Zealous Persecution is a fantastic card in almost every matchup, it kills Pyro and friends, slaughters Agent and Glistener, massacres opposing souls, kills pester mites and makes deceiver exarch sad, kills mana dorks, Affinity creatures, etc. It can even let your Mentor cleanly kill a Siege Rhino, Tasigur or Goyf!
Zealous seems bad in the match-up in my opinion, sense their tokens are beyond its reach if they have any of their anthems or a Zealous of their own. I only say this because I was a BW tokens player first, I merely adopted the blue to try this build very recently.
EDIT: I'm not doubting the power of the card itself, I LOVE it my BW token build, however it just seems much weaker in this variant.
Zealous seems bad in the match-up in my opinion, sense their tokens are beyond its reach if they have any of their anthems or a Zealous of their own. I only say this because I was a BW tokens player first, I merely adopted the blue to try this build very recently.
EDIT: I'm not doubting the power of the card itself, I LOVE it my BW token build, however it just seems much weaker in this variant.
Zealous is very, very potent in this deck. Perhaps not against BW tokens, but against a field overall, I'm quite comfortable fielding 2 in the main deck. In terms of raw power, I actually think Zealous does more in our deck than straight BW tokens. It doubles the power of spirit tokens and triples the power of our monk tokens. Going from a field of a couple 1/1s and maybe mentor, and then casting Zealous to create a field of a couple 3/3s and 2/2s and maybe a 4/4 mentor is very strong. Given the anthems in BW Tokens, the +1/+1 is less of an unique, and strong ability in the deck imo.
Its a very strong finisher in the build. Given an uncontested Mentor, the card can end a game as early as turn 5.
Yeah I was running mentor in my BW tokens list, and Zealous was always a blow-out, mainly because i had the board to provide it. And Zealous realllly shines against decks that run lingering souls all by its lonesome simply because its a good card. aka Lingering Jund or most Abzan decks.
I'll consider adding one or 2 to my MD, I still need to playtest more and acquire the rest of the deck before my input is really relavent rather than hypothetical.
The deck looks kinda of interesting, i think Kor Firewalkers would be better suited in the sideboard but the deck looks rather interesting. Thought I would bring it to the thread to get some more discussion going.
I am going to be testing it myself.
PS - it was NOT my creation, I am posting it on behalf the original creator Franceso.
The deck looks kinda of interesting, i think Kor Firewalkers would be better suited in the sideboard but the deck looks rather interesting. Thought I would bring it to the thread to get some more discussion going.
I am going to be testing it myself.
PS - it was NOT my creation, I am posting it on behalf the original creator Franceso.
Seems a bit closer to Esper Control than Esper Mentor. I question two things in the deck; Elspeth and Meddling Mage.
Combo really isn't that prevalent in the meta right now besides Bloom, so many times you're getting a 2/2 bear that might eat a bolt or chump a goyf. I can see it in the sideboard if bloom gets to the larger meta share that it used to have. As for Elspeth, I could just be biased. She always seemed a win-more card that hardly does much to help you if you're behind on board, and only somewhat helps if you're at board parity. I understand that you can't run Sad Sorin in a deck that is less token heavy, but maybe there's a better card for that slot?
Can you properly protect a Geist without bolt? This deck only runs 6 removal spells and 2 (maybe 3) counterspells, whereas most UWR Geist decks run at least 8 removal and 5 or so counter magic. I understand that sometimes you'll draw Shizo which protects Geist from almost everything, but as only a 1-of, I don't see that occurring often. Maybe Discard + Tidehollow can get there, but I don't think so, not reliably.
As a final point, I really, honestly, think that not running Lingering Souls is a mistake in a BW deck. Even without the added support from Mentor, Souls can take over games quite easily.
The deck looks kinda of interesting, i think Kor Firewalkers would be better suited in the sideboard but the deck looks rather interesting. Thought I would bring it to the thread to get some more discussion going.
I am going to be testing it myself.
PS - it was NOT my creation, I am posting it on behalf the original creator Franceso.
