The object of this deck is to slow opponents to a crawl, get a Liliana, Jace or Drownyard online and start either milling them away or destroying their hand and countering/removing the few things they will manage to play. Cavern of Souls is a problem for this deck but the hope is I have enough removal to deal with it.
Here's an analysis and explanation of all the cards I'm using:
Doom Blade - Very happy with this reprint. Great instant speed removal.
Jace, Memory Adept - One of my main win conditions. It can knock an opponent out in the blink of an eye and works well with Nephalia Drownyard.
Sphinx's Revelation - A great source of instant-speed card draw. One of my main reasons for moving into Esper.
Supreme Verdict - And there's my other reason for moving into Esper.
Azorius Charm - A fantastic replacement for Izzet Charm which works as conditional removal, cycling and can save me in a bad situation.
Restoration Angel - An all-star in creature match-ups. Instant speed so I don't have to leave myself vulnerable. I'm not entirely sure about keeping it mainboarded and might move it to sideboard but it can also get me an extra Snapcaster Mage use. I'll see how it does.
Liliana of the Veil - Has done very well so far. Helps take away options from my opponents and is a great removal engine.
Far / Away - Almost never a dead draw. Highly versatile, can deal with Geist of Saint Traft decks and either half can be very useful.
Forbidden Alchemy - A new addition I'm trying out. Seems like great card advantage plus provides other instants for Snapcaster Mage to snap up (sorry I couldn't resist that horrible pun).
Think Twice - The best cheap card advantage Standard has and card advantage is very much necessary here.
Jace, Memory Adept - Seems worth a try, especially considering how fast I could mill an opponent out with this. Also works well with Nephalia Drownyard.
Dissipate - Obviously.
Thought Scour - Can be great card advantage with Snapcaster Mage and it draws a card so I'm sold. I can also mill my opponent in the late game to use with Nephalia Drownyard.
Snapcaster Mage - Obviously.
Nephalia Drownyard - One of my main win conditions. Slowly mills away my opponent.
Sideboard:
Negate - Great sideboard against the less creature-heavy decks.
Detention Sphere - Great against token decks and decks with things like Oblivion Ring and Rest in Peace.
Supreme Verdict - Sometimes two in the mainboard just isn't enough.
Lifebane Zombie - Another new addition I'm trying out. It seems like it could be really powerful against Junk decks and Jund decks.
Essence Scatter - Fairly cheap counter to be boarded in against heavy creature decks.
Sphinx's Revelation - Another one for the control mirror and slower games.
Render Silent - Trying this out. Seems like it could be great before I try to resolve a Sphinx's Revelation in the control mirror plus it adds to my counter number which is always good.
This deck is sadly going to take a big hit when Innistrad rotates - losing Snapcaster Mage, Dissipate and Liliana of the Veil might even make this deck unviable so I'm eager for options to replace them and just hoping at least Dissipate gets reprinted even if the other two don't. Thanks for all feedback!
NOTE: I've also recently started playing another Standard deck: Archangel Lifegain so if you like this deck, you can also check that one out.
