Esper Nightmares

Modern Competitive Control Midrange WUB (Esper)

TheAustralasian

Mana Base (25)

• 2x Celestial Colonnade
• 2x Field of Ruin
• 4x Flooded Strand
• 1x Ghost Quarter
• 2x Glacial Fortress
• 2x Hallowed Fountain
• 5x Island
• 2x Marsh Flats
• 3x Plains
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Watery Grave

Board Control (11)

• 1x Detention Sphere
• 2x Fatal Push
• 4x Path to Exile
• 2x Supreme Verdict
• 2x Terminus

Card Draw (9)

• 2x Hieroglyphic Illumination
• 2x Jace, Architect of Thought
• 4x Opt
• 1x Search for Azcanta  ^Flip

Soft Lock (2)

• 2x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

Control Suite (8)

• 3x Cryptic Command *list*
• 2x Logic Knot
• 1x Mana Leak
• 1x Negate
• 1x Spell Snare

Win Con (3)

• 2x Snapcaster Mage
• 1x White Sun's Zenith

Best Card Ever (2)

• 2x Esper Charm

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Sideboard

Other (15)

• 1x Blessed Alliance
• 1x Celestial Purge
• 3x Damping Sphere
• 1x Disdainful Stroke
• 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 2x Lingering Souls
• 1x Negate
• 1x Notion Thief
• 2x Rest in Peace
• 2x Unmoored Ego

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"Fun is in the eye of the beholder"

Control in its purest form

This is my current version of the deck for a LGS meta full of Colourless Eldrazi, R/G/x Midrange and Combo (Grishoalbrand, Storm and Ad Nauseum). It is very creature heavy for draw-go, and as of writing will lose to very aggressive oppeners from our opponents, but really shines when it hits midgame.

"Why should I play Esper Control?"

You'll like this deck if: you are patient and reactive, you can make fast turns (often your games will go to time), you know your meta well and like reading decklists in your spare time, or you like making your opponents tilt.

You won't like this deck if: you like taking the initiative in the game, having a high win rate (Esper will lose to most tier 1 decks as of time of writing), you prefer to just show up at the LGS to play and don't really know your meta, or don't enjoy chess.

One of the main nuances of Esper is it is reactionary. We sacrifice a lot of power without the endstep bolt, snap bolt. So we must make up for it with pure card advantage. Much like chess, it is fun and rewarding if you can predict your opponents moves, and if you have the patience and insight to not get caught in the moment. Esper sacrifices nearly all turn 1-3 interaction until Supreme Verdict or Cryptic Command are online. This leads to many blowouts early game, but you make up for it by having a near unbeatable late game strat of end-step White Sun's Zenith for X=5 or more, untap and attack.

Introduction

Esper control is a tempo based deck, aiming to hit our land drops, keeping the board clear using removal such as Path to Exile and Fatal Push , counters like Spell Snare and Cryptic Command , or sweepers like Terminus and Supreme Verdict . Thus when we arrive at our late game, we have cards like Elspeth, Sun's Champion and White Sun's Zenith to finish them off by going wide.

A few words on card choices

1. Think Twice : Simultaneously the best and worse card we have access to. The 2 mana requirement means that that mana you were holding up for a counter spell can be used for a extra card draw at your opponents end step. Very Powerful, and after trying Opt and Serum Visions , I now believe that it is incorrect to play any less than 4 copies main. Having Think Twice also allows us to cast the Mind Rot mode of Esper Charm to stip our opponents of cards.
2. Esper Charm : This is amazing. It can be Divination , Mind Rot or even just a Disenchant . Often this is just used for its card draw, but knowing when to use its mind rot-like ability is powerful in taking over a game. To find out when boils down to experience. Try using that mode every time you cast it in every game and see how it works. You'll develop a sense for it eventually.
3. Snapcaster vs Logic Knot: This is an age old debate in esper control. How many Snapcasters do i run? Generally, you want only 2. This allows you to snap back anything you need in a pinch while having enough meat in you graveyard to delve for a logic knot. I've found you can push it in this build for 3, thus the singleton Torrential Gearhulk in the main along with the 2 Snapcaster Mage .
4. Why don't you run Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek ? The answer is simple. They ruin tempo and are cast at sorcery speed. Besides our spot removal in Path to Exile and Fatal Push , we never want to trade one-for-one resources. Both factors make them less than ideal MB. Often these are kept in the sideboard to disrupt combo players.

