Interesting that we're not seeing Aetherling in these decks, though I suppose the lower cost of Obzedat, Ghost Council is a deciding factor there. Obzedat seems better against aggro but worse against control.
Interesting that we're not seeing Aetherling in these decks, though I suppose the lower cost of Obzedat, Ghost Council is a deciding factor there. Obzedat seems better against aggro but worse against control.
I think one of the reasons for the lack of Aetherling, at least mainboard, is the fact that esper usually is a drownyard deck. Aetherling gives them an actual block if they want to go that route, as does obzedat.
But it comes down to it all most esper decks win via drownyard.
Yeah I seen this demotion coming. Esper players need to get off the Drownyard and 'Walkers plan and actually start playing Aetherling. As I said in the last thread, the format is not friendly the mill strategy or planewalkers at the moment. The deck needs to take a page out of U/W/r strategy and win via damage.
One guy said that red removal is better than ours -absolutely not. How? They have pillar which is great against a few specific cards, but awful against anything with 3-toughness. The only reason I'm considering the deck is that between Agony Warp, Tragic Slip, Devour Flesh, and Far and AwayCurse of Death's holdIllness in the Ranks, black's removal is much better positioned.
Well, red has Turn // Burn, Mizzium Mortars and Warleader's Helix. I think those are all well-positioned, and along with Pillar they can take out nearly everything in the format.
Warped Physique is pretty good in my experience playing against it, though I'm not sure how consistent it is. Far // Away can be good value. I don't think Illness in the Ranks is a Standard-playable card at all, though.
I run more removal than any Esper deck I have ever seen and I still rarely feel in the drivers seat unless I am playing against aggro (I count Naya Midrange as aggro lol) or Jund. On a LGS level, I top 4 every week, and usually place 1st, but that doesnt make the deck good on a GP, Invitational, SCG Open, or TCGPlayer 5k level. Ultimately, that is the only place where Competitive forum discussion matters.
I wanted to reply to the last post in the other thread.
At my LGS there is a lot of higher level players than I think at most typical stores. I constantly see people like Jonathan Medina, Adam Prosak, and Lauren Nolan (Southwest Ohio.) We had 30ish people at our Tuesday tournament, and a lot of them practice for Vegas and what not.
Planeswalkers helped me out so much last night, I was suprised. HOWEVER, Jace. Memory Adept needs to go - he can be nice for the mill, but that's not why you play Esper. That's a secondary strategy just using Drownyards. Put one-two of him in the Sideboard if you like.
Also the Grand Prix 2013 Guadalajara deck is only 58 cards. It's missing 2 Far // Away from Maindeck.
Well, red has Turn // Burn, Mizzium Mortars and Warleader's Helix. I think those are all well-positioned, and along with Pillar they can take out nearly everything in the format.
Warped Physique is pretty good in my experience playing against it, though I'm not sure how consistent it is. Far // Away can be good value. I don't think Illness in the Ranks is a Standard-playable card at all, though.
Illness is very narrow, probably not worthwhile, but it's worth mentioning considering it has very strong applications against Sorin, Lingering souls, other half of Voice post wrath, Doomed Traveler... Cards that tend to bug us. In other words it's pretty good against the deck that just won SCG Baltimore. Not sure I'd play it over Curse of Death's Hold but still.
EDIT: I never said red removal was bad, just not as good. Pillar is the only one I'd want to play out of those if I had the ability, other than maybe a miser helix.
Illness is very narrow, probably not worthwhile, but it's worth mentioning considering its very strong applications against Sorin, Lingering souls, other half of Voice post wrath, Doomed Traveler... Cards that tend to bug us. In other words it's pretty good against the deck that just won SCG Baltimore. Not sure I'd play it over Curse of Death's Hold but still.
I agree. Illness is good, but Curse of Death's Hold is more useful vs more matchups.
