At least Ooze can technically prevent flashback...
Actually.... if your opponent is smart, it really can't. Your opponent gets a chance to cast it before you get a chance to exile it (assuming he has the mana and doesn't pass priority after it resolves).
Intro: Evil Twin should be cut in favor of Rest in Peace or Rest in Peace + Witchbane Orb. You just don't want to start playing their strategy, use your own.
You use Evil twin for the real reanimator deck. It's actually almost laughable how much better your "angels" are than theirs.
Against the combo deck, you just have to pray you see your purify the graves before they combo you out, or can remove a combo piece. I run some slips in the board because they're pretty good in a few match-ups, and can stop the combo if they leave themselves open to it.
How about putting the card draw after the drawback?
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice ~. If you do, target opponent gains control of the rest of your turn and you draw 4 cards at the beginning of the next upkeep.
I know we already have a good bit of removal but what about the thought of running 2-3 staticasters in the board with the possibility of running peddler as well?
Staticaster seems really good against the blitz and aristacrat decks. Also against junk
Not only that, but it should be easy enough to run a 1-of peddler in the board as well. I know this isn't supposed to be that deck, but it seems low-impact enough on our board to merit inclusion. Keep in mind it's also good with Huntmaster and Kessig Wolf-run.
Also, what are everyone's thoughts on Garruk, Primal Hunter? Before Gatecrash, I ran a Jund aggro list that played Yevas and Garruks out of the board against control lists, and the ability to flash in yeva, untap and drop Garruk for 4 cards was pretty good. I know it's not an instant-speed effect, but it definitely capitalizes on those flash effects you're already running, sort of cashing in on that advantage and generating a powerful effect. Currently testing 1 main/1 board. Has anyone else tried him out?
I'm actually really against Azorius Charm in the midrange match-ups, as they tend to run and rely on things like Hellkite, Aurelia, and Aristocrat, or have Planeswalkers they can play post-combat.
I'm more of a fan of just running the wraths (4x Verdict, 2x cleansing) against them and cleaning up some of the ground stuff with Angels. In fact, against most of the midrangy stuff that doesn't run many aggro elements ( read: 4x farseek), I tend to take out my Augurs and Charms immediately and bring in counterspells and better hard removal.
And to add to the more overall discussion, I'm way more on the side of Wafo-Tapa, like what Cipher was saying. I've tried running walker based versions of control, and they just seem to fall really flat to a lot of already existing strategies, but the "flash"-esque version seems to play a lot cleaner and run a lot smoother and tighter. In fact, with the built in inevitablitly of drownyard, you really put the onus of the game onto your opponent to just kill you, and you get this real powerful stopping effect of revelation that just takes over the game, like JtMS used to only way less subtely, with the added benefit of doing it whenever you're in the best position to. Your removal is actually not terrible in devour flesh, you're able to dig through a variety of tools when your opponent does nothing, and you're able to close out the game using lands.
I used to run this BRG haste list before gatecrash, the main reason being that you can not die to the super-aggressive stuff and still punish the really do-nothing draws, and with this deck I feel the same way. When I'm relying on planeswalkers to win me the game, it feels like I lose that sense of inevitability, and I give my opponent something tangible to deal with. I feel like instead of just continually banking all those turns I'm building on, I'm cashing them in on this "make my planeswalker work" plan that can really just fall flat on its face.
So yeah, sorry for wall-of-text argument, but hopefully it helps someone figure out what direction to take their esper deck, or to at least try the draw-go style.
I'll be honest, I haven't played with it too too much, just some FNM and playtesting in a Wafo-tapa-esque build (minimal planeswalkers/creatures, relying heavily on drownyard) and the card seems really bad.
The marginal value you get out of it for it's "impulse" ability, targetting either yourself or your opponent, is never worth the card. You're better off actually having the card you want to impulse into, which is probably a card you want to buy you some time to drownyard 1 more time, a better version of the "mill" aspect.
