Esper Control

by tmw30 on 10 February 2016

Main Deck (60 cards)

Sideboard (15 cards)

Submit a list of cards below to bulk import them all into your sideboard. Post one card per line using a format like "4x Birds of Paradise" or "1 Blaze", you can even enter just the card name by itself like "Wrath of God" for single cards.


Deck Description

So, I was brewing a lot around Esper Deathblade, and came to the conclusion that it is not great. Borderline terrible. So I decided to try to go to miracles. Well, long story short, I don't like counterbalance. I like synergy, but dependent synergy annoys me. Miracles is a deck addicted to lock-drugs and can't scratch the itch. So I decided I'd stick to Stoneblade wincons in with Tops in a Miracles sort of shell. I found this to be suboptimal, as the card advantage I lacked from throwing in the Stoneforge Mystics was... draining. So I threw in Black and confidant as a joke, parodying the lack of card advantage. It worked. I took out the terminuses, to try out Trinket Mage as a joke. It worked. Cycled out the red completely, dropped an entreat, added a stronger artifact package, and added Strixes. The Strixes were for the lack of Terminus due to Bob. They one for one with a Goyf and draw a card. I also blocked an Emrakul in testing with one and went on to win the game. Suffice it to say, I'm ridiculously pleased with this outcome.

How to Play

So, the main idea is to have more cards. Using the interaction between Confidant and Sensei's, we are able to get Jund levels of cards with Force style cards. Traditionally, this seems intuitive, but I think Counterbalance weens people away from Confidant, but I reject that notion. Using you superior card advantage engine, you simple use your artifacts to cement a win. Mainboard Pithing Needle can completely neutralize Lands' offensive in the face of a Batterskull, and Meekstone can slow down Delver variants or the fair decks. Engineered's have saved me from Goblins/Elves/DnT many times thus far. The Entreat gives you the ability to just end it if your incremental advantage isn't already enough. We shun Terminus here because we can par a board state. Stick to the plan and it should pull you through with some clever play.

Also, Bob the Top, not the Force. :P

Deck Tags

  • Legacy
  • Esper
  • Control
  • Confidant-Top

Deck at a Glance

Social Stats

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This deck has been viewed 1,060 times.

Mana Curve

Mana Symbol Occurrence

1029600

Card Legality

  • Not Legal in Standard
  • Not Legal in Modern
  • Not Legal in Vintage
  • Not Legal in Legacy

Deck discussion for Esper Control

I NEED CRITICISM.

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Posted 10 February 2016 at 02:57

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Update 1:
Moved the Meekstone to the SB and replaced a Stoneforge with a Confidant, considering how equally good they are (and how bad extra Mystics are). Moved an extra protection piece, a Misdirection, to the main. Swapped Marsh Flats for Academy ruins. Altered SB composition by weakening board wipes to acknowledge Meekstone, altered grave hate, and added a Chalice.

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Posted 10 February 2016 at 18:33

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The list looks pretty good, gotta admit, some choices I would recommend though.

First, I think you want to go all in on Dark Confidant, the card is so powerful in the format, perhaps by slotting out a Divining Top, and maybe the Meek Stone to fit in the play set, if you are worried about not having all the Tops, remember that Trinket Mage can get it also.

In the manabase, maybe try fitting in an Academy Ruins, seems to work really well alongside the Artifacts, being able to recur a Baleful Strix over and over could be back breaking to some decks.

The Impulse and Counterspell in the main, I feel like you can play a second Predict instead of the Impulse, a friend of mine plays Miracles and he runs two to great effect. The Counterspell could just be a 1cmc Counter, since you have a ton of 2cmc with your creatures. Something along the lines of like Spell Pierce or Spell Snare seem about right.

And your Sideboard looks solid, cards I would recommend if you wanna try them out.
Zealous Persecution, Lingering Souls, Nihil Spellbomb, Detention Sphere, Stony Silence, Null Rod, Path To Exile, just to name a few.