It is slower, but if you can survive it's worth it. I was playtesting last night vs an Act 2 Aristocrat deck and once I dropped Curse of Death's Hold, and Evil Twin'd his Reckoner he just scooped. It makes Aristocrats: Act 2 so easy to win agains, on top of some of the token decks running around.
Drownyards aren't bad, but Planeswalkers are the only thing keeping Esper Relevant as of these past 2 months or so , so not playing with them would be ill advised.
Blood Baron,Obzedat and Aetherling are all amazing as well.
Any mixture of those 2 creatures main with 1 of them side and 3-5 planeswalkers seems like a perfect fit for the deck.
Drownyards aren't bad, but Planeswalkers are the only thing keeping Esper Relevant as of these past 2 months or so , so not playing with them would be ill advised.
Blood Baron,Obzedat and Aetherling are all amazing as well.
Any mixture of those 2 creatures main with 1 of them side and 3-5 planeswalkers seems like a perfect fit for the deck.
I'm currently using only Obzedat, as not many people have an answer for him atm. I don't really like Blood Baron in the deck, but may consider Sideboarding Aetherling. I like how Obzedat just blinks in and doesnt have to swing to make him relevant, unlike Aetherling (although Aetherling can block.) I just am holding a grudge vs Aetherling because I don't like how much mana he requires to use everytime.
I'm currently using only Obzedat, as not many people have an answer for him atm. I don't really like Blood Baron in the deck, but may consider Sideboarding Aetherling. I like how Obzedat just blinks in and doesnt have to swing to make him relevant, unlike Aetherling (although Aetherling can block.) I just am holding a grudge vs Aetherling because I don't like how much mana he requires to use everytime.
I also run 7 Planewalkers, though.
Yeah more planeswalkers, less legendaries, but Blood Baron is going to be really good post innistard, right now he is kind of ehhhh.
But yeah Obzedat is nice in that once he is in, he is in. Aetherling requires some multi managing, but Aetherling is probably better in the mirror than obzedat. Obzedat probably better against midrange though, but Blood Baron is probably better than both in Midrange and Aggro.
I'm currently using only Obzedat, as not many people have an answer for him atm. I don't really like Blood Baron in the deck, but may consider Sideboarding Aetherling. I like how Obzedat just blinks in and doesnt have to swing to make him relevant, unlike Aetherling (although Aetherling can block.) I just am holding a grudge vs Aetherling because I don't like how much mana he requires to use everytime.
I also run 7 Planewalkers, though.
Depending on how many sweepers you run (I run 4 Verdict and 3 Terminus) Ætherling would be the better creature. It dodges all removal, can step out of the game while you wipe the board, and do large amounts of damage each turn.
Yeah more planeswalkers, less legendaries, but Blood Baron is going to be really good post innistard, right now he is kind of ehhhh.
But yeah Obzedat is nice in that once he is in, he is in. Aetherling requires some multi managing, but Aetherling is probably better in the mirror than obzedat. Obzedat probably better against midrange though, but Blood Baron is probably better than both in Midrange and Aggro.
The only reason I'm not a fan of Aetherling, is lets say I have 10 mana, and I'm still alive. Played Aetherling last turn, so I have to use 1 to make him unblockable, 4 to pump him, and 1 to blink him to make him a blocker. I have 4 mana left to defend myself against something, and if they had any type of instant burn spell or somehing then I just lost 6 mana for nothing. I gained nothing, and they lost 1 spell (Searing Spear, Burn, Etc.) some people will unpump him and still get in the damage. So if you pump to 8/1, then spear - you unpump him to 5/4, but thats 3 more mana. So now you have 1 mana to keep him safe.
I just feel like he requires SO much effort to get a win. Sometimes you can pump him to 8/1 all day and kill them in two turns (they shocked themselves, or whatever.) Other times you don't get damage in for 3 turns and are constantly using mana. I just prefer casting Obzedat, letting him do his thing, and working on another win strategy while he does the +2/-2 and swings (or blocks.)
