First thing with a quick glance, Pithing Needle in the SB, name Swamp to shut off Underworld Connections and Pack Rat because you should know why. Scrolls back up to deck list to inspect further

If you can afford any more Elspeth, Sun's Champion she locks down Desecration Demon with her +1 and can stall for you for a VERY long time. I HATE seeing her hit the field when I don't have a Hero's Downfall .

Seriously consider Rapid Hybridization for sideboard. It turns Blood Baron of Vizkopa (who will wreck you, barring AEtherling ) into a Frog Lizard in a quickness.

Also, Cyclonic Rift . It's a pet card of mine, granted, but it's good.

Made a few changes, 3rd Blood Baron of Vizkopa mainboard, and a couple tweaks to the sideboard. Still looking for some BNG cards that might have a place in here.

I love your build... it's quite similar to what I initially had before I went less budget crazy and decided to give the "good cards" a try. And boy was I not disappointed...
1. Jace, Memory Adept sounds like a super effective card. I played with him for 4 months and I had the feeling that he was so good. Bounce cards on top of my opponent's library with Azorius Charm and then mill them for one? It just seemed awesome. There are however two problems with Jace:
- He does not help you get out of tight situations. He comes out on turn 5 and doesn't change the board state in any way. He puts no pressure, and if you're in trouble, your opponent will simply ignore him and smack you in the face with their continuous threats. After all, you did tap out on your turn 5 to cast him, didn't you?
- He's a slow blind card draw engine. Sure, the mill can be situationally good to get rid of a threat or another, but it's too unstable.


Bottom line, if you're getting out Jace and you're winning the game, trust me, it's not because of Jace. Instead you'd be rather better off with another Sphinx's Revelation (it draws you two cards and it earns you 2 life for the same cost, plus you get to play it on your opponent's turn).
But no, try and go for Jace, Architect of Thought . I did not like him at first either, but after playing a bit I realized:
- Turn 4 is MUCH better than turn 5. You get him one turn early out, and you can do more with him.
- He is a board presence. Whether it slows your opponent's creatures down for a turn or two before you can stabilize, or draw you at least 1 good card, he'll do it. It's true your opponents will see what you're drawing, but in the end YOU make the decision, not them. Plus it's so hilarious when they organize the 2 piles of cards poorly.

2. Why Essence Scatter ? You're better off with something much more imposing early game, like Bile Blight or Devour Flesh . Since you said you had problems with aggro builds, Bile Blight can really help temper them down a bit (not once have I gotten rid of their annoying Elvish Mystic s by blighting them into oblivion).
3. I'd get rid of Ashiok, to be honest. One more early removal of any sort will do wonders. Ashiok is good against control, but you already have a lot against control - if really necessary, sideboard him. Bring up another early threat you would replace Essence Scatter with. Or up your Thoughtseize count to 4. They are amazing and I'm never sad to draw one.
4. Make some room in that sideboard for Revoke Existence . It will get rid of Thassa, Assemble the Legion , Whip of Erebos and Detention Sphere .
5. What are you using Pithing Needle for? If it's for AEtherling , you realize you won't be able to use yours either, right? If it's for planeswalkers, you already have 8 removal cards (4x Detention Sphere and 4x Hero's Downfall ).

That's about it from me. Other than that I love your build. Esper simply rocks, and I am a junkie for controlling the hell out of my opponents. It's just delicious to see them go nuts when I wipe the board - yet again - before I grind their hand, fill in mine, and finish them off with a flickering Obzedat.

Thanks for the comment!

With regards to the 2 jaces, I've actually played a lot with both, and I've found I prefer the memory adept for a couple reasons: yes, he comes down a turn later, but his draw ability is a +1 instead of a -2. This makes a huge difference in the longevity of the card. Being able to +1 it each turns means it will stay on the board longer, and thus draw me more cards. Yes, its more of a blind draw, but with this deck I've found quantity over quality isn't such a bad move. Also, his mill ability is actually very powerful. This deck is heavily geared towards creature heavy decks, and has tons of spot removal and counters. This means I'm actually able to protect jace, usually for several turns, and his mill effect can become devastating quickly. I've found its a great way to deal with late stalled board states, especially against the control mirror.