Our Tools

Removal

1. Path to Exile : The single greatest answer in modern, and very versatile. Play 4 no exceptions.
2. Supreme Verdict : Good removal for wide strategies and will save your neck many times. Run 2-3
3. Terminus : Once I thought this was stupid. But with the amount of cards we draw, a singleton copy can often be a blowout against an unsuspecting opponent, especially with the miracle cost.
4. Fatal Push : Excellent removal. Depending on meta run anywhere from 0-4.
5. Detention Sphere : Unconditional removal. Worst case you take their Karn Liberated or Liliana of the Veil . Best case you sweep those zombie tokens from BridgeVine, or nab UW control's 3 snappys. Excellent card, run 1-3 main.

Counters

1. Negate : Unassuming, this can hit Karns to Lilianas. Very powerful in the right matchup, but never more than a 1 of main board.
2. Cryptic Command : Oh man is this card gas. Often used to counter draw, I've become a huge fan of playing the first to counter draw, then snapping it to counter/tap and bounce the Snapcaster Mage to hand. Absolutely amazing and the reason we run 20 blue sources. Run 3-4 no exception.
3. Logic Knot : Amazing card, and clears out graveyard. However, doesnt work well with Snapcaster, so only running 2 max MB.
4. Spell Snare : Awesome in some matchups, terrible in others. Run at least 2 in the 75, and board out if needed.
5. Mana Leak : This is a weird choice. It seems to go against Esper's late game control plan, as it gets continuously worse as the game progresses. But often it nabs just the right card early, or gets the combo piece on turn 4, or wins a counter war, or just suprises the opponent when we snap-cryptic and have 2 up. Running 1 currently, but I can see 2 mainboard easily. Run 1-2

Win Cons

With win cons, there are 2 routes. The first being the traditional White Sun's Zenith route. I prefer this at the moment, just for simplicity, however, it is more vulnerable after board with cards like Lost Legacy and Unmoored Ego . Note the shuffle clause prevents Surgical Extraction . The other route is the Elspeth, Sun's Champion / Secure the Wastes route. This is a little more resilient, but suffers from planeswalker hate. Most players keep Elspeth in board for game 2, pivoting for a slightly faster win.
1. Elspeth, Sun's Champion : Excellent planeswalker, and her ultimate just wins games. Get her to resolve and protect her until you ult.
2. Secure the Wastes : Not running currently, but it's either good early game stalling, or amazing late game drop. If you run Elspeth, Sun's Champion , you should be running these alongside her. Run 0-2
3. White Sun's Zenith : The big finisher which also shuffles itself back into the deck. Amazing finisher.

Cantrips

1. Remand : This is a cantrip first and a counterspell second. I'd only run in meta's where combo is rampant. Run 0-3.
2. Think Twice : Amazing card. At your opponent's end step you will nearly always have u/x open for a counter, so why not dump it into an extra draw. It even has flashback! Run 4 no exceptions.
3. Sphinx's Revelation : Great way to stabilise. Not quite the "I win" it is in U/W control, but definitely marks the beginning of the end. Run 1-2

Esper Charm

It's three modes are amazing, but generally you'll use it for its Divination mode or it's Mind Rot mode. Takes some experience to know when to case it in what mose, but after a few games you'll get a general feeling. One strategy to learn how to use it is to always use mind rot mode, and eventually you'll get the feeling of when to do it. It feels incredible to force an opponent to end-of-their-drawstep discard their two Path to Exile s, before you fire up your Celestial Colonnade for the win.

Date added	6 years
Last updated	5 years
Splash colors	B
Legality	This deck is Modern legal.
Rarity (main - side)	6 - 3 Mythic Rares 23 - 3 Rares 12 - 8 Uncommons 10 - 1 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.71
Tokens	Cat 2/2 W, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Emblem Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, Soldier 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 W
Folders	Modern Decks