i have played esper control since RTR started and here is my 2 cents:

memory adept and liliana should not be in here. elsepth and architect of thought are much better.

if aetherling is your win con, he should probably be the only creature since you should be supreme verdicting a lot

speaking of supreme verdict, you should have 4. and 4 detention sphere

Hero's Downfall should also be at least a two of.

dimir charm is not that good either

Dissolve seems like it would be good. more far and away.

Heliod, God of the Sun might not be bad either. good mana dump

When i built this deck Theros wasn't out yet. Hero's Downfall will probably replace Doom Blade . Dimir Charm has helped me out a lot around where i play. Combine it with Azorius Charm and its a second part of an answer to a lot of things. Far / Away helps with indestructable/ hexproof creatures. Heliod, God of the Sun wouldn't do much but sit there as a 4 drop enchantment. Also AEtherling , Obzedat, Ghost Council and Blood Baron of Vizkopa have all won games for me. I might add Dissolve and take out Negate or Essence Scatter . I will also probably end up putting in a few of the scry lands.

Not sure what i would take out for another Supreme Verdict and Detention Sphere though

thats a lot of planeswalkers. you dont even need blood baron and aetherling at that point. ur milling them out. or exiling them out haha

whaletaint666 yeah i know but it is nice to know they are there

good point. yeah. +1 =] check out my esper deck. top 4ed again tonight

Don't know what your meta is like, but I'd suggest having Dark Betrayal in the sideboard if your meta runs black creatures. And how do you feel about swapping your blood baron for Thassa, God of the Sea ? The scry could be very useful for you, and between the planeswalkers and your aetherling, I'd see it reaching devotion if you need it to. Mostly there for the scry 1 every upkeep, but if you get it to be indestructable, then all the better.

Otherwise, +1 from me for running esper control. I've got one as well ( Trampoline Control ), they're a lot of fun.

Dark Betrayal is a good card and usually i would run it but for the purposes of this deck i don't in order to save space. The only thing that doesn't hit a black creature is Doom Blade so I am not really worried about it.

Jace, Memory Adept isn't doing much for you, you'd be better off with another Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver or Jace, Architect of Thought . Or even another Thoughtseize . Also, why no Dissolve or Syncopate ? Both are much better than Dimir Charm .

Actually Dimir Charm is more relevant in my opinion. It is useful in both the control mirror and aggro match up. Against aggro i can kill one of their creatures and against control i can choose what they draw. Besides I'd rather let them tap out for a creature that i can kill over sit there with a counter in my hand trying to determine whether or not i should hold onto it or use it. Also i have Gainsay 's in the sideboard for the control mirror.

Jace, Memory Adept is actually rather useful even outside of the control mirror. Usually its a distraction for my opponent because it puts them on a clock and they want to take care of it. Also when combined with Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver 's ultimate can be very productive.

I originally had 4 Thoughtsieze in here but then i went down to 3 and now down to 2. Don't get me wrong it is a great card but considering I don't gain to much life right away with this deck taking 4 damage on turn 1 isn't ideal (2 from shockland & 2 from Thoughtsieze

Yes! Finally a non-meta Esper.

Not sure I would leave Doom Blade main board. So much mono-black out there that its a big risk of having a useless card in hand. Id also consider swapping one Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver for another Blood Baron of Vizkopa .

I suppose whenever you have a chance next week you might as well add Temple of Enlightenment

+1

The number of Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver has been fluctuating recently between 3 and 4. For an IQ last week i went down to 3 but regretted it the entire tournament. I thought about taking out the two Doom Blade s for 1 more Hero's Downfall and 1 more Blood Baron of Vizkopa .

Temple of Enlightenment will go in as a 4 of most likely and I have been debating about running a single Mutavault instead of 1 basic land.

Thanks for the +1

I think that running Encroaching Wastes is a strong metagame choice right now because of everyone wanting to play Gruul devotion decks right now. Killing their shrine to nyx will prove formidable.

