Looking for feedback on Epser Gifts
Deck Help forum
Posted on April 19, 2015, 9 p.m. by kbarnhart
Ive been tinkering with an Esper Gifts Ungiven deck and i'm just looking for a few people to look it over and see what they would change / keep.
I'm not sure if I should possibly run more manlands to fall back on if the Gifts Ungiven + Unburial Rites combo fails. And just try to run out the game as long as possible and just grind for wins. Not too sure if having ETB tapped lands will hinder my deck.
If anybody has any experience playing a similar style of deck, in your opinion should you be more on the side of draw/go classic control late-game or just try and get the combo and kill as fast as possible.
Any good general sideboard cards I should be looking for ? Any bad matchups / easy matchups I should know about?
I'm failry new to modern. Thank you !
Most list at least reach for singletons of Celestial Colonnade and Creeping Tar Pit. They're definitely worth the slots. I'd maybe get 2 of colonnade at most. That's as far as I'd go. At least test it out. I'm inclined to say one of each atm though. Also, gifts is meant to have the ability to adjust according to the matchup and whatever you have access to. For the most part, Lingering Souls + control package should give you a decent shot at stalling, but you'll need to be proactive to a degree. Since you'll be running quite a few non-playsets of cards, consistency is sometimes an issue. A bad sequence of cards is often enough to end games in modern control decks. Not to mention your only true source of advantage is souls + charm + gifts.
April 19, 2015 9:42 p.m.
I'm running 2 Colonnade for manland suite. I actually prefer to have Iona in the mainboard, and am running Sun Titan instead of Grave Titan, although Grave Titan looks good enough that I might run that in my list instead.
April 19, 2015 9:47 p.m.
Tasigur, the Golden Fang is also a viable option and one that may not need reanimation.
April 19, 2015 9:50 p.m.
I have considered running a Tasigur, but i'm not sure if he would be worth it in the deck as a 1 of. What would you take out for him ? And can I ask how often Iona is actually good mainboard? Most decks seem to be 2 - 3 colors and she seems like she wouldn't be as effective all the time.
April 19, 2015 9:53 p.m.
I've played against a good amount of Abzan with Iona maindeck, and while she doesn't always win the game immediately, she's still usually the best reanimation target. Elesh can do work, but she ends up being really vulnerable to Path to Exile, Liliana of the Veil, and Maelstrom Pulse. While Iona still gets hit by path, naming black usually shuts off enough of their spells that you can just win. Against decks like Splinter Twin, Scapeshift, and Titan Bloom it can generally shut off their combo (although I'd generally grab Elesh for Splinter Twin anyways), and against RDW you'll probably win as soon as she's on the board. I think it's a matter of personal preference but I've had a lot of success with her mainboard.
April 19, 2015 10:05 p.m.
slovakattack says... #10
I play four color gifts in paper, and it's my favorite deck. Let me look over your build, and see if I can offer some feedback =)
kbarnhart says... #2
...........Just realized I didnt even link the deck! Esper Gifts Ungiven
I'm an idiot. Lol.
April 19, 2015 9:32 p.m.