The Meta
In the last cycle, a counter-heavy Esper Control was the best all-around deck, IMO. This go around, from what I've seen early on, most of the better decks are a variety of 3-color Superfriends: if they are creature heavy, they're called 'Tempo' and if they are removal heavy, 'Control' is the name. But, regardless, walker decks have gotten a bit faster which presents problems for the old Esper.

True Tempo decks have gotten a boost as well and Thalia, Heretic Cathar is Kill on Sight. Still, Esper had the edge last cycle and it feels this way here as well. Aggro hasn't gotten much and I've given this deck a bit of life gain, which makes a huge difference.

I haven't prioritized enchantment removal, so if a Sphinx's Tutelage or Fevered Visions drops, it can be problematic. On the other hand, if they don't get down early, they're probably not getting down.

Against Control, counters tend to rule the day and, although I'm only running 6, that is more than most these days, it seems.

Overall, in limited testing it's shown well.

Instants
3x Blessed Alliance
1x Compelling Deterrence
3x Telling Time
2x Anguished Unmaking
2x Broken Concentration
2x Scatter to the Winds
2x Confirm Suspicions

Sorceries
2x Declaration in Stone
2x Languish
2x Tragic Arrogance

Enchantments
2x Imprisoned in the Moon
1x Oath of Liliana

Creatures
1x Gisela, the Broken Blade
1x Archangel Avacyn
1x Linvala, the Preserver
1x Bruna, the Fading Light
1x Emeria Shepherd

Planeswalkers
1x Liliana, the Last Hope
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

Lands
3x Plains
5x Island
2x Swamp
2x Shambling Vent
2x Sunken Hollow
2x Prairie Stream
2x Drowned Catacomb
2x Isolated Chapel
2x Glacial Fortress
4x Evolving Wilds

Card Choices
The deck runs with 26 mana and needs all of it. There is more than thus the extra plains but I could see swapping it for a swamp with the hope of casting an early Languish.

Tragic Arrogance vs. Planar Outburst is the toughest call. Outburst is better for Aggro but Arrogance is more flexible, useful against enchantments, clues, walkers and Indestructible. But I flip flop between the two.

Imprison in the Moon was chosen over Murder, Grasp of Darkness and Collective Effort because of easier mana requirements plus it's usefulness against walkers and indestructible. While Imprison can lead to card disadvantage, that isn't a big issue against Aggro and the card can be protected against slower decks.

Telling Time vs. Take Inventory: this is a choice between a better early setup vs. the better late game card. Given that walkers and Confirm Suspicions can provide card advantage, as well as a touch of graveyard recursion, led me to choose early game. Plus, I'd rather cast as little at sorcery speed as possible.

Compelling Deterrence vs. Unsubstantiate is an easy call, IMO. People seem to love Unsubstantiate but I don't, at least not for Control. Deterrence is great bounce to protect my creatures and walkers and can give me another chance to counter that walker or enchantment I missed. Plus, I may even have a zombie out when I cast it! The biggest problem with Deterrence is that there is only 1, I'm desperately looking for cards to cut to add more.

All of the threats: this deck runs way more threats than I normally would put in a Control deck. In some ways, having 5 creatures is the worst place as opponents are generally holding a lot of removal. However, between Liliana, Bruna and Emeria, there is some recursion and Avacyn and Linvala can alter the tempo. Likewise, 5 walkers is a lot but it allows them to be thrown down as speed bumps when needed. As I better understand the meta, the deck will be tuned more.

I'm curious to hear feedback.

This looks very good. The only possible weakness may be vs some very fast agro. You have the tools to keep them at bay, my only concern would be do you have enough? I think you may, but I would have to see in action.

As far as Tragic vs Planar, I think you may want Planar. I love Tragic and how versatile it is, but I see two possible issues with it. First, the afore mentioned agro. You may need to wipe them all, but depends how the deck plays. Second, you may have more then one Walker/enchantment out, and you would be hurting yourself just as much. Of course, if you have more then one walker out, you probably don't need tragic. I can see your dilemma

Looks very potent. Let us know how it does.

To add on to what Winter said. I'd probably go with Oath of Jace over Lilana's Oath. Getting 2/2s is nice, but you have board wipes anyway. You could use them as blockers though; I just preference the Scry effects.