As far as Essence Scatter , I'm slightly torn. I like it because it can be used as a T2 counter against aggro to buy me another turn to a verdict, and it can also be used late game to counter a big threat I'd otherwise have trouble dealing with (BBoV, Ruric Thar, the Unbowed , etc.). All in all, since I already have so much spot removal, I figured a few more counterspells could be useful.

I was considering Bile Blight versus Drown in Sorrow in the sideboard and decided on the sorrow because it can hit more targets. I definitely do need to find a slot in the side for Revoke Existence . The problem is that I play at 2-3 different shops, with vastly different metas, so my sideboard is constantly in flux, and a little all over the place.

I actually had 4 Thoughtseize , and found myself drawing into them late game when I would rather have a win con, so I swapped 1 for a 3rd BBoV.

The Pithing Needle is actually primarily for MBD, as I've run into lots of that at all of the shops. It shuts down Pack Rat , and also Underworld Connections (name Swamp ). Its also useful for some G/R monsters builds that have lots of walkers (I've actually run into a couple that run Domri, Xenagos, Chandra, and Garruk) because I'd rather use the removal on their big creature threats.

Thanks for suggestions! I definitely need to continue to iron out my sideboard, and I need to play a little more with the 3rd BBoV to double check that the numbers work out okay. If something doesn't work at that point, I may play around a little bit with it.

I'm not really a huge fan of the Essence Scatter here. I think you'd be better off removing them and adding 1x Dimir Charm 1x Sphinx's Revelation or maybe 2x Drown in Sorrow or Bile Blight . Just my personal preferences. +1 though, the deck is super similar to mine so I know it works :PAlso man you've gotta get the Mutavault if you're able, that card will make a world of difference.

I like Essence Scatter because it can be used as a T2 counter to slow down a tempo deck, and also late game to get rid of a creature I would otherwise have trouble dealing with (Blood Baron of Vizkopa , Ruric Thar, the Unbowed , Stormbreath Dragon , etc.)

I have considered another Sphinx's Revelation , but I just think 4 is too many for an Esper deck. I usually sideboard the Essence Scatter out for Drown in Sorrow against aggro or weenie decks, and that strategy seems to work.

As far as Mutavault , I've actually had quite a bit of problems with the land base in this deck. I think I've managed to find a nice balance now, but I'm really hesitant to throw a colorless land into a 3 color deck with so many color intensive mana costs. Has it really worked that well for you? And you haven't run into problems getting color screwed because of it?

I agree with not including Mutavault . However, I would replace Essence Scatter with Syncopate . It counters everything and can be a two mana counter many times. And as control, you nearly always have more open mana than your opponent (other decks tap out for creatures like Ruric Thar). I also think you need more card advantage if you don't want to run 4x Sphinx's Revelation . I'd lose all your planes walkers but Elspeth and run three Jace, Architect of Thought . If Ashiok has been doing well, then I'd lose a Blood Baron of Vizkopa and the two Jace, Memory Adept . Most control decks run 3-4 win con cards; you're at 6, excluding Jace, Memory Adept and Ashiok, both of which can be win cons (including those you're at 9).

I have tested out Syncopate in the past, but not with this current iteration of the deck, so I'll definitely take another look at it.

As I said in a previous comment (although its since been hidden in an update) I actually prefer Memory Adept to Architect for several reasons, especially for card advantage. His draw ability is a +1 rather than a -2, and that's huge in terms of longevity. He can stay on the board longer by plusing, and thus draw me more cards. He can also be a win con on his own through mill, and that's something Architect can't really do. I have tested out both, and definitely have chosen to stick to Memory Adept.

As far as Ashiok, he was originally thrown in for the hell of it because I had one, but he has since earned his place. He performs very well against creature heavy decks, and because he can come down t3 he provides a few turns of distraction for my opponent, allowing me to get my mana sorted out and my killspells/boardwipes/win cons lined up.

I know I'm running slightly more win cons than a typical control deck, but I feel like it gives me more versatility and more margin for error. I'm more likely to find a win con, and if one of them gets dealt with some how, I have more available to me. Its definitely not a prototypical Esper control deck, but I've found it works very well.

