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.
The deck looks cool ! I have never played something similar, just the "normal" Esper Mentor so far.
I have a couple of questions regarding card choices:
Here is a quick summary and my feelings on the deck:
Went 2-2 at the event
To be fair, I had never played the deck before tonite (literally sleeved it up 10 minutes before start time). I will do a brief recap below:
Match 1 - Esper Control (2-0). Opened with discard into Geist into Elspeth into Meddling Mage naming Verdict, that was game. Game 2 involved a lot of discard/Scullers finished with Snap/Mage beats.
Match 2 - UWR Twin (1-2) Game 1 was a lot of back and forth. He played 2 Geist throughout the game, while I played none. I was able to win with Snap/Mage/Angel beats. Game 2 He was able to combo off with Twin, which I did not see in match 1 so was extremely not expecting. I am not sure if it is a sideboard plan or what. Game 3 was my first big mistake/super lucky top decks from my opponent. I had him down to 8 life with a Resto on the board and nothing on his side. I cast Thoughtseize and see the following: Pestermite, Keranos, Splinter Twin. He is on 3 lands and I have Creeping Tar Pit and Resto. I have him dead in 2 turns if I take the Pestermite, 3 if I don't. I figure he has to hit non-shock land (in a 3 colour deck) and a Deceiver/Mite on his next two draw steps to win. I go greedy and pick the Mite. He proceeds to top deck Plains into Deceiver...... While I draw nothing but 4 lands in a row (with 3 more coming). Bad Beats.
Match 3 - UWR Control (2-1). Game 1 - Discard into Geist gets me there. Game 2 - is super grindy until he top decks a Crucible with 2 GQs on the table and 3 of my basics already out. He cuts me off White first, and I proceed to draw Kor Firewalker > Geist > Resto. Game 3 I rip his hand apart, land Sorin LoI and beat down with Vampires/Creeping Tar Pit.
Match 4 Grixis Delver (0-2). Game 1 He lands some early YPs while I find no removal and have a Geist that cant attack. He is able to burn me out for 12 damage and some Tasigur beats. Game 2 I dont draw more than the 2 lands I have in my opener over 10 turns. I do draw all 3 of my Geists though. The second game I felt like if I had drawn some lands early I could have won
I liked the deck, there is just so much disruption between Scullers, Mages and IoK/Thoughtseize. My only issue with sometimes I felt like I wanted card draw: all the decks I played against were running Serum Visions (as well as Think Twice/Thought Scour) and I felt like I did not have the selection/draw they did. Even after ripping apart there hands, I felt like I was relying on my top deck and they could draw out of it. My manabase needs some work; I was stuck without WW sometimes for Elspeth or Firewalkers; but that was my fault.
I am a huge proponent of small, repeatable life gain against Burn. Now that most decks are running 8 spells that prevent life gain, I dont want to rely on a) them not having Skullcrack/Command when I want to cast my Timely/Rest b) getting to turn 3 with enough of a life cushion that I can cast a lifegain only spell. Firewalker does so much work against Burn/Zoo and can even come in against Grixis Delver and other decks that I want to burn you out for 6-12 damage every game.
I think I want to try to find room for 3-4 Visions/Anticipates though I have no idea what to cut/trim.
Here is a quick summary and my feelings on the deck:
Went 2-2 at the event
To be fair, I had never played the deck before tonite (literally sleeved it up 10 minutes before start time). I will do a brief recap below:
Match 1 - Esper Control (2-0). Opened with discard into Geist into Elspeth into Meddling Mage naming Verdict, that was game. Game 2 involved a lot of discard/Scullers finished with Snap/Mage beats.
Match 2 - UWR Twin (1-2) Game 1 was a lot of back and forth. He played 2 Geist throughout the game, while I played none. I was able to win with Snap/Mage/Angel beats. Game 2 He was able to combo off with Twin, which I did not see in match 1 so was extremely not expecting. I am not sure if it is a sideboard plan or what. Game 3 was my first big mistake/super lucky top decks from my opponent. I had him down to 8 life with a Resto on the board and nothing on his side. I cast Thoughtseize and see the following: Pestermite, Keranos, Splinter Twin. He is on 3 lands and I have Creeping Tar Pit and Resto. I have him dead in 2 turns if I take the Pestermite, 3 if I don't. I figure he has to hit non-shock land (in a 3 colour deck) and a Deceiver/Mite on his next two draw steps to win. I go greedy and pick the Mite. He proceeds to top deck Plains into Deceiver...... While I draw nothing but 4 lands in a row (with 3 more coming). Bad Beats.
