NOTE: I'm not a pro. I don't have sponsors. I'm not a millionaire. I do however, love magic, and am willing to do a little buying and a little trading here and there, but I don't want to spend a fortune on a pro tour winning esper control deck. That being said, I can't afford 4 admonitions and 4 obzedats. Bear with me.
Now, for the intro to this deck.
So, I've done a lot of thinking about standard decks right now. I've come to a few realizations, some harsh, but some enlightening.
Realization 1: Esper control is probably better than bant. I don't want to get in a huge argument about this, but it's what I've decided personally. Esper has access to the three biggest control guilds - Azorius, Dimir, and Orzhov. That's a big deal. Adding black to the typical WU control lets you splash for obzedat, deathpact angel (which I will discuss in more detail later), shimian specter (also discussed later), duress, devour flesh, sorin, sin collector, and a more fluent gift of orzhova. That seems like a pretty good reason to splash a color.
Bant control has voice of resurgence. That's pretty much it. Not so good of a reason to splash a color. Thinking about it more, voice doesn't even really have much synergy in control decks. Most spells would be cast on your opponents turn, meaning that their reactions would also be on their turn. That means that--if you're doing what you're supposed to and controlling the board--voice doesn't see a lot of use.
Realization 2: Voice of Resurgence murders control. Murders it.
Or does it?
It's definitely a threat to play around. Countering a spell while voice of resurgence is on the battlefield is something you're going to have to desperately rethink. To be totally honest, I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with voice, and that's something I'm sure all control players are busy working on. I'd hate to think that voice of resurgence single-handedly knocked an entire deck out of circulation, but there's definitely a lot of work to do to make control viable. I'll talk about some ideas for how to deal with it later on.
Realization 3: ...
I don't have a realization 3. I just wanted to have a list of 3. Three is a good number, right?
Now that you know a bit about why I chose WUB control, here's some rationale for what I plan to do with it and why I chose the cards I did. Let's go from top to bottom.
Augur of Bolas - Makes enough sense. It's a control staple I wasn't about to miss out on. Gets me a render silent ready to cast on turn 3? Good deal. PT isn't bad either.
Deathpact Angel - This is where my list differs from a lot of control decks in circulation. I could run 4 obzedats and drop $70 to do so, but I really like what deathpact angel offers. Plus I'm a hipster. The big issue with all standard decks right now is trying to find cards that are finishers, can outlast supreme verdict, and need 2 answers. Deathpact Angel is all of the above. A six mana 5/5 flyer is a good deal - that much is certain. Not an incredible deal, but a good deal. He dies, I get another token. I pay the mana cost my next turn and get back my angel. Or the next turn. Or whenever I feel like it. Heck, I could do it in response to a supreme verdict if I wanted to. Not to mention, it's basically a creature cast that isn't stopped by render silent and doesn't give them an elemental through VoR. It's definitely something they won't be prepared for. Maybe not as good as Obzedat, but cheaper, useful, and quite hipster.
Obzedat - Good card. Staple. Only really want one (per hard to kill and legend rule). Nuff said.
Shimian Specter - There are some times where liking a card a lot may cloud your decision as to whether it's good or not. This is absolutely one of those times. I'm inclined to think he's an overcosted 2/2 flyer that is a removal target and will never get his ability out for something useful, but part of my hopes that he is an ever constant surgical extraction that knocks out a voice or advent every turn. That would be cool. Playtesting is the only way to find out.
Sin Collector - People think this card is just anti-control, but it's so much more than that. Control? I'll take your supreme verdict or render silent. Naya? I'll take your call of the conclave or advent. Red? I'll take your mortars. Reanimator? I'll take your unburial ri--no, never mind, that mulch is looking pretty good.
Gift of Orzhova - Would like to run more than one, but I really don't know how effective it'll be. Every control matchup I've seen takes really hard damage early game, but bounces back as soon as they get a sphinx's rev. I'm really hoping that gift would stunt that early game hit and maybe even bait removal before my big creatures hit the board. Just not sure.
Azorius Charm - Staple. Nuff said.
Devour Flesh - I hate this card. With a passion. What the hell kind of control card is this? It's like saying, "Well, you're a really cool guy, but I'm obligated to kill one of your creatures since I'm running black, but I'll let you pick. And bonus! You gain life! You get 2 life and turn your voice into a token. Isn't that a good deal for you?" Blech. I hate swords to plowshares removal. I can see why people use it, since it takes out falkenrath aristocrats, but it doesn't seem worth it in all the other matchups. Seems like a sideboard to me. Problem is, I don't know what else to run! Murder seems like a pretty bad mana base, but it might be the only choice.
Render Silent - WHY ARE MORE PEOPLE NOT PLAYING THIS CARD? They're leaving it out for wimpy cards like syncopate which SUCKS late game. Render silent is amazing. Same mana as a counterspell. That's awesome. And shuts them down the rest of their turn. You don't have to worry about baiting removal anymore, because on your turn you can augur or sphinx's rev to get another! It's SO good. Control players, notice this!
Sphinx's Revelation - I don't think this card needs to be noticed more.
Jace, Architect of Thought - Same goes here.
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad - BW planeswalker, why not? In actuality, he's REALLY good at stalling out while your big creatures do the work. 1/1 chumps with lifelink is pretty sweet. Blocks VoR and reckoner like a pro without worrying about the consequences. His -2 could be better used in other decks, but his ultimate is pretty sweet as well.
Duress - Best control one drop (except judge's familliar, arguably). I was running black, so why not? I like this deck because it uses some unconventional control. While people are building around render silent and supreme verdict, they don't usually suspect a shimian specter or deathpact angel or duress. Just like sin collector, it takes their best spell and gets a turn one peek at their hand. That's cool.
Supreme Verdict - Mainstream card is mainstream.
Land Base - I really don't like shocklands, mainly for the cost but also for the shock. Especially since control takes such a hit early on, the shock can add to that in a hurry. The only shockland I'm running is watery grave to enable duress on turn one, and I already don't like it. If the mana base gets bad, I'll add more, but I'm preferring the dual lands for the time being. Running 25 lands... hope that's enough.
CARDS I LEFT OUT... ON PURPOSE!!!
Think Twice - I saw this card, ran it in flashback control for almost a year, fell in love with it, got married, had kids, then divorced it, threw all its stuff in the yard and then set its house on fire. I really hate this card now, and I don't see any efficiency in it. Drawing one card is like saying "Sorry! An actual card is buried in the deck a little further. Pay 2 mana and I'll get it for you!" Paying 2 mana to just get a different card seems stupid when, if you exclude it, you could have just drawn that card in the first place. It makes sense if you think about it rather than try to explain it...
Blood Baron of Vizkopa - It's a good card, I'm not gonna lie. But in the effort to dodge supreme verdict, it fails on all accounts. Deathpact and Obzedat are better in that regard.
So, this is my hipster esper control. I really hope you like it, and I hope it spurs some discussion. I could really use help on it! Comments and suggestions are appreciated and taken into serious consideration! Please, I need your help to make this deck a threat!
(Note: If your comment follows the structure, "Hey, this is good. Check out ___________ of mine. Here's the link! ", don't post it.)