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Counterflux
1 Dispel
1 Shadow of Doubt
1 Wrath of God
1 Keranos, God of Storms
2 ???[/
deck]

Changes: Dropped a Remand and Spell Snare for Izzet Charm. In limited testing the card is doing what I needed it to do: be a flex option. I was able to counter and save mana leak for other things or kill off threats that I didn't need to waste bolt on. I'm okay with the change but definitely going to continue testing this

Swapped out a [card]Sphinx's Revelation[/card] for a Cryptic Command. Still needs more testing to see if the switch is good. Sphinx was always awkward when I drew it as I either was winning for the card to matter or I was too far behind to cast it for it even to matter. Cryptic is solid but the mana cost can be an issue. I may just try [card]Jace's Ingenuity[/card] in its place.

While many find the affinity match up solid with this deck but I felt it was okay at best. [card]Etched Champion[/
card] will beat you any time it lands. Same goes for Cranial Plating.

UR Delver after I figured it out is pretty favorable. You have enough removal to keep their field suppressed but a Young Pyromancer that gets going can take you out of the game.

Why only 2 Snapcaster?

Why only 2 Snapcaster?

I think it may have a combination of wanting to fit in some spells and having enough draw power to actually see them. Next testing session I had already plan to swap a Wall for a Snapcaster but I may just try out the original list with 4 snapcasters just with a modified sideboard.

After playing some Twin last night, I can't imagine life without all the Snapcasters lol

After playing some Twin last night, I can't imagine life without all the Snapcasters lol

Agreed they are incredibly powerful but I do know from talking with my brother who is more familiar with Control decks that even though the card is insanely powerful you don't always want to draw one because you just need an answer. Here is the list I am going to be testing next:

[deck]Creatures (15)
4 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Wall of Omens
2 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Vendilion Clique

Lands (26)
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
4 Arid Mesa
1 Cascade Bluffs
4 Celestial Colonnade
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
3 Tectonic Edge

Spells (19)
3 Electrolyze
n4 Lightning Bolt
4 Mana Leak
3 Path to Exile
2 Remand
3 Spell Snare[/deck]

Upping the Snapcaster count to feel DA POWA but also upping my one mana spells to better utilize him. Brought back Spell Snare to really test it in order to up my game against Affinity to have more answers game 1 to Cranial Plating as well as have more Answers to Goyf/Bob for the jund match up that don't always require them hitting the board and giving them free land.

[deck=Gerry Thompson's List]Creatures (15)

4 Restoration Angel
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Wall of Omens
3 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
2 Vendilion Clique
Lands (26)

2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
4 Arid Mesa
1 Cascade Bluffs
2 Cavern of Souls
3 Celestial Colonnade
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Seachrome Coast
2 Steam Vents
2 Sulfur Falls
Spells (19)

2 Cryptic Command
2 Electrolyze
1 Jace's Ingenuity
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
4 Remand
2 Spell Snare
Sideboard

2 Relic of Progenitus
3 Stony Silence
2 Counterflux
2 Dispel
1 Jace's Ingenuity
1 Wear
2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
2 Anger of the Gods[/deck]

Thompson's List from the recent SCG Premium article where he went 1-2 drop at a PTQ. There is a lot that I feel that is generally wrong in this set up. He has 2 Cryptics which clash completely with the 3 Kikis BUT he did take out Sphinx's in place of Jace's
Ingenuity. He upped the remand count BUT lost all Mana Leaks which I felt in testing were much superior. His issue with the deck is that he felt it was pulling in two places and his list feels immediately looks that way and at times McLaren's list feels the same as well but not at an extreme that Thompson's list looks at. The 4 Remands forces the deck to be in a tempo game when it needs to be a control game first.