So been playing Valakut forever and feels like it could be fun to switch over to Esper Control come the great rotation. Feels like we just need a good black discard spell to put it all together.
Not sure on the numbers and I might be light on the Wincons since Tar Pit will be out. Is it even viable in a vacuum? More lands needed? Hard to say how it will do in an opened meta but I'd like to play something different and seems like it could be fun. Definitely hurts to lose Baby Jace and Ponder ain't no Preordain. Plus losing Man Lands ain't too cool either. Having a hard time pinning down how many of each WinCon or if I should drop Wurmcoils. Which removal suite to run isn't too easy either. Help is much appreciated. (And by help I don't mean "your deck sucks" because that doesn't help.)
My absolute favorite thing in blue coming up is Invisible Stalker + equipment (swords preferred). He's cheap to cast leaving you open for countering their mass removal and Hexproof/unblockable is crazy. Throw a sword on him and sit on your open counter mana and go to town. I think it's better than running a bunch of six drops, anyway.
Also, despite it being expensive, Batterskull seems a great match, though that 5 CMC is restrictive in a control deck.
I'm not sure how necessary esper is going to be. I feel that both UB and UW will be stronger, and both have there ups and downs, depending on what you want to do. I also feel that the synergy between snapcaster mage and sword of feast and famine is too great to ignore, and the blade will see play in both builds.
Snapcaster mage is a necesity in any future control deck.
The amount of card advantage + utility it gives, is just too much to pass down.
Also Tezz gambit should be played only if you got enough planeswalkers to make use of the proliferate.
Blue however only has 1 standard monocolour PW, which has the same cmc as the other 2 monowhite PW's.
Liliana is a great Planeswalker, and snapcaster mage has obvious fantastic synergy with her however playtesting needs to figure out if it is enough.
The introduction of snapcaster mage however made an instant + sorcery based control deck superior to a Tezz based artifact control deck.
I used to recommend any U/W control deck to run a Venser based strategy, and even though snapcaster mage has obvious synergy with it, the creaturebase + instants need to be balanced enough to make proper use of all of them.
All by all, the metagame has to show us if it will be a permanent based meta (like before NPH), or if there will be alot of combo's based on spells.
Counterspells are meaningless if all threats come in sorcery speed as permanents, and I myself would only splash blue for ponder + snapcaster mage. Maybe add in a proper cardraw there too.
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Give credit, where credit is due. Give irony and sarcasm, when ignorance and stupidity is found. The whip is kept for special occasions
The Internet was a revelation to me, I never imagined there are so many idiots on this planet.
Any esper control using new lili is failure to the max.
2 gideon should be the ONLY PWs
Any decklist not maindecking minimum 2 timelys is also asking for a quick 0-2 performance constnatly since in unknown metas everyone deviates to agro since its easy and mindless and low skill friendly to say the least.
For the first few weeks id nix any ghost quarter since manlands arent an issue.
Im not sure if including new jace is good. I think if you just run 2-3 sphinx instead you will be better off. in place of jace3 you can run some batterskull.
Personally esper without old lili is bad in my opinion. Old lili is simply too good in control decks running black to miss out on.
I was thinking the same thing. How about a more mid-range approach ala Hero of Bladehold, Mirran Crusader, and Phyrexian Crusader in the sideboard? Oooh, Such good sideboard options with this color combo!
I was thinking
4 Hero of Bladehold
3-4 Mirran Crusader
Swords?
4 Ponder
2 Doom Blade
1 GFTT
2 Into the roil
2 Gideon Jura
1 Dismember
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Day of Judgment
Maybe something crazy like 1 Karn Liberated? IDK
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Standard:
N/A
Modern:
Grishoalbrand / Grixis Death's Shadow / Jeskai Control / UW Control
I'd heed Ryan's suggestion if I were you and I'd made sure to at least try to fit another in the side.
And the only PW you should be running is Jura hands down. Integra mentioned that people will deviate towards aggro and Jura is money in that regard.
I'd definitely gear my MD towards aggro and use my side to combat other decks.
I was thinking the same thing. How about a more mid-range approach ala Hero of Bladehold, Mirran Crusader, and Phyrexian Crusader in the sideboard? Oooh, Such good sideboard options with this color combo!
I was thinking
4 Hero of Bladehold
3-4 Mirran Crusader
Swords?
4 Ponder
2 Doom Blade
1 GFTT
2 Into the roil
2 Gideon Jura
1 Dismember
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Day of Judgment
Maybe something crazy like 1 Karn Liberated? IDK
into the roils aren't going to be legal.
