The Best Control of Tarkir

Standard TheHroth

SCORE: 359 | 477 COMMENTS | 50467 VIEWS | IN 111 FOLDERS


TheHroth says... #1

@Ripperdown

Brave the Sands doesn't really do much for Esper dragons decks. Sure, giving Dragonlord Ojutai vigilance (and so permanent hexproof) is nice, but it really isn't necessary. By the time you are ready to attack with him, and expose him to potential removal, chances are you're in a position where it is safe, usually because you're winning.

@Darkspawn0226

6 dragons is fine. 4/2 split between Dragonlord Ojutai and Silumgar, the Drifting Death seems like the best option, though 3/2/1 between Dragonlord Ojutai, Silumgar, the Drifting Death, and Dragonlord Silumgar could also work.

June 4, 2015 11:07 p.m.

Darkspawn0226 says... #2

Once I actually get all the cards I'll try out the ojutai and silugmar drifting death see how that plays out then add dragonlord silugmar though drifting death and ojutai would be enough controlling ur oppents card with dragonlord silugmar could possibly give you extra leverage depending on the type of player the person is

June 5, 2015 12:05 a.m.

EssTea says... #3

Or even 4/1/1 could be an option.

June 5, 2015 12:24 a.m.

Darkspawn0226 says... #4

Yes this true money is some what of an issue for me though esp since I still need polluted delta thought seize temple of enlightenment and ojutai my one goal for this deck is total control not just of my cards but use the control base of using the target players deck against them if that makes any sence though I love dragon control cuz of the various way to control the flow of the match in different situations

June 5, 2015 12:42 a.m.

Ripperdown says... #5

This is true! I just realized I missed some of that you played. Good deck tho

June 6, 2015 9:18 p.m.

dettbizzle says... #6

I'm currently working on building this deck, and judging from the reaction at my LGS when I start inquiring about the necessary cards, people are afraid of Espers around here. Kudos for the excellent build, I look forward to the changes coming in Origins!

June 8, 2015 1:52 p.m.

Darkspawn0226 says... #7

Yeah I'm can't wait to finish my deck and see how it fairs against my friends dragon scry deck

June 8, 2015 2:47 p.m.

PlanetEarth says... #8

It's been hard for me to find opponents willing to play against my esper dragon control deck. The deck has answer to almost anything and they don't like it.

June 8, 2015 2:57 p.m.

Darkspawn0226 says... #9

I'm not to sure about mill decks though my friends deck is a dragon scry but the cards he'd be scrying for are mill cards

June 8, 2015 3:17 p.m.

Darkspawn0226 says... #10

After I'm done building my version of this deck I just need the exspensive cards now but I wanted to build an eldrazi deck to pit against my version of this deck anyone have good ideas for this

June 9, 2015 12:59 p.m.

haysmafia1 says... #11

+1, I am def. going to be "borrowing" some ideas from this deck ;-)

June 10, 2015 11:02 a.m.

TheHroth says... #12

Thanks! You're more than welcome to borrow some ideas ;-)

June 10, 2015 11:13 a.m.

haysmafia1 says... #13

You haven't had any problems with all of those taplands?

Which match-ups give you the hardest time?

June 10, 2015 11:30 a.m.

Palkyon says... #14

For me, Abzan Aggro can be a problem and basically every Aggro deck.

June 10, 2015 11:33 a.m.

Palkyon says... #15

But, the deck tends to have like a 40%-50% win rate with aggro decks so it's not too bad.

June 10, 2015 11:34 a.m.

TheHroth says... #16

For me, the super fast red decks are the hardest matchups. Both the atarka-red and mono-red decks are tough matches, but become much easier to handle game 2 after sideboarding.

Other than the red decks, anything fast will always give touble. Abzan aggro is especially tough, because Drown in Sorrow really doesn't do too much in that matchup.

June 10, 2015 5:34 p.m.

