Control the battlefield, control the game.
Blue, widely referred to as the color of control, is known far and wide for the ability to run the game through a wide variety of instants and sorceries, the creatures of this infamous deck color should not be overlooked. The creatures of this deck can be as impactful as any Red powerhouse, with the bonus of typically having abilities that blend beautifully with an instant and sorcery-heavy play style. The chemistry of blue creatures is unparalleled in their ability to play off one another to increase the impact they have on the battlefield. Outwardly these creatures may not seem like heavy-hitting powerhouses, but these cards are built for growth and chain reactions.
15. Spark Double
What is great about this card?
- Copy
Increased Loyalty/DamageA low-cost copycat is always a huge advantage to have on hand, and that certainly is the case with this creature. You can put this card on the battlefield as a copy of any other creature you control which can already be a game changer, but this card is more than that. This card has no type limits, meaning you can use it to create a copy of a Legendary Creature or even a Planeswalker. Not only can you create a copy of the best swinger on your battlefield, but it also comes with an increased toughness and power score. If you have used it to copy a Planeswalker it comes in with a boosted loyalty score as well. This can turn a great card into an incredible one leaving your opponent staring down the barrel of two identical cannons.
14. Delver of Secrets
What is great about this card?
- Transformative
- Low Cost
Transforming cards are always a fun variety to spice up the board with, and this guy can get you some pretty decent bang for your buck when you meet its transform conditions. A one-mana cost can hit the battlefield early in the game, and then you can transform it by revealing an instant or sorcery card. When this card goes from man to bug, it gets a very sizeable score boost and gains flying, so you can very quickly start doing damage to your opponent to get the upper hand in the first few turns of the game, which can be the most arduous while you build up your mana.
13. Cavalier of Gales
What is great about this card?
- Card Draw
- Undying
The power and toughness score on this beast of a card make it desirable for any play style. On top of that already generous score, this card comes in with Flying, making it that much harder to block and doubling its value. An attack from this card can chew through an opponent’s standard health score of twenty in no time. Not enough to convince you to keep this guy in your arsenal? Then the fact that you get to draw three cards and reorder the top of your library when it enters the battlefield should convince you. The cards you draw can mean life or death in this game, so the more you can draw, the better your odds of survival. Still not enough? This card can’t be sent to your graveyard. When this card is destroyed, it instead gets shuffled back into your library, and lets you Scry the top two cards! This means you get to use that card draw ability again and again, and your opponent gets to live with the constant fear that this monster is never far away.
12. Snapcaster Mage
What is great about this card?
- Low Mana Cost
- Gives Variable Flashback
In a game where you’re pretty much on the clock, efficiency cannot be overstated. You can put a decent creature on the board whenever you need to, which gives you a little bit of a cushion block or damage-wise. This card also lets you cast a chosen instant or sorcery card from your graveyard at a flashback cost equivalent to its previous mana cost. This can make all the difference, letting you potentially counter a spell, destroy a creature, or do a little extra damage.
11. Spectral Sailor
What is great about this card?
- Low Mana Cost
- Card Draw
A one-power, one-toughness creature for one mana is a pretty fair trade, but it’s nothing to brag about. That is unless you pair it with the two key abilities of Flash and Flying, which can pretty quickly turn a mediocre hitter into a decent threat.More than the ability to fly over defenders and enter the battlefield on a whim, this card comes with the repeatable ability that lets you draw an additional card every turn if you have the mana to spend. More cards, means more options for taking down your opponent, what more is there to say?
10. Emery, Lurker of the Loch
What is great about this card?
- Cost
- Graveyard Cast
With the recent uptick in popular artifacts, this card is a very well-rounded addition to any modern blue deck. Each artifact you control lowers the cost of this card by one, meaning you could cast it for practically nothing, and not having to spend extra mana is always a bonus. On top of that, this card lets you cast artifacts from your graveyard, which means you never really have to worry about losing any amazing bonuses that they may provide. The ability to cast from a graveyard is always a very solid way to put your opponent on the ropes.
9. Brazen Borrower
What is great about this card?
- Repeated return ability
- Flash
Creatures with Flash and Flying are always an attractive choice when building a deck of any color and pairing those qualifications with an ability to control the battlefield like Petty Theft moves a card into a top tier. For a pretty low mana cost, you can use this Petty Theft ability to force an opponent’s permanent back into their hand, causing them to have to waste mana on playing it again to be able to use it. This card is a great combination of the board control aspects offered by Blue Instants and Sorceries, with the ability to do some damage on the side and remain on the board as a creature. It truly is the best of both worlds.
8. Ledger Shredder
What is great about this card?
