MTG Salvation

I often found when playing against regular tron that molten rain is insufficient, i honestly rather just try to race with burn spells and goblin guide/swiftspear against them. I would probably also bring in path to clear a wurm coil engine so i can at least attack with guide/eidolon for at least one more turn which is often huge. As for eldrazi tron just going to bring in deflecting palms, paths, artifact hate(chalice and collar) and then hope that they have a slow start every time.

I have some matchup questions for matchups like gb tron, mono green tron and titan shift with a list similiar to mike flores does his list have a good matchup against those decks since his list is meant for creature decks like humans and affinity?

Not sure if there was a thread for this but anyway just to introduce myself i am a experienced control player and have nearly made top 8 in a couple of scg opens with control. I also got a top 8 finish at states with a uw control deck as well back in khans standard.

I know there has been several successful uw control decks in the current standard. I am too lazy to bring those up but thats ok, Id like to discuss my take on uw control which has been testing pretty well against both gb delirium and uw flash but for sure both matchups have alot of play to it. So if you really want to be successful in standard its always good to practice as much as you can with a deck that you like. Play as much as possible of course.

Anyway here is my updated list it has been through quite a few changes in the past month or so.



Card choices:

Linvala, the preserver: I tested two for a little while but the second copy almost always didn't do anything. So I like the one copy. This card is great at trumping those fast starts from any deck that is going aggressive. With the help of countermagic and removal it should definitely buy you enough time to slam down a linvala to win games that you are not suppose to win.

Immotaling glare/Stasis snare/blessed alliance: Instant speed removal is always great in a control deck that plays primary draw go so you can leverage your counters better and in the course of the game they can be more effective.

Quantine Field: This deck as you notice has a very tough time against resolved planeswalkers and so everytime i casted one of these the game became shortly in my favor. They are pretty good so i want three of them in the main.

Blighted Cateract: When your flooded on lands and when your playing at the top of your deck this is the card you definitely want in the late game.

Negate: A great two mana counters that is a hard ccounter to vehicles, aetherworks, opposing countermagic and planeswalkers is definitely great.

Descend upon the sinful: Great against the industrible cause so something like archangel avacyn doesn't blow you out. Ive also got a free 4/4 flyer out of it on occassion too which is very useful.

void shatter: A great three mana hard counter don't want to leave home without them.

Summary dismissal: Swiss army knight, counters planeswalker emblems, stops emrakrul and is a great four mana hard counter in the late game as well.

Fumigate: Still a solid and relevant sweeper, the gaining back some life here and there is also relevant.

Jace: Great at leveraging in a good amount of situations and of course gives this deck alot of digging power as well as some staying power.

Glimmer of genius: This is pretty much one of the cards that keeps this deck together and functioning and is the main reason why i like playing control right now.

Anticipate: Definitely makes this deck more consistent and digs for what you need.

Torrential Hulk: The absurd staple for all blue control decks in standard and i think its the best card in standard right now and I do not think its close imo.

Revolutionary rebuff: A soft counter but still pretty good at using your mana more efficiently in every stage of the game that matters.

Gisela: A pretty decent threat against uw flash and can put a clock on gb delilirium as well which is revelant. Lets you switch gears into more of a tempo control deck and goes well with spell quellers.

Sphinx: A decent finisher, i just like it since it can finish games sooner and can't be hit by any spot removal which is huge. I tend to board this card in against both uw flash and gb delirium.

Gideon: A great way to help you finish games on time and can pressure opposing planeswalkers backed up with countermagic and/or removal if necassary.

Spell queller: Can change the dynamic of how this deck can play. Great card to bring in against both of the most popular matchups can definitely make uw control much more aggressive as well.

Anyway, i don't think this deck is the best deck in the format but i definitely think this deck is pretty legit and its what i would for sure play at the scg invitational next week if i could go. I definitely think it has alot of game against alot if you play every turn correctly. I will definitely will try to provide more updates to this deck as the format progresses.

Yeah i might, perhaps we can just merge this thread with that one didn't realize there was another esper control thread. Glad you like the second build though, I would totally play the second build if i was playing in the scg open in atlanta next weekend. Its a pretty solid deck.

I have tested linvala against decks like dark jeskai, abzan, and eldrazi aggro and linvala was pretty good in those matchups so I'd imagine that with matchups similar to those linvala is pretty solid against those as well.

I also have liked linvala against red aggro under the assumption that you can answer their early creatures on time and able to counter some key spells which can definitely buy you enough time to drop linvala and just force them to have atarkas command right there. Otherwise you can just board her out in those matchups if that doesn't suit your style. Same goes for abzan aggro except at least you don't have to worry about atarka's command and the fact that they are generally slower then red so this gives you more of a window to land linvala and get maximized value from her. There are definitely lines of play that involve linvala against red for sure.

Sure she is not at her best against other control decks but i feel she still has some value in those matchups too. With that being said, of course it all depends on what kind of control decks your playing against because i feel bw control is definitely viable with oath and i am sure you can gain full value off of linvala i am sure. Against another mage-ring esper deck though i agree not so much.

I also haven't really had that much trouble getting the colors i need to cast any of my spells actually. Although, if your still insisting on playing another blue source you can always cut a mage-ring or a shambling vent for one. I think if i was to make this cut i probably would cut the mage-ring before the shambling vent, as i think shambling vent is a great manland and a much needed one.

