One of the most hyped tribes in Eldritch Moon is Spirits! Everyone is talking about Spell Queller and its potential to bring a U/W Tempo Control strategy to the forefront. As a way to research this idea, I have delved into Standard's successful deck lists to see if there is anything similar that already exists. I found an U/R deck that did quite well in a PTQ on MTGO. It may give us some clues as to how strong and what pitfalls lay in a tempo/control archetype.

Deck Tech

U/R Tempo ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Andrew Boswell

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
• 1 Silumgar Sorcerer
• 2 Stratus Dancer
• 3 Icefall Regent
• 4 Dimensional infiltrator
• 4 Eldrazi Skyspawner
• 4 Rattlechains
• 4 Thunderbreak Regent

• Spells (12)
• 4 Draconic Roar
• 4 Silumgar's Scorn
• 4 Exquisite Firecraft

• Lands (25)
• 6 Mountain
• 7 Island
• 4 Highland Lake
• 4 Shivan Reef
• 4 Wandering Fumarole

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Eldrazi Obligator
• 4 Fevered Visions
• 2 Negate
• 3 Rending Volley
• 2 Roast
• 3 Seismic Rupture

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Match 1: U/B Crush

Match 2: Green Aurora

Match 3: Bant Humans

Match 4: Temur Midrange

Match 5: R/W Humans

After playing these games, it is pretty clear that the two main problems will be the difficulty in racing or controlling the faster Human strategies. These Tempo/Control strategies provide a lot of flexibility, but if things don't line up properly you can have a rough time. That said, this style of deck does extremely well against midrange decks, which is what most of the field would be. If you are interested in Spirits as an archetype, I encourage you to try out the following list. It isn't perfectly tuned, but it is a good starting point with a clear plan to rush the slow decks and race the fast decks. It has a lot of interactive elements, some absolutely great cards, powerful shenanigans, and the ability to gain life and generate card advantage.

W/U Spirit Tempo ? Eldritch Moon Standard | Andrew Boswell

• Creatures (26)
• 3 Anafenza, Kin Tree Spirit
• 3 Drogskol Shieldmate
• 4 Bygone Bishop
• 4 Mausoleum Wanderer
• 4 Rattlechains
• 4 Selfless Spirit
• 4 Spell Queller

• Spells (11)
• 1 Tenacity
• 3 Essence Flux
• 3 Ojutai's Command
• 4 Declaration in Stone

• Lands (23)
• 7 Island
• 8 Plains
• 4 Port Town
• 4 Prairie Stream

• Sideboard (10)
• 4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
• 1 Tenacity
• 3 Stasis Snare
• 2 Silkwrap

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