Hello all, shopping around for a new deck and remembered my love of the esper artifacts. Created this little list and am hoping for a bit of feedback (especially on the sideboard, can never get my head around those).
The plan is to get a Ethersworn Canonist down as soon as possible and build a steady base of creatures to overwhelm what little my opponent can bring to the table. I've put in Esper Charm, Path to Exile and Executioner's Capsule to get rid of whatever my opponent has managed to bring out and leave me with an empty board. Ethersworn Shieldmage for combat tricks and Thopter Foundry to turn a spent Shieldmage into something more useful or get a token out of chump blocking.
Pretty sure I balanced the mana base okay, 24 sources with a rough 5:4:3 ratio of W:U:B. However I'm pretty stuck on the sideboard. Pithing Needle and Cumberstone are very important for against all those token decks and interrupting 5cc and such. But past that I'm stumped. What should I bring along to combat the general archetypes?
Note I'm not looking to build an aggro deck, but to slow my opponent down and ensure board control. I feel I might need another wincon however. Tezzeret the Seeker is good, and if I control the board my creatures will soon whittle down his life points (especially the ever increasing Master of Etherium).
Alot hinges on my Ethersworn Canonist, perhaps one of my sidedeck choices should be protection/revival of this card?
I do love Sen Triplets, but I think that would be a bit overkill. I thought about the Etherium Sculptor too, but with how much I slow down my opponent as it is I think he too would be a bit overkill. (And most my spells don't have much colourless in them or wouldn't benefit that much.) Not too keen on the sphinx, if I need to fish for cards Tezzeret the Seeker is much better at it .
Dispeller's Capsule however is a good idea for a sideboard choice, can help against other artifact decks or those running Oblivion Ring etc.
A Sharuum the Hegemon would bring any of your artifacts back into play. This could bring back a Canonist, locking down again, or a Sculler to disrupt some more.
A Sharuum the Hegemon would bring any of your artifacts back into play. This could bring back a Canonist, locking down again, or a Sculler to disrupt some more.
Question is, does she bring enough to the deck other than the greature gain? Really by turn 6 I should have a strong base of creatures (and hopefully a Tezzeret) or at least in control of the board. Not convinced she's the wincon I need, and 6 mana is pretty steep.
After some testing I'm not convinced this deck does what I want it to. Sure I can get explosive hands where I have a 6/6 Master of Etherium very quickly, but most games my opponent doesn't care that he's only casting 1 spell per turn anyway and I'm forced to spend mana on removals...only to run out of removals when he's up to the big stuff.
Ethersworn Shieldmage however is lots of fun. Might just go back to Jund Rock though :(.
Wow thats a massive miscount by me, time to cut out some lands. Cumber Stone was to help me combat tokens, rendering them all but useless. What else could I use to beat a token deck?
The space freed up from some lands should give me more options...time to tinker a bit more I think.
I think the Cannonist is best paired with counterspells. A common way for opponents to fight through countermagic is to bait one, then play the spell they really want resolved. This seems to achieve your "lock" better than just dropping a Cannonist.
The Shieldmage really is a nice card, but I think he's one of the first slots to look at cutting here. Maybe keep one or two as a surprise factor.
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such elf is borken enough + weapon = remove anything...
borken!
Can't quite read it. Is that "Counter target spell if it was taken with a potato?".
-4 Executioner's Capsule +4 Doom Blade when M10 rolls around.
You also might want to consider the new artifact tutor being printed in M10.
Tempting, but I want to stick with the capsule. It's a nice little one drop that can sit there until I need it and it pumps Master of Etherium. I quite like the psychological effect too, people look at it on the field and try to bait it. Makes most people forget I might have a counter in my hand too!
The artifact tutor looks awesome, perfect for getting what I need and means I don't have to waste time with Tezzeret.
I think the Cannonist is best paired with counterspells. A common way for opponents to fight through countermagic is to bait one, then play the spell they really want resolved. This seems to achieve your "lock" better than just dropping a Cannonist.
The Shieldmage really is a nice card, but I think he's one of the first slots to look at cutting here. Maybe keep one or two as a surprise factor.
