Hello,
Full disclosure, I've been playing UB Faeries for 4 years now, and I'm looking for another sort of deck to play, so I came up with this. I'm not sure if this should go in this category, or the UB Tezzeret Thopter deck category, but I was thinking of building a control deck that uses the Thopter Foundry // Sword of the Meek engine as a late game win condition. I don't want to play the all in versions with Mox Opal and Tezzeret, but a normal, Draw Go style that gets an unstoppable engine in the late game.
I'm not sure if I should be running a board wipe or two in the list, but otherwise I think it looks alright. The ThopterSword combo, coupled with Time Sieve can do a nice Time Vault // Voltaic Key impression, and alongside the planeswalkers can end a game super quick. My original thought was to play straight UB, but I wanted Teferi, Esper Charm, and the option to side board in Monastery Mentor, along with White's other hay-maker sideboard cards if I wanted. I still need to figure out a full sideboard, but I want some opinions on the main deck first. Can you guys give me your thoughts (or point me in the direction of the correct thread if it exists)?
TO my knowledge, there isn't really a thread for that. The tezz thread could be close enough, or this thread could be. I don't personally mind discussing it here.
IMO, time sieve is kind of unnecessary in a more controlling build. Its much more useful in the more all-in tezz builds.
That being said, I think this type of deck is a lot better in just two colors. Thirst for knowledge is a genuinely powerful card, that replaces esper charm well.
I've been turning over the idea of UB thopter foundry with jace + new tezz (instead of teferi), along with a whir toolbox (but still more of a control deck, not all-in on the artifact prison elements), but I'm not remotely close to anything I'm happy with.
For your specific list, I think your removal package is lacking. If you play path to exiles, you may be able to get away without sweepers (but I'd probably play one or two) but with push, you can't beat a tasigur, a hollow one, etc.
I'd also consider playing atleast 1 academy ruins, even if you aren't trying to get too cute with it. Recurring gearhulk or EE can be near unbeatable for some decks.
Mentor isn't a great sideboard option though. If you want alternate wincons, geist, queller, clique are fine, as are other planeswalkers, or other creatures, but mentor just doesn't really cut it in modern.
Good point on the removal. I figured it was a bit short as well, but I also was like 'my thopters will protect me from big threats' but I also can't rely on thopters and Cast Down to handle big things. I also thought of Thirst For Knowledge, but I figured it's better when you have other artifacts to discard, instead of hoping to get an extra Foundry or a Sword. I'm not playing the extra artifacts, and drawing three discard two doesn't seem like the greatest deal. It's still a quick draft, so when I get home, I'll put a physical list together and jam games, see if it's even any good.
Saw previous list had engineered explosives maindeck - how does that pan out? I usually run one or two copies sb myself.
There is a scenario where we run explosives and a gearhulk main with an academy ruins. Im sure thats been tried but probably worth revisiting occasionally.
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Modern
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
I played this deck last night and I thought I would provide a short summary of my games. I have made a few changes based on discussions here as well as things I felt like changing for a variety of reasons. I will explain some of them after the game summaries. Here is my current list:
Match 1 - Mardu Through the Breach/Emrakul
Game 1: The game was pretty slow for both of us. They essentially tried to win through Lingering Souls as they were not able to get to their combo. They cast an early Souls and then flashed it back the next turn. I cast a Timely Reinforcements turn 4 to match their tokens and gain some life. I was able to race them for a while while dealing with a couple tokens with Push and Path. I was winning the race, but they ended up getting another Souls and another blocker. I ended up having to wrath the board while I was on 5. They had dropped a Needle Spires the previous turn so they had that to bring me to 1. I top decked a Path so I was able to get rid of it.
For about 3 turns we just went back and forth until I landed a Snapcaster. I used that to flash back a Timely. I didn't get any tokens but it got my life total out of burn range and allowed me to crack fetches again. I was then able to use Snapcaster to beat down for the win.
Game 2: They tried to get a turn 4 Through the Breach with a ritual and I was able to counter it. The game went back and forth a little as I didn't have a lot of gas, but I was able to stop him from doing anything. Her just kept digging and wasn't able to get to anything. I eventually won with Colonnade beats.
Match 2 - Red Prison
Game 1: I was on the play and luckily I was. They tried to slam a turn 2 Blood Moon but I ended up countering it. They then cast a Magus or a Spirit Guide and then followed it up with a Goblin Rabblemaster. I was able to Think Twice into a Mana Leak for the Rabblemaster though and I had a Snapcaster to stall the other creature for a while. I think I also had an Azcanta land to keep things going. Essentially, he was unable to really pressure me as I got in with Colonnade.