Seems a bit closer to Esper Control than Esper Mentor. I question two things in the deck; Elspeth and Meddling Mage.
Combo really isn't that prevalent in the meta right now besides Bloom, so many times you're getting a 2/2 bear that might eat a bolt or chump a goyf. I can see it in the sideboard if bloom gets to the larger meta share that it used to have. As for Elspeth, I could just be biased. She always seemed a win-more card that hardly does much to help you if you're behind on board, and only somewhat helps if you're at board parity. I understand that you can't run Sad Sorin in a deck that is less token heavy, but maybe there's a better card for that slot?
Can you properly protect a Geist without bolt? This deck only runs 6 removal spells and 2 (maybe 3) counterspells, whereas most UWR Geist decks run at least 8 removal and 5 or so counter magic. I understand that sometimes you'll draw Shizo which protects Geist from almost everything, but as only a 1-of, I don't see that occurring often. Maybe Discard + Tidehollow can get there, but I don't think so, not reliably.
As a final point, I really, honestly, think that not running Lingering Souls is a mistake in a BW deck. Even without the added support from Mentor, Souls can take over games quite easily.
Seems like a take an Esper attempt at UWR Geist.
You are actually running 9 discard, plus 6 removal, plus 5 counters and 3 Meddling Mages all of which protect your Geist. Also Elspeth acts as both a win-con and a pump spell for your Geist. Restoration can save it from bad combat as well still letting you for 4 points of damage.
I think the deck has a lot of layers that are not immediately apparent by just looking at the cards in general.
Finally, the Thread is called BUW Aggro, not Mentor aggro.
You are actually running 9 discard, plus 6 removal, plus 5 counters and 3 Meddling Mages all of which protect your Geist. Also Elspeth acts as both a win-con and a pump spell for your Geist. Restoration can save it from bad combat as well still letting you for 4 points of damage.
I think the deck has a lot of layers that are not immediately apparent by just looking at the cards in general.
Finally, the Thread is called BUW Aggro, not Mentor aggro.
Never once did I write that this deck didn't belong here. Its midrange/aggro. Thing.
However, I was expressing doubt that this take on Esper Geist is an alternative to UWR Geist. What does B in replacement of R bring to the table that makes the swap worthwhile? Tasigur is certainly a big one, but this list only runs 1. Discard? Proactive threat removal certainly does seem like a good idea, but is it good enough over the utility that R-burn brings? These are the things that this deck has to answer and, frankly, I don't see it.
I think the deck has a lot of layers that are not immediately apparent by just looking at the cards in general.
Does it? It seems like a Geist-centered list that has threats along the same axis as UWR but has replaced burn with discard and 2 B removal. While you certainly have to play a deck to get the "feel" for it, the cards that are in a deck list are, quite literally, in the deck. Synergy, threat-axis, all of that is fairly apparent in just looking at the deck list.
Ive been looking into this archetype, does anyone have experience with lists that dont run Tasigur or Gurmag Angler in favor of Dark Confidant? He has indirect synergy with Monastery Mentor in that more card draw results in more cards for Mentor triggers and if your highest CMC is 4 for a Sorin (and if its Solemn Visitor youll be gaining life anyway) he seems like a card that might deserve some consideration.
Ive been looking into this archetype, does anyone have experience with lists that dont run Tasigur or Gurmag Angler in favor of Dark Confidant? He has indirect synergy with Monastery Mentor in that more card draw results in more cards for Mentor triggers and if your highest CMC is 4 for a Sorin (and if its Solemn Visitor youll be gaining life anyway) he seems like a card that might deserve some consideration.
I've been fancying 2 or so Bobs in the 75, somewhere, but not over Tasigur. Tasigur is, oddly, a portion of the aggro draw as slamming a T2 Tasigur is mean. He's also a portion of your long game whether that be self-mill to victory or reloading your board after a wipe. I can't see replacing him with Bob as they only share one archetype and Tasigur is almost as good even there. Not to mention, blocking 4/5 Goyfs and Rhinos can be very relevant in grinds against Junk.