Thankyou so much good sir, that change of thought was exactly what the deck needed. I'm running 4xCancel now (easy to do as both borderposts are U/X). Dropping the Shieldmage down to 2 was also great, I was noticing he sat in my hand far too often anyway.
I'm also testing Esper Stormblade, people keep telling me he's the weakest X-blade, but with my set up I'm almost guarrenteed to have at least a borderpost down to pump him. Very easily a T2 3/2 flyer, and does really well later in the game when I have a Master or 2 out.
One thing I'm not sure about though is the new counters in M10. The 1U Counter a Creature spell and Counter a Non-Creature Spell. Is it worth running sets of both, along with Cancel or just going for cancel. I guess I'll pick up a playset of both from my local store and give it a go!
What do you plan do do against removal such as volcanic fallout, pyroclasm, jund charm??? looks like your deck might fall apart against those cards...I really dont think esper will be good till they give artifacts some sort of pump cause right now they die to nearly everything.....
What do you plan do do against removal such as volcanic fallout, pyroclasm, jund charm??? looks like your deck might fall apart against those cards...I really dont think esper will be good till they give artifacts some sort of pump cause right now they die to nearly everything.....
That all hinges on if I have a Master of Etherium out to make them all 3/3 (Though Lightning Bolt on Master+Sweeper= board wipe :(). Otherwise I need to save a counter for this. (An Ethersworn Shieldmage works well too) Played a few games where *** completely destroyed me. It was either a matter of not having a counter, or having my counter countered (Damn you Cryptic Command, DAMN YOU!!). I think I may need to put the new Open the Vaults from M10 in my sideboard to combat sweepers like that. (Even though *** is leaving)
I know that my esper deck is going to have 4 scullers and 4 duresses to make sure I get rid of any removal that will be a bother. But, then again, i run the transmuter version of esper.
I know that my esper deck is going to have 4 scullers and 4 duresses to make sure I get rid of any removal that will be a bother. But, then again, i run the transmuter version of esper.
Sounds like fun! I guess you're using transmuter with some fattie artifact creatures?
Countersquall would be a great idea, and I would consider 1-2 flash freeze on the SB. 2cc counter is very helpful.
Definitely a good choice, especially considering my Pro Green and Red creatures in my SB already.
Decided going to cut the Ethersworn Shieldmages entirely, they still aren't doing enough (but are sooooo much fun) and I'm siding them out every match. On the other hand I'm finding myself siding in Pithing Needle most matches, but thats probably just because my meta is full of B/W token decks (Go away Ajani/Cloudgoat!).
Scourglass is a good wincon, but can take awhile. Was almost overrun due to Path to Exile removing all my Ethersworn Canonists until I drew a Tezzeret, stalled for a turn so I could tutor for a Scourglass and then played it the next. Dropped to 3 health, but wiped the board clean :). Can really save your bacon, but is sooo expensive.
I'm having trouble balancing my mana though, I'll over extend myself (Say to drop a Tezzeret the Seeker) and then on my opponents turn he drops a big bomb that I should have used the Cancel in my hand on. I guess this is more a skill thing....how do other control players judge when they need to save mana for a counter? Looking at adding a Sphinx in the Shieldmage spots, gonna have a shop around for some fatties. Ideas anyone?
Not a big fan of esper, so I can't tell you of any fat sphinxes to use, but I can tell you how I play control.
For me it's all about knowing your opponents deck. Easy when you're playing your friends, but for tourneys it's better to just know the basic strategy behind it. If you know what they're trying to achieve you can guess which cards decks with that strategy commonly have in them and which ones could currently screw you over.
For instance, if they're running a B/R deck, and you have a 5/5 Master of etherium and a couple other creatues, then they could easily lightning bolt then infest if they have those cards in their deck. So you'd wanna have a counter open.
It gets easier with each match, once you see some of the cards they have, and which ones might have made you lose before.
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111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
Open the Vaults (from M10) will help out the Sideboard when opponent boards in Vithian Renegades or any other artifact removal.
Looking forwards to it.
I'm experimenting with Sharuum the Hegemon and Wall of Denial (Only 2 of each). Pleased with the sphinx so far, haven't drawn the wall very often. Looks like Ethersworn Shieldmage is going to get moved to sideboard for use against decks running lots of damage sweepers (can't stop an infest though).