Match 3 - UWR Control (2-1). Game 1 - Discard into Geist gets me there. Game 2 - is super grindy until he top decks a Crucible with 2 GQs on the table and 3 of my basics already out. He cuts me off White first, and I proceed to draw Kor Firewalker > Geist > Resto. Game 3 I rip his hand apart, land Sorin LoI and beat down with Vampires/Creeping Tar Pit.
Match 4 Grixis Delver (0-2). Game 1 He lands some early YPs while I find no removal and have a Geist that cant attack. He is able to burn me out for 12 damage and some Tasigur beats. Game 2 I dont draw more than the 2 lands I have in my opener over 10 turns. I do draw all 3 of my Geists though. The second game I felt like if I had drawn some lands early I could have won
I liked the deck, there is just so much disruption between Scullers, Mages and IoK/Thoughtseize. My only issue with sometimes I felt like I wanted card draw: all the decks I played against were running Serum Visions (as well as Think Twice/Thought Scour) and I felt like I did not have the selection/draw they did. Even after ripping apart there hands, I felt like I was relying on my top deck and they could draw out of it. My manabase needs some work; I was stuck without WW sometimes for Elspeth or Firewalkers; but that was my fault.
I am a huge proponent of small, repeatable life gain against Burn. Now that most decks are running 8 spells that prevent life gain, I dont want to rely on a) them not having Skullcrack/Command when I want to cast my Timely/Rest b) getting to turn 3 with enough of a life cushion that I can cast a lifegain only spell. Firewalker does so much work against Burn/Zoo and can even come in against Grixis Delver and other decks that I want to burn you out for 6-12 damage every game.
I think I want to try to find room for 3-4 Visions/Anticipates though I have no idea what to cut/trim.
Thanks for sharing your results! Considering you made some changes from my version, sleeved it up 10 min before, played it for the first time, and made a couple costly mistakes, I think you did rather well. Promising for this deck.
As we discussed in the group, Visions/Anticipate is not where this deck wants to be. If anything, 4th Charm.
Mage should also be at 4 and I like 2 Kor/1 Timely or Rest for the Weary in board over 2 Timely. I also think we should consider dropping 1 Skite and including 1 Extirpate or Extraction. Very strong in our deck. Takes pressure off Mage too.
For those who are interested:
This is the official FB page of Esper Twix -
Facebook.com/EsperTwix
Stay updated with its progress as it continues to adapt to the meta.
If we Extract Decay, for instance, then Flash it back with Snap to hit Path, they are going to have a hard time dealing with us. This allows us to almost lock some decks out of the game.
All updates will be on my FB page for the deck but I will do my best to update it here as well. Videos will be up this morning of my 2 featured matches vs BW Tokens and Affinity (2-0 each).
I decided to take this Esper Trix deck with me to FNM yesterday and managed to make the top 4 and split. My list was mosrtly just copied aside from the sideboard which was just thrown together last minute and actually wasn't too helpful in some matchups last night.
Round 1 RG Burn: 2-1
Game 1 I drew poorly and just outright lost sideboard games I drew into hatecards and kept him off skullcrack and won.
Round 2 Mono Red Burn: 0-2
Just got beat down game 1 and sideboard game all I drew was Spellskite which almost stabilized me but skite doesn't do anything against Lava Spike when I'm at 2.
Round 3 U/R Storm 2-1
Game 1 I kept a hand with tons of disruption and only one land and decided to risk it because I knew he was on storm. Never drew the second land to start laying Tidehollow and Meddling Mage. Games 2 and 3 I was able to get the ball rolling with hate cards and he scooped after I took some rituals with extraction and had Giest on board.
Round 4 Affinity 2-1
I didn't expect anyone to actually have this at my shop but this week it finally happened and got caught with no hate. Managed to win a game off of Explosives for 1 wiping most of his board.
Round 5 B/R Vampires: 2-0
Not much to say here because budget deck in construction.