Looks Good. Is pretty close to what I'm running actually, but like others have said hellbent aggro might be a problem. I would definitely choose planar outburst or arrogance though. I do see you not having a second blue to keep counter up on turn 3 quite a bit as well which will hurt.

Thanks for the feedback.

Regarding Aggro, personally, I'm not seeing a lot so it's difficult to judge. The deck is still a WIP. In SOI, I played a similar deck with just 4 threats and the rest was removal and counters and that worked well against Aggro. It also had enough counters to deal well with Superfriends. In EMN, I'm seeing Esper and Abzan Control that throw out walkers quickly and use a copious amount of removal to protect them.

Consequently, I added some recursive threats as well as more ways to deal with walkers on the board, although it comes at the price of less defense against Aggro. I'm seeing more Control and, if I must lose sometimes, I'd much rather do so quickly.

I definitely flip flop between Planar and Tragic and am testing the deck with both.



The thing I like about the Oath of Liliana is that it removes anything. While it might hit something I don't really care about, it at least helps Blessed Alliance hit something I do care about. The 2/2s also help me throw down walkers aggressively against Aggro. But I'll try your suggestion and take Jace's Oath out for a spin -- getting to a sweeper sooner might be a fair trade off. Thanks.



Mana color distribution is definitely sketchy early and the lack of Spell Shrivel exacerbates the situation. If I don't have a sweeper, I try and bluff one by showing or ASAP. Still, this deck has definitely made some sacrifices against Aggro -- if I see it as a bigger part of the meta, I may have to adjust. Thanks for the thoughts.

I'd like to hear how it's going if for people playing this deck or a similar one.

I feel you run a little too many threats and tapping out for those is somewhat risky.
-- Gisela, Bruna, Shepherd.
As a control deck, you want to lock down board completely, create card advantage with walkers and lead to win.
You don't need these beat down creatures which can be dealt with by a simple fleshbag maurauder or an opponent blessed alliance. Same as declaration in stone. You have blessed alliance, imprisoned in the moon, unmaking etc. Why give opponent a card just to deal with a creature? Heck, I would just change them to a few reflector mage... which makes life a lot easier dealing against aggro.

For all the people who like their control deck being draw-go:

Creatures (0)

Planeswalkers (5):
1 x Liliana, the Last Hope

1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

1 x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited

1 x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

Other spells (29):
3 x Blessed Alliance
3 x Telling Time
3 x Grasp of Darkness

2 x Scatter to the Winds
3 x Broken Concentration
3 x Spell Shrivel
2 x Imprisoned in the Moon
2 x Anguished Unmaking

2 x Comparative Analysis
2 x Languish

2 x Planar Outburst
2 x Confirm Suspicions

Lands (26):
2 x Plains
5 x Island
3 x Swamp
2 x Shambling Vent
2 x Praerie Stream
2 x Sunken Hollow
2 x Glacial Fortress
2 x Isolated Chapel
2 x Drowned Catacomb
4 x Evolving Wilds


Basically the old SOI list tweaked with the new SOI cards/a different manabase to support early Grasp of Darkness.

I'm working on a Esper build that is squeezing in a copy of Biting Rain and having good results. That 5th sweeper is important.

I'll be curious to see your build. For W Humans, Biting Rain would seem to work well.



Yeah, I was hoping a bit of recursion would make it worthwhile but the deck as I designed it is simply too inconsistent. I'm moving back to a creature-less build to make removal a dead draw for my opponents.



@Modulo: that's where I'm heading, too, back to the SOI Esper with a few changes. My current iteration is similar to yours. I do like Wasteland Strangler as removal, though. I have enough exile that it's almost always a 2-for-1 and it can aid with tempo as well.

Instants
3x Blessed Alliance
3x Telling Time
2x Anguished Unmaking
3x Broken Concentration
2x Scatter to the Winds
1x Bone to Ash
2x Confirm Suspicions

Sorceries
2x Declaration in Stone
2x Languish
2x Planar Outburst

Enchantments
2x Imprisoned in the Moon

Creatures
2x Wasteland Strangler

Planeswalkers
1x Liliana, the Last Hope
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

Lands
3x Plains
5x Island
2x Swamp
2x Shambling Vent
2x Sunken Hollow
2x Prairie Stream
2x Drowned Catacomb
2x Isolated Chapel
2x Glacial Fortress
4x Evolving Wilds

I like these last two versions much better. Not sure about Wasteland Strangler as removal as they are too conditional. Modulo's version is pretty much the ideal list in my mind. I'd change Imprisoned in the Moon to compelling deterrence to deal with possible enchantment. I think you've got enough counter spells to counter whatever you've bounce back. Imprison can't deal with enchantment(i was thinking about turn 3-4 from beyond and this deck could be tapping mana for manland blocker the whole time...)

