Tbh I would be happy with just about any of the good/decent 1cmc filtering spells. Serum Visions, Preordain, Sleight of Hand.......just something.

If you get to counter something with Censor on T2, you're giving up the filtering, yes. But you're trading it for something better (removing a threat). Replacing TT with Censor is like saying "I'm willing to filter at a little worse rate for the opportunity to get a significantly better deal a good percentage of the time". That said, early game card filtering is so important that I'm willing to start with a 3/1 split in favor of Censor.

All this conversation and we had yet to mention T2 Fatal Push your 2-drop, Cycle Censor. You're basically casting 2 spells on turn 2 (your removal and your filtering), and that kind of card velocity is how you win a game of Magic.

Since you're largely holding back from reviewing in the "Let's All Review" things, are you as bullish on Drake Haven as I am? It's not an Esper Draw-Go deck card, but I think it will find a home in some competitive decks this season.

I agree, it's not a card for every deck. You need to build around it to a certain extent, and when you do that the card is incredible. Of course at this point you'll be trying to build around a Rare, and that has its own problems. What I ultimately think will make or break the card is if you'll be able to find redundancy for the effect somehwere else, or if said theoretical deck will be able to cycle enough cards to draw Haven often enough, because the power is certainly there.

I'm a big fan of the card, but I don't know if it will find a home.

Fair enough. It is a hard call to make honestly, being able to filter for colors or silverbullet answers early can make or break you, but I definitely get your point about functioning as an answer as well and the tempo/CA advantage that can potentially provide early on. I guess I could see going in favor of Censor though with the current meta, where there are a large amount of significant things being dropped on T2/T3 that demand answers.

So as a rough draft, I think this is the base I'll start testing when Amonkhet drops;

Creature(2)
1x Disciple of the Ring
1x Torrential Gearhulk

Instant(23)
3x Fatal Push
2x Blessed Alliance
3x Censor
1x Pull From Tomorrow
2x Grasp of Darkness
3x Spell Shrivel
2x Scatter to the Winds
2x Anguished Unmaking
3x Glimmer of Genius
2x Confirm Suspicions

Sorcery(2)
2x Languish

Split(1)
1x Commit // Memory

Enchantment(2)
2x Cast Out

Planeswalker(4)
1x Liliana, the Last Hope
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited

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

I really, really wanted to include Telling Time, but I just couldn't make room. I have a feeling I will make cuts for it somewhere after testing; it isn't the best card in the world, but filtering is huge. Depending on what the meta looks like I could see myself dropping Scatter to the Winds and adding in the last Grasp of Darkness and maybe a single Never // Return too.

That's a fair point, if we drop Scatter, surely the mana requirements gets easier? Nothing requires until turn 5 then. Do we really need them since they were mostly for lategame countering of threats like PWs that Cast Out now hits?

It could well be that I go:

-2 Scatter to the Wind
+1 Spell Shrivel
+1 Grasp of Darkness

However I'm wary that there are potentially a number of green based decks (Gruul and Simic specifically) that could go big and Spell Shrivel would be less appealing in that match up. I'm sure other people will want to try out all these fancy new control tools too and long games with no creatures would make these changes suck, regardless of if we have access to Cast Out. I think I'll stick with Scatter for the time being and see how things play out.

The new avatar works for me

Everything works on you Barney. You're easier done than said.

People are cutting Sorin now huh

My list is a draft but I had to cut something from the top end. New tools mean we're tight on space. No way I'm cutting Confirm or Gearhulk so it's a walker. Jace, Ob and Sorin are all competing for spots: testing will tell what I settle on.

I kinda agree on cutting Sorin. Most expensive walker, worst +1 and the -X is not as needed anymore with the better answers to walkers.

Worst +1??? I'd like to introduce you to Saheeli Rai...or Tezzeret....or Nahiri

None of these are run in Esper tho.

Oh... ok then Gideon's +1 is objectively worse

#nothingbutnet

Meh, Sorin is still a strong planeswalker. His +1 has potential to drain our opponents and his -X can allow us to gain life, which is relevant agaisnt aggro and ramp.

Personally I prefer Sorin over Jace.

Jace does a damn good job of filtering for us, but that is about all he does. His -2 gains more value now that we can run more cheap counterspells, but it still likely isn't hugely relevant. His ult doesn't do a great job of closing out games for us either.

Sorin may not filter nearly as well for us, but he still does the job decently while also providing direct damage to the face, more effective removal (read not bounce) that hits both creatures and PWs and gives us some more life gain, and his Ult can actually put someone on a clock, which Jace's doesn't.

While Sorin's -X doesn't seem as necessary anymore with Anguished Unmaking, Cast Out, and Never//Return all available to us, having Sorin around to answer PWs could mean being able to save those other more wide-reaching removal spells (like Cast Out and UA) for other non-creature/non-PW permanents that tend to be a thorn in our side (Tutelage, Visions, Dynavolt, etc). *shrug*

I don't think having that redundancy on PW removal is a bad thing, because all of them have functions outside of just being PW removal. Sorin does a lot more than just function as PW removal, same with Cast Out and UA. Never//Return is a little more narrow, but could still function as GY hate or a chump blocker in a pinch.

It's irrelevant, since Sorin should be should stay and Commit should go.

Not for nothing, but in the defining match of the Xbox King of the Hill, Sorin did 18 of my 20 damage dealt.

And killed a Disciple of the Ring for good measure.