I also really want to play Blood Baron, but I feel like if I drop something, I'm going to put in another Obzedat because he's treated me so well and I'm only running 1 of him atm.
Depending on how many sweepers you run (I run 4 Verdict and 3 Terminus) Ætherling would be the better creature. It dodges all removal, can step out of the game while you wipe the board, and do large amounts of damage each turn.
I run 4 veridcts maindeck, and 2 terminus in sideboard. I use 2 Sorin, 2 Liliana, 2 Jace AoT, and 1 Tamiyo. I have 0 Memory Adepts in MD/SB. I may put 1-2 in Sideboard - but highly doubt it.
The only reason I'm not a fan of Aetherling, is lets say I have 10 mana, and I'm still alive. Played Aetherling last turn, so I have to use 1 to make him unblockable, 4 to pump him, and 1 to blink him to make him a blocker. I have 4 mana left to defend myself against something, and if they had any type of instant burn spell or somehing then I just lost 6 mana for nothing. I gained nothing, and they lost 1 spell (Searing Spear, Burn, Etc.) some people will unpump him and still get in the damage. So if you pump to 8/1, then spear - you unpump him to 5/4, but thats 3 more mana. So now you have 1 mana to keep him safe.
I just feel like he requires SO much effort to get a win. Sometimes you can pump him to 8/1 all day and kill them in two turns (they shocked themselves, or whatever.) Other times you don't get damage in for 3 turns and are constantly using mana. I just prefer casting Obzedat, letting him do his thing, and working on another win strategy while he does the +2/-2 and swings (or blocks.)
I also really want to play Blood Baron, but I feel like if I drop something, I'm going to put in another Obzedat because he's treated me so well and I'm only running 1 of him atm.
I run 4 veridcts maindeck, and 2 terminus in sideboard. I use 2 Sorin, 2 Liliana, 2 Jace AoT, and 1 Tamiyo. I have 0 Memory Adepts in MD/SB. I may put 1-2 in Sideboard - but highly doubt it.
Well that's why you need to realize as a control deck, you don't have to pump aetherling. Look at their clock (their life) if you can cut down a 3 turn clock to a 2 turn clock, maybe it's worth it, but then also look at your clock. Then take into account what cards are in your hand. You need to look at Aetherling as a Drownyard that can kill in 2 turns or 5 turns or 10 turns, but at the end of the day it's quicker than Drownyard and more reliable.
I am currently playing UWR Control ,there will be games where I resolve Aetherling and don't even swing with him for a few turns and win the game 5 turns later.
Getting an Aetherling into play,with mana open, is a game win in itself. You just got to continue putting together the pieces sometimes, other times you just swing twice.
Expecting Aetherling to be an omg insta scoop card is the same thing as expecting to always have 3 counterspells,5 lands and a Supreme Verdict in your opening 10 cards, it's not likely, but when it happens it does and when it doesn't we adjust.
I would also like to point yes, Obzedat is always at least a 10 turn clock, but he can't choose to push in 8 damage when he wants to, Aetherling can. Aetherling can also choose when to block, Obzedat can't efficiently do that either. While I am not saying Obzedat is bad, I play him myself, to look at both Obzedat and Aetherling as cards that have to win you the game in 3 turns, is a bad way to evaluate them. Neither is more consistent or less Consistent. They both do the same thing but differently. One protects your lifetotal while threatening your opponent's at any time, one slightly bolsters your life total and decreases your opponents over time.
Well that's why you need to realize as a control deck, you don't have to pump aetherling. Look at their clock (their life) if you can cut down a 3 turn clock to a 2 turn clock, maybe it's worth it, but then also look at your clock. Then take into account what cards are in your hand. You need to look at Aetherling as a Drownyard that can kill in 2 turns or 5 turns or 10 turns, but at the end of the day it's quicker than Drownyard and more reliable.
I am currently playing UWR Control ,there will be games where I resolve Aetherling and don't even swing with him for a few turns and win the game 5 turns later.
