Esper Dragons has usurped Esper Control at this point, although I’m sure it will swing back around eventually. In the meantime, you should definitely check out this new take on Esper that debuted at #GPKobe and eventually finished in fourth place.
Shota Takao’s deck is a mashup of Esper Tokens and Esper Dragons, utilizing various control elements to prolong the game while trying to set up some lethal threats. In this case, that threat is Monastery Mentor, and this deck uses the full amount of Duresses to try and protect it. In a field of Abzan and Esper Dragons, that plan seems great.
I’m surprised to see only two Treasure Cruises, but you can only play so many delve cards, and Shota clearly valued Murderous Cut highly. Esper seems like it has enough removal to replace those Murderous Cuts. With six discard spells maindeck, I’d definitely want another Treasure Cruise.
Only thirteen blue sources for casting Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy on Turn 2 is a little low, but that’s alright. If you have a Seeker of the Way on Turn 2 and can pair Jace with a removal spell on Turn 4, you should be well on your way.
Creatures (14)
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (25)
Spells (16)