Game 2: This was just a bad game overall for them. They tried to Blood Moon or Magus turn 3. By then I had plenty of answers so I got rid of it. They tried to Chalice on 2 and I countered it. They tried to Chalice on two again and this time I let it through as I only had Search in hand with 2 CMC and I had an Esper Charm and Anguished Unmaking. But, it was too late to really matter anyway as they got flooded pretty hard and I was able to get a Teferi down to keep my hand full and keep my counters up. I think they just scooped it up to Teferi's Emblem.
Match 3 - R/W Death and Taxes
Game 1: I both mulled to 6 and they mulled to 5. They still had Vial turn 1. From there, they just had a couple hate bears and eventually tried to vial in a Magus. I was able to float mana in response to the vial to ensure I had removal for it and they never got to another Magus. I ended up getting Search transformed while I was at 6 and facing lethal and I activated it once to luckily pull a Supreme Verdict off the top. I wrathed and left them with little in hand and nothing on board. They blew up my Azcanta with Ghost Quarter but it did its job. I either won with Snapcaster beats or with Colonnade.
Game 2: We both mulled to 6 and they again had Vial turn 1. I don't remember everything about this game but I know they got a Blade Splicer that I had to work to answer and they landed a Magus of the Moon. Luckily, I already had 2 Islands and top decked my thrid so I at least at Cryptic Mana up. I did not have White or Black for a while though. I eventually answered their board and I was able to land a Gideon to stall their board. They got down another creature (they just had an Arbiter at first) so they could profitably attack. I animated Colonnade to block and they Ghost Quartered it. I then just wrathed their board and attacked with Gideon. I think they pathed it so I just attacked with a Snapcaster I got a turn or two later and another Colonnade. I also had Elspeth in hand if I needed her.
In the end, I went 3-0. This is a small sample size but so far, my takeaways are:
Timely seems to be really good in certain matchups though it is antithetical to the "draw-go" archetype since it is a Sorcery. I have found though that I am rarely disappointed to see it in my hand and it has been good in a number of situations (it did a lot of work for me last week too).
Mana Leak seems to be a good call. I had mentioned above that I would rather have this over Remand and I stand by that. However, I was not sold on the card in general until I tried it and being able to counter something early that Logic Knot or Negate can't hit has been important. The 1 blue vs 2 blue for LK was important for Red Prison as well so I could fetch a non-island Basic and still be able to counter something. I cut my Negates down to 1 to make room (I had made other cuts too but that was the closest "1-to-1" cut).
A 1-1 Split with Jace and Teferi seems to work. I am not sure what the right numbers are, but I think these numbers are serviceable even if they are not necessarily optimal.
I have been finding that I really do not miss the lack of White Sun's Zenith/Secure the Wastes. The way the deck has played out so far has been working well. It is possible I should still have one or the other (I prefer Zenith) but so far I have not gotten to the point where I feel I need them. I have played around 15-20 games without them so far.
Another card I cut a while back is Sphinx's Revelation. This too is a card that I have not missed. The life gain was important in certain matchups, but the deck has enough card draw without it that I do not feel there has been any game where I felt I would have won with this card. And Timely has been good for the life gain when needed as well as getting tokens when needed. Again, Sorcery is not necessarily the best but it has been pulling its weight.
I have not been able to play against burn yet which is the matchup I really wanted to try with the new Timely's to see if it makes that matchup better. It should and that matchup has always been bad for me, so hopefully I eventually play the resident burn player. In any case, I really like the current list I have and I plan on playing this for a while.
Hello everyone! I'm back. Has anyone here played Meddling Mage in the sideboard? I think it could be interesting against combo and tron, so I'll try it. Any feedback?