I'd probably also take out 1 grasp for Avacyn. Just too good to pass as a flash creature who doesn't require you to tap out to cast in your turn.

How are you guys liking lily in the creatureless builds? I'm having mixed feelings about her. She's absolutely great early, and is a functional win-con but I find she's a pretty weak topdeck since you can't use her -2, and the +1 doesn't have the biggest impact later.

I don't really like Lili in creatureless Esper, but she's at least a sorta win con. Nothing I'd get too excited about.

What are people's thoughts on Horribly Awry? With Bant exploding, it's certainly coming back around for me. It's much easier to cast than Grasp and it deals with alot of the same threats.

@divinevert:
The main problem with Awry I think is that, while it is removal, it has to be cast at a certain timeframe (in this case, when the creature is summoned). Its problem is similar to Gideon's Reproach - it's easier on the mana, but you have to commit to doing it early; without having knowledge about what the opposing turn is like. (In Reproach's case you have to use it during combat, in Awry's case you have to use it on cast). Say it's a bit later in the game you left up 3 mana, your opponent casts a small creature but leaves up a lot of mana. Do you counter the small creature or do you hold the mana for the Walker that could come down afterwards? Grasp only needs a U/B dual to get around these kind of situations.

If you want Awry, I think you'd have to cut other things than Grasp.


@Lili: Running her in a creatureless build like this is more of a metagame call as she beats Westvale Abbey 1v1 and can get some more problematic creatures into range for Languish/Grasp (or outright kill some aggro creatures). Really, she just wants to +1 till ultimate; which puts up a faster clock than Abbey.
I guess you could run a Westvale Abbey over her, but I believe I like her better as a wincon. It is definitely up to debate though as I can definitely see Abbey having some upside over her.

Lili is much easier to deal with than Abbey and Immortal is saying Abbey hurts other creatureless decks, which it absolutely does. Much moreso than Lili, which can be countered or removed. In a staring contest, Abbey is a backbreaker.

And I think I'm adding Murder for my creature removal and moving Awry into my 2-drop slot. Which means it might push out Unsubstantiate, just because creature decks are more popular currently.

I don't even run Unsubstantiate. I think it's a marginally better bounce spell; but Esper doesn't really want too many of those (you can maybe justify one or two, but definitely not all three)

Abbey is definitely a good card and can push Lili out of the deck again depending on the meta. However, I currently see many creature-based decks against which Lili is better. I'm definitely not averse to adding a 27th land that also provides a win-con vs. control, though.

Would you mind posting your list? I'd like to see where you're at.

Following with interest, haven't done much draw-go yet.

What do you people think about the following cards in draw-go :

_ Linvala, The preserver: Finisher. 2 bodies massive lifegain, 3 turn clock if not removed, acceptable returns (token + 5 life + opponent discards removal spell) otherwise. Can be recurred with Liliana, the Last Hope and Bruna, the Fading Light.

_ Disciple of the Ring: Opponent cannot cast noncreature spells. Now better than ever, since her issue was sometimes being forced to play her when you have little mana up, but now can be recurred with Liliana, the Last Hope and Bruna, the Fading Light

_ Archangel Avacyn : Planeswalker removal on a stick , Serra Angel extraordinaire. Can be recurred with Liliana, the Last Hope and Bruna, the Fading Light

_ Bruna, the Fading Light: Serra Angel on steroids with value

_ Jace, Vryn's Prodigy : 2 mana wincon, gets removed, then recurred with Liliana, the Last Hope and Bruna, the Fading Light

_ Wharf Infiltrator : 2 mana repeatable card filtering.

_ Liliana, the Last Hope: 3 mana wincon, recurs all of the above.

_ Scour the Laboratory : Even when running only a handful of creatures, and a tiny bit of looting, becomes a 4 mana draw 3 to fight flood. Esper lacks good manasinks and doesnt have solid manabase to include Geier Reach Sanitarium/ Westvale Abbey imho; this spell and confirm suspicions are good solutions.



This is a package I would test at least, but unsure if there is enough room.