Top 8 Jeskai Control 2-0
I played tons of discard spells and tore apart his hand faster than he could stabilize with Revelation. Meddling mage on Cryptic and Tidehollow scullers slowed him down long enough for me to resolve Elspeth and Giest and end game 1. Game 2 he kept a land heavy hand to blank my early tidehollows and discard spells and we had a long game. He decided to EoT electrolyze me and went to 1 mana so I flashed in a Resto and started the beatdown as i continued to try and pick apart his hand. At one point he Edged my second white source so I couldn't play an Elspeth I drew. Eventually he had to wrath my lone Angel so I pathed it to get a plains and resolve Elspeth who closed out the game alongside a Creeping Tar Pit.
Top 4 Split because we needed to be responsible. My possible opponents were on Anafenza Company, Bant Midrange company and B/g Obliterator aggro homebrew.
Overall I liked this deck a lot though I do need to actually sit down and make a better sideboard. I mainly want a little more hate for burn and something to help with collected company decks which are popular at my store. I do think I finally need to make some concessions to affinity as well.
I decided to take this Esper Trix deck with me to FNM yesterday and managed to make the top 4 and split. My list was mosrtly just copied aside from the sideboard which was just thrown together last minute and actually wasn't too helpful in some matchups last night.
Round 1 RG Burn: 2-1
Game 1 I drew poorly and just outright lost sideboard games I drew into hatecards and kept him off skullcrack and won.
Round 2 Mono Red Burn: 0-2
Just got beat down game 1 and sideboard game all I drew was Spellskite which almost stabilized me but skite doesn't do anything against Lava Spike when I'm at 2.
Round 3 U/R Storm 2-1
Game 1 I kept a hand with tons of disruption and only one land and decided to risk it because I knew he was on storm. Never drew the second land to start laying Tidehollow and Meddling Mage. Games 2 and 3 I was able to get the ball rolling with hate cards and he scooped after I took some rituals with extraction and had Giest on board.
Round 4 Affinity 2-1
I didn't expect anyone to actually have this at my shop but this week it finally happened and got caught with no hate. Managed to win a game off of Explosives for 1 wiping most of his board.
Round 5 B/R Vampires: 2-0
Not much to say here because budget deck in construction.
Top 8 Jeskai Control 2-0
I played tons of discard spells and tore apart his hand faster than he could stabilize with Revelation. Meddling mage on Cryptic and Tidehollow scullers slowed him down long enough for me to resolve Elspeth and Giest and end game 1. Game 2 he kept a land heavy hand to blank my early tidehollows and discard spells and we had a long game. He decided to EoT electrolyze me and went to 1 mana so I flashed in a Resto and started the beatdown as i continued to try and pick apart his hand. At one point he Edged my second white source so I couldn't play an Elspeth I drew. Eventually he had to wrath my lone Angel so I pathed it to get a plains and resolve Elspeth who closed out the game alongside a Creeping Tar Pit.
Top 4 Split because we needed to be responsible. My possible opponents were on Anafenza Company, Bant Midrange company and B/g Obliterator aggro homebrew.
Overall I liked this deck a lot though I do need to actually sit down and make a better sideboard. I mainly want a little more hate for burn and something to help with collected company decks which are popular at my store. I do think I finally need to make some concessions to affinity as well.
Awesome! Happy to see your results and thanks for piloting it. It's really getting around. Your SB is definitely different but that's expected since it's a meta call.
The manabase has changed in my list and so have some spells, but the core is largely the same. Jace is now in the main since he gives us a better gamd vs Junk and Jund. Very good vs unflipped Delvers and Pyromancer Tokens, too. Excellent draw engine as well.
Would you mind if I share your results in my official Esper Twix FB page?
Sideboard was very out of order and half salvaged from Grixis delver so it wasn't up to snuff. Jace is significantly worse than I would have thought in my meta due to a near complete absence of Junk and Jund. Feel free to share the results as well. Moving forward with it I think I am primarily going to focus on shoring up the Burn and Company matchups because those are the two most popular decks in my local area. Only other decks that show up often enough that I know I want hate for so I don't fold over and die to is boggles seeing as several people seem to be picking it up due to MM15.
Howdy all, played in a small PPTQ on Saturday (~20 person/5 rounds) and managed to do alright with Esper Mentor. The list was pretty stock, but I will edit it in later. I've fooled around on Cockatrice with the deck but haven't played it seriously at all before this. I was intending to play Jund but the cards I needed hadn't arrived. As a result I sleeved this up 2 hours before the event.