Getting an Aetherling into play,with mana open, is a game win in itself. You just got to continue putting together the pieces sometimes, other times you just swing twice.
Expecting Aetherling to be an omg insta scoop card is the same thing as expecting to always have 3 counterspells,5 lands and a Supreme Verdict in your opening 10 cards, it's not likely, but when it happens it does and when it doesn't we adjust.
I would also like to point yes, Obzedat is always at least a 10 turn clock, but he can't choose to push in 8 damage when he wants to, Aetherling can. Aetherling can also choose when to block, Obzedat can't efficiently do that either. While I am not saying Obzedat is bad, I play him myself, to look at both Obzedat and Aetherling as cards that have to win you the game in 3 turns, is a bad way to evaluate them. Neither is more consistent or less Consistent. They both do the same thing but differently. One protects your lifetotal while threatening your opponent's at any time, one slightly bolsters your life total and decreases your opponents over time.
I might try taking out my one Snapcaster and running an Aetherling in it's spot for a bit. Like I said, I think it's an amazing card and I'm a huge fan of it. I just don't like how fast the meta is for him at the moment - and I hate almost tapping out to use one card. I'm actually picking up a ton of Aetherlings because I think they'll be amazing soon, esp post rotation. But I just don't like using him right now.
Quite honestly, there's no reason to NOT use aetherling as a 1-of right now. Sure, he's a little expensive, but once he comes out he will win the game from all but the most dire situations. No, you don't have to spend 6 mana per turn to pump/unblockable/flicker him. Just swing for 5, maybe unblockable if needed, and flicker him. He's back on the next turn ready to block just about anything, including thragtusk +x kessig if you have the mana to pump his toughness. He dodges all your own wipes, too.
the problem with aetherling is the mana sink... drownyard is very much control friendly since you only tap out eot when you know they cant play more threats... but with aetherling you must tap on your turn to pump/umblockable/blink, so you get in a bad position in case you need to double counter/ double kill spell or simply to pull a big revelation to stay alive.
I still play 1 main deck just in case i am unable to mill (i need a faster clock) and in case i need to go around hate like witchbane's orb.
One Snapcaster in that list makes hardly any sense when you have so many targets to hit.
I'd suggest against Debt to the Deathless as well. Games that you could win with that card are already within range of winning with something else. The slot's probably better reserved for something that deals with other problems.
Another Sphinx's Revelation perhaps? Running less than 3 in a heavy Esper Control deck just seems like suicide, especially when you have so few Snapcasters. If you don't continuously draw everything you need -- and probabilities mean there will be plenty of instances where you won't -- then I think you're just going to straight up die.
DttD works very wel for me so I let it in my list. More Snapcasters and another Sphinx would be good, I agree with you, I gues I cut one Bolas augur und the LR for 2 Snapcasters. The problem with a third Sphinx is that it sometimes ruins my start, because i dont want to see it early with 2 i normally draw one the right time and the second is not that far away after the first. If I add snapcasters I can reuse them and that seems more flexible to me, but i will try it at FNM with 3 Revelations.
You have to allow for some variance. Running 2 means there's a good chance you could go a game and not see a Revelation at all. I think you'd be better off with 2 Snapcasters and even as many as 4 Revelations; Revelation, after all, is your biggest tool in maintaining control. It's what lets you draw all the other cards that win you the game.
Personally, I'd tweak it so you had more instant speed removal/bounce to survive the early game. Things like Unsummon, Devour Flesh, stuff that costs very little mana which is always useful to have.
But everyone plays differently. I'd rather be dirty and find ways to make Reap Intellect work (Unsummon on AoS into a nice fat exile, yum yum) than DttD. Either way, let me know how it works out for you.
Here's a problem with my deck. Wincon is drownyard / sorin and souls, it's pretty slow. If the match is 1-1 and I'm clearly going to win the third round, I have to do so in a timely manner or else the clock will run out and it'll be a draw.
