You have Sanctum Gargoyle to get it back.. so who cares? Opponents removing them just slows you down.. it doesn't cripple you.
You have to be able to answer Baneslayer/Stormbreath. Those two cards can shut you down in a race.. especially Baneslayer.
The way I see it.. every creature in these decks is disposable except for Master of Etherium. He's the only one worth protecting.
Fair enough point. I still think it is worth it. Being able to make Glaze Fiend unblockable is really good.
I feel like something like this will do better trying to get that early tempo and finish out with an unblockable Fiend/Master hit for a ton than it does diluting itself with expensive removal.
I can most certainly see the point about Baneslayer/Stormbreath though, as they are a huge roadblock that can completely stifle the deck.
I feel like
Gods Willing is a better answer in that it helps you keep tempo early to help kill them before they can drop those problem cards, or otherwise allow you to finish out games with an unblockable swing for a ton should they manage to resolve them.
I DO feel like you are 100% correct though in that with the new cards (which have the potential to speed the deck up a ton) Esperzoa just serves to slow the deck down. Bouncing stuff over and over to trigger
Myrsmith or activate Glaze Fiend over and over could be nice, but doing so is pretty slow, especially if we are looking to get that early tempo. The deck is probably better served spending its mana on stuff that helps to win right away, rather than losing tempo by bouncing your own creatures every turn.
Which makes me wonder if dropping
Esperzoa to work in something like
Vapor Snag wouldn't be the correct move.