R1: 2-1 Tribal Zoo
G1 opp mulled to 5, played forest, scooped to Thoughtseize. G2 his draw was too quick for me to beat. Repeatedly time walked his attacks with Souls but couldn't stabilize. G3 I fended off his beats with Souls and eventually set up a huge swing back with 2 monk tokens and 4 spirits with Zealous wombo.
R2: 2-1 Jund
Having trouble rembering this match well except for a salty opponent.
R3: 1-2 Jund
G1 I got run over. G2 I had a close tight match and eventually turned the corner with a few mentor triggers from untapping and double Soulsing. G3 was super tight and I eventually stabilize and turned the corner at 9 with 6 souls in play. Then he goes Bonfire from hand for 3. I draw Souls and double cast it. He untaps and double bolts me.
R4: 2-1 Abzan
Having trouble remembering this match but it was tight and Zealous was huge in both games that I won.
R5: ID UR Twin (Teammate)
Qrts: 2-1 Jund (R3 opp)
The match was tight as before with him on the play G1. I had almost taken over the game but timely top decks got him G1. G2 and G3 I drew enough sideboard cards along with lots of Souls and took over the game.
Semis: 0-2 UR Twin (R5 Teammate)
G1 I couldn't find any good interaction and he eventually Twin'd on T5. G2 I opted to play too aggressively and got Moon'd.
Deck played solid overall. Going in I expected to 0-2 drop. I thought the Goyf decks were bad matchups but I either got lucky or am just wrong? Thanks for reading and any thoughts are appreciated.
Howdy all, played in a small PPTQ on Saturday (~20 person/5 rounds) and managed to do alright with Esper Mentor. The list was pretty stock, but I will edit it in later. I've fooled around on Cockatrice with the deck but haven't played it seriously at all before this. I was intending to play Jund but the cards I needed hadn't arrived. As a result I sleeved this up 2 hours before the event.
R1: 2-1 Tribal Zoo
G1 opp mulled to 5, played forest, scooped to Thoughtseize. G2 his draw was too quick for me to beat. Repeatedly time walked his attacks with Souls but couldn't stabilize. G3 I fended off his beats with Souls and eventually set up a huge swing back with 2 monk tokens and 4 spirits with Zealous wombo.
R2: 2-1 Jund
Having trouble rembering this match well except for a salty opponent.
R3: 1-2 Jund
G1 I got run over. G2 I had a close tight match and eventually turned the corner with a few mentor triggers from untapping and double Soulsing. G3 was super tight and I eventually stabilize and turned the corner at 9 with 6 souls in play. Then he goes Bonfire from hand for 3. I draw Souls and double cast it. He untaps and double bolts me.
R4: 2-1 Abzan
Having trouble remembering this match but it was tight and Zealous was huge in both games that I won.
R5: ID UR Twin (Teammate)
Qrts: 2-1 Jund (R3 opp)
The match was tight as before with him on the play G1. I had almost taken over the game but timely top decks got him G1. G2 and G3 I drew enough sideboard cards along with lots of Souls and took over the game.
Semis: 0-2 UR Twin (R5 Teammate)
G1 I couldn't find any good interaction and he eventually Twin'd on T5. G2 I opted to play too aggressively and got Moon'd.
Deck played solid overall. Going in I expected to 0-2 drop. I thought the Goyf decks were bad matchups but I either got lucky or am just wrong? Thanks for reading and any thoughts are appreciated.
I found most Goyf match-ups to be pretty good. Just show a Goyf player some Lingering Souls. Jund I haven't had the pleasure of facing often (just 3 matches under my belt) but I have plenty against Abzan and Zoo. While Zoo is a rough one game 1, EE helps so very much postboard. Junk is pretty stellar, I've found. We can go 1-1 on removal of their major threats, but they don't have the same luxury. I've ran into many situations where we trade removal on Goyf and Mentor, but I'm left with a monk token that makes their souls draw quite awkward. Combine that with our more aggressive Tasigur (I've slotted in 2 thought scours), and Zealous Perseuction, I've found it to be a somewhat favorable matchup.
RE: Twin. It is a great matchup for us, but oh boy if we don't find any interaction are we one dead deck. No Mentor draw in the world will save you if you don't find removal/discard.
I can't get get my head around Liliana. I'm not sure if I don't care about her (edict me all day bby), or despise her for stripping my hand of gas.