The counterspell is exceptionally narrow, as there aren't a whole lot of sorceries we're looking to counter. Rakdos' Return is chief among them, and by the time that card is actually worth countering, Dissipate is able to do so just fine, but also has the benefit of countering basically anything else. It's also WAY better at countering both Lingering Souls and Unburial Rites, as it "counters" them twice by preventing the flashback. I'd never feel happy spending an entire card to deal with half a card, especially in this deck.
The kill spell is also exceptionally narrow. Think of all the 2 power creatures you need to kill with spot removal and can't take a hit or two from to just wrath. Again, you're throwing away cards you don't necessarily need to. The list is limited to really just mana dorks and Deathrite Shamans, and realistically you could just run a Devour Flesh in its place and deal with a plethora of other things as well.
So by trading off the versatility of doing one thing as well as you can (either countering a spell or killing a creature), you gain the versatility of doing both so poorly you can hardly do either. In my experience, I've been better served metagaming that spot to either a real counterspell or a real piece of removal and just playing tighter in general.
Concerning the Sac outlet, there's always Disciple of Bolas, though that's at a higher spot on the curve and is really a 1 time effect (though you could do it multiple times if you spend a Resto trigger on it).
Another card that you might consider adding would be Sorin. He seems like he could do some work here.
I think something some people are overlooking is that this card is actually REALLY good for the white based aggressive decks against the GWx Midrange/control decks running Thragtusk and Restoration angel. They think they're going to get a blocker, when in reality, they're going to be a turn behind on their curve AND this card gives you the reach those decks were missing.
@Marikhal: No need for bant, just play it in BUG with Farseeks and ranger's paths. Or... buh, Liliana of the Dark Realms. Mutilates, Vraska, maybe little Garruk, etc get you to the long game. Windmill slam this bad boy and WIN. and if they're playing Nephalia Drownyard, you can still get them anyways!
Seems bad, but if you forced me to play this card at a tournament, this is what I'd bring.
Depending on which version of Zombies you're running, playing Golgari Charm in the board is pretty good against them too. You may just have to run Rolling Temblor or Mutilate and try and get them with that if you're on RB. Magmaquake also runs along that vein, but I'm not sure if that's too mana intensive. It is instant speed though, so you could potentially get an aura out of them too. This all based on the idea that you can't really race them, which is probably true, you're just slower than they are and interact really poorly with them.
I hate to be "that guy", and even bumping this thread goes against what I'm saying, but I think it's really important to consider, especially as GTC is coming out, that approaching the format with a tier system at all is restrictive and inhibiting. I think we'd be better off taking the format as a whole something to prepare for, and make sure you have some kind of gameplan for whatever deck sits across the table from you.
Look at how open this format is with the support of just 5 guilds, and imagine how many different avenues you can build toward with the full support of each guild's mana base and mechanics agenda, and you'll have a hard time winning if you're thinking about just aping "tier 1 decks", or even preparing against a gauntlet of "tier 1" decks, as those tier 2 decks or "misc/everything else" decks will run some against-the-grain, but otherwise lethal gameplan that you haven't anticipated because of an adherence to the notion of a tier system.
And always keep in mind that things are constantly in flux, that some decks that were proven successful yesterday could be the target of some yet unprepared for strategy that obsoletes it.
Agreeing with the above, but just wanted to add that the more you play a particular format, the more you learn about its intricacies. So while you learn a lot about the game as a whole just playing it in general, the more you play a specific constructed or limited format (not just standard or draft, but the specific cardpool, like Inn/RTR standard or AVR limited), the more you can learn about the exact card interactions and how certain cards play in that environment. Even moreso, you can keep playing and attempt to call or predict an exact metagame and try and game that by limiting the cardpool to cards you'll expect to see, which can further pinpoint specific cards strengths and weaknesses.