The thing is, you'd probably take out Snapcasters out if you want to bring in Bob. Same CMC, same(ish) card in that both are interested in eeking out value. But Tiago is pretty darn amazing with all of the 1 and 2cmc spells running around in our deck. Not to mention he'll directly enable prowess triggers and, really, sometimes that's all you need. Bob provides more card advantage (providing he survives) but Snapcaster fits better with the deck.
I'd like to fit 2 in the sideboard, but that's a pet thing, I don't see the need for them there.
[quote from="TheNoob »" url="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/tier-2-modern/579970-buw-aggro-control-esper-midrange?comment=317"]@my previous post
snip
Stopped reading here: "I actually wouldn't say it has any 'bad' matchups, but it has a few that are more challenging than others, namely Abzan, Sultai, and Jund, followed by Grixis Delver"
Well having a tough time against 2/3 decks you definitely wanna beat and face is likely just game over in my opinion.
There is no deck in modern that has a "favourable" or good match up against all the tier 1 decks.... if there was it would be tier S and dominate the format.
And saying they are challenging is vastly different than saying they are bad or unwinnable....
[quote from="TheNoob »" url="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/tier-2-modern/579970-buw-aggro-control-esper-midrange?comment=317"]@my previous post
snip
Stopped reading here: "I actually wouldn't say it has any 'bad' matchups, but it has a few that are more challenging than others, namely Abzan, Sultai, and Jund, followed by Grixis Delver"
Well having a tough time against 2/3 decks you definitely wanna beat and face is likely just game over in my opinion.
There is no deck in modern that has a "favourable" or good match up against all the tier 1 decks.... if there was it would be tier S and dominate the format.
And saying they are challenging is vastly different than saying they are bad or unwinnable....
</blockquote>
Why play this pile if there are decks that are at least having 2/3 good matchups out of the 3 you want to beat?
Of course the creator doesnt bash his creation and says 2 of 3 tier decks are horrid.
Have you watched this SSG matchup esper mentor vs little junk? They talked about the same thing. Mentor tries to do similiar things but having weaker individualcards. With this i dont want to question the obvious power of the deck (original japanese mentor), but with consideration that jund will be a top contender the next gp, I would be careful to play this brew at a big event, thats all im saying.
</blockquote>
That argument is much more thought out and useful than "Stop reading at ...."
This deck is different than Mentor though on a few different axises.
1) Geist is hexproof and a serious clock all by itself. The removal/discard/counters provide a good way to protect him.
2) Geist is great in a format that relies on a lot of targeted removal, which is what Grixis Delver/Jund/Abzan do; they play almost no sweepers relying on effective cheap removal.
3) Decks like Grixis Delver and Jund play on the lighter side of threats, relying on their cost efficiency to make up for it, disrupting that slows them down, which combined with a great clock can be extremely effective.
I am not saying this is the next greatest deck, but i think it is an interesting take on the meta and i am sleeving it up for the next few weeks to put it through its paces
[quote from="TheNoob »" url="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/tier-2-modern/579970-buw-aggro-control-esper-midrange?comment=317"]@my previous post
snip
Stopped reading here: "I actually wouldn't say it has any 'bad' matchups, but it has a few that are more challenging than others, namely Abzan, Sultai, and Jund, followed by Grixis Delver"
Well having a tough time against 2/3 decks you definitely wanna beat and face is likely just game over in my opinion.
There is no deck in modern that has a "favourable" or good match up against all the tier 1 decks.... if there was it would be tier S and dominate the format.
And saying they are challenging is vastly different than saying they are bad or unwinnable....
</blockquote>
Why play this pile if there are decks that are at least having 2/3 good matchups out of the 3 you want to beat?
Of course the creator doesnt bash his creation and says 2 of 3 tier decks are horrid.
Have you watched this SSG matchup esper mentor vs little junk? They talked about the same thing. Mentor tries to do similiar things but having weaker individualcards. With this i dont want to question the obvious power of the deck (original japanese mentor), but with consideration that jund will be a top contender the next gp, I would be careful to play this brew at a big event, thats all im saying.
