Standard Esper… Without the Black

Posted on June 11, 2013 by thegreatdustini

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  3. Yeah, you’re right dz. Some things got shuffled around and that paragraph needs a couple corrections. It has 25 instants and sorceries not 26, and out of the board it’s RiP and Kraken Hatchling. They never come in together though, so the reasoning applies to both.

  4. I actually stumbled upon your 4-0 list before reading this article.

    So I tested it, although switching the 4 Restoration Angels for 3 Snapcaster 1 Verdict (because I didn’t happen to have any on my account) and it’s performed extremely well. I can definitely see how Restoration Angel would be helpful in some situations, especially against opposing planeswalkers, but I’ve been pretty happy with the Snapcasters too.

    (the version that’s published has the Dissipates and Verdicts switched)

    But thanks for making the deck. It’s a blast to play!

  5. I 4-0′ed w/ different versions. Right now I would go with Verdicts and 4x Renounce the Guilds main (basically ceding game 1 to Junk Rites), and leave all the dissipates in the board against control, jund, and rites, but I tend to change these things daily. And yeah, one of the main function of Restos is to kill walkers, esp. Liliana or Garruks.

  6. I am trying out this deck and so far i like it. I am having troubles with sideoboarding. Could you please give suggestions on sideboarding plans against popular decks?

  7. Rest in Peace comes in against Rites and Junk Tokens. Some number of RIP also come in against Aristocrats, Zombies, and UW with Moorland Haunt, Runechanter’s Pike, and Snapcaster. I think it is 2-3 in those matchups because once it sticks they can’t kill it with Acidic Slime or Ray of Revelation.

    Kraken Hatchling comes in against fast aggro such as Mono-Red, Red/Green, and Zombies. It does not come in against Naya because Naya’s creatures are too big (Smiter) or fly over (Hellkite), and because Domri is too good at killing Hatchlings.

    Renounce the Guilds comes in against aggro and if they have a lot of multicolored cards: Naya, Junk Tokens, Red-based aggro, and Zombies (GB play Lotleth Troll and RB play Falkenrath Aristocrat). More renounces also sometimes come in against RUW control, depending on how many multicolored spells they play (e.g. Detention Sphere, Assemble the Legions, Aurelia).

    Dissipates come in against Rites, and the full counter suite comes in against control decks, including GB control and Jund.

    Oh, and I now think the deck should have 5 Island 5 plains.

    GLHF!

  8. Trying this deck, maybe I’m wrong but I really think it needs the fourth revelation.
    For recovering card advantage, and also not dying to burn against RG decks.

  9. Thanks for the side boarding tips. The only change i did was
    +1 Snapcaster Mage
    -1 Renounce the Guilds
    Sideboard:
    +1 Renounce the Guilds
    -1 Dissipate

    I loved having 1 Snapcaster for the variety of roles it performs. I didn’t want more than one.

    The deck performance is very optimal. Only thing i want in the deck is a ‘Pillar of flame’ or ‘Consume the Meek’ effect. Not sure what card can substitute that.

    Hopefully M14 brings in new toys for control to play with.

  10. I am playing the standard Esper, with 12 Shocks (Watery, Hallowed and Godless). I didn’t find many problems with losing 2 when I really need a land up. I also play with 24 lands, wich the configuration I list bellow:

    4x Watery Grave
    4x Hallowed Fountain
    4x Godless Shrine
    4x Drowned Catacomb
    4x Glacial Fortress
    2x Isolated Chapel
    1x Plains
    1x Island

    I really liked using the Nephalia Drownyard as win condition (if my creatures can’t do this). Want to replace my 1x Plains and 1x Island for 2x Nephalia, but I am afraid, cause I play with 24 lands (and also 2x Chromatic Lantern) and I guess this change could damage my mana base. Can you give me a help to solve this problem?

  11. @Draque

    We can ascertain whether your current manabase is adequate or not only by providing the complete list.
    The standard decks for Esper AFAIK use minimum 26 lands including 3 Nephalia drownyard.

    @Dustini

    Though i am sure of the sideboard cards to be brought in certain matchups, I am not sure of the cards to be taken out.Below are my approximate sideboarding that i do in matchups. Could you please let me know what i am doing wrong? I am using 2 Dissipates and 2 Renounce the Guilds main.

    Control (Versions without Multi colored permanents)
    +2 Dissipate +3 Negate -4 Terminus -1 Renounce the Guilds

    Jund,Control (Versions with some Multi colored permanents)
    +2 Dissipate +3 Negate +1 Renounce the Guilds -4 Terminus -2 Azorius Charm

    Aggro (R/G Aggro) [On the draw]
    +2 Renounce the Guilds +4 Kraken Hatchling -4 Syncopate -2 Dissipate

    Aggro (R/G Aggro) [On the play]
    +2 Renounce the Guilds +4 Kraken Hatchling -2 Think Twice -2 Syncopate -2 Dissipate

    Junk Rites
    +2 Dissipate +4 Rest in Peace -4 Azorius Charm -2 Terminus

    Naya
    +2 Renounce the Guilds -2 Dissipate

    Aristocrats
    +2 Rest in Peace +2 Renounce the Guilds -2 Dissipate -1 Think Twice -1 Syncopate

    UW Flash
    +2 Rest in Peace -2 Renounce the Guilds

  12. I’m not sure there is a correct sideboard strategy for each archetype because lists differ. Your thoughts seem reasonable. The only things I would change are 1) against a lot of aggro I remove Think Twice and leave in Syncopate. It catches Hellrider and late Burn spells if your life total is low. 2) You probably want to bring in more counterspells against UW Flash. 3) You want to leave in all Terminus against Junk Rites. Hope that helps!