I've been following the thread since I plan to play Esper Control or something like it for an upcoming GP. I've seen discussion of various builds but am more interested in Esper Gifts builds. I referenced my list from Nicklas Krull and ran this during a recent Modern side event here locally:
Creatures: 4
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
3x Snapcaster Mage
Spells: 32
1x Collective Brutality
1x Cryptic Command
3x Fatal Push
3x Gifts Ungiven
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2x Lingering Souls
1x Logic Knot
3x Mana Leak
4x Opt
4x Path to Exile
2x Search for Azcanta
1x Serum Visions
1x Spell Snare
2x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
1x Timely Reinforcements
1x Unburial Rites
1x Wrath of God
Sideboard:
2x Celestial Purge
2x Damping Sphere
1x Engineered Explosives
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Negate
1x Nihil Spellbomb
1x Secure the Wastes
1x Settle the Wreckage
1x Surgical Extraction
1x Thoughtseize
1x Timely Reinforcements
Well I did miserable finishing 1-3-1 drop (7 rounds swiss dropped after the 5th round). Match-ups were:
R1 - Mono G Tron: 0-1 I misplayed on G2 when I didn't checked the lands already in play and played the wrong Fetchland. I was 1 mana short of countering a Karn Liberated via Mana Leak and that exiled my Creeping Tarpit which could have won me the game.
R2 - GW Hexproof: 1-2 Died on G1 pretty fast for him not to know that I ran Gifts. G2 I resolved EOT Gifts for Iona naming white with only Slippery Boggle attached with Rancor in play. G3 pretty much killed me. Leyline of Sanctity hurts the most as Settle the Wreckage doesnt target creatures but instead the player. Played that wrong as well.
R3 - Esper Mill: 1-1 I was milled out game 1 with Archive traps, Mesmeric Orb and a Shelldock Isle for another Orb. G2 I resolved Jace TMS and got to ultimate him. No time to finish G3.
R4 - UW Miracles: 1-0 G1 took so long to finish but I eventually won through Spirits beatdown.
R5 - 4c Mardu/Grixis Hybrid: 0-2 After G1 still can't figure out what he is playing based on the lands I've seen. Placed him on Grixis but he also had white. Overwhelmed and died horribly
Thoughts on the deck:
I came into the tournament prepared to have a good match-up against XX creature decks supporting 7 spot removals, Elesh combo and Wrath. Sadly I was against 4 control decks and the aggro supposedly blanks my removal game 1. I went the Gifts route since I was expecting a big turnout (70 players at least confirmed) so going wide would be a nice option. Plus the EOT Elesh combo really kills lots of aggro decks that should be present.
Regarding the card choices:
4 Opt + 1 Serum vs. 4 Serum and 1 Opt
- Seeing the game play of Esper Control, I assumed that playing instants over sorceries is much better. I would always leave mana open and react accordingly on what my opponent does playing the waiting game. So far I am happy with the cantrip mix and plan to leave it at that.
3 Mana Leak + 1 Logic Knot vs. 2 Mana Leak + 2 Logic Knot (Original list)
- I leaned on the one U requirement instead of two U as required by Logic Knot. Not sure whether am right or wrong with this one.
2 Teferi + 1 Jace vs. 2 Jace + 1 Teferi (Original List)
- I find having more Teferi better than 2 Jace so far. This was a last minute decision as I playtested with 2 and 1 split but I find the -3 of Teferi more relevant for the deck.
Overall, I enjoyed the deck. Didn't go as expected but I am exploring on how to proceed from here. I plan to remove the Gifts Package (3 Gifts, 1 Unburial, 1 Elesh) for 5 MD slots and want to try 3 Esper Charm, 1 Torrential + 1 other instant probably Blessed Alliance. AM having a hard time to finish out games especially Game 2 and 3. Also experimenting on a heavy Planeswalker build with Gideon but that remains to be seen. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Hello everyone! I'm back. Has anyone here played Meddling Mage in the sideboard? I think it could be interesting against combo and tron, so I'll try it. Any feedback?
There were a number of people trying Meddling Mage in the SB in... 2016? It seems narrow compared to the black discard spells but it could be worth trying again.
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Magic player since July 2011.
Modern - Esper Draw-Go (Best finish - 12-3, 45th at GP Charlotte 2015), Jeskai Control, UR Breach Moon
2 Esper Control lists day 2'd at SCG Indy. The list on camera had some number of Lingering Souls, Spell Queller, Serum Visions, JTMS, and Teferi.
I scrubbed out at 3-2-1 personally. Both losses were to Mardu Pyromancer, one match 0-2 in round 2 and one 1-2 in round 6. I can say with confidence that 1 game in each of those matches was lost to shortsighted thinking. Round 2 with a misused Cryptic Command (countering an ultimately irrelevant K-Command instead of saving it for Bedlam Reveler) and Round 5 actually by not being greedier with Surgical Extraction. I had wins against Goblins, GW Company, and Jeskai, and a draw to Tron.
