Yes, there are some opponents where you know they used task manager. I played a rank 38 guy playing Goblin Piker. Even in a RDW archetype, Piker is terrible.



Thanks! I was looking around for a place where people shared deck ideas for Duels and this was the first place I found. So many places to find real Magic decks, but Duels, not so much, lol.

This is that place, also welcome.

This is a nice looking deck if you ask me. I'll be playing around with it for sure.

Am I counting so ething wrong or is it 61 cards?

You counted right. Take out that extra Island. It's only supposed to be 25 land

Cogo + Gemini Esper Bestest classic control list Steam Results

2 x Dispel
2 x Felidar Cub
1 x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
2 x Alchemist's Vial
1 x Reprisal
2 x Celestial Flare
3 x Horribly Awry
3 x Telling Time
2 x Scatter to the Winds
3 x Spell Shrivel
3 x Artificer's Epiphany
1 x Read the Bones
2 x Thopter Spy Network
2 x Languish
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 x Disciple of the Ring
2 x Planar Outburst
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited
2 x Plains
2 x Island
2 x Swamp
2 x Shambling Vent
2 x Sunken Hollow
2 x Prairie Stream
2 x Drowned Catacomb
2 x Isolated Chapel
2 x Glacial Fortress
4 x Evolving Wilds
3 x Foundry of the Consuls
1 x Mortuary Mire


I'll be playing this list on steam whole week and update this post for each game I get in.


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I get that control likes draw, but I think you've gone overkill and are win con light.

And being Esper and not having Suppression Bonds or Angelic Edict is wrong. The former is very versatile and handles planeswalkers and the later is also very versatile and one of the few outs to Ulamog if resolved. I get that you're counter heavy but having access to the best removal in the game and not running it seems a little weird: this deck is going to force long games and Shrivel and Awry won't cut it all the time.

Also if you ever plan to take this deck into THG (which FYI if built right Esper is amazing in) then the removal heavy variant is preferable and works just as well in single player.

I'd make room for Sower and Ulamog: dead early, yes, but long game they're amazing.

I'm not saying I disagree with you. IMO you make valid points (mainly disagree with Ucastablemog and Vanilla5/8 for this approach). But this isn't my deck. I'm testing it to supply data. Thanks for the input though !

Unless I've overlooked something, doesn't that list only have the foundries and two vials to turn on the spy networks? That doesn't seem like enough. Personally, I haven't found spy network to be reliable with fewer than six artifact cards in the list, not including foundry.

This is my sentiment as well. Similar suspicion of the Epiphanies. But in the firtst 3 games RNGESUS apparently disagreed.

Actually there's so much draw in the deck that you are very likely to hit one of the 5 activators.
Regarding the deck being win-con light, I disagree - all planeswalker are wincon themselves.

The only issue I have is the fact that the deck has no answer for a Planewalker.
Suppression Bonds could help quite a bit there.

So, preliminary results :

Me and CGB has disagreements over our ultimate versions of the deck. I opt for 3x Island 2x Plains 1x Swamp, where as he went for 2 of each and cut an Evolving Wilds of which I run all 4. Also, he made the same changes I made by cutting 1x Read the Bones and Part the Waterveil for 2x 2-mana spells. He went with Alchemist's Vial where as I went with 2x Disperse.

I am very bold. I would cut the Vial's without fear because I know in every 20 cards I hit 1 Foundry and every 30 cards I hit 1 Network. Thopter Spy Network in this deck is not a play I wish to make on turn 4 but rather a lategame response to low card advantage and board presence because we focus so much in the early game on card quality...quantity is for my late game. Do I care if Thopter Spy Network is dead in my hand...not really because I see Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and Ob Nixilis Reignited as the 3rd and 4th Network, they achieve a similar function. 2x Disperse is a good answer to flipped planeswalkers, it can fog attacks if they go all out for our planeswalkers, it's extra tempo vs. aggro decks that can turn on our 5x counter spells and can bounce enchantments too.

Also, Goblin Rabblemaster, please take out those dotted lines between your spoilers, they will take up too much space.

Yeah, so rest assured I've played enough magic to understand that Network is not a T4 play in this deck (never say never though; I was very happy to get the cost out of the way vs tapped out redblue t4). I've discarded it without a second thought and have used it to its fullest as a wincon. I know it's just 10 games so far of me piloting this specific list, but please read the blurbs before commenting on nothing concrete besides the cosmetics. I udnerstand what we are doing with those cards and I never commented on network being a problem. I have, and if you scroll up, others have made valid points about the deck, however.