Darkspawn0226 says... #17

Anyone have any ideas for an extort deck ATM I only have pontiff of the blight til I look through all my other cards

June 10, 2015 8:59 p.m.

angelkreiger says... #18

I've played quite a bit of Esper in the past, but recently dabbled in Jeskai and Mardu. This past week I've returned to Esper and plan on taking it to the Open in Indianapolis next weekend. My current build feels heavy on counters and light on removal. I was curious what your opinion of Disdainful Stroke and Crux of Fate. You currently only run 2 Crux (I do as well). Have you considered uping the count to 3? I know there are plenty of times I find myself wishing for it. My local meta is really heavy with collected company at the moment though, and if I don't have a counter for it I quickly fall behind when I'm only using 1 for 1 removal like Downfall or FTI. And Stain the Mind in the side board - does that do work for the cost? Convoke helps, but it isn't like you ever have many creatures.

Sorry, this wasn't an attempt at sounding critical. I've been away from Esper and TappedOut for awhile now and am just hoping for as much feedback as possible this week. With all of the Modern coverage right now, I don't know what kind of meta to expect at the Open.

June 14, 2015 11:55 a.m.

angelkreiger says... #19

Here's my deck if you want to take a look.


Esper Control Playtest

Standard angelkreiger

SCORE: 0 | 1 COMMENTS | 4 VIEWS

June 14, 2015 12:38 p.m.

Darkspawn0226 says... #20

This is my latest deck idea its called Elder Dragon Highlander

June 14, 2015 2:47 p.m.

Darkspawn0226 says... #21

You'd have to go in to my decks since there's slot of these decks around

June 14, 2015 2:54 p.m.

mindcrush says... #22

Very interesting list and I'm curious as to a couple of the decision you've made here. I'm not trying to say any of the choices you've made are wrong, as the may very well be better than the ones I made when putting together my own similar deck. I'm just interested to hear your thought process on why you've made them and how you've found they've worked for you in games:

First is your card draw suite. I agree that four copies of Dig Through Time is absolutely the way to go (and I want to do the same and ditch Treasure Cruise altogether) but what surprised me slightly was that you supplemented that with Dragonlord's Prerogative. Is that not overkill in your experience? Also, only two copies of Anticipate strikes me as a bit odd. I love that card and having it in my opening hand (or at least the first 8-10 cards I see) is fantastic to help smooth out my mana drops and keep giving me the answers I need in the early game until I can really assert control. To me, that's an automatic four copy card.

Also very interested in your sideboard. It seems to me that it is too broad (if there is such a thing). I find that I want to run at least two copies of any card I'd really want to board in to give me a reasonable chance of seeing it. The amount of one copy cards surprises me slightly. Stratus Dancer's inclusion (and as a two copy card) is odd to me. I'd be interested to know what match ups it is usually sided in for. It seems to me that more copies of Negate and/or adding Disdainful Stroke would be a more mana efficient way of counters instant and sorcery spells. The 2/1 body doesn't add much for the extra you need to play the morph. It will (I would imagine) get removed from the board pretty quickly indeed.

June 15, 2015 9:55 a.m.

haysmafia1 says... #23

I think that there is a balance you have to find between Anticipate & Dragonlord's Prerogative. Early game the former is better, late game the latter is better. Treasure Cruise is definitely out, can't afford to pay for draw on your turn (yes, even a lowly one island, lol), only draw during opponent's end step.

Stratus Dancer: creatures you play are to bash face only, plain and simple. I agree with mindcrush, take this out and add more cheap counters/removals.

June 15, 2015 10:28 a.m.

mindcrush says... #24

haysmafia1 I know what you mean about striking a balance but to me the advantage you gain from being able to Anticipate early in the game is more beneficial in getting to a state of board control than the Dragonlord's Prerogative is later in the game, when you should be less in need of answers (and also have four Dig Through Times to rely on). Maybe it is just personal preference though.

Agree on Treasure Cruise too. I only run it for budget reasons.

June 15, 2015 10:37 a.m.

haysmafia1 says... #25

mindcrush I am also thinking about the mirror match (or at least against other control decks). Would the opponent sacrifice a counterspell for Anticipate? Probably not. Would they for Dig? More likely. If your late-game Dig is countered it could be the deciding factor. For now, I am going with only 1 Dragonlord's Prerogative & 3 Anticipate, will have to playtest a couple hundred times to see if it is the right balance ;-)

June 15, 2015 10:47 a.m.

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