UWx is legitimate right now on the back of how strong Search for Azcanta and Teferi are. I don't think mainboard it really matters whether you run UW straight, Jeskai, or Esper. Similarly, the strength of the aforementioned cards mean that flex slots, such as Lingering Souls, or differences in counterspells, or which cantrips you run, or whether you run 6 spot removal vs. 7 etc., ultimately does not matter. I do like the discard suite out of Esper's sideboard.
For reference, I ran 2 Teferi, 1 Jace, 1 WSZ, 1 Rev, 2 Opt, 2 Think Twice, and 3 board wipes in the main.
My sideboard was 3 Thoughtseize, 2 Collective Brutality (which I dearly believe it is a mistake to not play. It is incredibly flexible.), 2 Surgical, 1 Night of Souls', 1 Settle, 1 EE, 1 Dispel, 2 Clique, 1 Timely, and 1 Runed Halo.
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Magic player since July 2011.
Modern - Esper Draw-Go (Best finish - 12-3, 45th at GP Charlotte 2015), Jeskai Control, UR Breach Moon
The commentators said the list on camera had a Dragonlord Silumgar too, but the card was never played on camera that I recall. Not sure how to feel about the card, myself.
Yea, mardu pyro is a matchup I struggled with a lot at first, but I've started doing better recently, to the point that I do ulimately think we're favored. Its easily the hardest midrange matchup though.
It just requires you to effectively play around a lot (blood moon, hazoret, reveler, etc), and it can be very punishing to make a mistake.
After 6 months on the deck, Teferi seems average so far to me. I've been on 2 Jace and it's the best planeswalker out there with Liliana for sure (Karn gets the bronze medal). I've been 2-1 today at LGS :
- Against RG Titanshift (2-1).
* Game 1 (WIN). It was going long enough that he had no more mountains. 4 BBE and 3 Titan down with Path / Push.
* Game 2 (LOST). He was fast.
* Game 3 (WIN). I don't remember much, pretty much the same thing has in game 1. I countered 1 Scapeshift though.
- Against Affinity (0-2).
* Game 1 (LOST). Got rolled over turn 3. Cranial Plating took care of me. Not enough quick removal. Welding Jar was a bummer.
* Game 2 (LOST). It was better, but didn't see any sideboard cards. Lost after a long fight though.
- Against Storm (1-0).
* Game 1 (WON). Removed Goblins and Barals. Countered Gifts. Negated Past in Flames. It took like 35 minutes it was so long. Won with 2 Snapcaster and Secure for 5.
* Game 2 (TIE). Didn't have time to finish.
I was really glad overall with the deck, it felt amazing aside game 1 against Affinity. I always have trouble against it, but I feel that my list is geared to take care of it.
How could you possibly path three titans and still be alive vs RG valakut? If I'm not wrong they play four valakuts so would only take one titan grabbing two, then you path and take six, next titan grabs two more you take twelve and that's game more likely than not even if they did literally nothing else. I don't see how you could run RG titan out of mountains without dying in the process (runed halo or leyline would explain)
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Modern
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
You can run them out of mountains if some of those triggers hit your planeswalkers or your creatures, coupled with them getting unlucky.
Field of ruin can also take out early valakuts, which is nice, plus you can path titans in response to their etb effect, giving them the tapped basic first, then the valakuts. If your opponent is not expecting the game to go so long, and doesn't decline any of the path basics, they could run out.
You probably have to gain some life, off timely, rev, or something else though, and of course, this isn't something thats reliable without a leyline/halo.
I mean they have 4 valakuts, 12-13 mountains, and some number of basic forests that they can strategically grab off path/for if needed to preserve mountain count for future triggers. Some lists also have 2 prismatic omens that will add even more triggers (Even if you have esper charm they can still get 1-2)
I just can't see any real scenario of Esper control running a valakut deck out of mountains, certainly not by pathing 2 titans. It's not like we're even a 4x FoR deck - I see 1-2 generally because the mana requirements are so tight for cryptic, verdict, charm in the early game. Can't really afford a bunch of colourless.
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Modern
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
He had 1 on the field early, I used FoR on it. First Titan got 1 Valakut and 1 Mountain. I FoR a third one. Same story for the 3rd Titan and I Rev'ed for 7 end of turn.
Whut. Primeval Titan for... one Valakut? And twice? Versus a Path to Exile deck?
Wow. Good job, opponent.