And the Ethersworn Canonist....I love her to death, but I'm not entirely convinced she's pulling her weight unless its a cascade player. Might move 2 of them to sideboard and free up some room for another beater or some counters. (I get the feeling I'm slowly going to turn into a combo deck instead :monocle:)
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4 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Ethersworn Shieldmage
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Master of Etherium
Spells/Artifacts
3 Esper Charm
4 Path to Exile
4 Executioner's Capsule
2 Thopter Foundry
2 Tezzeret the Seeker
Mana Sources
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
4 Mistvein Borderpost
4 Arcane Sanctum
7 Plains
6 Island
4 Swamp
4 Vedalken Outlander
2 Celestial Purge
4 Cumber Stone
2 Pithing Needle
2 Scourglass
1 Sigil of Distinction
The plan is to get a Ethersworn Canonist down as soon as possible and build a steady base of creatures to overwhelm what little my opponent can bring to the table. I've put in Esper Charm, Path to Exile and Executioner's Capsule to get rid of whatever my opponent has managed to bring out and leave me with an empty board. Ethersworn Shieldmage for combat tricks and Thopter Foundry to turn a spent Shieldmage into something more useful or get a token out of chump blocking.
Pretty sure I balanced the mana base okay, 24 sources with a rough 5:4:3 ratio of W:U:B. However I'm pretty stuck on the sideboard. Pithing Needle and Cumberstone are very important for against all those token decks and interrupting 5cc and such. But past that I'm stumped. What should I bring along to combat the general archetypes?
Note I'm not looking to build an aggro deck, but to slow my opponent down and ensure board control. I feel I might need another wincon however. Tezzeret the Seeker is good, and if I control the board my creatures will soon whittle down his life points (especially the ever increasing Master of Etherium).
Alot hinges on my Ethersworn Canonist, perhaps one of my sidedeck choices should be protection/revival of this card?
Standard:
RURuneflare ComboRU
-----------------------
WURBGGreanimator WURBG
Elder Dragon Highlander:
GUMomir VigGU
Standard:
RURuneflare ComboRU
-----------------------
WURBGGreanimator WURBG
Elder Dragon Highlander:
GUMomir VigGU
Dispeller's Capsule however is a good idea for a sideboard choice, can help against other artifact decks or those running Oblivion Ring etc.
Question is, does she bring enough to the deck other than the greature gain? Really by turn 6 I should have a strong base of creatures (and hopefully a Tezzeret) or at least in control of the board. Not convinced she's the wincon I need, and 6 mana is pretty steep.
Ethersworn Shieldmage however is lots of fun. Might just go back to Jund Rock though :(.
The space freed up from some lands should give me more options...time to tinker a bit more I think.
You also might want to consider the new artifact tutor being printed in M10.
GBGB AggroGB
Modern
GBRWDeath's ShadowGBRW
UBWRAffinityUBWR
GRTitanshiftGR
URBGrixis ControlURB
Legacy
BUGTrue Name BUGBUG
UBRGrixis DelverUBR
BUGShardless BUGBUG
BUGElvesBUG
With so much black being played in the format (Broodmate, Putrid Leech, etc) it's probably better for him to run Path
UR [PRIMER] Flash of the Firemind (Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind) RU
BG Death and Staxes: FireStorm4056's Competitive Meren Stax List GB
W Avacyn Angel of Hope W
R Akroma, Angel of (Your Opponent's) Fury R
R 99-Mountain Ashling R
The Shieldmage really is a nice card, but I think he's one of the first slots to look at cutting here. Maybe keep one or two as a surprise factor.
borken!
-Studoku
Tempting, but I want to stick with the capsule. It's a nice little one drop that can sit there until I need it and it pumps Master of Etherium. I quite like the psychological effect too, people look at it on the field and try to bait it. Makes most people forget I might have a counter in my hand too!
The artifact tutor looks awesome, perfect for getting what I need and means I don't have to waste time with Tezzeret.
I might run both, but I won't know until further testing.
Thankyou so much good sir, that change of thought was exactly what the deck needed. I'm running 4xCancel now (easy to do as both borderposts are U/X). Dropping the Shieldmage down to 2 was also great, I was noticing he sat in my hand far too often anyway.
