Esper Sideboard
Modern forum
Posted on May 15, 2016, 2:24 a.m. by DarkMagician
What are the best sideboard cards available for Esper in the current meta?
WizardOfTheNorthernCoast says... #3
I'm a personal fan of Blood Baron of Vizkopa becaise he dodges most of the removals in the format or Gideon Jura because he can gain you lots of time while being a decent threat by himself :)
May 15, 2016 8:22 a.m.
SwaggyMcSwagglepants says... #4
tclaw12 siding on baneslayer against burn is probably wrong, since if burn has a good draw, you won't have time to cast it.
May 15, 2016 10:01 a.m.
Baneslayer Angel definitely depends on the rest of your deck. I like it against burn though, because you have cards like Spell Snare, Path to Exile and Esper Charm, which should help you get to T5.
tclaw12 says... #2
Based on the meta according to MTGGoldfish -
Jund/Abzan: Celestial Purge, Elspeth, Sun's Champion -
Purge hits lily/bob, and Elspeth goes way over the top of Thrun. You can try Leyline of Sanctity as well, but I don't think it's necessary.
Burn: Celestial Purge, Leyline of Sanctity, Baneslayer Angel -
Purge hits Blood Moon and all their guys (assuming no nacatl), Leyline stops their spells (watch out for Destructive Revelry postboard!), and Baneslayer Angel is just very hard for them to beat. a bit more spot removal (Condemn, Disfigure etc) is also welcome, as is cheap permission in Dispel/Negate.
Affinity: Stony Silence, Baneslayer Angel -
Both are very hard for affinity to beat.
Abzan Coco: Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, Baneslayer Angel - The first two shut of Kitchen Finks/Murderous Redcap persist. RIP weakens Voice of Resurgence/Eternal Witness, and Cage shuts off Collected Company/Chord of Calling. Again, Baneslayer Angel is just very hard for them to beat.
Infect: Thoughtseize, Condemn, Dispel -
Basically you just want cheap interaction. Note that you can Condemn after damage is dealt, but while the creature is still attacking so you don't get blown out by Vines of Vastwood.
Tron: Thoughtseize, Vendilion Clique/Geist of Saint Traft, Stony Silence -
Basically you want permission plus a clock. I don't think the MU is worth bringing in cards like Geist for, but if you want to beat it, I think that's the best way to go about it. Stony Silence is great because it shuts off their eggs, maps, and o-stones. Watch out for World Breaker though...
Zoo/Merfolk: Baneslayer Angel, Condemn -
Cheap removal + a giant lifelink body should get it done. Purge is also pretty good against Zoo, and Negate is fine against Merfolk.
Scapeshift/Jeskai Control: Thoughtseize, Dispel/Negate, Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir -
TS to help clear their hand (in addition to Esper Charm sometimes), and Teferi with Negate/Dispel backup is just very hard for them to beat.
Kiki Chord: Baneslayer Angel -
BSA is very hard for them to beat.
Take into account that this is generally the best you will get. If you play few lands, cards like BSA/Teferi probably won't work. If you play lots of Artifacts of your own, Stony Silence becomes less attractive, etc etc. If you want to shoot me your list, I'd love to provide any help I can :)
May 15, 2016 3:30 a.m. Edited.