To add to the discussion, I here are some other things that helped me improve as a player:
1) Knowing how and when to mulligan. Playtesting this helps tremendously, again, putting specific cards into context and finding out which decklists are more "mulligan friendly" or can grind through rough hands. Another thing that will really help this out is to NEVER look at what your next few cards are going to be after you decide to mulligan. Your decision on mulliganing should not depend on which cards you were going to get, but whether or not your hand is playable based on the probability of cards that you could draw.
2) Knowing how to sideboard. The one thing that a lot of people overlooked, at least I overlooked, is not knowing what cards you want to sideboard IN, but which cards you'll need to sideboard OUT. Having a thorough gameplan on how your deck wants to look postboard, knowing what roles the cards in your sideboard need to fill and which cards have a diminished role from your maindeck in any given matchup is very important. Again, this comes mostly from playtesting moreso than theory.
3) Knowing that the correct decision in some circumstance is literally no action. While I'm sure I knew this at some subconscious level for a while, I really noticed it while playing a grindy version of a URx Vengeance deck. I began to see it afterward in some professional play, and the idea is really driven home when you hear professional players talk about Brainstorm in legacy. Conventional wisdom is to make the most of your mana and play things as they are available, but sometimes it's better to wait until you can get the most value and work with the most information.
We must go deeper
Rite of Replication
Dammit, Jim, I said DEEPER
Overwhelming Stampede
Actually.... if your opponent is smart, it really can't. Your opponent gets a chance to cast it before you get a chance to exile it (assuming he has the mana and doesn't pass priority after it resolves).
You use Evil twin for the real reanimator deck. It's actually almost laughable how much better your "angels" are than theirs.
Against the combo deck, you just have to pray you see your purify the graves before they combo you out, or can remove a combo piece. I run some slips in the board because they're pretty good in a few match-ups, and can stop the combo if they leave themselves open to it.
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice ~. If you do, target opponent gains control of the rest of your turn and you draw 4 cards at the beginning of the next upkeep.
Or something like that.
Not only that, but it should be easy enough to run a 1-of peddler in the board as well. I know this isn't supposed to be that deck, but it seems low-impact enough on our board to merit inclusion. Keep in mind it's also good with Huntmaster and Kessig Wolf-run.
Also, what are everyone's thoughts on Garruk, Primal Hunter? Before Gatecrash, I ran a Jund aggro list that played Yevas and Garruks out of the board against control lists, and the ability to flash in yeva, untap and drop Garruk for 4 cards was pretty good. I know it's not an instant-speed effect, but it definitely capitalizes on those flash effects you're already running, sort of cashing in on that advantage and generating a powerful effect. Currently testing 1 main/1 board. Has anyone else tried him out?
I'm more of a fan of just running the wraths (4x Verdict, 2x cleansing) against them and cleaning up some of the ground stuff with Angels. In fact, against most of the midrangy stuff that doesn't run many aggro elements ( read: 4x farseek), I tend to take out my Augurs and Charms immediately and bring in counterspells and better hard removal.
And to add to the more overall discussion, I'm way more on the side of Wafo-Tapa, like what Cipher was saying. I've tried running walker based versions of control, and they just seem to fall really flat to a lot of already existing strategies, but the "flash"-esque version seems to play a lot cleaner and run a lot smoother and tighter. In fact, with the built in inevitablitly of drownyard, you really put the onus of the game onto your opponent to just kill you, and you get this real powerful stopping effect of revelation that just takes over the game, like JtMS used to only way less subtely, with the added benefit of doing it whenever you're in the best position to. Your removal is actually not terrible in devour flesh, you're able to dig through a variety of tools when your opponent does nothing, and you're able to close out the game using lands.
I used to run this BRG haste list before gatecrash, the main reason being that you can not die to the super-aggressive stuff and still punish the really do-nothing draws, and with this deck I feel the same way. When I'm relying on planeswalkers to win me the game, it feels like I lose that sense of inevitability, and I give my opponent something tangible to deal with. I feel like instead of just continually banking all those turns I'm building on, I'm cashing them in on this "make my planeswalker work" plan that can really just fall flat on its face.