I hadn't done any Draw-go control until I tried divinevert's and HenWen's lists; so take my opinions here with a grain of salt.

I have run Jace and Avacyn in draw-go control; and I am currently running Lili. All of them are definitely playable and help the deck.

Linvala and Bruna are bombs for high mana costs; the problem here is that you'll have to wait for a VERY long time to be able to cast them with counter backup. Esper can only afford so few of these cards; and generally these cards are the hard-to-interact-with Planeswalkers.
Disciple is in a similar spot, but fits the deck better as he can protect itself for a bit cheaper at times.

Wharf Infiltrator is not great here. I doubt I'd play Looter il-Kor in a shell like this, as it is a removal magnet; and Infiltrator is a worse Looter in creature-light shells. I like the card, but I don't think it fits the strategy.

Scour the Laboratory is mainly a late-game draw spell; which is something Draw-Go wants. The problem is that Draw-Go generally has that issue covered with Confirm Suspicions; and you won't cast it for four reliably on turn 6-7, which is why I still prefer Comparative Analysis. It might be playable, but you don't want more than 1.

Yes I wouldn't run it over Confirm Suspicions. 1 feels good though.

Linvala/bruna do feel like the worst of the big mana spells, noted.

Pitty Looter il-kor does not make the cut. I really value card early filtering in this type of deck. Telling time is so bad to do this job alone. Maybe Oath of Jace ? 3 mana is a big deal though

Thanks for the feedback, keep up the good work

@Modulo, seems we ended up at a very similar list, this is as fine tuned as I can get it hitting rank 40 steam last night with a 80% win percentage. Disciple of the ring has been very impressive for me, hard for the opponent to kill, tapping down their creatures and man lands from attacking me and even catching some people out when untapping as they swing. The single copy of Westvale Abbey as been very important in the control matchups(esper is pretty popular in the 30+ ranks) being able to pump out tokens to put pressure on them or their planeswalkers has saved me many times. Take Inventory is a card I have tried but got cut for telling time mostly because I usually only saw 2 copies most games but I also don't want to exile it to jace/disciple, Scour the Laboratory is another one that never seemed worth it, I never had delirium online when I casted it so it got cut. It's also worth noting that both my 2 creatures can be recurred with Liliana, the Last Hope.

Creature(2)
1 x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 x Disciple of the Ring

Instant(21)
3 x Blessed Alliance
3 x Telling Time
3 x Grasp of Darkness
2 x Scatter to the Winds
3 x Spell Shrivel
2 x Anguished Unmaking
3 x Comparative Analysis
2 x Confirm Suspicions

Sorcery(4)
2 x Languish
2 x Planar Outburst

Enchantment(2)
2 x Imprisoned in the Moon

Planeswalker(5)
1 x Liliana, the Last Hope
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

Land(26)
2 x Plains
2 x Shambling Vent
2 x Prairie Stream
4 x Island
2 x Sunken Hollow
3 x Swamp
2 x Glacial Fortress
2 x Isolated Chapel
2 x Drowned Catacomb
1 x Westvale Abbey
4 x Evolving Wilds

Thanks TainteD for the list; definitely brings up some ideas.
Our lists are very similar indeed; compared to mine you took out 3 Broken Concentration for another Comparative Analysis and two threats in baby Jace and Disciple; and a 1-of Abbey over the fifth Island.

I'm not sure how I like that; as I found having a counter up t3 being very important to this deck.
I have run three Comparative Analysis in this kind of shell before; it feels like it's a tad too much draw. I'd definitely want to replace it with another counter.
That would give us six 3-mana-counters to work with. I think 2 Scatter, 2 Broken, 2 Shrivel is the way we want to go in this case; the hard-counter Concentration is just so much better late than Shrivel; even if Shrivel is better early due to mana requirements.

Abbey over fifth Island is something to think about - makes the mana a more shaky, but gives us more inevitability.

Disciple and baby Jace are win-cons; both are amazing but can be tough to fit at times.
I believe the Liliana synergy with them is pretty limited; Jace is not great later in the game and Disciple ideally never hits the bin; also Lili can't get them back if the opponent used exile removal. Both of them might be better than Liliana though; especially since you're running an Abbey (which pretty much fills Lili's niche).


Think I'll try my list with -1 Liliana, -1 Island, +1 Westvale Abbey, +1 Disciple later today; if Disciple ends up not working out too great I'll swap her with Jace.