Hey all, I am a long time control player and i love to play and brew up control decks when I can. I had a strong finish at an scg open in standard when sphinx of revelation was around with esper control with a 7-2-1 record, so i was in top 8 contention of that tournament for most of the tournament. Some people might recognize me from my khans standard uw control deck that i made a thread for about a year ago. I also had a strong finish with that as well with a top 8 at tcg player states.

Today, i want to show you what i would play at scg open in atlanta next weekend, its been testing quite well on cockatrice for me.



This deck plays mainly like a draw go control and only tap low/out for a powerful spell or to sweep the board on your turn when its necassary. Also the main reason why i am not running jace from magic origins is because people seem to be prepared for it and i think grasp of darkness is one of the best removal spells in standard and i expect that to be popular. So i find jace vyns prodigy to be a huge liability alot of the time so i choose not to run him.

However, if you still feel like you want to play jaces in your deck i have another deck thats also has been testing well that i would also highly recommend.



Yes, as you notice the deck is really similar to reid duke's mage-ring esper, i just made some updates to it with oath of the gatewatch. I also really like the interaction between painful truths and linvala, it definitely packs a substantial amount of raw power to it. This deck also plays like a draw-go mainly but can turn the tides to be more of a tapout control deck especially postboard with the gideons and the narset. Which can add another dimension to the deck to make it stronger against alot of matchups postboard.

Overall, i would recommend either deck for scg atlanta happening next weekend especially if you like control as much as I do. Both of these decks bad matchup is probably eldrazi ramp with ulamog and worldbreaker but postboard with infinite oblieration it becomes definitely more winnable. Give these two decks a shot in your tournaments if your interested and make optimal changes to the control decks your playing according to the metagame shifts. Just test, test, test and make changes to your lists when its needed. As I think esper definitely has all of the tools to take on anything.

I don't know, this is just my opinion but i like putting a clock on them especially in game 1 through collonade and yes the games against black eldrazi can be pretty grindy and can take awhile to finish.

This is just my reasoning, they instantly gain value from their eldrazis when they cast them like oblivion sower and they also play cavern of souls so you can't really just sit back and hold up reactive spells sometimes you just have to activate collonade and attack. I am not implying you should blindly activate and attack but sometimes you have to draw a line and just get aggressive after you have analyzed the game state closely. Again just my opinion.

Hey all, i have been a long time lurker for this thread for awhile. I am pretty good friends with pimpdonny. I have been testing esper control and made the finals of this online single elimination tournament with the deck. Managed to beat a black eldrazi deck splashing blue for several counters 2-0, and also managed to beat amulet 2-0, and a uw control deck with dragonlord ojutai. Black eldrazi is a pretty tough matchup but with proper patients and lines of play the matchup is definitely winnable.

Also knowing in to get in with collonade is important too but i have find myself i have just been jamming in with them even on nonideal times. I think its definitely good to be aggressive with collonade against ramp decks since you want to shorten the clock you put on them and the fact that their topdecks can be so much more powerful then yours. I also find esper charm to be great against the black ramp decks i have been just making them discard two so it makes it easier to get in with collonade with them having few cards in hand. I also like to bounce a land of theirs too with cryptic and then snapcaster flashback cryptic just to also get aggressive with snapcaster.

I am having the same problem.

Does anyone know when the full set of battle of zenikar will be updated on the mtgjson database?

I actually want to try out MUC again sometime soon probably will round up a list and try it on cockatrice this coming sunday for like three or four rounds. I think i am going to try out at least three to four dig through times, at worse case this will just be a learning experience that will involve me losing every single game and I am sure I will still have fun.

I was wondering if anyone knows when dragons of tarkir will be available on mtgjson so I can update my cockatrice with oracle?

lol yeah, the matches we had were pretty skilled intensive and whatever could of happened in the games that we played for fun could of easily happened in our tournament games as well. Also thanks for the goodluck.

I won 2-0, LEH was flooded a bit though. Good games.

Quote from DominionDJ »

Here is what I currently have sleeved up. Any advice for me?

UW ControlMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
//Lands 2 Evolving Wilds 4 Flooded Strand 5 Island 2 Plains 2 Polluted Delta 4 Radiant Fountain 4 Temple of Enlightenment 4 Tranquil Cove //Spells 3 Banishing Light 1 Devouring Light 3 Dig Through Time 3 Disdainful Stroke 4 Dissolve 2 Divination 3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion 3 End Hostilities 3 Jace's Ingenuity 2 Last Breath 1 Negate 3 Nullify 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon	//Creatures 1 Pearl Lake Ancient

So it's pretty much jim davis's deck except you added ugin which I think is alright just be careful when you activate the exile ability of ugin, I don't think I have anything else to say other then that though.

I also agree that jim davis's list is definitely a good starting point. However, I tend to go off on my own tangeants and have been trying out various builds of uw control which I think is also fine in my opinion as the metagame for standard does shift from week to week. I just like to have more then just one or two options at my disposal. But I am for with whatever other people want to accomplish with uw control as well. Not going to argue with that. Like I said before feel free to share your own takes on uw control in here because that's what this thread is for.