Yup, first time on the deck for the opponent he told me.
Anywho, I'm thinking about cutting Sphinx's Rev for a 2nd Secure the Wastes. I don't miss card draw with 4 Serum, 4 Esper Charm and 2 Jace, but sometimes I feel light on threats. I'd also take a 2nd walker in the sideboard, but I don't have room aside maybe 1 Rest in Peace that I could cut (but I don't want to give up Dredge).
Full disclosure, I've been playing UB Faeries for 4 years now, and I'm looking for another sort of deck to play, so I came up with this. I'm not sure if this should go in this category, or the UB Tezzeret Thopter deck category, but I was thinking of building a control deck that uses the Thopter Foundry // Sword of the Meek engine as a late game win condition. I don't want to play the all in versions with Mox Opal and Tezzeret, but a normal, Draw Go style that gets an unstoppable engine in the late game.
Here's my quick list
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Torrential Gearhulk
Enchantment
2 Search for Azcanta
Land
2 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Hallowed Fountain
3 Watery Grave
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Field of Ruin
1 Plains
3 Island
1 Swamp
1 Marsh Flats
3 Sword of the Meek
4 Thopter Foundry
1 Time Sieve
Instant
2 Esper Charm
3 Logic Knot
2 Spell Snare
4 Cryptic Command
4 Fatal Push
1 Cast Down
4 Serum Visions
Planeswalker
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
I'm not sure if I should be running a board wipe or two in the list, but otherwise I think it looks alright. The ThopterSword combo, coupled with Time Sieve can do a nice Time Vault // Voltaic Key impression, and alongside the planeswalkers can end a game super quick. My original thought was to play straight UB, but I wanted Teferi, Esper Charm, and the option to side board in Monastery Mentor, along with White's other hay-maker sideboard cards if I wanted. I still need to figure out a full sideboard, but I want some opinions on the main deck first. Can you guys give me your thoughts (or point me in the direction of the correct thread if it exists)?
IMO, time sieve is kind of unnecessary in a more controlling build. Its much more useful in the more all-in tezz builds.
That being said, I think this type of deck is a lot better in just two colors. Thirst for knowledge is a genuinely powerful card, that replaces esper charm well.
I've been turning over the idea of UB thopter foundry with jace + new tezz (instead of teferi), along with a whir toolbox (but still more of a control deck, not all-in on the artifact prison elements), but I'm not remotely close to anything I'm happy with.
For your specific list, I think your removal package is lacking. If you play path to exiles, you may be able to get away without sweepers (but I'd probably play one or two) but with push, you can't beat a tasigur, a hollow one, etc.
I'd also consider playing atleast 1 academy ruins, even if you aren't trying to get too cute with it. Recurring gearhulk or EE can be near unbeatable for some decks.
Mentor isn't a great sideboard option though. If you want alternate wincons, geist, queller, clique are fine, as are other planeswalkers, or other creatures, but mentor just doesn't really cut it in modern.
There is a scenario where we run explosives and a gearhulk main with an academy ruins. Im sure thats been tried but probably worth revisiting occasionally.
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
4 Celestial Colonnade
2 Field of Ruin
4 Flooded Strand
1 Godless Shrine
2 Hallowed Fountain
3 Island
2 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
Creatures
3 Snapcaster Mage
Removal
2 Fatal Push
4 Path to Exile
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Settle the Wreckage
3 Cryptic Command
2 Logic Knot
2 Mana Leak
1 Negate
Card Draw
4 Esper Charm
1 Glimmer of Genius
1 Search for Azcanta
4 Think Twice
Planeswalkers
1 Gideon Jura
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Utility
2 Timely Reinforcements
1 Anguished Unmaking
2 Blessed Alliance
1 Disenchant
2 Dispel
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Extirpate
1 Settle the Wreckage
2 Thoughtseize
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Vendilion Clique
Game 1: The game was pretty slow for both of us. They essentially tried to win through Lingering Souls as they were not able to get to their combo. They cast an early Souls and then flashed it back the next turn. I cast a Timely Reinforcements turn 4 to match their tokens and gain some life. I was able to race them for a while while dealing with a couple tokens with Push and Path. I was winning the race, but they ended up getting another Souls and another blocker. I ended up having to wrath the board while I was on 5. They had dropped a Needle Spires the previous turn so they had that to bring me to 1. I top decked a Path so I was able to get rid of it.
