Add Elixir of Immortality there can be some phenax mill. Also it can help you to draw nonlands with Sphinx's Revelation or Azorius Charm
February 17, 2014 7:11 p.m.
And scry lands are better then guildgates change Azorius Guildgate for Temple of Enlightenment
February 17, 2014 7:14 p.m.
I like this build! A few suggestions: I would try to find at least one slot in the main board for Blood Baron of Vizkopa . He really wrecks games, especially in today's meta. Also, 4 Azorius Charm seems like a lot. I've generally found them to be pretty underwhelming. Some cards to maybe consider in its place: Dimir Charm , Essence Scatter , maybe even a Jace, Memory Adept ? Anyway, it looks like a good build. Feel free to check out mine if you have any questions or suggestions of your own!
Just a Little ESPERiment (3-1 at FNM) Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 26 | 19 COMMENTS | 4816 VIEWSFebruary 25, 2014 2:52 a.m.
My only problem with Blood Baron of Vizkopa
is the ubiquity of Devour Flesh
in black builds. He is there to handle mirrors and mono black devotion, but having it end up devoured, or Away
ed every single time is so frustrating I stopped having him mainboard.
For Azorius Charm
I can see your point - it is incredibly annoying to topdeck their power card only to have it come back into play next turn (that is unless you have some counters at hand or can get rid of their topdeck in the meantime). On the other hand Azorius Charm
is amazing at buying me time... cycling and move to top does that. Plus giving lifelink to AEtherling
has won me quite a few matches. For the same reasons you gave however, I did put only 3 of them in the deck (not a full playset).
Between Dimir Charm
and Last Breath
I have noticed people using the latter - it must be because of Whip of Erebos
that people in the meta here use a lot in their mono black devotion. I will take Dimir Charm
into consideration though... I am torn between it, Bile Blight
and Far / Away
(I chose the last of them for versatility purposes).
Thank you very much for taking the time to analyze my deck. I will make sure to return the favor. :)
February 25, 2014 3:37 a.m.
Devour Flesh can definitely be a problem for the baron, but from my experience at least, most black builds don't run it mainboard. So I usually run 2-3 mainboard, and if I hit a black deck, I swap him out for an AEtherling or Obzedat, Ghost Council game 2. I've had decent success doing that. I just think he's too powerful not to try to fit in somewhere.
As far as Dimir Charm vs Last Breath , I tend to find the charm is better because that lifegain can sometimes be a big hit. The charm hits lots of threats, Master of Waves , Nightveil Specter , Pack Rat , Mutavault , etc. It can also counter a T2 Thoughtseize , and it can mess with an opponent's scry. This is especially crucial late game, as you can essentially decide what they draw on a crucial turn.
Anyways, sorry to rant a little, the charm has just become a bit of a pet card of mine, and I'm pretty surprised more people don't play it.
February 25, 2014 3:47 a.m.
Id add another Jace. I also run Esper Control and you dont know the difference one extra copy can make.
February 27, 2014 4:49 p.m.
I shall answer your questions :D
Ashiok has definetely seen some success in Esper for sure, in fact I've seen it happen a couple times in my local meta, but it's very rare. Ashiok being useful in matchups is an uncommon thing, but it mostly happens against (weirdly enough) spell heavy decks, like anything izzet really, and maybe useful against control. He's not a sideboard card though, that would be a waste of 1-3 slots. It depends on your meta, but he's a mainboard or nothing card.
Doom blade mainboard. Move heros downfall to the sideboard. Game 1 Doom Blade > Downfall.
I can do nothing more than agree with you on the azor charms. They're a pain to run, but run at least two. Top decking a huge threat actually sets you up nicely for a next turn counter spell. Though, if you dont have a dissolve in hand and the creature has an ETB effect, don't even think about azor charming it. Just wait until you can kill it.
Thoughtseize is fine. I wouldnt worry about it unless you wanna cut it to 2 for a 4th Sphinx's Rev.
April 2, 2014 3:43 a.m.
I'm going to have to disagree with Davik100 on a couple points:
First off, Ashiok doesn't do that well against control, as they can remove him pretty easily. He actually shines against creature heavy decks like R/G monsters, provided you can use Supreme Verdict and removal to keep the field clear for him. After a few turns, he can start stealing creatures and defending himself. It can really get out of control quickly once you get a couple big blockers up.
Secondly, Hero's Downfall is much better than Doom Blade in the mainboard. The ability to hit walkers is crucial. If you let one stick and can't deal with him its usually game over. The extra 1 cmc is annoying, but certainly not back breaking.
As far as Azorius Charm , I find it pretty underwhelming in most decks. I think you're better off with a permanent solution like more counterspells or removal.
Definitely run Thoughtseize mainboard. With Esper, its your primary advantage over Azorius. 3 Sphinx's Revelation is perfect, I wouldn't recommend running 4 in Esper.
April 2, 2014 2:41 p.m.
