Need help making changes..
Standard Deck Help forum
Posted on Feb. 21, 2019, 2:26 a.m. by abenz419
I want to fit in 2x Hostage Taker into my esper here deck, Esper Hero. RIght now the way the maindeck and sideboard is constructed, I have pretty good matchups against aggro decks and control. I have enough incidental lifegain and removal that I can get past the early game in aggro matchups and they run out of gas and I take over in the late game. I've had success against red based aggro, mono white, and other hero decks with this. In control matchups, between Duress , Thought Erasure , Basilica Bell-Haunt , and Disinformation Campaign I have enough hand disruption/discard that they can't' take full advantage of all their card advantage and it really evens the playing field. I've had success against esper control, jeskai control, and bant nexus because of this. My tough matchup is against sultai. I usually do well in the early game against them, but between their removal and the card advantage they get from Krasis and Find they can out grind me. I think Hostage Taker can help in those matchups. Whether it's taking a krasis or and explore creature I can gain a little bit of card advantage myself which would be great in the late game. I just don't know where to fit it in. I can see it being a liability in some matchups, so I was figuring it's more of a sideboard option in my deck. But honestly I don't know what to cut from the sideboard. There isn't anything I don't use regularly out of the sideboard at FNM. I know I can't be 100% prepared for literally every matchup, but I can see this coming in for more than just the sultai matchup, I just think it'll help the most there. Any suggestions as to where I can make the change, even if you think it's the mainboard. Maybe hearing others thoughts and opinions will help me decide what's best. Thanks!
SP3CTR3_chelts says... #3
i would put them in instead of main board removal (which i would then put in the sideboard) or in the sideboard ready for midrange match ups. Depending on your local meta
-Consecrate / Consume maybe i know it is your main GY hate but there is better Gy hate out there
February 21, 2019 10:16 a.m.
@SP3CTR3_chelts consume is also my only way of dealing with a Carnage Tyrant that hits the board. Also, to be fair, I feel like having more removal than other hero decks has helped me in those matchups because I can break through board stalls easier. It's also helped against the aggro matchups as well. Removing their board along with any incidental lifegain I get keeps me alive till they stall out and I can take over. I think the card most likely to get removed in the mainboard is Depose / Deploy . But even that has been good, creating instant speed blockers and gaining life.
Consecrate / Consume might not seem impressive, but instant speed graveyard hate, that's a cantrip, and triggers hero is really good. Not to mention the utility I get from it being a split card and extra removal to deal with large things like Carnage Tyrant , Lyra Dawnbringer , etc.
February 21, 2019 12:28 p.m.
SP3CTR3_chelts says... #5
Yeah i had not considered the carnage tyrant aspect. I was going to suggest depose/deploy originally but i thought it would be a lifesaver in aggressive match ups.
I'm not saying reduce the amount of kill spells as hostage taker is a kill spell i am just suggesting swap two kill spells with hostage takers. Maybe moment of craving (i know it is a great card to match in against aggro but you need the space)
February 22, 2019 3:08 a.m.
I dunno, maybe there just isn't room for it. Like I said, I've been having success with this deck as is. I just wanted to try and improve what tends to be a tougher matchup. I just think I may have to weaken other matchups too much in order to do so. I'm having trouble finding something to cut because everything in my sideboard I feel like comes in for more than one matchup so I feel like I'm hurting my self in multiple areas in order to improve in just one. Oh well, I'll keep pondering it.
February 22, 2019 3:30 a.m.
SP3CTR3_chelts says... #7
Well if you are going to FNM tonight keep detailed records of what you sideboard against which deck so you can find which cards are least useful in the SB.
Also useful thing that I forgot once and someone pointed out is that hostage taker can take artifacts as well as creatures. For dealing with an annoying chromatic lantern or primal amulet.
At the time this person pointed it out to me it was before rotation and I could have stolen their Heart of Kiran before it killed me
February 22, 2019 4:31 a.m.
I'm gonna test it out tonight in place of Cry of the Carnarium . That card is great when I see it in the aggro matchups, but I've also played plenty of games in those matchups and never seen it and was still able to win because of all the incidental lifegain. Out of everything that's probably the card that actually gets brought in the least. So we'l see how bad those aggro matchups get without it tonight. Thanks for your help.
February 22, 2019 6:13 p.m.
I'm gonna test it out tonight in place of Cry of the Carnarium . That card is great when I see it in the aggro matchups, but I've also played plenty of games in those matchups and never seen it and was still able to win because of all the incidental lifegain. Out of everything that's probably the card that actually gets brought in the least. So we'l see how bad those aggro matchups get without it tonight. Thanks for your help.
abenz419 says... #2
also I am 13-3 over the last 3 weeks and the store championship. So it's not like I"m disappointed or displease with the way my deck is positioned in my local meta. I'm just still trying to do what I can to learn and improve.
February 21, 2019 2:28 a.m.