For about 3 turns we just went back and forth until I landed a Snapcaster. I used that to flash back a Timely. I didn't get any tokens but it got my life total out of burn range and allowed me to crack fetches again. I was then able to use Snapcaster to beat down for the win.
Game 2: They tried to get a turn 4 Through the Breach with a ritual and I was able to counter it. The game went back and forth a little as I didn't have a lot of gas, but I was able to stop him from doing anything. Her just kept digging and wasn't able to get to anything. I eventually won with Colonnade beats.
Match 2 - Red Prison
Game 1: I was on the play and luckily I was. They tried to slam a turn 2 Blood Moon but I ended up countering it. They then cast a Magus or a Spirit Guide and then followed it up with a Goblin Rabblemaster. I was able to Think Twice into a Mana Leak for the Rabblemaster though and I had a Snapcaster to stall the other creature for a while. I think I also had an Azcanta land to keep things going. Essentially, he was unable to really pressure me as I got in with Colonnade.
Game 2: This was just a bad game overall for them. They tried to Blood Moon or Magus turn 3. By then I had plenty of answers so I got rid of it. They tried to Chalice on 2 and I countered it. They tried to Chalice on two again and this time I let it through as I only had Search in hand with 2 CMC and I had an Esper Charm and Anguished Unmaking. But, it was too late to really matter anyway as they got flooded pretty hard and I was able to get a Teferi down to keep my hand full and keep my counters up. I think they just scooped it up to Teferi's Emblem.
Match 3 - R/W Death and Taxes
Game 1: I both mulled to 6 and they mulled to 5. They still had Vial turn 1. From there, they just had a couple hate bears and eventually tried to vial in a Magus. I was able to float mana in response to the vial to ensure I had removal for it and they never got to another Magus. I ended up getting Search transformed while I was at 6 and facing lethal and I activated it once to luckily pull a Supreme Verdict off the top. I wrathed and left them with little in hand and nothing on board. They blew up my Azcanta with Ghost Quarter but it did its job. I either won with Snapcaster beats or with Colonnade.
Game 2: We both mulled to 6 and they again had Vial turn 1. I don't remember everything about this game but I know they got a Blade Splicer that I had to work to answer and they landed a Magus of the Moon. Luckily, I already had 2 Islands and top decked my thrid so I at least at Cryptic Mana up. I did not have White or Black for a while though. I eventually answered their board and I was able to land a Gideon to stall their board. They got down another creature (they just had an Arbiter at first) so they could profitably attack. I animated Colonnade to block and they Ghost Quartered it. I then just wrathed their board and attacked with Gideon. I think they pathed it so I just attacked with a Snapcaster I got a turn or two later and another Colonnade. I also had Elspeth in hand if I needed her.
In the end, I went 3-0. This is a small sample size but so far, my takeaways are:
Timely seems to be really good in certain matchups though it is antithetical to the "draw-go" archetype since it is a Sorcery. I have found though that I am rarely disappointed to see it in my hand and it has been good in a number of situations (it did a lot of work for me last week too).
Mana Leak seems to be a good call. I had mentioned above that I would rather have this over Remand and I stand by that. However, I was not sold on the card in general until I tried it and being able to counter something early that Logic Knot or Negate can't hit has been important. The 1 blue vs 2 blue for LK was important for Red Prison as well so I could fetch a non-island Basic and still be able to counter something. I cut my Negates down to 1 to make room (I had made other cuts too but that was the closest "1-to-1" cut).
A 1-1 Split with Jace and Teferi seems to work. I am not sure what the right numbers are, but I think these numbers are serviceable even if they are not necessarily optimal.
I have been finding that I really do not miss the lack of White Sun's Zenith/Secure the Wastes. The way the deck has played out so far has been working well. It is possible I should still have one or the other (I prefer Zenith) but so far I have not gotten to the point where I feel I need them. I have played around 15-20 games without them so far.
Another card I cut a while back is Sphinx's Revelation. This too is a card that I have not missed. The life gain was important in certain matchups, but the deck has enough card draw without it that I do not feel there has been any game where I felt I would have won with this card. And Timely has been good for the life gain when needed as well as getting tokens when needed. Again, Sorcery is not necessarily the best but it has been pulling its weight.
I have not been able to play against burn yet which is the matchup I really wanted to try with the new Timely's to see if it makes that matchup better. It should and that matchup has always been bad for me, so hopefully I eventually play the resident burn player. In any case, I really like the current list I have and I plan on playing this for a while.
