Miracle Musings | Flow State Is Great but Not in Miracles
{Flow State} has taken Legacy by storm, showing up in pretty much every deck it can, from [u][r] {Cori-Steel Cutter} to [u][b] Tempo to [u][w][r] Midrange to {Doomsday} to various brews. While {Flow State} has proven excellent for all those archetypes and more, it is not as strong in Miracles. Here's why.
A Unique Control Strategy
The uniqueness of Miracles as a control strategy lies in how it controls a game. Some control strategies aim to bury the opponent in overwhelming card advantage (e.g., {Up the Beanstalk} builds), others aim to control the board with card-advantage providing haymakers (e.g., Jeskai builds with {Wrath of the Skies} and/or {Ruination} or Esper builds with {Pest Control} or {Grixis Control} with every inherent two-for-one available.
Miracles, however, aims to control the top of its library, thereby controlling the game. {Terminus}, {Counterbalance}, and the dance of what sits atop the library influence behavior throughout the game. While many control decks attempt to land haymakers, Miracles attempts to land counterpunches.
Flow State? More Like No State
{Flow State} is exceptional in decks looking to reload or battle over raw cards, but that is not Miracles' goal. Looking at the top three cards to put two in hand is awkward when the zone that you want a {Terminus} or a mana value for {Counterbalance} is on top of the library.
Additionally, having to cast {Flow State} at sorcery speed is counterintuitive to Miracles' plan. More than most other control shells, Miracles can bob and weave throughout a game. Its flexibility leverages spell timing better than other shells.
{Flow State} is great when playing from ahead to stay ahead, can help jockey for a better position at parity, but is less valuable when playing from behind. As a counterpunching strategy, Miracles expects to leverage critical spell timing in high-stakes positions when it is behind.
{Flow State} is rigid. Even when getting two of the top three cards, you can only choose from among the top three. It does not change the composition of your hand, nor does it stack the top of the library. {Flow State} is a haymaker, not a counterpunch.
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Featured image: {Flow State} by Genel Jumalon