I would take out the Spear of Heliod and exchange it with a mainboarded Pithing Needle . Every deck right now takes a hit to Pithing Needle somehow, so why not have one in the MB. I totally understand where you're coming from with the Spear of Heliod , making your elspeth tokens bigger than your opponent's Elspeth tokens, and keeping Blood Baron out of range of Mizzium Mortars , which has become one of the most solid answers to it recently. In the end, it's useful, but not necessary.

You could also mainboard a Ratchet Bomb to play hardball against Mistcutter Hydra in game one (Mistcutter is only a CMC 1 while in play, so ratchet bomb rapes it all day).

If you're not a fan of either mainboarding Pithing Needle or Ratchet Bomb , perhaps you'll like Debtor's Pulpit . The Green/Red deck is pretty reliant on one creature at a time at the moment, and since it's the land that's the source of the ability from Debtor's Pulpit , it gets around protection from white. Tap down that blood baron. Tap down that Stormbreath Dragon. Can't deal with that mistcutter because D-Sphere is blue and you don't have a Verdict in hand? Just tap it down with this and move on with your life. It's beautiful.

Another thing. Do not run Gild . Four-mana sorcery is not what you want to be doing to answer just one creature, regardless that it exiles it. If only it were instant.

While I'm at it, I would probably recommend you steer clear of Angel of Serenity at the moment too. It saddens me to say that, because she was my favorite win-con last format, but right now there's too much removal to justify her. You could go with the flow and just play Archangel of Thune instead, or Brimaz, King of Oreskos if that's your style, but if you're looking for a non-mainstream replacement, I would recommend Obzedat, Ghost Council or the unblockable Dimir Keyrune . Maybe, if you're badass enough, throw in a Haunted Plate Mail . :)

A few suggestions:

I really don't think Encroaching Wastes works in a 3 color deck, especially with so many color intensive casting costs. The colorless will just end up hurting you, and a reliable mana base is so key to consistency.

I would also consider moving the Elixir of Immortality to the sideboard for control matchups, along with 1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver , and trying to fit the 2 Jace, Memory Adept into the mainboard. He's really just so good for card advantage, and his ability to mill can come in handy in a pinch.

I'm not sure what you're using the Spear of Heliod for, but I would drop it and try to get your hands on either a 3rd BBoV or an Obzedat, Ghost Council . The baron especially is just so good in this meta with all the MBD running around.

Finally, Rapid Hybridization is a great sideboard card to deal with an opponent's BBoV. I know you have the Devour Flesh already, but more options never hurt.

Hope some of that helps, and good look at the Open! If you have any other questions, this is my build that's pretty similar:

The main reason for Spear of Heliod is not necessarily the +1 but the second ability very few people use. Being able to kill one of their creatures that just dealt damage is great especially if for whatever reason i don't have a kill spell in hand.

I have been considering playing Obzedat, Ghost Council in the side board over Angel of Serenity but haven't been able to decide fully.

The problem with Debtor's Pulpit is that it is a five drop that requires an open land so ideally it wouldn't be played till turn 6 and at that point I would much rather kill their creature than tap it. If this was just a UW deck list it would be more appealing but since I have access to black i think i would prefer to play a kill spell.

Haunted Plate Mail is a great idea and could take the place of Spear of Heliod

Somehow i always manage to forget about Rapid Hybridization when i am building decks. While it is a strong cardit kind of seems like im the one getting 2 for 1 in that situation. Since i would have to spend the mana to turn the baron into a 3/3 then spend more to kill the 3/3.

I think a big problem a lot of decks will have again is AEtherling . With Temple of Enlightenment having been printed UW control decks will rise again strong and that means the amount of decks are going to be playing that pesky AEtherling again. Turn 7 AEtherling with a land open to blink it usually spells doom but this is where Encroaching Wastes shines. You blow up their land on their turn then blow up AEtherling on yours. Also being able to punish opponents who are mana screwed or are relying on Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is devastating in the current meta.

I would love to be playing a third Blood Baron of Vizkopa but alas i only have the one.

Thank you both kmcree and -Logician for taking the time to look at the deck and comment.