So yeah, sorry for wall-of-text argument, but hopefully it helps someone figure out what direction to take their esper deck, or to at least try the draw-go style.
The marginal value you get out of it for it's "impulse" ability, targetting either yourself or your opponent, is never worth the card. You're better off actually having the card you want to impulse into, which is probably a card you want to buy you some time to drownyard 1 more time, a better version of the "mill" aspect.
The counterspell is exceptionally narrow, as there aren't a whole lot of sorceries we're looking to counter. Rakdos' Return is chief among them, and by the time that card is actually worth countering, Dissipate is able to do so just fine, but also has the benefit of countering basically anything else. It's also WAY better at countering both Lingering Souls and Unburial Rites, as it "counters" them twice by preventing the flashback. I'd never feel happy spending an entire card to deal with half a card, especially in this deck.
The kill spell is also exceptionally narrow. Think of all the 2 power creatures you need to kill with spot removal and can't take a hit or two from to just wrath. Again, you're throwing away cards you don't necessarily need to. The list is limited to really just mana dorks and Deathrite Shamans, and realistically you could just run a Devour Flesh in its place and deal with a plethora of other things as well.
So by trading off the versatility of doing one thing as well as you can (either countering a spell or killing a creature), you gain the versatility of doing both so poorly you can hardly do either. In my experience, I've been better served metagaming that spot to either a real counterspell or a real piece of removal and just playing tighter in general.
Another card that you might consider adding would be Sorin. He seems like he could do some work here.
Just some more food for thought.
Alchemist's Refuge. Aw Yeah.
@Marikhal: No need for bant, just play it in BUG with Farseeks and ranger's paths. Or... buh, Liliana of the Dark Realms. Mutilates, Vraska, maybe little Garruk, etc get you to the long game. Windmill slam this bad boy and WIN. and if they're playing Nephalia Drownyard, you can still get them anyways!
Seems bad, but if you forced me to play this card at a tournament, this is what I'd bring.
Interestingly enough, the card is really good against the Ghost Council.
Look at how open this format is with the support of just 5 guilds, and imagine how many different avenues you can build toward with the full support of each guild's mana base and mechanics agenda, and you'll have a hard time winning if you're thinking about just aping "tier 1 decks", or even preparing against a gauntlet of "tier 1" decks, as those tier 2 decks or "misc/everything else" decks will run some against-the-grain, but otherwise lethal gameplan that you haven't anticipated because of an adherence to the notion of a tier system.
And always keep in mind that things are constantly in flux, that some decks that were proven successful yesterday could be the target of some yet unprepared for strategy that obsoletes it.
To add to the discussion, I here are some other things that helped me improve as a player:
1) Knowing how and when to mulligan. Playtesting this helps tremendously, again, putting specific cards into context and finding out which decklists are more "mulligan friendly" or can grind through rough hands. Another thing that will really help this out is to NEVER look at what your next few cards are going to be after you decide to mulligan. Your decision on mulliganing should not depend on which cards you were going to get, but whether or not your hand is playable based on the probability of cards that you could draw.
2) Knowing how to sideboard. The one thing that a lot of people overlooked, at least I overlooked, is not knowing what cards you want to sideboard IN, but which cards you'll need to sideboard OUT. Having a thorough gameplan on how your deck wants to look postboard, knowing what roles the cards in your sideboard need to fill and which cards have a diminished role from your maindeck in any given matchup is very important. Again, this comes mostly from playtesting moreso than theory.
3) Knowing that the correct decision in some circumstance is literally no action. While I'm sure I knew this at some subconscious level for a while, I really noticed it while playing a grindy version of a URx Vengeance deck. I began to see it afterward in some professional play, and the idea is really driven home when you hear professional players talk about Brainstorm in legacy. Conventional wisdom is to make the most of your mana and play things as they are available, but sometimes it's better to wait until you can get the most value and work with the most information.