Esper Mentor Midrange moved from Tier 2 to Developing Competitive.
Esper Mentor is still one of Modern's cooler midrange decks, but it just doesn't have the right tools to succeed in this metagame. The deck's metagame share has crashed, and it's now under 1% in both MTGO and paper. A big part of this has been the rise of Grixis, which offers comparative advantages in Bolt and Kolaghan's Command, effects that Esper has a hard time matching. Jund's return has also been problematic, both as a competitor for midrange players' attentions, and as yet another deck that threatens Esper Mentor's namesake card. I do not believe this is the last we've seen of this deck, especially as the metagame keeps shifting. But for now, the stars are not aligned for Esper Midrange and that's why it's getting moved down.
That being said, Esper Twix is an entirely different beast and has been referred to as Esper's version of Junk. Ali Aintrazi recently interviewed me about my brew and the article is available on TCG Player. The updated list can be found on Facebook.com/EsperTwix
That being said, Esper Twix is an entirely different beast and has been referred to as Esper's version of Junk. Ali Aintrazi recently interviewed me about my brew and the article is available on TCG Player. The updated list can be found on Facebook.com/EsperTwix
I'm taking it to Charlotte this weekend.
Wish you the best at GP, don't be afraid of posting links about the archetype. It looks like a sweet spin to the Esper midrange builds we've been seen lately, so I'll include it in the primer when I update it any time I can this week.
That being said, Esper Twix is an entirely different beast and has been referred to as Esper's version of Junk. Ali Aintrazi recently interviewed me about my brew and the article is available on TCG Player. The updated list can be found on Facebook.com/EsperTwix
I'm taking it to Charlotte this weekend.
Wish you the best at GP, don't be afraid of posting links about the archetype. It looks like a sweet spin to the Esper midrange builds we've been seen lately, so I'll include it in the primer when I update it any time I can this week.
Thank you! Much appreciated. If you have any questions regarding the deck, please feel free to ask. The deck has many intricate lines of play. It can also effectively utilize two different gameplans in one, either simultaneously or individually.
So with Esper Twix what do we even side out against burn? I've done some testing and I kind of suspect meddling mage would be the cut in some number. It just feels like their deck is so redundant it doesn't do enough.
So with Esper Twix what do we even side out against burn? I've done some testing and I kind of suspect meddling mage would be the cut in some number. It just feels like their deck is so redundant it doesn't do enough.
You have to remember even if they remove Meddling Mage, that means it is one less burn card going at you. If can also force awkward plays by your opponent.
I have found that some of the more expensive removal is what I remove, since casting a CMC 3 or 5 on a CMC 1 or 2 creature is not where I want to be.
Two maindeck negate with no Remand or Mana Leak? Seems loose.
You're taking it at face value. Negate is clutch here. It's exactly what the deck wants. Remand and Leak don't consistently take care of the threats we're actually concerned about. They were this deck's weakest cards. Negate, on the other hand, hits Combo pieces, Karn/Ugin/Lilly, O-Stone, IoK/Seize, Lingering Souls, removal vs our creatures, Burn spells, etc. Since we run Meddling Mage/Tidehollow Sculler, along with hand disruption, Negate is the perfect answer we need to what we don't hit.
This deck breaks conventional rules and the deck definitely has a learning curve. It really rewards skill and knowing the meta. You begin to learn what cards you're weakest to and plan accordingly. If you take the deck at face value without actually playing it, you miss out on many clutch interactions, various angles of versatile attacks, and explosive plays the deck is capable of.
Think of it as Esper's Junk rather than Esper Control.
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The deck looks cool ! I have never played something similar, just the "normal" Esper Mentor so far.
I have a couple of questions regarding card choices:
1.) Why Ghost Quarter over Tectonic Edge ?
2.) Why would you add Sorin, Solemn Visitor to the deck ? I expect him to be under-performing without some number of spirit tokens ...
What do you think ?