If this list is going to fight it's way back to being relevant again, it has to run aetherling, possibly obzedat and possibly walkers. The "drownyard as wincon" isn't getting it done anymore. A shift in the deck's build is in order.
Something important to note is that Slaughter Games becomes much more relevant after this type of shift in the deckbuild. So having 1 or 2 wincons isnt going to be enough. If you are playing Jund and they see Aetherling in Game 1, they are going to rip that out of your deck if they draw SG in game 2 before you can drop Aetherling.
I think maybe a collaborative effort is in order. Aside from Drownyard, what are some possible wincons for us?
Aetherling
Obzedat
Jace, Memory Adept
Angel of Serenity?
I'm not running snapcasters as they don't do that much until turn 4-5. At that point, Blood Baron seems better in my meta as he gains life, is hard to remove, can kill multiple creatures, and can act as a pre-aetherling win condition. Baron can also profitaly block reckoner which is also a huge bonus. To top it all off, I don't have a dead card when I draw the second Baron. Obzedat gets killed when he sticks around and the chances of having the WWBB to cast him is less likely than Baron's WB.
For those saying mill is too slow, it still works well against midrange and against control. I've found that I'm using my Aetherling more as a thragtusk blocker (pumping toughness by one) instead of being aggressive vs jund as jund has nothing that deals with the mill and primarily relies on riding a few power creatures to victory. Thragtusk's lifegain adds lots to the dmg clock while they can play the tempo game by using their instant removal to force a blink when aetherling attacks.
If this list is going to fight it's way back to being relevant again, it has to run aetherling, possibly obzedat and possibly walkers. The "drownyard as wincon" isn't getting it done anymore. A shift in the deck's build is in order.
Something important to note is that Slaughter Games becomes much more relevant after this type of shift in the deckbuild. So having 1 or 2 wincons isnt going to be enough. If you are playing Jund and they see Aetherling in Game 1, they are going to rip that out of your deck if they draw SG in game 2 before you can drop Aetherling.
I think maybe a collaborative effort is in order. Aside from Drownyard, what are some possible wincons for us?
Aetherling
Obzedat
Jace, Memory Adept
Angel of Serenity?
what else?
There's also:
Tamiyo
Blood Baron
Runechanter's pike
entreat the angels
I should note that I don't like Angel of Serenity as a win condition because it relies on them having zero removal (and they always seem to have a dreadbore in hand for her).
Not that jund has a ton of lifegain but its enough for me to just spot removal/wipe and be aggressive with drownyard. When I get Aetherling out in front of jund ill determine if I can race with him.... More often then not he's a blocker. For mirror/jund I'm super aggressive with drownyard.
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BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
Wizards Certified Rules Advisor
3 Augur of Bolas
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Obzedat, Ghost Council
Planeswalkers (7)
2 Jace, Architect of Thought
2 Liliana of the Veil
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
Spells (22)
2 Detention Sphere
4 Azorius Charm
2 Dissipate
1 Far // Away
2 Forbidden Alchemy
2 Sphinx's Revelation
2 Warped Physique
3 Lingering Souls
4 Supreme Verdict
1 Island
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Godless Shrine
3 Hallowed Fountain
4 Isolated Chapel
3 Nephalia Drownyard
4 Watery Grave
1 Trading Post
2 Evil Twin
2 Sin Collector
2 Rest in Peace
2 Negate
1 Syncopate
1 Victim of Night
3 Appetite for Brains
1 Terminus
The previous week, this list finished in the top 16 of GP Guadalajara:
3 Augur of Bolas
2 Obzedat, Ghost Council
Planeswalkers (4)
2 Jace, Architect of Thought
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Spells (23)
2 Detention Sphere
4 Azorius Charm
2 Dissipate
2 Forbidden Alchemy
2 Sphinx's Revelation
3 Warped Physique
4 Lingering Souls
4 Supreme Verdict
1 Island
1 Plains
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Godless Shrine
4 Hallowed Fountain
3 Isolated Chapel
3 Nephalia Drownyard
3 Watery Grave
3 Evil Twin
2 Rest in Peace
2 Negate
2 Tragic Slip
2 Ultimate Price
2 Jace, Memory Adept
2 Appetite for Brains
Interesting that we're not seeing Aetherling in these decks, though I suppose the lower cost of Obzedat, Ghost Council is a deciding factor there. Obzedat seems better against aggro but worse against control.