</blockquote>
That argument is much more thought out and useful than "Stop reading at ...."
This deck is different than Mentor though on a few different axises.
1) Geist is hexproof and a serious clock all by itself. The removal/discard/counters provide a good way to protect him.
2) Geist is great in a format that relies on a lot of targeted removal, which is what Grixis Delver/Jund/Abzan do; they play almost no sweepers relying on effective cheap removal.
3) Decks like Grixis Delver and Jund play on the lighter side of threats, relying on their cost efficiency to make up for it, disrupting that slows them down, which combined with a great clock can be extremely effective.
I am not saying this is the next greatest deck, but i think it is an interesting take on the meta and i am sleeving it up for the next few weeks to put it through its paces
</blockquote>
Thanks for sharing. Correct. This is a very different deck than Esper Mentor and even Esper Control. Closer analyzation of the deck's various angles will allude this.
It has favorable match ups where Esper would typically have a difficult time against, such as Junk and Jund.
Great points, TheNoob. It's not perfect, but no deck is. The foundation, however, is very strong.
That argument is much more thought out and useful than "Stop reading at ...."
This deck is different than Mentor though on a few different axises.
1) Geist is hexproof and a serious clock all by itself. The removal/discard/counters provide a good way to protect him.
2) Geist is great in a format that relies on a lot of targeted removal, which is what Grixis Delver/Jund/Abzan do; they play almost no sweepers relying on effective cheap removal.
3) Decks like Grixis Delver and Jund play on the lighter side of threats, relying on their cost efficiency to make up for it, disrupting that slows them down, which combined with a great clock can be extremely effective.
I am not saying this is the next greatest deck, but i think it is an interesting take on the meta and i am sleeving it up for the next few weeks to put it through its paces
Not that this the place to discuss it, but I'd like to point out that Jund is meant to be threat-dense. Most decks run 3x Scooze, 4x Goyf, 3-4x Lili, and they're coming back around to Confidant as a 4-of. Not to mention the flex threat slot of Thundermaw, Huntmaster, Tasigur, or (maybe) Stormbreath. That's 15-18 threats. Not something I'd call threat-light.
Per the list: I still don't see the advantage of Esper geist over UWR Geist. Even more, what's interesting about it? It attacks along the same axis of UWR Geist, just replacing the reach that burn gives with hand discard. I mean, the hard removal gives you more play against decks like Jund and Junk but man, Bolt and Electrolyze are great against Delver and affinity. And you can't dome people in this list like UWR Geist can.
This is a very different beast than UWR Geist. It's nowhere near comparing traditional Esper Geist to UWR Geist. Look at the board too. This deck can also transform into Esper Walkers and Esper Charm is a blowout here, especially after you manipulate their sequences with IoK, Seize, TS, Mage, etc.
It may not have burn spells, but it has a lot of ways to deal with Creatures and Walkers.
Videos will be up soon of my match up vs BW Tokens and Affinity. 2-0 each. TS/Mage are great vs both and this deck almost constantly dominates Infect. In 4 sets vs one player playing UG Infect, I went 8-0. IoK/Seize hit the Creatures/Pumps, Sculler grabs more, Mage calls Vines/Rancor, Esper Charm blows up Rancor or their hand, and soon after - GG.
Vs Junk, a player playing my deck recently reported that he Seized Noble, Maged his Goyf (3 in hand), IoK his Decay, and that put him significantly behind after he played Geist. Scooped.
Vs Burn, IoK, Sculler, Mage, Leak, + Esper Charm is enough to put them behind without ever having to gain life.
Like Junk/Jund, this deck generates card advantage through tempo plays and pressure from various angles. It's pure card quality. Top decks are rarely dead. Even Leak gets better when you go with 2 Go for the Throat, 1 Cut, 1 Pact, 1 Utter End + 3 Snapcaster Mage. This plan also allows you to call Path to Exile with Mage.