I'm also testing Esper Stormblade, people keep telling me he's the weakest X-blade, but with my set up I'm almost guarrenteed to have at least a borderpost down to pump him. Very easily a T2 3/2 flyer, and does really well later in the game when I have a Master or 2 out.
One thing I'm not sure about though is the new counters in M10. The 1U Counter a Creature spell and Counter a Non-Creature Spell. Is it worth running sets of both, along with Cancel or just going for cancel. I guess I'll pick up a playset of both from my local store and give it a go!
That all hinges on if I have a Master of Etherium out to make them all 3/3 (Though Lightning Bolt on Master+Sweeper= board wipe :(). Otherwise I need to save a counter for this. (An Ethersworn Shieldmage works well too) Played a few games where *** completely destroyed me. It was either a matter of not having a counter, or having my counter countered (Damn you Cryptic Command, DAMN YOU!!). I think I may need to put the new Open the Vaults from M10 in my sideboard to combat sweepers like that. (Even though *** is leaving)
Hadn't even thought of that, much better idea than Spell Snip (I know, I know, its crud but I couldn't think of anything else!)
Current list is:
4 Master of Etherium
4 Ethersworn Cannonist
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Esper Stormblade
2 Ethersworn Shieldmage
2 Tezzeret the Seeker
Spells
4 Executioner's Capsule
4 Path to Exile
4 Cancel
4 Countersquall
4 Arcane Sanctum
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
4 Mistvein Borderpost
5 Plains
4 Island
3 Swamp
2 Pithing Needle
2 Scourglass
4 Vedalken Outlander
4 Zombie Outlander
3 Esper Charm
Esper Charm is only there if I need the card advantage and will likely be replaced come M10.
And whilst I'm on the topic, possible M10 changes...
MD
-2 Ethersworn Shieldmage
+2 Fabricate
Sideboard
-3 Esper Charm
+3 Open the Vaults (maybe not 3)
Sounds like fun! I guess you're using transmuter with some fattie artifact creatures?
Definitely a good choice, especially considering my Pro Green and Red creatures in my SB already.
Decided going to cut the Ethersworn Shieldmages entirely, they still aren't doing enough (but are sooooo much fun) and I'm siding them out every match. On the other hand I'm finding myself siding in Pithing Needle most matches, but thats probably just because my meta is full of B/W token decks (Go away Ajani/Cloudgoat!).
Scourglass is a good wincon, but can take awhile. Was almost overrun due to Path to Exile removing all my Ethersworn Canonists until I drew a Tezzeret, stalled for a turn so I could tutor for a Scourglass and then played it the next. Dropped to 3 health, but wiped the board clean :). Can really save your bacon, but is sooo expensive.
I'm having trouble balancing my mana though, I'll over extend myself (Say to drop a Tezzeret the Seeker) and then on my opponents turn he drops a big bomb that I should have used the Cancel in my hand on. I guess this is more a skill thing....how do other control players judge when they need to save mana for a counter? Looking at adding a Sphinx in the Shieldmage spots, gonna have a shop around for some fatties. Ideas anyone?
For me it's all about knowing your opponents deck. Easy when you're playing your friends, but for tourneys it's better to just know the basic strategy behind it. If you know what they're trying to achieve you can guess which cards decks with that strategy commonly have in them and which ones could currently screw you over.
For instance, if they're running a B/R deck, and you have a 5/5 Master of etherium and a couple other creatues, then they could easily lightning bolt then infest if they have those cards in their deck. So you'd wanna have a counter open.
It gets easier with each match, once you see some of the cards they have, and which ones might have made you lose before.
Looking forwards to it.
I'm experimenting with Sharuum the Hegemon and Wall of Denial (Only 2 of each). Pleased with the sphinx so far, haven't drawn the wall very often. Looks like Ethersworn Shieldmage is going to get moved to sideboard for use against decks running lots of damage sweepers (can't stop an infest though).
And the Ethersworn Canonist....I love her to death, but I'm not entirely convinced she's pulling her weight unless its a cascade player. Might move 2 of them to sideboard and free up some room for another beater or some counters. (I get the feeling I'm slowly going to turn into a combo deck instead :monocle:)