Here is the list
1x Celestial Colonnade
1x Darkslick Shores
3x Flooded Strand
1x Ghost Quarter
2x Godless Shrine
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Island
2x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
1x Swamp
2x Watery Grave
1x Seachrome Coast
2x Creeping Tar Pit
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Thoughtseize
1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
3x Esper Charm
1x Go for the Throat
3x Mana Leak
1x Murderous Cut
4x Path to Exile
1x Slaughter Pact
1x Spell Snare
3x Meddling Mage
2x Restoration Angel
3x Snapcaster Mage
3x Tidehollow Sculler
1x Vendilion Clique
1x Spell Pierce
1x Gideon Jura
1x Smother
1x Jace, Architect of Thought
2x Negate
2x Spellskite
1x Sphinx's Revelation
2x Kor Firewalker
1x Timely Reinforcments
1x Supreme Verdict
Here is a quick summary and my feelings on the deck:
Went 2-2 at the event
To be fair, I had never played the deck before tonite (literally sleeved it up 10 minutes before start time). I will do a brief recap below:
Match 1 - Esper Control (2-0). Opened with discard into Geist into Elspeth into Meddling Mage naming Verdict, that was game. Game 2 involved a lot of discard/Scullers finished with Snap/Mage beats.
Match 2 - UWR Twin (1-2) Game 1 was a lot of back and forth. He played 2 Geist throughout the game, while I played none. I was able to win with Snap/Mage/Angel beats. Game 2 He was able to combo off with Twin, which I did not see in match 1 so was extremely not expecting. I am not sure if it is a sideboard plan or what. Game 3 was my first big mistake/super lucky top decks from my opponent. I had him down to 8 life with a Resto on the board and nothing on his side. I cast Thoughtseize and see the following: Pestermite, Keranos, Splinter Twin. He is on 3 lands and I have Creeping Tar Pit and Resto. I have him dead in 2 turns if I take the Pestermite, 3 if I don't. I figure he has to hit non-shock land (in a 3 colour deck) and a Deceiver/Mite on his next two draw steps to win. I go greedy and pick the Mite. He proceeds to top deck Plains into Deceiver...... While I draw nothing but 4 lands in a row (with 3 more coming). Bad Beats.
Match 3 - UWR Control (2-1). Game 1 - Discard into Geist gets me there. Game 2 - is super grindy until he top decks a Crucible with 2 GQs on the table and 3 of my basics already out. He cuts me off White first, and I proceed to draw Kor Firewalker > Geist > Resto. Game 3 I rip his hand apart, land Sorin LoI and beat down with Vampires/Creeping Tar Pit.
Match 4 Grixis Delver (0-2). Game 1 He lands some early YPs while I find no removal and have a Geist that cant attack. He is able to burn me out for 12 damage and some Tasigur beats. Game 2 I dont draw more than the 2 lands I have in my opener over 10 turns. I do draw all 3 of my Geists though. The second game I felt like if I had drawn some lands early I could have won
I liked the deck, there is just so much disruption between Scullers, Mages and IoK/Thoughtseize. My only issue with sometimes I felt like I wanted card draw: all the decks I played against were running Serum Visions (as well as Think Twice/Thought Scour) and I felt like I did not have the selection/draw they did. Even after ripping apart there hands, I felt like I was relying on my top deck and they could draw out of it. My manabase needs some work; I was stuck without WW sometimes for Elspeth or Firewalkers; but that was my fault.
I am a huge proponent of small, repeatable life gain against Burn. Now that most decks are running 8 spells that prevent life gain, I dont want to rely on a) them not having Skullcrack/Command when I want to cast my Timely/Rest b) getting to turn 3 with enough of a life cushion that I can cast a lifegain only spell. Firewalker does so much work against Burn/Zoo and can even come in against Grixis Delver and other decks that I want to burn you out for 6-12 damage every game.
I think I want to try to find room for 3-4 Visions/Anticipates though I have no idea what to cut/trim.
Thanks for sharing your results! Considering you made some changes from my version, sleeved it up 10 min before, played it for the first time, and made a couple costly mistakes, I think you did rather well. Promising for this deck.
As we discussed in the group, Visions/Anticipate is not where this deck wants to be. If anything, 4th Charm.
Mage should also be at 4 and I like 2 Kor/1 Timely or Rest for the Weary in board over 2 Timely. I also think we should consider dropping 1 Skite and including 1 Extirpate or Extraction. Very strong in our deck. Takes pressure off Mage too.
For those who are interested:
This is the official FB page of Esper Twix -
Facebook.com/EsperTwix
Stay updated with its progress as it continues to adapt to the meta.