Either explain to us why the remarks that surfaced after a 10 run in my playground are irrelevant or give concrete feedback that lights a new angle because I really don't care about your boldness.
I would love to hear you explain to me how awesome Dispel is in this deck, for instance.

Anyway I enjoy the build and i'll play another 10 with it before the week is through. So far it has not met the 'meta' yet. Just 9 games vs non griffin contraptions and one RDW.

Trying Rabble's list out. I'll update these as I go.

GAME 1: RDW, baptism through fire. kept a 3 lander with Vial, Flare, Dispel and Telling Time. Vortex hits turn 1 followed by Abbott. Thopter engineer hits so i Flare the token. I play Gideon turn 4 as they did nothing turns 3-4. He Vortex's the knight, Vortex's Gideon and swings to kill him, plays Arsonist. I play vial and keep counter mana open. I play Disciple and try to tap his attackers, block something and it dies to Titan's Strength. I lose hope with 2 Horribly Awry, 1 Disepl and Reprisal in hand. Loss.

GAME 2: Abzan Ramp. Opening hand is 3 land, Vial, Flare, Horribly Awry, Scatter. Play vial turn 2, opponent plays Rogue's Passage and Visionary. I counter a GateVine with Awry as I suspect this is ramp and those won't serve me too well. Opponent gets stuck on 3 land so I counter a 2nd Visionary to keep them lower down on the ramp scale. Plays third visionary, top decks a pillgrimage which I (again) counter so they are kept on 3 mana. Plays offshoot, turn 7 still no land from them, I play Shambling Vent and Felidar Cub. They hit 4th land and try to Suppression Bond the Cub, I use an Awakened Scatter and target the Vent. Ok, this derp plays Moss and DOESNT target the awakened vent...right. I flip Jace, they play Bellower and fetch a Vine. Not even gonna finish the rest of this, Ulamog. Countered, but 'nuff said. Thoptor network sat in hand whole game due to no trigger. Loss.

GAME 3: Abzan Enchants. Opening hand is down to 6 (no lands) 3 lands, Network, Dispel, Ob Nix. Opponent sits on 3 mana for 6 turns, gets replaced by AI, play Ob Nix turn 5. They play From Beyond. I drop Foundry and Network with Ob Nix on 7. Long and short is this. AI doesn't know how to Landfall properly. Win (kinda?)

DECK EDIT: Removing the Dispels. They are relevant in Paper due to the cast-iron guarantee that your creature is getting Exiled/Burned/Destroyed after it resolves. That doesn't seem to happen so much in Duels, the spell may become more relevant when all we have to counter isn't Red burn or Green buffs. Put in 2 more Vials to try and push the Thoptor Network a bit better.

GAME 4: Selesnya Ramp. Didn't keep too much of a track of this one, he played 2 Vines and a Planar Outburst before I won. Something something clubbing seals.

1 x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
2 x Reprisal
2 x Gideon's Reproach
2 x Celestial Flare
3 x Telling Time

2 x Scatter to the Wind
3 x Spell Shrivel

2 x Suppression Bonds
4 x Inspiration
2 x Languish
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

1 x Disciple of the Ring
2 x Planar Outburst
2 x Tragic Arrogance
2 x Angelic Edict
1 x Ob Nixilus Reignited

1 x Part the Waterveil
1 x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

4 x Plains
4 x Island
2 x Swamp

2 x Shambling Vent
2 x Sunken Hollow
2 x Prairie Stream
2 x Drowned Catacomb
2 x Isolated Chapel
2 x Glacial Fortress
4 x Evolving Wilds

still debating between coastal discovery and inspiration

Here is an Esper draw-go control list sent to me by a reader named Dustin. I took it for a nine game spin and I'm writing about it.

3 x Felidar cub
1 x Solemn Offering
4 x Artificer's Epiphany
4 x Inspiration
1 x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
2 x Languish
2 x Planar Outburst
3 x Horribly Awry
2 x Scatter to the Winds
3 x Spell Shrivel
2 x Celestial Flare
3 x Complete Disregard
1 x Reprisal
1 x Disciple of the Ring
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 x Swamp
3 x Plains
3 x Island
1 x Mortuary Mire
3 x Foundry of the Consuls
2 x Shambling Vent
2 x Sunken Hollow
2 x Isolated Chapel
2 x Drowned Catacomb
2 x Glacial Fortress
2 x Prairie Stream
2 x Evolving Wilds

Three ways to win? I'm not counting Felidar Cub beatdown.

Edit: Four.. Planar Outburst land beatdown.

I played against a very similar list last night in my last video (round 3). Deck really doesn't do anything, I just waited it out and eventually had cast more threats than they had answers. If I wasn't recording, I might have just decked them.