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Posted 10 February 2016 at 03:26

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Cool, thanks for the feedback. I do like the idea of going all out on the Confidant, but I also like the 40% opening Top ratio. It's definitely to be considered, and I can definitely try it. The Meek Stone would be the one to pull, but man is there a lot of TNN and Goyf in my meta. It works so well.

As for the Academy Ruins, I'll throw one in, see if I like it. The interaction with Strix seems especially favorable against the likes of Shardless and Delver, and recursion is an engine I'm not to wary of.

Yeah, I can see the Impulse out, I always have one as a pet card. I'll throw in another Predict just because you're right on it. As for the Counterspell, I'm unsure. While I like Pierce and Snare, this list goes wide and long. The superfluous Counterspell (beyond the Forces) is to complement my lack of Counterbalance, and to help me win a fight over a large Entreat. I had a pierce in at first, but found that it was... lacking. They'd have 2-7 mana up whenever there was something worth countering when I had it, due to game length. Still, not a bad suggestion.

And thanks, although Stony Silence and Null Rod seem a bit loose considering my mainboard. XD
I'm digging through my stuff for a Nihil Spellbomb right now, I like that idea over the second cage. Deals with Punishing Fire cleaner. XD

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Posted 10 February 2016 at 03:45

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I've got to agree with TheBear and say you should go up to the full playset of Confidants, that card is so good. I think you could stand to cut the trinket mages. You see so many cards each game anyway you don't really need to tutor for those artifacts.

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Posted 10 February 2016 at 04:31

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I think the Trinkets give this deck a completely other angle of attack, it gives this deck which normally does not have a toolbox, a toolbox. There is a surprisingly large number a 1cmc Artifacts in the format that can just beat decks.

And if all else fails, can be pitched to Force Of Will.

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Posted 10 February 2016 at 16:30

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That's true, but I think if I were going for the toolbox, I'd ether commit to it, or cut it. I'd say either up the trinket Mage and artifact count, or cut the extraneous cards to streamline the deck.

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Posted 10 February 2016 at 16:40

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Could just be easier to include the larger variety of the Toolbox and just have the majority in the sideboard, since Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle etc. Can be awkward in the main.

As for the main, getting a Sensei's Divining Top or Engineered Explosives off a Trinket Mage always seem positive.

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Posted 10 February 2016 at 17:23

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I definitely like the idea of a playset of Bobs, but the Trinket Mage has been serving me very well so far. It supplements the lack of Termini by giving me both answers to the likes of Elves and TNN. The Needle has proven itself many times, mostly by turning off Liliana or Thespian Stage. The only super likely cut is Meekstone, but again, the lack of Terminus is giving me a fear of the likes of Reality Smasher (yeah, that things a beast) or TNN. The Meekstone just has to sit there while I balance with a Batterskull on a Strix.

That said, it could just go on the SB, for the sake of more Bobs.

Also, I'm looking into trading for a Chalice, which would be killer on 0 against storm, and it can sit on the sideboard. The fact that Trinket Mage can tutor for it just seems gross.

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Posted 10 February 2016 at 18:11

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Yeah, Chalice seems solid on 0, but that's it, you never want it higher then what you have. It's not tutorable but I think Flusterstorm or Ethersworn Canonist would fill the roll better, as they can come in for different match ups.

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Posted 10 February 2016 at 19:38

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Stifle currently is filling the role of Flusterstorm, while also being good against Shardless. I just want movable rocks to supplement the Trinket Mage package, as it's not easy to take them out of the deck when sideboarding for Storm, but it is easy to take out Needle and Explosives. I think bland chalice for 0 is solid, and provides synergy with a beater, and fits in well. Also, it notably stops Ancestral Visions, so that's cool.

Out: 4 Swords, Jitte, Explosives, Needle
In: 2 Stifle, 3 Thoughtseize, Chalice, Grafdigger's Cage

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Posted 10 February 2016 at 19:48

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