Any changes with the new set coming out? I am going to invest in an esper control deck and I love this one. +1
April 28, 2014 12:50 p.m.
Do you have a guide or suggestions for when/what to sideboard?
April 29, 2014 11:04 p.m.
Davik100, in the end I decided to drop Ashiok since he is so situational. There are better choices in Esper right now, and I expect new types of threats to show up now that JOU is out. He might be an interesting choice against an Athreos deck (since they will be dropping a lot of low-cost creatures) but we'll see how that goes. In the meantime he is out.
I do think Doom Blade
is strictly worse than Hero's Downfall
in a first match. Doesn't handle black-creature-based decks, or mirror control decks. Downfall on the other hand handles any type of non-indestructible creatures and planeswalkers too. Even with sideboard options I wouldn't get rid of it, because D-Sphere and Banishing Light
tend to attract hatred, and make them less viable solutions.
Thank you for the suggestions!
kmcree very nice comment. I see we share the same opinion on Esper Control. I was mislead by some other people playing this kind of deck, but it seems my instincts are right... and the top winning decks seem to share these instincts as well too. I did decide to up the count of Sphinx's Revelation
to 4, because they're always a pleasure to run into, and with the high number of lands available, they are quite insane.
What do you think about Mana Confluence
in Esper though? Would it be worth including?
JimmyJamR, there are some few changes with the new sets coming up. Deicide
and Banishing Light
are the only ones right now. I am considering Nyx-Fleece Ram
against burn builds, but I'm not sure what I would trade him with yet, so he remains just one of those "maybeboard" sideboard cards.
I will include suggestions for the sideboard once I get a bit of time to do it, similarly to how I've done with my Afterlife Glory deck. Stay tuned. :)
April 30, 2014 2:26 a.m.
Tilwin I just wanted to let you know that with inspiration from this deck I made my first top 8. 56 person Friday night magic and I made the top! Been playing since October and I have been looking for my style, I think this is it. My major issue is sideboarding, but I'll get it eventuallyThanks!!!!
May 3, 2014 1:40 p.m.
JimmyJamR depending on what decks you are facing I can give you some ideas on how I would include the sideboard. I admit I'm not extremely good at it either, but here are some recommendations:
1. If you see a deck that relies on gods, stick in Deicide
. This will help you deal with Thassa or Athreos that are two of the most annoying gods (but also possibly Erebos).
2. If you are facing mirror Esper Control get rid of Detention Sphere
, Syncopate
and Supreme Verdict
for the Glare of Heresy
, Gainsay
, Duress
, Elixir of Immortality
, Blood Baron of Vizkopa
and Pithing Needle
.
3. Against creature-based decks like RDW or GW monsters or Naya or other variations get in Devour Flesh
and Doom Blade
in favor of the counterspells and (if it contains white) Glare of Heresy
.
4. Mono Black Devotion, Orzhov and Chavest midrange require adding Blood Baron of Vizkopa
, Devour Flesh
and Pithing Needle
(for Mutavault
), in the detriment of Syncopate
and Banishing Light
. Against Chavest I would include Doom Blade
as well to deal with Boros Reckoner
and Aurelia, the Warleader
, though you won't be able to touch Desecration Demon
, Obzedat or Blood Baron.
Good luck!
May 6, 2014 6:31 a.m.
chrisdavis says... #16
Whats Sorin, Solemn Visitor purpose in the deck? I like the deck though +1, but i would look for another win-con an Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver or another Elspeth, Sun's Champion and leave an open slot for another counter spell, draw spell or board removal. But, my opinion would mean nothing if sorin's purpose is useful.
September 14, 2014 7:06 p.m.
I have one major problem with Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
: he cannot protect himself when hitting the board... and he can't protect you, except from diverging your opponent's attention from yourself... which many decks choose to ignore anyway, especially aggro decks.
Example: I cast Ashiok turn three. His -X is useless, so I am forced to use his +2. Next turn my opponent removes it with a Hero's Downfall
/Banishing Light
. I got absolutely no advantage from the planeswalker.
In contrast, Sorin, Solemn Visitor
offers impressive synergy with Elspeth, Sun's Champion
. I admit he is situationally useful. But outside Elspeth synergy, his -2 can generate blockers (with flying nonetheless), and his ultimate is absolutely devastating. I would've preferred something similar to Sarkan, but because we do not have anything of the sort in WUB he ought to make the cut. If he underperforms I might remove him of course in favor of more removal/counter/ultimates...
Thank you for noticing this!
September 15, 2014 2:29 a.m.
Blackprince says... #18
looks good! I also gonna try Sorin out cause of the way he works with Elspeth. I thought about Brimaz to but i rather have Clever Impersonator cause the ability to copy any non land permanent is to good to pass up. Here is my take on it Esper Total Domination 2.0
dadadart says... #1
To deal with seleznya Lifebane Zombie in side would help.
February 17, 2014 7:07 p.m.