That being said, Esper Charm, Sphinx's Rev, and Jace, AoT is enough card draw. They are big ones, too. Esper Charm + Snapcaster Mage is huge too.
Vs Junk, for instance, a player reported to me that his opponent scooped after Seize took his Noble, also revealing 3 Goyfs, and he followed up with a Meddling Mage naming Goyf.
Vs Infect, I Sculler creatures/pumps and name Vines/Rancor or a pump spell he/she has multiple copies of.
Vs Affinity, I hit Etherium/Champion with Sculler and name them, or Steel Overseer/Dismember/Galvonic Blast with Mage.
Vs BW Tokens, I name Spectral/Souls and eat Virtues with Sculler and Charms.
Vs Tron, I name Pyroclasm/Karn/Ugin/Emrakul or bounce Sculler with Resto after they Ugin for Emrakul so I can exile Emrakul.
Vs Company, I use a combination of Ashiok/Elspeth to steal creatures and put them on the clock. 7/7 Flying Loxodon Rhino? Sure.
This is not your typical Esper deck.
I do all this and more while also establishing board pressure with 2/2's who become 5/5's with Elspeth. It's a powerful formula that has not only crippled decks, bu even intrigued Ali Aintrazi enough to post an article about it. He called it 'A Beauty."
Post-board, I can go all-out tapout Walker Control vs grindy match ups after they side in more creature hate.
Definitely the most versatile and adaptable Esper deck I've played to date.
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EDIT: I'm not doubting the power of the card itself, I LOVE it my BW token build, however it just seems much weaker in this variant.
Zealous is very, very potent in this deck. Perhaps not against BW tokens, but against a field overall, I'm quite comfortable fielding 2 in the main deck. In terms of raw power, I actually think Zealous does more in our deck than straight BW tokens. It doubles the power of spirit tokens and triples the power of our monk tokens. Going from a field of a couple 1/1s and maybe mentor, and then casting Zealous to create a field of a couple 3/3s and 2/2s and maybe a 4/4 mentor is very strong. Given the anthems in BW Tokens, the +1/+1 is less of an unique, and strong ability in the deck imo.
Its a very strong finisher in the build. Given an uncontested Mentor, the card can end a game as early as turn 5.
I'll consider adding one or 2 to my MD, I still need to playtest more and acquire the rest of the deck before my input is really relavent rather than hypothetical.
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/28-05-15-esper-twix/
2x Creeping Tar Pit
3x Flooded Strand
1x Ghost Quarter
3x Godless Shrine
3x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
2x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1x Swamp
Sorcery
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Thoughtseize
Planeswalker
2x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Instant
2x Esper Charm
2x Mana Leak
1x Murderous Cut
1x Negate
4x Path to Exile
3x Remand
1x Slaughter Pact
1x Spell Snare
3x Geist of Saint Traft
3x Meddling Mage
2x Restoration Angel
3x Snapcaster Mage
1x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3x Tidehollow Sculler
1x Vendilion Clique
2x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1x Batterskull
1x Disenchant
1x Dispel
1x Gideon Jura
1x Jace, Architect of Thought
2x Mirran Crusader
1x Negate
2x Spellskite
1x Supreme Verdict
2x Timely Reinforcements
The deck looks kinda of interesting, i think Kor Firewalkers would be better suited in the sideboard but the deck looks rather interesting. Thought I would bring it to the thread to get some more discussion going.
I am going to be testing it myself.
PS - it was NOT my creation, I am posting it on behalf the original creator Franceso.
Seems a bit closer to Esper Control than Esper Mentor. I question two things in the deck; Elspeth and Meddling Mage.
Combo really isn't that prevalent in the meta right now besides Bloom, so many times you're getting a 2/2 bear that might eat a bolt or chump a goyf. I can see it in the sideboard if bloom gets to the larger meta share that it used to have. As for Elspeth, I could just be biased. She always seemed a win-more card that hardly does much to help you if you're behind on board, and only somewhat helps if you're at board parity. I understand that you can't run Sad Sorin in a deck that is less token heavy, but maybe there's a better card for that slot?