- Low Mana Cost
- Counter Boost
This card is pure potential. For a very low cost, you can put this card into play, sitting at a so-so 1/3 with the bonus of flying. It's decent but doesn't seem worthy of a Top Five slot, oh how wrong you’d be to think that.Casting your second spell each turn means you can not only do a little bit of library and hand management, you also get to put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. In a few turns, you’ll have a seriously threatening creature on your hands, and you’ll have been able to manage your hand with extra draws and discards.
7. Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
What is great about this card?
- Protects Spells
- Flashback For Instants And Sorceries
Speaking of casting from the graveyard, this card is the quintessential card to protect your instants and sorceries. Not only does this card protect any future instants and sorceries you cast by preventing them from being countered, but it also gives them all flashbacks without an increased cost. A score of 3/4 is pretty decent for any creature, but because Blue decks are so heavily dependent on instants and sorceries, this card is practically invaluable and has risen in the popularity ranks amongst mono Blue users.
6. Hullbreaker Horror
What is great about this card?
- Can't Be Countered
- Static Board Control
The Hullbreaker Horror is a beast that is aptly named. A creature that can’t be countered, that can enter the battlefield at any point, with a massive power and toughness score of 7/8 is enough to give any opponent the chills.This monster card also has two static abilities you get to choose between, whenever you play a spell, which means late in the game when you’re burning through cards and mana, you can use them over and over again. You can use these abilities to completely control the board, and if you can completely clear away your opponent’s nonland permanents, you can follow up with an attack from this card and take big bites out of your opponent’s health.
5. Hullbreacher
What is great about this card?
- Flash
- Static Token Generator
This card and its static ability is a great way to ruin your opponent’s plans. The power and toughness of this card aren’t worth crowing about as they are pretty average, but this card’s static ability is pure gold. As you’ve probably gathered from reading my analysis of other cards, being able to draw extra is an incredible advantage, and this card can take that advantage away from your opponent. This static ability prevents your opponent from being able to draw more cards beyond their first one. Hullbreacher interrupts any attempt your opponent makes to draw an extra card, and as a bonus it lets you create a treasure token every time they try, which can widely increase your mana pool, and mana is arguably the only other thing more important than extra draws.
4. Murktide Reagent
What is great about this card?
- Reduced Cost
- Variable Damage Counter
Who doesn’t love a dragon? These mythical flying beasts always come with incredible perks, plus a general air of mystique that can bring a little bit of intimidation factor to the table. On top of being a flying beast with a decent 3/3 score, this card has huge room for growth. You can cast this creature at a reduced cost by exiling cards from your graveyard, and at the same time boost its power and toughness before it even hits the deck. Exiling just a few instants and sorceries can mean you cost this card for very little mana at all, and take this card from the middle of the road to an absolute powerhouse. If the boost you got when it entered wasn’t enough for you? No problem, because as a static ability, this absolute menace of a card gets a +1/+1 counter for every instant and sorcery card that leaves your graveyard. In a few moves, you could potentially have a 10/10 creature with flying, that can completely knock out any creature your opponent puts in the way, and take huge chunks out of their health.
3. Consecrated Sphinx
What is great about this card?
- Card Draw
- Flying
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the amount of cards you draw can drastically shift the outcome of the game in your favor. It doesn’t matter what cards you stack your library with if you can’t get to them, and this card can solve the issue of a draw count. For every card your opponent draws, you get double that. If you can pair this card with one that gives you life for every card you draw, you can have your opponent in tears in just a few turns. With a decent power score, a very nice toughness score, and the amazing bonus that comes with being a creature with flying, this card is an ace. Add in this draw ability and this can easily become the difference between victory and defeat.
2. True-Name Nemesis
What is great about this card?
- Static Card Draw
- Static Damage Counter
There’s no quicker way to destabilize your opponent, than by ensuring they have as little control as possible over the battlefield, and they will have absolutely no control when it comes to this bad boy. When this card enters the battlefield, you choose an opponent and this card becomes completely immune to any damage, spells, blocks, enchantments, or anything else your opponent can throw at it. Since this card can’t be blocked, destroyed, or stopped in any way, you’re guaranteed at least three damage every turn, potentially more if you put a few damage counters on it. Even without additional counters, you could close the game in at the very most, 7 turns. Three mana for three damage every turn? Talk about a good deal.
1. God-Eternal Kefnet
What is great about this card?
- Copies With Reduced Cost
- Always Returns To Library
The limit on the number of kinds of spells you can bring into a game has always been a bit of a bummer, but there are plenty of ways around that limitation, and this card may be the best loophole for it. Every time you draw, when you have this card on the battlefield, you can reveal the card, and doing that lets you copy that spell at a reduced cost. This means you can hammer your opponent over and over with your best spells while saving up mana to contribute to the growth of your battlefield. Your opponent won't even have the mercy of escaping this card by destroying or exiling it, because every time they try, this zombie god gets sent straight back into your library. It doesn’t even return to a random place, instead, it gates placed 3rd from the top, so this powerhouse is never far away.