I think one of the reasons for the lack of Aetherling, at least mainboard, is the fact that esper usually is a drownyard deck. Aetherling gives them an actual block if they want to go that route, as does obzedat.
But it comes down to it all most esper decks win via drownyard.
Standard:RWUJeskai WinsRWU
Modern:GWBMelira PodGWB
Legacy:WDeath & TaxesW
One guy said that red removal is better than ours -absolutely not. How? They have pillar which is great against a few specific cards, but awful against anything with 3-toughness. The only reason I'm considering the deck is that between Agony Warp, Tragic Slip, Devour Flesh, and Far and Away Curse of Death's hold Illness in the Ranks, black's removal is much better positioned.
My DCI ELO Ratings - May they rest in peace :'(
Warped Physique is pretty good in my experience playing against it, though I'm not sure how consistent it is. Far // Away can be good value. I don't think Illness in the Ranks is a Standard-playable card at all, though.
I wanted to reply to the last post in the other thread.
At my LGS there is a lot of higher level players than I think at most typical stores. I constantly see people like Jonathan Medina, Adam Prosak, and Lauren Nolan (Southwest Ohio.) We had 30ish people at our Tuesday tournament, and a lot of them practice for Vegas and what not.
Planeswalkers helped me out so much last night, I was suprised. HOWEVER, Jace. Memory Adept needs to go - he can be nice for the mill, but that's not why you play Esper. That's a secondary strategy just using Drownyards. Put one-two of him in the Sideboard if you like.
Also the Grand Prix 2013 Guadalajara deck is only 58 cards. It's missing 2 Far // Away from Maindeck.
Modern
UWGB 4c Snow Control BGWU
Illness is very narrow, probably not worthwhile, but it's worth mentioning considering it has very strong applications against Sorin, Lingering souls, other half of Voice post wrath, Doomed Traveler... Cards that tend to bug us. In other words it's pretty good against the deck that just won SCG Baltimore. Not sure I'd play it over Curse of Death's Hold but still.
EDIT: I never said red removal was bad, just not as good. Pillar is the only one I'd want to play out of those if I had the ability, other than maybe a miser helix.
My DCI ELO Ratings - May they rest in peace :'(
I agree. Illness is good, but Curse of Death's Hold is more useful vs more matchups.
It is slower, but if you can survive it's worth it. I was playtesting last night vs an Act 2 Aristocrat deck and once I dropped Curse of Death's Hold, and Evil Twin'd his Reckoner he just scooped. It makes Aristocrats: Act 2 so easy to win agains, on top of some of the token decks running around.
Modern
UWGB 4c Snow Control BGWU
Blood Baron,Obzedat and Aetherling are all amazing as well.
Any mixture of those 2 creatures main with 1 of them side and 3-5 planeswalkers seems like a perfect fit for the deck.
I'm currently using only Obzedat, as not many people have an answer for him atm. I don't really like Blood Baron in the deck, but may consider Sideboarding Aetherling. I like how Obzedat just blinks in and doesnt have to swing to make him relevant, unlike Aetherling (although Aetherling can block.) I just am holding a grudge vs Aetherling because I don't like how much mana he requires to use everytime.
I also run 7 Planewalkers, though.
Modern
UWGB 4c Snow Control BGWU
Yeah more planeswalkers, less legendaries, but Blood Baron is going to be really good post innistard, right now he is kind of ehhhh.
