Render Silent has been suggested before, and it's something I've considered. I will probably consider it again. The issue is that, more often than not, Render Silent is used purely as a counter spell. The number of times that my opponent has enough mana left over in a turn and wants to cast an additional spell are few and far between. And as far as counter spells go, I'd rather have the Dissolve because it is more flexible mana wise, and also lets me scry, which can be crucial. I will probably re-consider swapping a couple of Render Silent in for a couple Dissolve tho.

Matador I'm assuming you mean exile the Render Silent with the arcanist? The difference there is one mana per turn vs. three. By exiling Silence , I only need one mana per turn to silence them indefinitely. This allows me to continue to play my own spells. Having to set aside 3 mana per turn for Render Silent would make it much more difficult to play my own spells.

You really probably want 4 Atherling Because other wise your only real win con is to Silence For 60 turns and mill them out which would be funny to watch but not really practical! lol

With Jace, Memory Adept , I can mill them 10 cards per turn. Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Gideon, Champion of Justice are win cons on their own. Thassa, God of the Sea can be an unblockable 5/5 beater. Not to mention all the aggro cards in the sideboard to react to a Pithing Needle /Slaughter Games . I think I have plenty of win cons already. No control deck runs 4 AEtherling .

ya that's why i said that its quite difficult to pull off in the first place kmcree.

So what are you saying? That I should just scrap the whole combo? That's kind of the whole point of the deck. And it actually works pretty consistently. You're welcome to playtest and let me know how it goes, but so far I've had a good amount of success with this deck.

what i was trying to say is that using Hidden Strings exile Render Silent with Elite Arcanist isn't very practical to do. I'm basically taking back what i said.

I say Daxos of Meletis cause he's cool as hell.

I have Daxos in the sideboard so I can play a more aggressive game 2, particularly against a control mirror. He doesn't really fit into the mainboard control tempo tho.

Good thinking, he's a nice 3 drop.

You don't really want to be using sorcery speed card draw. Try and find something that's instant speed, even if it is. This allows you to keep all your mana open for their turn.

Quicken , Inspiration and Azorius Charm

How do you find the deck runs without the Sphinx's Revelation ... its such a great card to stabilise and allow you to push for a win with a replenished hand. Inagine this deck runs through aggro but may struggle to keep up with pure control builds... still nice deck!

Alright so if Pilfered Plans is a placeholder for Sphinx's Revelation id say up it to 3 for sure, Esper needs the draw a lot of the time to get to the right answers for the right situation. I don't think you need to run Essence Scatter main i think it does just fine in the side and the match up vs aggro isn't the worst thing in the world if you just make sure your main has a decent bit of removal id replace those with some Far / Away . I personally am still unsure on my opinion of Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver if you can afford it i think that one more Elspeth, Sun's Champion would be a much more efficient finisher. I feel if you are going to run two Blood Baron of Vizkopa in the main you probably only need one AEtherling as he is already a super had to get ride of threat and adding in that other removal spell could win you some games in the really aggressive match up's. Also i think that Elixir of Immortality at least in the side if not in the main is really powerful to recycle your threats and removal and keep you in the game for pretty damn cheap. All in all i think you are moving in the right direction and good luck! +1!

For the most part Essence Scatter does everything that removal does (like Hero's Downfall ) but is less mana intensive. The only reason to mainboard removal over counters is versus mono green, in the case of Mistcutter Hydra and Skylasher . That's the way I see it anyway.

You could argue that Doom Blade costs the same mana as Essence Scatter but I would say that Essence Scatter hits more than Doom Blade does.

@cptjmaverick: The deck runs pretty well even without the Sphinx's Revelation , but it definitely struggles against other control. I am definitely working on hunting up some revelations.

@Alexrose4153: Elixir of Immortality is a great card, and I will definitely throw it in the sideboard, especially for control mirror matchups. I originally used Essence Scatter as an early game removal, but I've actually found that Dimir Charm works really well for that also, so I may drop the Essence Scatter . I've found that I really like Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver because he's so much cheaper and can hit 3-4 turns earlier. I've won every matchup against aggro that I've gotten him out in. I am looking for a second Elspeth, Sun's Champion , and when I find one I'll probably take out a Jace, Memory Adept . I originally had the 2 AEtherling s because of my limited card draw, I wanted to make sure I got one every game. Although, with so many other win cons, I'm not sure it's needed after all. Once I get the Sphinx's Revelation I will definitely drop one of them in favor of a 4th Supreme Verdict because I have found that I really need a full set of those.

@ChiefBell: I will look for some more instant speed draw, but Sphinx's Revelation is a priority and I'm looking to get some soon. I threw Pilfered Plans in as a last minute replacement so I could get to fnm. Like I said above, I like Essence Scatter against aggro decks, especially turn 2 or 3. But I've found that Dimir Charm can work very well in those situations too, and with a 4th Supreme Verdict I honestly probably wouldn't need much early game counter/removal. I'm on the fence about Essence Scatter right now. I definitely think it's the weakest card in my mainboard, I just haven't found another card I really love to replace it with.

No but Essence Scatter works all game long! As does Hero's Downfall etc.

It's a pretty useful card, in my opinion.

The thing is, it only hits creatures. If you look at my mainboard removal package, everything else has more utility. Hero's Downfall hits planeswalkers. Detention Sphere hits pretty much everything. Dimir Charm can counter an early Thoughtseize or mill. I think Essence Scatter has its uses, especially against red aggro with haste, but I also think it's the weakest card currently in my mainboard. They're staying for now, but if I find something else, I will probably move the Essence Scatter to the side and see how that works.

I think Detention Sphere is actually quite weak in the current meta. Everyone packs enchantment hate. Although it is obviously very useful.

Detention Sphere is very vulnerable to removal, and a lot of decks seem to be packing that lately. Although, I've only had one removed a handful of times. Honestly, red green and white seem to have very few playable cards to remove the sphere. Besides Glare of Heresy obviously. And if I don't play it game 1, it seems my opponent sides out all of their removal stuff once they see I have a control deck.

Fade into Antiquity does see play. I agree if you don't play D sphere on game 1 then they probably won't side it in. They will after they know you use it though.

I like the variation in this deck. Jace, Memory Adept is such an underrated card and has done me wonders since until this week I haven't had 4 Architects in my decks. If you do decide to run some Architects I would keep atleast 1 Memory Adept for the sideboard since milling works great against other control decks. Great build.

I wouldn't bother with Pilfered Plans. If you need the draw I would use Read the Bones. The life is tough without Sphinx but you can usually deal with that and Obzedat instead of Aetherling I've had success with. He's not AS scary as aetherling but he still finishes and, if he doesn't, Baron can and is really hard to get rid of. (Love the name of the deck by the way. +1)

Honestly I'm not even looking at the Pilfered Plans because they'll be gone soon. I already got 1 Sphinx's Revelation . Just need 1-2 more and the plans will be out. I have debated swapping one of the lings for the obzedat in the sideboard. I may try that a little and see how it goes.

I updated the deck with Sphinx's Revelation and a 4th Supreme Verdict . Removed the Azorius Charm because I found it to be very underwhelming. Let me know what you guys think!

I honestly think you'd be better off with having AEtherling as a one of. I'd stick in another Baron if anything. Also you may want to consider having another land or two. I see the benefits of scry lands but it makes it hard to play what few early game weapons you do have. How do you feel about a few more basic lands?

Yeah I'm kinda considering dropping 1 AEtherling and adding another basic. I've been having some problems with the mana base lately. If I get the right colors, the deck works like a charm. If not, I just get my face stomped. So I'm thinking another Plains .