Esper control has its own thread here, though its not for specifically budget decks.
Some suggestions:
You want to max out on hard card advantage. This means cards like jace, teferi, esper charm, search for azcanta, hieroglyphic illumination, think twice, etc.
Since the planeswalkers are out of your budget (and search too probably) you definitely want 4 charm, 4 think twice.
You only have 23 lands, which is pretty low. I would adding atleast 1, probably 2, more.
You also want field of ruin over ghost quarter. Tolaria west, oboro, and adarkar wastes are bad. Glacial fortress, drowned catacombs, fetid pools, and irrigated farmlands are all better choices. (I wouldn't play a cycling land unless you play 25-26 lands).
Mission briefing is worse than snapcaster, but its a lot cheaper, so you might consider playing one or two.
Other finishers like white suns zenith or secure the wastes, sphinx's revelation, gideon planeswalkers (jura, trials, or ally of zendikar are all reasonable).
Augur of bolas isn't worth playing here.
Traditionally, esper control is base UW, so you'd want supreme verdict over damnation. The difference isn't huge, but uncounterable is decent.
For other removal, oust, dismember, cast down, blessed alliance are all options.
You don't want to play dispel main. Absorb is pretty decent though.
I wouldn't add any of the creatures you listed to the mainboard. Sphinx of the final word or chromium are ok (but not necessary) in the sideboard.
Getting more fetchlands, path to exiles, cryptic commands, then later search for azcanta, planeswalkers, and snapcasters will do a lot to improve this deck.
Esper control isn't very widely played so it really needs all the help it can get. (though I think its a reasonable choice at the moment)
In my opinion, you absolutely needPath to Exile. Four of, in fact.
Whatever it takes - saving, trading, selling your soul - will be worth it.
Try to avoid too many double-/triple-mana costs, at least until your mana base is perfect (and yes, this means a bunch of fetches, for 3-colour Modern decks, in general.) More fetches is most definitely another thing to work towards. Their value in play can hardly be overstated, especially for most 3+ colour decks.
Otherwise, looks like a nice deck. Just keep testing and optimising, and you should do fine.
Thanks for the response! A few comments:
- I play Oboro in case I need some "leave battlefield effect" for my fatal push since I'm a bit short on fetches
- Field of ruin is indeed better but isn't it too slow for the tron match-up ? (why I primarily play these slots)
- I have considered Secure the wastesand White sun's zenith. Which one is more efficient?
- Dispel will be SB. Maybe Disallow over absorbis better? or anything less expensive than Cryptic?
- Esper Charm is good so I will def include, But is it good to take out the 1cmc draw spells and include instead Think Twice?
Thanks for the response! A few comments:
- I play Oboro in case I need some "leave battlefield effect" for my fatal push since I'm a bit short on fetches
- Field of ruin is indeed better but isn't it too slow for the tron match-up ? (why I primarily play these slots)
- I have considered Secure the wastesand White sun's zenith. Which one is more efficient?
- Dispel will be SB. Maybe Disallow over absorbis better? or anything less expensive than Cryptic?
- Esper Charm is good so I will def include, But is it good to take out the 1cmc draw spells and include instead Think Twice?
Much appreciated
- Reasonable.
- It isn't enough on its own but together with the counterspells it can slow them down enough to buy enough time to get control of the game.
I'd still want Stony Silence and Damping Sphere in the SB to help with this matchup.
- Secure the Wastes is better as going wide is usually preferable (especially if you really need to block) to having slightly bigger tokens.
Also it is much less color intensive which is important in a 3-color deck.
It works very well with Gideon, Ally of Zendikar which can "emblem" to grow the tokens bigger (besides being a very solid PW on its own).
- I'd split Disallow and Absorb though I'd probably value the lifegain higher than Stifle.
- I've never liked Think Twice as it is very mana-innefficient, I'd prefer a cheap cantrip (Serum Visions/Opt) or even Anticipate instead.
You could also use Hieroglyphic Illumination as a cantrip with upside later in the game. Curator of Mysteries can also be used as a cantrip and a decent flyer later in the game.
I find Jace, Unraveler of Secrets (or Ob Nixilis for better creature-removal) as a decent budget alternative to Teferi though it is obviously not nearly as good. Sorin, Grim Nemesis is also a good PW though the 6-mana cost is on the high side even for control.
Cool, I like the ideas of Ob Nixilis and Anguished Unmaking. I will even try Absorb since I find myseld pretty hurt before stabilizing. Since you mention SB, I run this:
Isn't 6x GY-hate pieces a bit much ?
I'm also not sure about running Leyline in this deck and usually prefer Nihil Spellbomb as you don't have to to have it in your opening hand for it to be relevant.
I'd cut at least 2x of those for Damping Sphere as Tron and Storm (and other combo) hate.
Murderous Cut is actually a decent maindeck option as a 1x-of.
You can add a copy of The Scarab God to the SB to bring against decks without Path to Exile as it is a very solid finisher.