But yeah Obzedat is nice in that once he is in, he is in. Aetherling requires some multi managing, but Aetherling is probably better in the mirror than obzedat. Obzedat probably better against midrange though, but Blood Baron is probably better than both in Midrange and Aggro.
Depending on how many sweepers you run (I run 4 Verdict and 3 Terminus) Ætherling would be the better creature. It dodges all removal, can step out of the game while you wipe the board, and do large amounts of damage each turn.
7 planeswalkers seems like a lot, and I use 4. I liked Sorin but had to cut him for 3 Jace, Architect of Thought (who is under used btw), and 1 Jace, Memory Adept.
I just wish we had better spot removal.
currently playing:
Standard
UW Control
UWB Control
UB Control
MODERN
BRGJund
X Affinity
UWR Control
LEGACY
Dredge
R Burn
UWx Miracles
EDH
BRW Kaalia
______
Quotes:
My Magic Card nicknames.
The only reason I'm not a fan of Aetherling, is lets say I have 10 mana, and I'm still alive. Played Aetherling last turn, so I have to use 1 to make him unblockable, 4 to pump him, and 1 to blink him to make him a blocker. I have 4 mana left to defend myself against something, and if they had any type of instant burn spell or somehing then I just lost 6 mana for nothing. I gained nothing, and they lost 1 spell (Searing Spear, Burn, Etc.) some people will unpump him and still get in the damage. So if you pump to 8/1, then spear - you unpump him to 5/4, but thats 3 more mana. So now you have 1 mana to keep him safe.
I just feel like he requires SO much effort to get a win. Sometimes you can pump him to 8/1 all day and kill them in two turns (they shocked themselves, or whatever.) Other times you don't get damage in for 3 turns and are constantly using mana. I just prefer casting Obzedat, letting him do his thing, and working on another win strategy while he does the +2/-2 and swings (or blocks.)
I also really want to play Blood Baron, but I feel like if I drop something, I'm going to put in another Obzedat because he's treated me so well and I'm only running 1 of him atm.
I run 4 veridcts maindeck, and 2 terminus in sideboard. I use 2 Sorin, 2 Liliana, 2 Jace AoT, and 1 Tamiyo. I have 0 Memory Adepts in MD/SB. I may put 1-2 in Sideboard - but highly doubt it.
Modern
UWGB 4c Snow Control BGWU
Well that's why you need to realize as a control deck, you don't have to pump aetherling. Look at their clock (their life) if you can cut down a 3 turn clock to a 2 turn clock, maybe it's worth it, but then also look at your clock. Then take into account what cards are in your hand. You need to look at Aetherling as a Drownyard that can kill in 2 turns or 5 turns or 10 turns, but at the end of the day it's quicker than Drownyard and more reliable.
I am currently playing UWR Control ,there will be games where I resolve Aetherling and don't even swing with him for a few turns and win the game 5 turns later.
Getting an Aetherling into play,with mana open, is a game win in itself. You just got to continue putting together the pieces sometimes, other times you just swing twice.
Expecting Aetherling to be an omg insta scoop card is the same thing as expecting to always have 3 counterspells,5 lands and a Supreme Verdict in your opening 10 cards, it's not likely, but when it happens it does and when it doesn't we adjust.
I would also like to point yes, Obzedat is always at least a 10 turn clock, but he can't choose to push in 8 damage when he wants to, Aetherling can. Aetherling can also choose when to block, Obzedat can't efficiently do that either. While I am not saying Obzedat is bad, I play him myself, to look at both Obzedat and Aetherling as cards that have to win you the game in 3 turns, is a bad way to evaluate them. Neither is more consistent or less Consistent. They both do the same thing but differently. One protects your lifetotal while threatening your opponent's at any time, one slightly bolsters your life total and decreases your opponents over time.
