I have considered him but I don't really want to change the deck to include self mill. Is he really as great as everyone says he is? Perhaps you could explain to me his pros and cons. Thanks!

I can chime in.

Tasigur is superior to the swords.

Gurmag Angler is also superior to the swords.

Tasigur if timed properly is a beater for 1-3 mana.

Plus he can draw from your graveyard tapped or untapped.

I don't see how Body and Mind fits in here. Easy out to try it anyway.

Well, it grants protection from two colors and can win via mill in addition to damage. Don't really see how it doesn't.

Ok.

Always great to see another Esper player :)

Grave Titan, like Elspeth, Sun's Champion, is a bomb against the fair decks. A 1-of in the side seems totally reasonable. It could also be good MB if your meta supports it.

@tclaw12 Two things, first I'm not quite clear on what makes a fair deck. And second, what would make a good meta to play Titan or Elspeth main board in your opinion?

Fair decks are the non-combo, non-linear decks of the format. Junk and Jund are classic examples of fair decks.

A meta full of fair decks could be a good place for Titan/Elspeth as a way to go over the top, though I do prefer cards like Gideon Jura or the Blood Baron of Vizkopa you have for the mainboard.

I think by fair he means Not Twin, Not Lotus etc....

But I also sometimes don't know what fair actually means.

Clue me in too!

You just don't have enough dudes to equip to. The swords are just going to be dead draws a fair portion of the time and I don't think a deck like this can afford to have those.

I see where you're coming from but to be honest I've rarely had a problem with them. I usually put them on a Soul token and it works out fine. If I were to cut them what would you advise goes in their place?

Not sure what your budget looks like but obviously snapcaster mage would be ideal. You also need to reconsider your mana base. You're never going to beat a resolved blood moon.

Ok. What do you think a better base would look like and also, i would love snapcasters but theyre too two expensive.

An ideal manabase would probably look something like this -

• 3-4 Celestial Colonnade
• 4x Flooded Strand
• 3-4 Polluted Delta
• 2x Hallowed Fountain
• 1-2x Watery Grave
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 2-3x Island
• 1-2x Plains
• 1x Swamp
• 1-2x Ghost Quarter
• x Drowned Catacomb/Glacial Fortress/Isolated Chapel

I added a Tasigur just to experiment and I'm wondering if you all think that I should still cut out the swords for Grave Titan or another Tasigur.

I'd probably play tasigur over grave titan. Grave titan is just too expensive. When it actually sticks it will win the game very quickly but it does just die to path and come out very late.

I am playing Tasigur now but should I still cut the swords now that I have more creatures?

I personally wouldn't play the swords in here. They're fairly clunkly and I'm not sure they're necessary. If you want to play with swords just playtest the deck with or without.

*with and without (the swords)

So then what would you advise I replace them with? Just more permission type stuff or other wincons that work on their own.

If you like the swords, the best choices are Sword of Feast and Famine and Sword of Fire and Ice. Your choices don't have a large enough impact on the game, and these two cater better to the control strategy.

Alright, what if I want to remove swords entirely?

This being a budget i will try to keep my idea's cheap but effective. Serum Visions over Think Twice, scry beats flashback and especially 1cmc vs 2 then 3. Inquisition of Kozilek should be mainboarded, it hits the most important cards in the format. a fun esper combo you can do is Gifts Ungiven and Unburial rights at the end of their turn 4 and have a fatty in the graveyard to reanimate whether it be Grave Titan or another you enjoy. Lingering Souls i personally run as a 4 of but thats because if not answered they win the game.

Try to get cheaper cards that do the same Go for the Throat, Spell Pierce, Dispel. Esper Charm is cool but you could get more worth from a 1 mana draw or Erase if you want the discard then keep it.

Timely Reinforcements is a great sideboard against aggro and burn

I feel like you could really get a lot of mileage out of Elspeth, Sun's Champion or White Sun's Zenith over the Tasigur, since Tas turns on the opponent's removal.

@TheAnnihilator What do you mean by Tasigur turning on their removal? I have considered big Elspeth but Tasigur's recursion and delve are really useful, do you think she is really better for this deck?

@Nekrocity Isn't the instant speed and sheer card advantage of TT better than the scry for a Draw-Go Esper build? And also Gifts Ungiven sort of needs a deck built around it, so I don't really feel it belongs here.