I've been following the thread since I plan to play Esper Control or something like it for an upcoming GP. I've seen discussion of various builds but am more interested in Esper Gifts builds. I referenced my list from Nicklas Krull and ran this during a recent Modern side event here locally:
Esper Gifts
Lands: 24
1x Adarkar Wastes
1x Celestial Colonnade
1x Creeping Tarpit
3x Field of Ruin
4x Flooded Strand
1x Godless Shrine
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
1x Marsh Flats
1x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
1x Snow-covered Island
1x Swamp
1x Watery Grave
Creatures: 4
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
3x Snapcaster Mage
Spells: 32
1x Collective Brutality
1x Cryptic Command
3x Fatal Push
3x Gifts Ungiven
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2x Lingering Souls
1x Logic Knot
3x Mana Leak
4x Opt
4x Path to Exile
2x Search for Azcanta
1x Serum Visions
1x Spell Snare
2x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
1x Timely Reinforcements
1x Unburial Rites
1x Wrath of God
Sideboard:
2x Celestial Purge
2x Damping Sphere
1x Engineered Explosives
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Negate
1x Nihil Spellbomb
1x Secure the Wastes
1x Settle the Wreckage
1x Surgical Extraction
1x Thoughtseize
1x Timely Reinforcements
Well I did miserable finishing 1-3-1 drop (7 rounds swiss dropped after the 5th round). Match-ups were:
R1 - Mono G Tron: 0-1 I misplayed on G2 when I didn't checked the lands already in play and played the wrong Fetchland. I was 1 mana short of countering a Karn Liberated via Mana Leak and that exiled my Creeping Tarpit which could have won me the game.
R2 - GW Hexproof: 1-2 Died on G1 pretty fast for him not to know that I ran Gifts. G2 I resolved EOT Gifts for Iona naming white with only Slippery Boggle attached with Rancor in play. G3 pretty much killed me. Leyline of Sanctity hurts the most as Settle the Wreckage doesnt target creatures but instead the player. Played that wrong as well.
R3 - Esper Mill: 1-1 I was milled out game 1 with Archive traps, Mesmeric Orb and a Shelldock Isle for another Orb. G2 I resolved Jace TMS and got to ultimate him. No time to finish G3.
R4 - UW Miracles: 1-0 G1 took so long to finish but I eventually won through Spirits beatdown.
R5 - 4c Mardu/Grixis Hybrid: 0-2 After G1 still can't figure out what he is playing based on the lands I've seen. Placed him on Grixis but he also had white. Overwhelmed and died horribly
Thoughts on the deck:
I came into the tournament prepared to have a good match-up against XX creature decks supporting 7 spot removals, Elesh combo and Wrath. Sadly I was against 4 control decks and the aggro supposedly blanks my removal game 1. I went the Gifts route since I was expecting a big turnout (70 players at least confirmed) so going wide would be a nice option. Plus the EOT Elesh combo really kills lots of aggro decks that should be present.
Regarding the card choices:
4 Opt + 1 Serum vs. 4 Serum and 1 Opt
- Seeing the game play of Esper Control, I assumed that playing instants over sorceries is much better. I would always leave mana open and react accordingly on what my opponent does playing the waiting game. So far I am happy with the cantrip mix and plan to leave it at that.
3 Mana Leak + 1 Logic Knot vs. 2 Mana Leak + 2 Logic Knot (Original list)
- I leaned on the one U requirement instead of two U as required by Logic Knot. Not sure whether am right or wrong with this one.
2 Teferi + 1 Jace vs. 2 Jace + 1 Teferi (Original List)
- I find having more Teferi better than 2 Jace so far. This was a last minute decision as I playtested with 2 and 1 split but I find the -3 of Teferi more relevant for the deck.
Overall, I enjoyed the deck. Didn't go as expected but I am exploring on how to proceed from here. I plan to remove the Gifts Package (3 Gifts, 1 Unburial, 1 Elesh) for 5 MD slots and want to try 3 Esper Charm, 1 Torrential + 1 other instant probably Blessed Alliance. AM having a hard time to finish out games especially Game 2 and 3. Also experimenting on a heavy Planeswalker build with Gideon but that remains to be seen. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!
There were a number of people trying Meddling Mage in the SB in... 2016? It seems narrow compared to the black discard spells but it could be worth trying again.
