Shock definitely has a potential home here to pick off utility creatures on the cheap, as well. I've actually been playing Hearthstone these past few days. Blasphemy, I know.

Never even tried Hearthstone, I have a few friends who play it though. May have to look into it at some point.

Back to the topic of the deck.

This is honestly more of a preferential thing, but I personally have never really liked Nullify. Outside of Mono-Blue decks.

Not just because of the somewhat restrictive casting cost (which is a hit against it, but not what kills it IMO).

Nah, I just generally don't like "creature" restricted counterspells. At least in terms of a deck that is looking to be more controlling.

In general control decks are going to have more than the average amount of methods of dealing with creatures already via removal/sweepers, and while it is nice to have the ability to counter some problem creatures with ETB/LTB stuff, most of these decks already run stuff like Dissolve and Traumatic Visions. Obviously Nullify is a little faster, but how often does that make a difference? How many 2-3 mana creatures are there that are a significant threat that you need to counter, and other removal can't deal with just as easily?

My personal preference would be

-2 Voyage End
-3 Nullify

+1 Negate
+3 Shock

Shock deals with most of all the same stuff that Nullify would early on, and while it isn't as good later on against the big bombs, it does add some reach to the concept of burning them out with Banefire/Obelisk, and you should have other removal/counters to deal with the fatties.

Negate helps to protect your bombs/Obelisk, waiting to drop Baneslayer or Inferno Titan or whatever other finisher until you have an extra 2 mana to back it up with Negate is often game over.

The last spot I am honestly not really sure about. You could make a case for a lot of different things. The second Obelisk being an option. As would a mise copy of some other removal spell (Reprisal, or possibly even Tribute to Hunger, since I see you already run Black for Obelisk). You could be really greedy like I am and try to jam Resounding Thunder in there too lol.

That's kind of where I was leaning. The deck's weakness is the lack of early and cheap spot removal and it doesn't lose all of its value late because it can still hit X/4s in tandem with the Obelisk's black mode.

Nullify's mana cost isn't the inherent problem but rather that I can't reliably afford that cost at the stage of the game when I need it most.

Yeah, Nullify works much better in the mono-blue decks, who don't have the creature removal to get rid of those early threats and have the ability to always play it on T2. Adding in other colors (and thus early creature removal) not only sort of makes it less needed, but also makes it harder and harder to cast on T2, when you would otherwise want to most. Especially if you are trying to slam plains and mountains early to allow you to use your sweepers.

Shocks fill that same role of early/cheap removal, combos well with your Obelisk, and adds more reach to the Obelisk/Banefire burn plan.

I really think you should give the 5 color creature-less control deck I have posted here recently a try. Winning with burn spells and Obelisk in a control deck is very satisfying to play (not so much to play against haha).

The deck started out as Jeskai, then added for Obelisk/Suffer and then later jammed in for Resounding Thunder.

The decks mana hasn't been any worse than at 4 colors, so I figured what the hell. It is the derpiest thing ever and surprisingly effective despite looking like a pile of derp.

I have two control decks with the Obelisk/Banefire plan now, not sure I want to try a third.

My other is Grixis and I think it's better than this one overall, but that could change once I get this deck tuned properly. I'm not sure it will, though, because Rune-Scarred Demon is just so powerful since it's a huge threat on its own and searches up whatever wincon you happen to need based on the matchup (Banefire/Obelisk/Kozilek).

I think going pure creatureless for the sake of it is nerfing your deck's power level because there are some creatures that are really just powerful spells which happen to leave bodies behind. My control decks all use those types of creatures. I get the allure of including zero creatures, though, and your deck looks like a solid take given that inherent restriction.

I've updated the deck but deciding the manabase was quite a chore. The deck has no white spells until the five-mana spot, but when it needs white it needs white so we can't slack on the number of sources. Here's a rudimentary attempt, your help is both wanted and appreciated:

IMO the real benefit of going creatureless is turning all your opponents removal into dead drops. If you put 5 creatures or whatever in a control deck, now you have to protect them from the 2-4 removal spells your opponent has been collecting all match while you've been controlling him. This ends up costing you bounce spells, negates, dissolves, visions, etc. It also means you are going to have to tap out or wait till turn 9+ to play creatures.