2 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Hallowed Fountain
2 Godless Shrine
1 Watery Grave
3 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats
3 Polluted Delta
1 Celestial Collonade
2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Ghost Quarter
Creatures
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Meddling Mage
3 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Vendillion Clique
3 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Restoration Angel
2 Elspeth, Knight Errant
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Sorceries
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtsieze
Instant
4 Path to Exile
1 Spell Snare
3 Mana Leak
1 Slaughter Pact
3 Esper Charm
1 Murderous Cut
1 Spellskite
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Sower of temptation
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Leyline of the Void
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Timely Reinforcements
1 Dispel
2 Negates
1 Dismember
Round 1 RG Burn: 2-1
Game 1 I drew poorly and just outright lost sideboard games I drew into hatecards and kept him off skullcrack and won.
Round 2 Mono Red Burn: 0-2
Just got beat down game 1 and sideboard game all I drew was Spellskite which almost stabilized me but skite doesn't do anything against Lava Spike when I'm at 2.
Round 3 U/R Storm 2-1
Game 1 I kept a hand with tons of disruption and only one land and decided to risk it because I knew he was on storm. Never drew the second land to start laying Tidehollow and Meddling Mage. Games 2 and 3 I was able to get the ball rolling with hate cards and he scooped after I took some rituals with extraction and had Giest on board.
Round 4 Affinity 2-1
I didn't expect anyone to actually have this at my shop but this week it finally happened and got caught with no hate. Managed to win a game off of Explosives for 1 wiping most of his board.
Round 5 B/R Vampires: 2-0
Not much to say here because budget deck in construction.
Top 8 Jeskai Control 2-0
I played tons of discard spells and tore apart his hand faster than he could stabilize with Revelation. Meddling mage on Cryptic and Tidehollow scullers slowed him down long enough for me to resolve Elspeth and Giest and end game 1. Game 2 he kept a land heavy hand to blank my early tidehollows and discard spells and we had a long game. He decided to EoT electrolyze me and went to 1 mana so I flashed in a Resto and started the beatdown as i continued to try and pick apart his hand. At one point he Edged my second white source so I couldn't play an Elspeth I drew. Eventually he had to wrath my lone Angel so I pathed it to get a plains and resolve Elspeth who closed out the game alongside a Creeping Tar Pit.
Top 4 Split because we needed to be responsible. My possible opponents were on Anafenza Company, Bant Midrange company and B/g Obliterator aggro homebrew.
Overall I liked this deck a lot though I do need to actually sit down and make a better sideboard. I mainly want a little more hate for burn and something to help with collected company decks which are popular at my store. I do think I finally need to make some concessions to affinity as well.
Awesome! Happy to see your results and thanks for piloting it. It's really getting around. Your SB is definitely different but that's expected since it's a meta call.
The manabase has changed in my list and so have some spells, but the core is largely the same. Jace is now in the main since he gives us a better gamd vs Junk and Jund. Very good vs unflipped Delvers and Pyromancer Tokens, too. Excellent draw engine as well.
Would you mind if I share your results in my official Esper Twix FB page?
Facebook.com/espertwix
Thanks!
R1: 2-1 Tribal Zoo
G1 opp mulled to 5, played forest, scooped to Thoughtseize. G2 his draw was too quick for me to beat. Repeatedly time walked his attacks with Souls but couldn't stabilize. G3 I fended off his beats with Souls and eventually set up a huge swing back with 2 monk tokens and 4 spirits with Zealous wombo.
R2: 2-1 Jund
Having trouble rembering this match well except for a salty opponent.
R3: 1-2 Jund
G1 I got run over. G2 I had a close tight match and eventually turned the corner with a few mentor triggers from untapping and double Soulsing. G3 was super tight and I eventually stabilize and turned the corner at 9 with 6 souls in play. Then he goes Bonfire from hand for 3. I draw Souls and double cast it. He untaps and double bolts me.
R4: 2-1 Abzan
Having trouble remembering this match but it was tight and Zealous was huge in both games that I won.
R5: ID UR Twin (Teammate)
Qrts: 2-1 Jund (R3 opp)
The match was tight as before with him on the play G1. I had almost taken over the game but timely top decks got him G1. G2 and G3 I drew enough sideboard cards along with lots of Souls and took over the game.
Semis: 0-2 UR Twin (R5 Teammate)
G1 I couldn't find any good interaction and he eventually Twin'd on T5. G2 I opted to play too aggressively and got Moon'd.
