Esper deck looking to stabilize and gain life. Then turn life gain into damage.
Mana Base
The mana base is real solid with the Scry lands, and Shock lands making up the bulk of lands used. The mana base will improve with Born of the Gods and the release of the blue/white scry land, Temple of Enlightenment.
Main Threats
Blood Baron of Vizkopa
This creature is hard to deal with in this format. Devour Flesh, Celestial Flare, and Mizzium Mortars are the main answers mainboard/sideboard. Our deck can punish Devour Flesh with Sanguine Bond in play. Their Devour Flesh becomes an ass backwards Warleader's Helix in which my creature gets blasted, I gain 4 life, and my opponent losses 4 life.
Sanguine Bond
I want to cycle my deck with Elixir of Immortality, Jace, Architect of Thought, Dimir Charm, Divination, and Sphinx's Revelation. However I also wanted to find a way to get more value out of Elixir of Immortality, Sphinx's Revelation, and Blood Baron of Vizkopa. If they chump block a Blood Baron of Vizkopa, my opponent still take 4 life damage, a clean hit does 8 damage, and their Devour Flesh burns them for 4 damage. I can use my own Devour Flesh to close out games by sacrificing my Baron after a clean hit for an additional 4 damage on top of the 8 incurred for 12 points total life damage, or burn them for 4 in respnse to a Mizzium Mortars/ Celestial Flare/Supreme Verdict. Plus, in the mirror, my Barons do more work.
Elixir of Immortality becomes a 5 damage burn spell, and Sphinx's Revelation becomes a X/WUU burn spell.
The combo Blood Baron of Vizkopa + Sanguine Bond really makes Elspeth, Sun's Champion strategies look pedestrian. Every time I trade with a token, I gain 4 life and they lose 4 life. So racing Elspeth is not an issue, and if she's using her -3 to blow up Baron, she is not making tokens. A 2nd Baron or a Hero's Downfall in my hand is really bad news, and this is before Pithing Needle,
Glare of Heresy
, and, Obzedat, Ghost Council get sideboarded in.
I can also race an AEtherling quite well. Hitting for 8 damage a turn, while gaining 4 life will outrun just about anything.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion
She's an army in a can. She give us a sweeper for creature power 4 and up, and 3 tokens a turn. I have considered boarding Azorius Charms instead of Dimir Charm because I like bouncing a creature so I know their draw, and I like ability to give my tokens lifelink which is useful in this deck with sideboard option like Obzedat, Ghost Council, and card draw is good.
Obzedat, Ghost Council, sideboard,
Another rough to deal with creature. Answers have to be instant speed. Two primary answers are Hero's Downfall and Devour Flesh]. I like this card in any match up not involving monoblack devotion. It interacts well with Sanguine Bond and a Devour Flesh burns them for five. Even if facing a Hero's Downfall, devouring my own Obzedat in response to burn for 5 damage is still good. Plus a reoccuring trigger that burns them for 4 damage in conjunction with Sanguine Bond isn't bad either.
