My current build:

Esper Control

Creatures (3)
1 x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 x Linvala, the Preserver

Spells (32)
2 x Dead Weight
2 x Call the Bloodline
2 x Declaration in Stone
3 x Grasp of Darkness
4 x Murderous Compulsion
2 x Anguished Unmaking
2 x Oath of Jace
2 x Scatter to the Winds
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 x Languish
2 x Suppression Bonds
1 x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited
2 x Planar Outburst
3 x Pore Over the Pages
1 x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

Lands (25)
2 x Drowned Catacomb
2 x Glacial Fortress
2 x Isolated Chapel
2 x Prairie Stream
2 x Shambling Vent
2 x Sunken Hollow
4 x Island
4 x Plains
5 x Swamp


Also worth checking out in this thread: WeCoexist's Pretty Awesome Tempo Control Deck

Sure!

I'm not sure if the number of planeswalkers you have warrants a Call the Gatewatch. You might be better off with a more versatile draw/filter spell.
I'm not convinced that Suppression Bonds is worthwhile either. Bound by Moonsilver?
I would put in more Anguished Unmaking over Angelic Purge if you can support the colours.

My initial thinking is that Esper can support a draw-go style better than any other color combination, especially thanks to Anguished Unmaking. I'm still feeling my way around a lot of these new cards and it's possible that a tapout-style list like yours could work as well or better, but my inclination is still to get more instant-speed with it.

Either way though, I don't like Sinister Concoction here. Spending two cards to kill one creature is not where a control deck wants to be.

Also, you only have 13 instants and sorceries to take counters off of Thing In The Ice that won't also kill it, unless your Languish is triggering the transform. Fewer enchantments and skeletons, or switch Thing out for something else.

If you do keep the skeletons, I say go HAM with it and bring in more Madness, Reckless Scholar like you mentioned so you can fire off From Under the Floorboards EOT for a hilarious Empty the Pits impression. Switch out Scatter for Broken Concentration. Murderous Compulsion maybe? Am I going too far with this? Ok maybe that's a bridge too far, but I bet Westvale Abbey would appreciate having all those recurring skeletons around...

I haven't spent too much time looking at the list but if he's playing control, he'll need answers for Planeswalkers. Outside of burn and creature damage, Suppression Bonds is the next best answer.

As for Call of the Gatewatch - I think a control shell is where it should be. It just acts as tutor for (most likely) the decks win conditions. Having said that, I don't see Gideon in the list and since he's in white, should probably make the list.

Anquished unmaking should make the list.

It may be tough to incorporate but I really think Investigate/clues could be beneficial for playing control (which would allow you to play outside of blue for your draw). Especially Tamiyo's Journal which will become a fantastic tutor in the late game (control has got the time to take advantage of this card). I've been monkeying with an Abzan control deck with a very similar list but a clue sub-theme.



elk

Bahahhahaha Barney 1 DJ 0 (I will have my revenge!)

Hey DJ!

I haven't really tested esper control yet this season, but this is a rough idea i threw together for what it might look like if I did. I've been really impressed with Catalog + Just the Wind, but i'm not too sure if you want it in this list.

Creature(9):
2 x Thing in the Ice
1 x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
3 x Reflector Mage
1 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 x Archangel Avacyn
1 x Linvala, the Preserver

Instant(16):
2 x Telling Time
2 x Horribly Awry
4 x Just the Wind
2 x Scatter to the Winds
4 x Catalog
2 x Anguished Unmaking

Sorcery(6):
2 x Declaration in Stone
2 x Languish
2 x Planar Outburst

Planeswalker(4):
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 x Sorin, Grim Nemesis


Some cards I'm still considering(If the Catalog & JtW are cut):

Angelic Purge
Call the Gatewatch
Reprisal
Suppression Bonds
Celestial Flare
Oath of Gideon
Tragic Arrogance
Broken Concentration
Pore Over the Pages
Confirm Suspicions
Grasp of Darkness
Dead Weight
Read the Bones

Couple quick notes... Anguished Unmaking was already in the deck, not sure where the mistake came from, but it's in the OP. Obviously, I agree that it belongs.

I prefer the other walkers to Gideon in a control build. So Call the Gatewatch is in instead, and I stand by that decision. He can't interact with the board. He's a finisher for aggro, midrange, even aggro control, no so good in control.