Deck played solid overall. Going in I expected to 0-2 drop. I thought the Goyf decks were bad matchups but I either got lucky or am just wrong? Thanks for reading and any thoughts are appreciated.
I found most Goyf match-ups to be pretty good. Just show a Goyf player some Lingering Souls. Jund I haven't had the pleasure of facing often (just 3 matches under my belt) but I have plenty against Abzan and Zoo. While Zoo is a rough one game 1, EE helps so very much postboard. Junk is pretty stellar, I've found. We can go 1-1 on removal of their major threats, but they don't have the same luxury. I've ran into many situations where we trade removal on Goyf and Mentor, but I'm left with a monk token that makes their souls draw quite awkward. Combine that with our more aggressive Tasigur (I've slotted in 2 thought scours), and Zealous Perseuction, I've found it to be a somewhat favorable matchup.
RE: Twin. It is a great matchup for us, but oh boy if we don't find any interaction are we one dead deck. No Mentor draw in the world will save you if you don't find removal/discard.
I can't get get my head around Liliana. I'm not sure if I don't care about her (edict me all day bby), or despise her for stripping my hand of gas.
Esper Mentor is still one of Modern's cooler midrange decks, but it just doesn't have the right tools to succeed in this metagame. The deck's metagame share has crashed, and it's now under 1% in both MTGO and paper. A big part of this has been the rise of Grixis, which offers comparative advantages in Bolt and Kolaghan's Command, effects that Esper has a hard time matching. Jund's return has also been problematic, both as a competitor for midrange players' attentions, and as yet another deck that threatens Esper Mentor's namesake card. I do not believe this is the last we've seen of this deck, especially as the metagame keeps shifting. But for now, the stars are not aligned for Esper Midrange and that's why it's getting moved down.
For more information on this change and the overall metagame changes, check out the post (and article) below:
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/566735-modern-metagame-breakdown-and-discussion-updated-4?comment=581
I'm taking it to Charlotte this weekend.
2x Celestial Colonnade
3x Darkslick Shores
3x Flooded Strand
1x Ghost Quarter
2x Godless Shrine
2x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
2x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
2x Seachrome Coast
1x Swamp
Planeswalker: 4
2x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1x Jace, Architect of Thought
1x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
4x Esper Charm
1x Murderous Cut
2x Negate
4x Path to Exile
2x Smother
Creature: 14
3x Geist of Saint Traft
3x Meddling Mage
2x Restoration Angel
3x Snapcaster Mage
3x Tidehollow Sculler
Sorcery (6)
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Thoughtseize
2x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1x Dispel
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Gideon Jura
1x Negate
1x Sphinx's Revelation
2x Stony Silence
1x Thoughtseize
2x Timely Reinforcements
1x Vendilion Clique
2x Zealous Persecution
Wish you the best at GP, don't be afraid of posting links about the archetype. It looks like a sweet spin to the Esper midrange builds we've been seen lately, so I'll include it in the primer when I update it any time I can this week.
Esper Twix Article @ TCGPlayer
Keep up with the brews!
Thank you! Much appreciated. If you have any questions regarding the deck, please feel free to ask. The deck has many intricate lines of play. It can also effectively utilize two different gameplans in one, either simultaneously or individually.
You have to remember even if they remove Meddling Mage, that means it is one less burn card going at you. If can also force awkward plays by your opponent.
I have found that some of the more expensive removal is what I remove, since casting a CMC 3 or 5 on a CMC 1 or 2 creature is not where I want to be.
You're taking it at face value. Negate is clutch here. It's exactly what the deck wants. Remand and Leak don't consistently take care of the threats we're actually concerned about. They were this deck's weakest cards. Negate, on the other hand, hits Combo pieces, Karn/Ugin/Lilly, O-Stone, IoK/Seize, Lingering Souls, removal vs our creatures, Burn spells, etc. Since we run Meddling Mage/Tidehollow Sculler, along with hand disruption, Negate is the perfect answer we need to what we don't hit.
This deck breaks conventional rules and the deck definitely has a learning curve. It really rewards skill and knowing the meta. You begin to learn what cards you're weakest to and plan accordingly. If you take the deck at face value without actually playing it, you miss out on many clutch interactions, various angles of versatile attacks, and explosive plays the deck is capable of.
Think of it as Esper's Junk rather than Esper Control.