I might try taking out my one Snapcaster and running an Aetherling in it's spot for a bit. Like I said, I think it's an amazing card and I'm a huge fan of it. I just don't like how fast the meta is for him at the moment - and I hate almost tapping out to use one card. I'm actually picking up a ton of Aetherlings because I think they'll be amazing soon, esp post rotation. But I just don't like using him right now.
Modern
UWGB 4c Snow Control BGWU
I still play 1 main deck just in case i am unable to mill (i need a faster clock) and in case i need to go around hate like witchbane's orb.
Chile!
I'd suggest against Debt to the Deathless as well. Games that you could win with that card are already within range of winning with something else. The slot's probably better reserved for something that deals with other problems.
Another Sphinx's Revelation perhaps? Running less than 3 in a heavy Esper Control deck just seems like suicide, especially when you have so few Snapcasters. If you don't continuously draw everything you need -- and probabilities mean there will be plenty of instances where you won't -- then I think you're just going to straight up die.
You have to allow for some variance. Running 2 means there's a good chance you could go a game and not see a Revelation at all. I think you'd be better off with 2 Snapcasters and even as many as 4 Revelations; Revelation, after all, is your biggest tool in maintaining control. It's what lets you draw all the other cards that win you the game.
Personally, I'd tweak it so you had more instant speed removal/bounce to survive the early game. Things like Unsummon, Devour Flesh, stuff that costs very little mana which is always useful to have.
But everyone plays differently. I'd rather be dirty and find ways to make Reap Intellect work (Unsummon on AoS into a nice fat exile, yum yum) than DttD. Either way, let me know how it works out for you.
Something important to note is that Slaughter Games becomes much more relevant after this type of shift in the deckbuild. So having 1 or 2 wincons isnt going to be enough. If you are playing Jund and they see Aetherling in Game 1, they are going to rip that out of your deck if they draw SG in game 2 before you can drop Aetherling.
I think maybe a collaborative effort is in order. Aside from Drownyard, what are some possible wincons for us?
Aetherling
Obzedat
Jace, Memory Adept
Angel of Serenity?
what else?
TBD...
3 Augur of Bolas
2 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
1 Aetherling
Sorceries(4):
4 Supreme Verdicts
Instants(20):
2 Sphinx's Revelation
3 Think Twice
3 Auzorius Charm
2 Far // Away
1 Devour Flesh
1 Renounce the Guilds
1 Victim of the Night
1 Murder
1 Warped Physique
1 Cryptic Incursion
2 Essence Scatter
1 Syncopate
1 Dissipate
22 various lands
4 Nephalia Drownyards
Planeswalkers(4):
2 Jace, Architect of Thought
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Renounce the Guilds
1 Terminus
1 Planar Cleansing
1 Crypt Incursion
2 Appetite for Brains
1 Aetherling
1 Pithing Needle
1 Witchbane orb
2 Detention Sphere
2 Negate
1 dispel
1 Lavinia of the Tenth
I'm not running snapcasters as they don't do that much until turn 4-5. At that point, Blood Baron seems better in my meta as he gains life, is hard to remove, can kill multiple creatures, and can act as a pre-aetherling win condition. Baron can also profitaly block reckoner which is also a huge bonus. To top it all off, I don't have a dead card when I draw the second Baron. Obzedat gets killed when he sticks around and the chances of having the WWBB to cast him is less likely than Baron's WB.
For those saying mill is too slow, it still works well against midrange and against control. I've found that I'm using my Aetherling more as a thragtusk blocker (pumping toughness by one) instead of being aggressive vs jund as jund has nothing that deals with the mill and primarily relies on riding a few power creatures to victory. Thragtusk's lifegain adds lots to the dmg clock while they can play the tempo game by using their instant removal to force a blink when aetherling attacks.
There's also:
Tamiyo
Blood Baron
Runechanter's pike
entreat the angels
I should note that I don't like Angel of Serenity as a win condition because it relies on them having zero removal (and they always seem to have a dreadbore in hand for her).