This is a Esper control deck I've been brewing with for a while now. I've been thinking of ways to try to make this more tournament quality and have decided to turn to the Masses of Tappedout for help. The deck is Esper midrange/Control Mill mixture. I really enjoy the mill aspect, but I want to cut it back so that the deck doesn't get run over by aggro or other midrange decks. Please post some constructive suggestions if you can.
I've been play testing this deck against other 1st decks that have been posted here on Tappedout. So far I'm not sure what needs to be improved but I'll take any and all advice. Thank you to the community in advance.
Note:As can be plain to see by most everyone, I don't have any Dragon Maze cards yet. I'd like some advice as to what cards I should be investing in. I also know that I need to work on my mana. I don't have as much extra money as I'd like to, and even less to invest in Magic cards, so knowing what cards i need to get would be helpful.
Also, I have been told multiple times that mill is currently not good enough for Standard Tournaments. I understand but I'd still like to keep it as some portion of the deck. I'm not trying to build an aggro mill deck, but I want a secondary win condition if the game comes down to stalemates.
Card Breakdown:
Chromatic Lantern : Love this card. Incredibly useful when playing cards exiled from Nightveil Specter if I don't have the mana sources from my opponents. Currently the only form of mana excel in the deck.
Consuming Aberration : Love this card. Great creature for the mill-esque aspect of this deck. A late game Devour Flesh has saved me many times, on both the mill and life gain aspects.
Curse of Death's Hold
: Great enchantment to slow aggro decks.
Desecration Demon : A bit blocker. Also helpful to 'try' to lower the amount of attackers. Another great late game target for a Devour Flesh.
Detention Sphere : Creature or Planeswalker removal.
Devour Flesh : Early game creature removal, and anti hexproof to boot!
Dissipate : Exile counter spell for those annoying big spells.
Dungeon Geists : Creature lockdown. Very useful in tight situations but completely cuttable.
Elixir of Immortality : Mainly a card to recycle my graveyard. Life is great but not my top priority.
Increasing Confusion : Spell only used to make Consuming Aberration Bigger.
Jace, Memory Adept
: Great Planeswalker for draw advantage and Mill.
Killing Glare
: Target creature removal. I don't know of a better removal spell to replace it with yet. Suggestions?
Liliana of the Veil : Second Planeswalker. Great hand and creature disruption. Works perfectly in unison with Jace.
Mind Grind : Single cast Mill. Try to go for 3 or 4.
Nightveil Specter : I've always loved the Specters. I will go out on a limb to say that this is even better than a Hypnotic Specter of old. Great for game disruption.
Soul Ransom
: Perfect for the deck. Either take the guy that is causing me problems or get two cards out of your hand. I think I need more to be honest.
Staff of Nin : Late game card advantage and poker.
Supreme Verdict : Sweeper. Always need em.
Syncopate
: Cheaper counter spell that can get rid of turn two problems.
Victim of Night : Great anti creature but the best decks use a lot of the cards that can't be targeted by it. Any spot creature removals would be greatly appreciated.
Cutables:
Curse of Death's Hold
- Side board for token decksDesecration Demon - Not really a main stay in the deck.Dungeon Geists - Great for lock down, but nothing more really.Elixir of Immortality - Side board card at best, for mirror matches.Increasing Confusion - I love this card. But I think the deck is too mill based.
Killing Glare
/Victim of Night - These spot removal spells are great but I need something a)cheaper and b) more versatile. Suggestions here would be great!
Thank you for reading this so far . Again I would really love any and all constructive comments. I'll post any updates as I make changes and if I actually get placed with my deck then I'll post how it does against other match ups.
