This is a competitive EDH deck that focuses on surviving until the mid-game, and winning with alternate win-cons. Goal is to win between turn 5-10. Worst case scenario, it draws out the game to a potential board state reset. Oloro is the commander for survival, life gain trigger and clutch draw engine.
First, the win-cons:
Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood = Infinite target damage
Hive Mind + Pacts/Enduring Ideal = Color cost upkeep impossibility. Probably the most "non-competitive/flavor" win-con in the deck. There are more efficient win-cons, to be sure, but I like this because most of the time, people can't do anything about it. It will more than likely not kill the field, but it will kill off someone plus engage in some politics in between. Plus, works well with the other big sorcery in my deck, enduring ideal.
Helm of Obedience + Leyline of the Void/Rest in Peace = Library Mill. This is the fastest win-con in my deck, but is limited by it being single target.
Tezzeret + Humility/Night of Souls' Betrayal = Everyone has no creatures, I have 4/4's. Not a strong win-con, but Tezzeret's utility plus Humility's raw power more than makes up for it.
Second, why I do not run other win-cons:
Test of Endurance/Felidar Sovereign: Because my deck is mostly creatureless, I usually do not have a wall early game that can survive just random pings from creatures. I am the early target, and given that i use my life as a resource (necropotence, phyrexian arena), it's pretty hard to get to 50 life and allow test/felidar to live a turn. Lastly, other than the combo itself, I don't have much in the way that triggers off lifegain.
Beacon of Destiny/Vizkopa Guildmage: I could not get this win-con to work. Vizkopa is cheap, but is otherwise just a 2/2 creature without Exquisite Blood. Beacon + Vizkopa has the potential to end the game, but that requires my life to be around 40 to begin with.
Omniscience/Enter the Infinite: I simply do not like running this combo. :) If I don't like seeing a card in my hand outside of a combo, I usually stay away from it.
Gameplay:
This deck wants to ramp up ahead by 1-2 turns during the first 5 turns. Within those turns, or by turn 5, Vindicate/Swords/D.Sphere comes in as spot removal and eventually leading up to a wrath effect. Turn 5-10, I want to set up to either searching for the win-con, or playing the win-con itself.
Weaknesses/Criticisms:
This deck isn't your typical esper control deck. It does not run any counters, but instead tries to answer what you lay down on the board after the fact (or make it useless via humility). It wants to disrupt early and hard. I am currently testing the no-counter build of this, after having been disappointed by the version of the deck running 6 counters. But, should this not work, I might have to switch to a more lockdown/control, late game win strategy.
36 land is also a criticism. I do not get mana-screwed most of the time, but I want constant land drops until turn 7-8. I'm trying to go up to 37-38, but no clue on what to remove so far. I may take out a tutor and trading post after further playtesting.
Reviews/comments welcome! Thanks!