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3 Isolated Chapel
3 Drowned Catacomb
3 Glacial Fortress
6 Grave Titan/Wurmcoil Engine/Consecrated Sphinx
2 Gideon Jura
Control/Manipulation
3 Mana Leak
4 Ponder
2 Tezzeret's Gambit
3 Oblivion Ring
5 Dismember/Doom Blade/GFTT
3 Day of Judgment/Black Sun Zenith
4 Solemn Simulacrum
3 Decent Discard Spell
Not sure on the numbers and I might be light on the Wincons since Tar Pit will be out. Is it even viable in a vacuum? More lands needed? Hard to say how it will do in an opened meta but I'd like to play something different and seems like it could be fun. Definitely hurts to lose Baby Jace and Ponder ain't no Preordain. Plus losing Man Lands ain't too cool either. Having a hard time pinning down how many of each WinCon or if I should drop Wurmcoils. Which removal suite to run isn't too easy either. Help is much appreciated. (And by help I don't mean "your deck sucks" because that doesn't help.)
Also, despite it being expensive, Batterskull seems a great match, though that 5 CMC is restrictive in a control deck.
3 Darkslick Shores
3 Drowned Catacomb
3 Glacial Fortress
3 Isolated Chapel
2 Ghost Quarter
3 Swamp
2 Island
3 Plains
Creatures 6
2 Sun Titan
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Mana Leak
4 Ponder
3 Dismember
2 Go for the Throat
2 Day of Judgment
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Tezzeret's Gambit
Planeswalkers 9
3 Liliana of the Veil
3 Gideon Jura
2 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Jace, Memory Adept
Buylist
Why would you use Tezzeret's gambit over BSZ or at least divination?
UWR UWR Mid-Range
GBW Junk
Legacy
RBG Punishing Jund
Vintage
0 Ichorid
X MUD
http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1959
The amount of card advantage + utility it gives, is just too much to pass down.
Also Tezz gambit should be played only if you got enough planeswalkers to make use of the proliferate.
Blue however only has 1 standard monocolour PW, which has the same cmc as the other 2 monowhite PW's.
Liliana is a great Planeswalker, and snapcaster mage has obvious fantastic synergy with her however playtesting needs to figure out if it is enough.
The introduction of snapcaster mage however made an instant + sorcery based control deck superior to a Tezz based artifact control deck.
I used to recommend any U/W control deck to run a Venser based strategy, and even though snapcaster mage has obvious synergy with it, the creaturebase + instants need to be balanced enough to make proper use of all of them.
All by all, the metagame has to show us if it will be a permanent based meta (like before NPH), or if there will be alot of combo's based on spells.
Counterspells are meaningless if all threats come in sorcery speed as permanents, and I myself would only splash blue for ponder + snapcaster mage. Maybe add in a proper cardraw there too.
Give irony and sarcasm, when ignorance and stupidity is found.
The whip is kept for special occasions
2 gideon should be the ONLY PWs
Any decklist not maindecking minimum 2 timelys is also asking for a quick 0-2 performance constnatly since in unknown metas everyone deviates to agro since its easy and mindless and low skill friendly to say the least.
For the first few weeks id nix any ghost quarter since manlands arent an issue.
Im not sure if including new jace is good. I think if you just run 2-3 sphinx instead you will be better off. in place of jace3 you can run some batterskull.
Personally esper without old lili is bad in my opinion. Old lili is simply too good in control decks running black to miss out on.
I was thinking
4 Hero of Bladehold
3-4 Mirran Crusader
Swords?
4 Ponder
2 Doom Blade
1 GFTT
2 Into the roil
2 Gideon Jura
1 Dismember
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Day of Judgment
Maybe something crazy like 1 Karn Liberated? IDK
N/A
Modern:
Grishoalbrand / Grixis Death's Shadow / Jeskai Control / UW Control
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Blade Splicer
4 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Grave Titan
2 Sun Titan
1 Sheoldred, Whispering one
2 Visions of Beyond
3 Dismember
2 Oblivion Ring
4 ponder
4 Mana Leak
2 Venser the Sojourner
3 Liliana of the Veil
Give irony and sarcasm, when ignorance and stupidity is found.
The whip is kept for special occasions
And the only PW you should be running is Jura hands down. Integra mentioned that people will deviate towards aggro and Jura is money in that regard.
I'd definitely gear my MD towards aggro and use my side to combat other decks.
Here's a rough draft
2 Consecrated Sphinx
3 Solemn Simulacrum
2 Precursor Golem
4 Despise
3 Twisted Image
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Day of Judgement
4 Ponder
2 Dismember
4 Mana Leak
Thanks to Dantcg for the Sig!
into the roils aren't going to be legal.