Lands
3- Island
2- Swamp
1- Plains
2- Hallowed Fountain
2- Watery Grave
1- Godles Shrine
1- Celestial Colonnade
2- Creeping Tar Pit
2- Ghost Quarter
1- Tolaria West
1- Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1- Adarkar Wastes
1- Flooded Strand
1- Marsh Flats
2- Polluted Delta
Creatures/PW
2- Tasigur, the Golden fang
2- Vendilion Clique
3- Augur of Bolas
1- Jace, Architect of Thought
Removal
2- Damnation
3- Fatal Push
3- Condemn
2- Detention Sphere
Permission
2- Logic Knot
2- Mana Leak
1- Dispel
1- Negate
2- Spell Snare
2- Remand
Card Draw/Rest
3- Opt
1- Peek
1- Telling Time
1- Sleight of Hand
1- Timely Reinforcements
I'd like thoughts on two things: Deck structure and finishers.. I've already thrown a ton of money on having a solid manabase so Snapcaster Mage, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Teferi, Hero of Dominaria are off budget, at least for now. I'm not looking for tier 1 but a good competitive deck. I run Condemn instead of Path to Exile coz it's the best budget alternative imo. For win-cons I have manlands/Tasigur/Clique but I consider adding some of below:
1- Sphinx of Jwar Isle
1- Guile
1- Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1- Sphinx of the Final Word
1- Chromium, the Mutable
1- Silumgar, the Drifting Death
Any ideas to improve? Sorry for the long post and thanks a lot for the hepl!!
Esper control has its own thread here, though its not for specifically budget decks.
Some suggestions:
You want to max out on hard card advantage. This means cards like jace, teferi, esper charm, search for azcanta, hieroglyphic illumination, think twice, etc.
Since the planeswalkers are out of your budget (and search too probably) you definitely want 4 charm, 4 think twice.
You only have 23 lands, which is pretty low. I would adding atleast 1, probably 2, more.
You also want field of ruin over ghost quarter. Tolaria west, oboro, and adarkar wastes are bad. Glacial fortress, drowned catacombs, fetid pools, and irrigated farmlands are all better choices. (I wouldn't play a cycling land unless you play 25-26 lands).
Mission briefing is worse than snapcaster, but its a lot cheaper, so you might consider playing one or two.
Other finishers like white suns zenith or secure the wastes, sphinx's revelation, gideon planeswalkers (jura, trials, or ally of zendikar are all reasonable).
Augur of bolas isn't worth playing here.
Traditionally, esper control is base UW, so you'd want supreme verdict over damnation. The difference isn't huge, but uncounterable is decent.
For other removal, oust, dismember, cast down, blessed alliance are all options.
You don't want to play dispel main. Absorb is pretty decent though.
I wouldn't add any of the creatures you listed to the mainboard. Sphinx of the final word or chromium are ok (but not necessary) in the sideboard.
Getting more fetchlands, path to exiles, cryptic commands, then later search for azcanta, planeswalkers, and snapcasters will do a lot to improve this deck.
Esper control isn't very widely played so it really needs all the help it can get. (though I think its a reasonable choice at the moment)
This is a budget take on the archetype.
Whatever it takes - saving, trading, selling your soul - will be worth it.
Try to avoid too many double-/triple-mana costs, at least until your mana base is perfect (and yes, this means a bunch of fetches, for 3-colour Modern decks, in general.) More fetches is most definitely another thing to work towards. Their value in play can hardly be overstated, especially for most 3+ colour decks.
Otherwise, looks like a nice deck. Just keep testing and optimising, and you should do fine.
- I play Oboro in case I need some "leave battlefield effect" for my fatal push since I'm a bit short on fetches
- Field of ruin is indeed better but isn't it too slow for the tron match-up ? (why I primarily play these slots)
- I have considered Secure the wastesand White sun's zenith. Which one is more efficient?
- Dispel will be SB. Maybe Disallow over absorbis better? or anything less expensive than Cryptic?
- Esper Charm is good so I will def include, But is it good to take out the 1cmc draw spells and include instead Think Twice?
Much appreciated
that is a very helpful thread (Y) B)
- Reasonable.
- It isn't enough on its own but together with the counterspells it can slow them down enough to buy enough time to get control of the game.
I'd still want Stony Silence and Damping Sphere in the SB to help with this matchup.
- Secure the Wastes is better as going wide is usually preferable (especially if you really need to block) to having slightly bigger tokens.
Also it is much less color intensive which is important in a 3-color deck.
It works very well with Gideon, Ally of Zendikar which can "emblem" to grow the tokens bigger (besides being a very solid PW on its own).
- I'd split Disallow and Absorb though I'd probably value the lifegain higher than Stifle.
- I've never liked Think Twice as it is very mana-innefficient, I'd prefer a cheap cantrip (Serum Visions/Opt) or even Anticipate instead.
You could also use Hieroglyphic Illumination as a cantrip with upside later in the game.
Curator of Mysteries can also be used as a cantrip and a decent flyer later in the game.
For removal I'd go with Cast Down over Condemn (Seal Away is also a decent option).
Warrant // Warden is an interesting option as well being a split card of (the best mode of) Azorius Charm and Serra Sphinx.
Anguished Unmaking/Utter End is also worth considering as a catch-all over Detention Sphere for the instant speed.
I find Jace, Unraveler of Secrets (or Ob Nixilis for better creature-removal) as a decent budget alternative to Teferi though it is obviously not nearly as good.
Sorin, Grim Nemesis is also a good PW though the 6-mana cost is on the high side even for control.
3 Leyline of the Void
3 Surgical Extraction/Extirpate (for budget alternative)
2 Dispel
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Celestial Purge
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Murderous Cut
Ideas to improve?
Celestial Purge seems too narrow compared to Anguished Unmaking/Detention Sphere/Utter End.
Isn't 6x GY-hate pieces a bit much ?
I'm also not sure about running Leyline in this deck and usually prefer Nihil Spellbomb as you don't have to to have it in your opening hand for it to be relevant.
I'd cut at least 2x of those for Damping Sphere as Tron and Storm (and other combo) hate.
Murderous Cut is actually a decent maindeck option as a 1x-of.
You can add a copy of The Scarab God to the SB to bring against decks without Path to Exile as it is a very solid finisher.