Esper Viability
Modern forum
Posted on March 16, 2014, 12:05 p.m. by nani75185
How strong would Esper be in Modern? At my local shop, I do not see any control decks. There is one Eldrazi Deck, A W/G bestow, splinter cell combo, U/R fay, and an infect. There are more decks, but I cannot recall them.
fluffybunnypants says... #3
sylvannos already covered what I was going to say.
Esper gifts isn't bad. I would probably recommend running UWR though if you really wanted to run control.
March 16, 2014 12:21 p.m.
fluffybunnypants I have to agree.
The ability to run Lightning Bolt and Lightning Helix is a very big deal. In Esper, you have to resort the life-costly Dismember , or the situational Doom Blade / Go for the Throat . Trust me, you will love to have that lifegain from Lightning Helix.
Another plus about America Control is that your burn spells become partly your win-condition. Alongside snapcaster mage, you can easily have around 30 points of burn damage in your deck even though you only need about 14 for modern because of fetch lands. Not to mention that you don't even need 14, because Celestial Colonnade and Restoration Angel are real cards.
March 16, 2014 12:30 p.m.
It's funny that you mention "With DRS gone", because most 4-color gifts lists ran him.
sylvannos says... #2
Esper Gifts is a really powerful deck, especially with Deathrite Shaman gone. It's mainly a control deck with Gifts Ungiven + Unburial Rites + fatty to win the game. It has a similar style to Esper in Standard, except you get better cards.
March 16, 2014 12:14 p.m.