I understand keeping Jace, Memory Adept , but Jace, Architect of Thought does come down earlier, is great against aggro decks, and allows you to dig three cards deep for the card you need. But I used Memory adept back when Architect was in the $30-$40 dollar range in my U/W control deck and he is great too!

I actually haven't found much of a difference in the cmc, because I don't want to be playing anything other than Supreme Verdict on t4 anyway. So at best I would be playing the architect t5.

The only thing I would recommend is the Mutavault . Just 1. It has won me games. I always joke to my opponent the first time I attack with him, which is probably no sooner than T7-9. "It's a 10 turn clock". Needs instant removal. I personally haven't seen Bile Blight in my meta other than when I used it myself in a RBW deck.

Decided to make a few temporary changes and try them out:

I keep hearing to add Mutavault , and also to avoid it. Figured the only way to know is to try it, so I added 2.

Swapped the 3rd BBoV with an Obzedat, Ghost Council , just because I want to play him more and see how I like him.

Swapped the 2 Essence Scatter for 2 Syncopate .

Put 2 Revoke Existence into the sideboard, removing 2 Dark Betrayal since I haven't actually seen a ton of MBD lately.

I'll be testing these changes out and updating accordingly.

Alright, so I made it to a tournament tonight with the new setup, and it worked nicely. I went 2-1, beating White Weenies and Junk and losing to Azorius control.

The Mutavault worked nicely, which surprised me. I drew them several times, they actually won me 1 game, and most importantly, they didn't color screw me. They can stay.

I didn't actually draw the Obzedat once, so I'll have to keep playing with him to make that decision.

The Syncopate were okay. I used 1 once, but I'm still not sure.

Revoke Existence didn't see any play, although I didn't run into MBD where I would've used the Dark Betrayal , so the revokes cans stay for now too.

Once again, my toughest matchup was Azorius. Anybody have some suggestions for dealing with it? I may need to tweak my sideboard a little.

Gainsay in the sideboard would help with the Azorius match up. 4th Thoughtseize could help as well, maybe in the sideboard. Information is key. You could also think about adding Sin Collector to the sideboard.

Also what is it in the Azorius match up that is killing you? Elspeth, Sun's Champion ? If that is what is killing you I think Jace, Architect of Thought is much better than the Jace you are using now.

Just my thoughts what you do think?

Actually the thing that's killing me against Azorius is just the sheer number of counterspells they have. I don't run a ton of creatures, and it becomes very difficult for me to get anything down on the board safely. I used to have Gainsay in the side, but removed them when MUD declined. I definitely wouldn't run Sin Collector , if I wanted to go that route I would probably run Duress instead. A 4th Thoughtseize could help, as could some Duress , but again, I'd have to deal with counterspells. I guess there isn't really a way around that though. Any idea what to take out of the sideboard if I added some of those in?

what is going to end up happening is you will have a counter war with UW control over getting a win condition out on the field. but you should have the advantage. because you have access to Thoughtseize which gives your information. which can help you know when to fight over something. in this match up you dont want to cast thoughtseize turn 1 you would want to hold on to it until turn 4 or 5.

sideboard wise you have to think about your other match ups and how much the sideboards help in those match ups. if they don't help very much then you can cut cards. duress could be good in multiple match ups. Gainsay is also a great card to have. you could also consider negate.

Bile Blight is good against the mirror.

How exactly is Bile Blight good against the mirror?

Well when they get their Elspeth out first, you need a way to deal with their tokens before the ult.

I already have Supreme Verdict , Detention Sphere , and Drown in Sorrow , all of which are strong in other matchups too. Doesn't make sense to me to spend extra sideboard slots just to deal with Elspeth tokens. That's the one part of the mirror match that doesn't bother me at all.

Alright, so I played again today and went 2-2. Had problems with control again, but handled everything else pretty easily. I have decided that the 2 Revoke Existence aren't pulling their weight, and I've replaced them with 2 Negate to deal with control. I've also decided to drop the Rapid Hybridization in favor of 2 Duress , again to help against control.

Jace, Architect of Thought . You need a way to dig for cards faster against the mirror.

I've had this conversation before in previous comments. I have tested both Jaces significantly, and I actually prefer Memory Adept for this particular deck.