Sinister concoction gets me to my madness finisher card, and doesn't mind discarding Sanitrium Skeleton. It's also extremely cheap removal when you've got a card to discard, which is often. I'm pretty sold on it, but I get the concern.

I think the deck needs a suppression bonds, maybe two. It's very versatile, and that's a good thing, IMO - gets me to 4 ways to handle a PW in the deck + Sorin.

I'd like to fit in Reckless Scholar, but is that a good card in control at 2/1 (love the broken concentration match... Not feeling murderous compulsion though - I'm going to try it)? Should I even be worried about that? For that matter, is it a better fit than pore over the pages? Is Tamiyo's Journal better, or worse than pore, or scholar? (I kind of like the latter two, because they survive sweepers). (All of these are sooooooo expensive, or really slow).

Thing in the Ice can be cut, I agree. I'm removing it if I keep the discard/synergy sub theme.

Wecoexist: pore over the pages over catalog in control for certain. Costs the same net, draws an extra card. Still discards. Some other things in there I definitely need to consider for my next attempt.

I don't know how I feel reflector Mage in a control shell. I love that card in aggro or aggro control. Feels a bit pointless in control, I'd rather just remove the threat. I could be wrong about that though.

Btw... We don't have Bound by Moonsilver in our pool @TPmanW

The shell i used for this version of esper is the Azorius Control deck that 3B's and I have already tested. Most of the replacements i put in for the cards you chose have been working fantastically, and maybe you should give them a shot. Catalog and Just the Wind have been a deadly combo, especially with the other counterspells and reflector mage.

Tested the deck a few games just now its 4-0 so far

Nice, will do!

So, I put in a bit more work, and I'm liking it more. No more cute synergies, just the best removal I can find, plenty of card draw, and a super strong late game. Not sure Kalitas is the best for this deck, but I'm not feeling Avacyn either. Also uncertain wether I want Gideon or call to grab any of the others - even though it's expensive.

Esper Control

Creatures (3)
1 x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 x Linvala, the Preserver

Spells (32)
4 x Dead Weight
2 x Declaration in Stone
3 x Grasp of Darkness
4 x Murderous Compulsion
2 x Anguished Unmaking
2 x Oath of Jace
2 x Scatter to the Winds
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 x Languish
2 x Suppression Bonds
1 x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited
2 x Planar Outburst
3 x Pore Over the Pages
1 x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

Lands (25)
2 x Drowned Catacomb
2 x Glacial Fortress
2 x Isolated Chapel
2 x Prairie Stream
2 x Shambling Vent
2 x Sunken Hollow
4 x Island
4 x Plains
5 x Swamp


Thoughts? Help?

I'm trying wecoexist's deck next. Hey buddy... Where's the mana base?
Update: 1) it's great... 2) it's tempo not control (might be better than Bant for this. I'm not sure why you put sweepers in this at all, run 4 more efficient creatures and this deck will be much better, IMO - probably 2 drops - edit: hmmm, not seeing much that would make sense.)
I like it a lot.

Sanitarium Skeleton + Siniter Concoction makes sense at first glance, until you realize that you are paying for the privilege of casting an instant speed non exiling Oblivion Strike. Yes you can split the costs, yes it's instant speed; but you are running 4 sanitarium skeleton in your deck to enable it. In a deck vs deck lineup, that's not very appealing . I like the idea of having a 1 mana doomblade threat permanent that also helps you cast your finisher, but you are giving up alot of equity for it in terms of deckbuilding.

@DJ: That list needs another angel Avacyn has been a HUGE factor in any control colour combo I've run using White. The flash/block (indestructible on said block too) then swing with Vigilance has been critical to a lot of won games. I don't even care about the flip side, but in your deck running Gideon and Kalitas, killing one of your tokens wouldn't be hard if you want the board wipe and better stats.

Also regarding WeCo's deck. He asked me to run it against him last night, and to quote him "That was extremely unfun to play against..." so I apologize to Kryder because I think I broke him by the time you recorded the video The big thing this all comes down to is what our META will end up being. There were times when I wished I was Jeskai instead, the early removal options being much more useful than the prospect of losing more life with Unmaking or Ob Nix. That's where I see aggro potentially gaining too much ground before sweepers in some cases (also the double black for Languish was a BIG ask for turn 4 since Black is the splash here). But against Walkers.dec and other Control decks, this will be better positioned. So to me, I would wait and see if more people run Walkers.dec as they unlock all the cards, as I think that deck could end up being this season's Ramp.