It also means your deck is going to expose itself to this meta's more trashy removal spells that a lot of randoms run, like Reprisal and Tribute to Hunger.

Looks solid to me.

Not really a ton of suggestions I could make, other than that the deck could probably get by with one less Shock and/or Traumatic Visions should you feel the need to jam some other desirable cards in there.

Honestly, with the mana base you have, you could probably jam Runescarred in here with just a few changes.

-2 Izzet Guildgate
-1 Island

+1 Jungle Shrine
+1 Savage Lands
+1 Swamp (so you can fetch the second Swamp if needed with Visions for Runescarred).

Would give you:

12 sources
12 sources
12 sources
8 sources
6 sources (which you really have no need for lol).

Should be enough to hit all your early Red/White/Blue sources when you need them (with the occasional help from Visions) but also be enough Black sources to support a late game Runescarred Demon (with Visions to fetch the second Black when needed).

Just a thought.

Either way, your current version looks very solid, the only thing I could change would be getting rid of a single shock, possibly for a mise copy of Reprisal to give Angelic Edict some backup for those fatties that slip through your counters. It would also add some use to that Green mana you can generate, since the green ability on Obelisk allows Reprisal to hit things it normally wouldn't. Resounding Thunder could be another option, as with 8 and 6 you could theoretically cycle it late game relatively often, on top of killing things for that Shock/Obelisk would otherwise miss (and reducing the amount of times you need to use Banefire as a removal spell). Also jives with the burn plan well and makes use of that Green mana you have just floating around.

That's virtual card advantage and I only have three creatures. I'm not hasty, I will protect them!

Trust me, I want to jam the Demon.....

That deck looks evil. I may have to try it out.
Comes to hate messages though, I put my Jeskai theft deck up there for quantity and voracity.

I was thinking that shock would be great to have here. And the points made about the issues with hitting double blue early in a three color deck being tough is super valid a reason to run shocks instead. With the inclusion of the shocks, the deck I feel has far better standing power now against what I would argue could have been the weakest point of it previously. surviving early turns against aggro. I didn't feel the mass removals were enough alone to deal with aggro since there are only 4.

All right, I've updated Jeskai Control to a near-final build. While this was a great deck for Quicken, I did cut them because it really was just too cute. I also scaled back to one copy of Negate again because I really only need it to protect one of my threats. In those slots I've added:

Archaeomancer - Quicken drew me a random card but this guy draws me the answer that I need.
Resounding Thunder - It's another burn spell for a bit of extra removal and in the lategame I can reasonably expect to cycle it.
Izzet Guildgate - This deck is hungry for mana, so I think 26 is where I want to be.

I've actually been considering the removal of Inferno Titan, but I think I'm just being crazy.

Let me know what you think.

Forget that last post existed, Resounding Thunder is a great burn spell on its own and the upside is too big in a deck that wants to win through uncounterable damage. Goodbye expensive Titans and Obelisks that I'm afraid to tap out for, hello Thunder!

I agree resounding thunder is too good not to include.

This is slowly becoming Monkeem part 2. How is your aggro matchup. It seems the main difference is rhox war monk vs planar cleansing.

It is sliding that way, isn't it?

The aggro matchup is solid now with more burn in the deck and four sweepers.

I'd drop the singleton Voyages End for another Angelic Edict. The exile is relevant, especially in a mirror match.. and even more so if someone quickly ramps into Terra Stomper.

I actually went the opposite direction and cut an Edict for a Voyage's End because I felt with the sweepers that I had enough sorcery-speed removal and wanted a way to interact with my opponent at instant-speed. The other reason I added it is to potentially re-use my Archaeomancer by bouncing it back to my own hand, but obviously that won't come up very often.

I still think you want 1 obelisk, it is too versatile. Maybe you can cut a banefire now that you have the thunders?

I had to take them out because tapping out with this deck feels so bad. It really relies on countermagic and Planar Cleansing too heavily and the two are at odds with each other. There's no reason to play this deck over any other control deck, it's just worse.