Can you properly protect a Geist without bolt? This deck only runs 6 removal spells and 2 (maybe 3) counterspells, whereas most UWR Geist decks run at least 8 removal and 5 or so counter magic. I understand that sometimes you'll draw Shizo which protects Geist from almost everything, but as only a 1-of, I don't see that occurring often. Maybe Discard + Tidehollow can get there, but I don't think so, not reliably.
As a final point, I really, honestly, think that not running Lingering Souls is a mistake in a BW deck. Even without the added support from Mentor, Souls can take over games quite easily.
Seems like a take an Esper attempt at UWR Geist.
You are actually running 9 discard, plus 6 removal, plus 5 counters and 3 Meddling Mages all of which protect your Geist. Also Elspeth acts as both a win-con and a pump spell for your Geist. Restoration can save it from bad combat as well still letting you for 4 points of damage.
I think the deck has a lot of layers that are not immediately apparent by just looking at the cards in general.
Finally, the Thread is called BUW Aggro, not Mentor aggro.
Never once did I write that this deck didn't belong here. Its midrange/aggro. Thing.
However, I was expressing doubt that this take on Esper Geist is an alternative to UWR Geist. What does B in replacement of R bring to the table that makes the swap worthwhile? Tasigur is certainly a big one, but this list only runs 1. Discard? Proactive threat removal certainly does seem like a good idea, but is it good enough over the utility that R-burn brings? These are the things that this deck has to answer and, frankly, I don't see it.
Does it? It seems like a Geist-centered list that has threats along the same axis as UWR but has replaced burn with discard and 2 B removal. While you certainly have to play a deck to get the "feel" for it, the cards that are in a deck list are, quite literally, in the deck. Synergy, threat-axis, all of that is fairly apparent in just looking at the deck list.
But, as always, I could certainly be wrong.
I've been fancying 2 or so Bobs in the 75, somewhere, but not over Tasigur. Tasigur is, oddly, a portion of the aggro draw as slamming a T2 Tasigur is mean. He's also a portion of your long game whether that be self-mill to victory or reloading your board after a wipe. I can't see replacing him with Bob as they only share one archetype and Tasigur is almost as good even there. Not to mention, blocking 4/5 Goyfs and Rhinos can be very relevant in grinds against Junk.
The thing is, you'd probably take out Snapcasters out if you want to bring in Bob. Same CMC, same(ish) card in that both are interested in eeking out value. But Tiago is pretty darn amazing with all of the 1 and 2cmc spells running around in our deck. Not to mention he'll directly enable prowess triggers and, really, sometimes that's all you need. Bob provides more card advantage (providing he survives) but Snapcaster fits better with the deck.
I'd like to fit 2 in the sideboard, but that's a pet thing, I don't see the need for them there.
The list was featured on TCG player by Ari Lax today http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=12585&writerAli
The original creator has updated the list as follows:
1x Celestial Colonnade
2x Creeping Tar Pit
3x Flooded Strand
2x Ghost Quarter
2x Godless Shrine
3x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
2x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
1x Swamp
1x Watery Grave
Sorcery (6)
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Thoughtseize
Planeswalker (3)
2x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
3x Esper Charm
1x Go for the Throat
3x Mana Leak
1x Murderous Cut
4x Path to Exile
1x Slaughter Pact
1x Spell Snare
Creature (15)
3x Geist of Saint Traft
3x Meddling Mage
2x Restoration Angel
3x Snapcaster Mage
3x Tidehollow Sculler
1x Vendilion Clique
2x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1x Dispel
1x Gideon Jura
1x Go for the Throat
1x Jace, Architect of Thought
1x Negate
1x Relic of Progenitus
2x Spellskite
1x Sphinx's Revelation
2x Timely Reinforcements
1x Utter End
1x Wrath of God
There is no deck in modern that has a "favourable" or good match up against all the tier 1 decks.... if there was it would be tier S and dominate the format.
And saying they are challenging is vastly different than saying they are bad or unwinnable....
