“Blue control and tempo decks are as old as Magic itself. From the original “The Deck” to popular blue tempo decks from Standard’s past or even Modern’s Mono-Blue Merfolk, no matter where you look, blue is a dominant force. Learning how to play these blue decks, and more importantly the mirror, is a skill that some of the world’s best players hang their hats on”
“Forgetful Fish is a great tool to learn important Magic skills and concepts like tempo, control and pivoting. It’s also a fantastic memory tool, despite the name, as everything is about the top of the deck”
“Dandân (or Forgetful Fish) is an 80-card, shared deck format. Both players play off the same deck and share the same graveyard. Other than that, the rest of the game is played with typical Magic rules: take your opponent from 20 to zero or deck them (which is certainly challenging with a shared deck!). Most notably, the “shared deck and graveyard” part is where things get interesting”
“In terms of gameplay, Dandân is a dream for Blue players. There’s a ton of stack interaction and plotting ahead, both in terms of manipulating the top of the deck and brewing up a long-term game plan. Players are forced to pivot their strategies constantly, and learning to play around cards is a key factor”
“Not everyone is a control fanatic or a big fan of blue, but even if you’re not, it’s a good tool to know your enemy. The skills learned from Dandân can be applied to other forms of Magic easily”
“Recently, my play group has pivoted from the traditional Izzet (Blue/Red) variant to a Dimir (Blue/Black) one with the help of more self-mill options”
“I carry a 20-card sideboard with my deck to swap around, including the Izzet and Dimir changes”
“Recently, there has been another Dandân-esque game floating around, courtesy of Harrison Fang on Twitter. Instead of Dandân, it uses Thunderous Wrath and a ton more top-deck manipulation to aim for a burnout win. It’s definitely interesting, and while I haven’t tried it, I would say it’s perfect if you love the top-deck game of Dandân without the combat math”