I'm going to give your list a try as well DJ, still not settled on an Esper list that doesn't feel like diluted Azorius, slower Abzan or shakier Jeskai. I think Kalitas maybe the key. I will also disagree somewhat on the Pore>Catalog argument. If you were running just the wind, then Catalog is 100% better than Pore. Early draw for answers is where I most often need it, not turn 5 when I could be dead. Pore has a place in my lists as a 1 or 2 of as it is a great card, but aggro makes it hard to drop Catalog. Also, I really don't like Unmaking too much for the same reason. During my first game with WeCo I could have killed myself to exile a critical card, but luckily I could win without it. It's welcome in a deck with more lifegain like W/B Lifedrain, but in an Esper shell it's a bit shaky

Also consider Ayli guys. A 2/3 Deathtouch makes a fine blocker and she has some upside too for sac'ing tokens for life if needed (or your fat Kalitas if he eats removal). I think DJ may be on the right route by considering more creature/token idea for Esper over the draw-go machine Jeskai is.

The 3 decktypes I see the most on the +30 ranks on steam are 4 color planeswalker . dec (Thanks Legend and Rn); Izzet Prowess ; and ramp.

So, any control deck should be tuned to handle atleast those well.

Some remarks:

_ Prowess makes you THINK jeskai's burn would be efficient, and that's very true, until they drop a Stormchaser mage. Even Ligthning axe has trouble killing this guy when they go off, and if you fail, you get smacked for a million.

This may imo be a mild argument in favor of esper/dimir type of specialized removal such as concoction/murderous Compulsion(with madness)/Dead Weight(just play it on their 1 power dude, and they have to voltron pretty hard to seriously pressure you)/Grasp of Darkness (even if it fails, you for most of the attack),Anguished Unmaking. Madness fueled or just hardcast just the wind deals very well with these voltron types; and can be ran in all those decks. Baiting them with a fiery impulse before attack step, to make em voltron up, then just the winding their voltron when they go for broke is very very very nasty, but a good izzet player will only play into this if he's pressured to do so.

_ Anguished unmaking is premium vs Planeswalk.dec. The deck is slow, and has lots of irrelevant cards (fixing, ramp) if you can keep permission / unmaking around for the walkers and remove the manlands, ANY version of blue based control should be favourite vs this archetype.

If that is true Rabble (still down here at Rank 14, trying too many of everyone's decks ) then Esper will be the better colour combo. Izzet is easily disrupted by Just the Wind (love, love, LOVE THIS CARD!), and Abzan Ramp seems like a weird choice to me but even my Jeskai build can pressure that enough to make it an issue. However, if walkers are the big-bad of the higher echelons of play, then absolutely Esper will be the way to go.

Like I said. Jeskai > Aggro. Esper > Late.

EDIT: Also regarding Izzet/Jeskai remark. This deck is 9/0 vs Izzet, and even in the vid where I fall behind I still win. It's a chicken/egg argument you have there with Lightning axe, because I'm not using it until they're done buffing it

Hmmm... You guys are still talking about the OP... Okay. That's cool. I'll update it tomorrow. The latest build doesn't have a lot of the cards you are discussing.

Regarding Avacyn, she's awesome, but this deck makes half of her awesomeness irrelevant. 4/4 flying vigilance is still great though.

At gobo, I'm over the sinister skeleton combo, but you are thinking about it completely wrong. You aren't paying that all at one time. You are paying it at will, at instant speed. I'm not certain it's bad at this point, but I'll cede it's not good for control. The total price matters, but you get a lot of it on layaway. B to have a permanent instant destroy on the board. B again to destroy the target. Then you pay B2 to get a discarded card back from the yard. You might never need to, but you can if you want to, anytime, at instant speed. You aren't paying BBB2, you are paying BB, and then using B2 on some turn it happens to be open.

Btw, exile deserves a premium, but mostly destroy is good enough. Instant may make up for the difference in some cases.

You don't even need the Red side (think I had it flip once because the opp wanted to kill my 2 Reflector Mages, still cost him the game). I'd say her unflipped side is far better than the other anyway since the vigilance is pretty important. Archangel Avacyn is just a card your opp will always have to consider and play around.

Most of my decks would just kill her if I were playing against this control deck. I'd be holding removal, Avacyn would just die. She'd usually do 4 damage max.

Come on, "dies to removal"...really?

Well hello there Kalitas, don't see Hexproof on you...neat!