</blockquote>
That argument is much more thought out and useful than "Stop reading at ...."
This deck is different than Mentor though on a few different axises.
1) Geist is hexproof and a serious clock all by itself. The removal/discard/counters provide a good way to protect him.
2) Geist is great in a format that relies on a lot of targeted removal, which is what Grixis Delver/Jund/Abzan do; they play almost no sweepers relying on effective cheap removal.
3) Decks like Grixis Delver and Jund play on the lighter side of threats, relying on their cost efficiency to make up for it, disrupting that slows them down, which combined with a great clock can be extremely effective.
I am not saying this is the next greatest deck, but i think it is an interesting take on the meta and i am sleeving it up for the next few weeks to put it through its paces
</blockquote>
Thanks for sharing. Correct. This is a very different deck than Esper Mentor and even Esper Control. Closer analyzation of the deck's various angles will allude this.
It has favorable match ups where Esper would typically have a difficult time against, such as Junk and Jund.
Great points, TheNoob. It's not perfect, but no deck is. The foundation, however, is very strong.
Not that this the place to discuss it, but I'd like to point out that Jund is meant to be threat-dense. Most decks run 3x Scooze, 4x Goyf, 3-4x Lili, and they're coming back around to Confidant as a 4-of. Not to mention the flex threat slot of Thundermaw, Huntmaster, Tasigur, or (maybe) Stormbreath. That's 15-18 threats. Not something I'd call threat-light.
Per the list: I still don't see the advantage of Esper geist over UWR Geist. Even more, what's interesting about it? It attacks along the same axis of UWR Geist, just replacing the reach that burn gives with hand discard. I mean, the hard removal gives you more play against decks like Jund and Junk but man, Bolt and Electrolyze are great against Delver and affinity. And you can't dome people in this list like UWR Geist can.
It may not have burn spells, but it has a lot of ways to deal with Creatures and Walkers.
Videos will be up soon of my match up vs BW Tokens and Affinity. 2-0 each. TS/Mage are great vs both and this deck almost constantly dominates Infect. In 4 sets vs one player playing UG Infect, I went 8-0. IoK/Seize hit the Creatures/Pumps, Sculler grabs more, Mage calls Vines/Rancor, Esper Charm blows up Rancor or their hand, and soon after - GG.
Vs Burn, IoK, Sculler, Mage, Leak, + Esper Charm is enough to put them behind without ever having to gain life.
The deck is designed to punish mulligans too.
Like Junk/Jund, this deck generates card advantage through tempo plays and pressure from various angles. It's pure card quality. Top decks are rarely dead. Even Leak gets better when you go with 2 Go for the Throat, 1 Cut, 1 Pact, 1 Utter End + 3 Snapcaster Mage. This plan also allows you to call Path to Exile with Mage.
That being said, Esper Charm, Sphinx's Rev, and Jace, AoT is enough card draw. They are big ones, too. Esper Charm + Snapcaster Mage is huge too.
Vs Infect, I Sculler creatures/pumps and name Vines/Rancor or a pump spell he/she has multiple copies of.
Vs Affinity, I hit Etherium/Champion with Sculler and name them, or Steel Overseer/Dismember/Galvonic Blast with Mage.
Vs BW Tokens, I name Spectral/Souls and eat Virtues with Sculler and Charms.
Vs Tron, I name Pyroclasm/Karn/Ugin/Emrakul or bounce Sculler with Resto after they Ugin for Emrakul so I can exile Emrakul.
Vs Company, I use a combination of Ashiok/Elspeth to steal creatures and put them on the clock. 7/7 Flying Loxodon Rhino? Sure.
This is not your typical Esper deck.
I do all this and more while also establishing board pressure with 2/2's who become 5/5's with Elspeth. It's a powerful formula that has not only crippled decks, bu even intrigued Ali Aintrazi enough to post an article about it. He called it 'A Beauty."
Post-board, I can go all-out tapout Walker Control vs grindy match ups after they side in more creature hate.
Definitely the most versatile and adaptable Esper deck I've played to date.