Modern - Esper Draw-Go (Best finish - 12-3, 45th at GP Charlotte 2015), Jeskai Control, UR Breach Moon
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1220850#online
Esper control and its variants start popping up more frequently now in the 5-0 lists, looks like the deck is doing well
UBRGrixis ControlUBR | URPhoenixUR | UWMiraclesUW |GBRJundGBR | UBFaeriesUB | UBWAd NauseumUBW |GBRWBlueless ShadowGBRW |
MTGA
UBRGrixis ControlUBR | UTempoU
Also, I just saw a list on Twitch stream at SCG Indianapolis day 1.
WURUWr Stoneblade
Modern
WRGNaya Zoo Company
I scrubbed out at 3-2-1 personally. Both losses were to Mardu Pyromancer, one match 0-2 in round 2 and one 1-2 in round 6. I can say with confidence that 1 game in each of those matches was lost to shortsighted thinking. Round 2 with a misused Cryptic Command (countering an ultimately irrelevant K-Command instead of saving it for Bedlam Reveler) and Round 5 actually by not being greedier with Surgical Extraction. I had wins against Goblins, GW Company, and Jeskai, and a draw to Tron.
UWx is legitimate right now on the back of how strong Search for Azcanta and Teferi are. I don't think mainboard it really matters whether you run UW straight, Jeskai, or Esper. Similarly, the strength of the aforementioned cards mean that flex slots, such as Lingering Souls, or differences in counterspells, or which cantrips you run, or whether you run 6 spot removal vs. 7 etc., ultimately does not matter. I do like the discard suite out of Esper's sideboard.
For reference, I ran 2 Teferi, 1 Jace, 1 WSZ, 1 Rev, 2 Opt, 2 Think Twice, and 3 board wipes in the main.
My sideboard was 3 Thoughtseize, 2 Collective Brutality (which I dearly believe it is a mistake to not play. It is incredibly flexible.), 2 Surgical, 1 Night of Souls', 1 Settle, 1 EE, 1 Dispel, 2 Clique, 1 Timely, and 1 Runed Halo.
Modern - Esper Draw-Go (Best finish - 12-3, 45th at GP Charlotte 2015), Jeskai Control, UR Breach Moon
It just requires you to effectively play around a lot (blood moon, hazoret, reveler, etc), and it can be very punishing to make a mistake.
- Against RG Titanshift (2-1).
* Game 1 (WIN). It was going long enough that he had no more mountains. 4 BBE and 3 Titan down with Path / Push.
* Game 2 (LOST). He was fast.
* Game 3 (WIN). I don't remember much, pretty much the same thing has in game 1. I countered 1 Scapeshift though.
- Against Affinity (0-2).
* Game 1 (LOST). Got rolled over turn 3. Cranial Plating took care of me. Not enough quick removal. Welding Jar was a bummer.
* Game 2 (LOST). It was better, but didn't see any sideboard cards. Lost after a long fight though.
- Against Storm (1-0).
* Game 1 (WON). Removed Goblins and Barals. Countered Gifts. Negated Past in Flames. It took like 35 minutes it was so long. Won with 2 Snapcaster and Secure for 5.
* Game 2 (TIE). Didn't have time to finish.
I was really glad overall with the deck, it felt amazing aside game 1 against Affinity. I always have trouble against it, but I feel that my list is geared to take care of it.
Cheers!
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
Field of ruin can also take out early valakuts, which is nice, plus you can path titans in response to their etb effect, giving them the tapped basic first, then the valakuts. If your opponent is not expecting the game to go so long, and doesn't decline any of the path basics, they could run out.
You probably have to gain some life, off timely, rev, or something else though, and of course, this isn't something thats reliable without a leyline/halo.
I just can't see any real scenario of Esper control running a valakut deck out of mountains, certainly not by pathing 2 titans. It's not like we're even a 4x FoR deck - I see 1-2 generally because the mana requirements are so tight for cryptic, verdict, charm in the early game. Can't really afford a bunch of colourless.
* Esper Draw-Go
* Tezzeret Whir
* Blue Tron
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
Yup, first time on the deck for the opponent he told me.
Anywho, I'm thinking about cutting Sphinx's Rev for a 2nd Secure the Wastes. I don't miss card draw with 4 Serum, 4 Esper Charm and 2 Jace, but sometimes I feel light on threats. I'd also take a 2nd walker in the sideboard, but I don't have room aside maybe 1 Rest in Peace that I could cut (but I don't want to give up Dredge).
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R