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Thread: [Deck] Esper America

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    [Deck] Esper America

    Overview
    Esper America is the natural evolution of a classic BUg Team America. It plays the same game style that Team America does; it's just a matter of how the deck gets it done. The deck attempts to capitalize on the narrow window of disruption generated from cards like Stifle, Thoughtseize, Wasteland, and Hymn to Tourach with SFM and Tombstalker.

    History
    About three days before the July Jupiter Games' NELC Qualifier, Ben Landers(RogueMTG) and I decided to gut green from my Team America deck on a whim and replace it with SFM. There was no testing, I walked into the even on nothing but the theory "SFM > Tarmogoyf", and it’s paid off. This deck has been to two 70+ events and top 8’d both times, and hit a top 32 at SCG Boston.


    Deck List
    The Original
    Creatures 9
    4 Stoneforge Mystic
    3 Tombstalker
    2 Vendilion Clique

    Counters 11
    4 Force of Will
    4 Mental Misstep
    3 Daze

    Disruption 8
    4 Hymn to Tourach
    4 Stifle

    Gas 6
    4 Brainstorm
    2 Ponder

    SFM Toolbox 2
    1 Batterskull
    1 Sword of Fire and Ice

    Removal 4
    4 Swords to Plowshares

    Lands 20
    4 Polluted Delta
    3 Flooded Strand
    2 Marsh Flats
    3 Underground Sea
    2 Scrubland
    2 Tundra
    4 Wasteland

    Sideboard:
    2 Vindicate
    2 Snuffout
    2 Tormod’s Crypt
    2 Extirpate
    2 Nihil Spellbomb
    2 Perish
    3 Engineered Plague

    The Current (as of 25Aug11)
    //Creatures 9
    4 Stoneforge Mystic
    3 Tombstalker
    2 Vendilion Clique

    //Toolbox 2
    1 Batterskull
    1 Sword of Feast and Famine

    //Removal 5
    3 Swords to Plowshares
    2 Dismember

    //Disruption 10
    4 Stifle
    4 Hymn to Tourach

    //Gas 4
    4 Brainstorm

    //Counters 10
    4 Mental Misstep
    3 Daze
    3 Force of Will

    //Planeswalkers 2
    2 Jace, the Mindsculptor

    //Lands 20
    4 Marsh Flats
    3 Polluted Delta
    2 Flooded Strand
    3 Underground Sea
    2 Scrubland
    2 Tundra
    4 Wasteland

    //SB 15
    3 Extirpate
    2 Perish
    2 Diabolic Edict
    2 Vindicate
    2 Spell Pierce
    2 Thoughtseize
    1 Force of Will
    1 Swords to Plowshares

    So, at this point you’re probably saying to yourself “Isn’t this just Team America?” Yes and no. As I stated earlier, this deck was built by gutting green from the Team America shell and adding white to the deck. Switching to Esper gives you better match ups against Team America’s worst. All the while, the Esper switch maintains all of Team America’s good match ups. Rather than cluttering that thread with two divergent philosophies on how the deck should be played, it’s best to post it as its own deck.

    However, the switch over isn’t flawless. SFM is one of the most played creatures in the current Meta. G2 and G3, SFM becomes less reliable with all of the hate in everyone’s board. Also, you now open yourself up to red removal. In the classic BUG, aside from its earliest stages, Tarmogoyf give you a 2 for 1 by eating a man and then getting shot with a lightning bolt. SFM doesn’t do that, and we have a tough time getting to the mana for a hard cast batterskull. I’ll admit, it’s not fun, but I feel like the trade is worth it. You can play around Grim Lavamancer and Lightning Bolt, you can’t really play around the 10 – 12% of the field that fish represent, and all of the other aggro match ups.

    Card Selection
    First I’m going to hit the cards that separate this deck from Team America:

    Stoneforge Mystic: The reason for the change to Esper colors. The addition of Stoneforge mystic makes some of Team America’s worst match ups much friendlier. Traditionally, Team America has always had a bad match up against Merfolk (and other aggro / tribal decks), adding SFM and Batterskull to the mix makes the match up much better for us.

    Swords to Plowshares: Despite the recent printing of Mental Misstep, this is still the best removal spell in the game. By adding white you’re able to cut all of the situational removal Team America was forced to use and just play a better card.

    Next I’ll list the cards that separate this deck from Esperblade:

    Tombstalker: I don’t know what to say, other than this is a 5/5 flyer for 2. He is the perfect man to capitalize on that narrow window of board superiority your early game stifles and hymns create.

    Stifle: This card is so relevant in the meta right now, it’s crazy. You can hit SFM, fetches, wasteland, AV, Jace ultimates, animate dead, narcomeba, etc. Against some decks it’s dead, but those are usually decks that you bring in all your removal spells for.

    And finally, just a few cards in the deck that I feel I need to comment on –

    Jace, the Mind Sculptor: Well . . . he’s Jace. I feel like he belongs in the deck. I personally use him as a late game strategy. Against some decks, tempo doesn’t always get there. Jace becomes both your out to a Game 1 Jace and your wincon in those same match ups.

    Sword of X and Y: I've personally switched between all Fire and Ice, Body and Mind and Feast and Famine, and to be honest, it's just a matter of preference. This argument has been beaten to death, just go with what you think is best.


    SB Choices

    Vindicate: This is the third and final reason to switch to Esper. If you hadn’t noticed, I only play three white cards in the entire deck. Vindicate supports LD plan in G2 by allowing us to hit basic lands. It’s also a universal answer to whatever you don’t like. The card is just good.

    Perish: An added benefit of switching over, you can safely play Perish. It rarely happened, but having to perish away your goyf to kill a 10/10 sucked. Yes, it was reasonable, but you’re still losing out.

    Diabolic Edict: At best, it answers Emrakul and Progenitus, at worst its another kill spell. It's more powerful post board with 8 other spells to back it up.

    Spell Pierce: A card I just like in the board. With it and the 1 FoW, it makes on the play G2 easier, as i can just side out 3 daze and bring in 3 counter magic, but that’s entirely on you

    Extirpate: This card is a matter of preference, if you're worried about just dredge, Leyline is probably better for you. Extirpate is better against mid to late game decks (and the mirror). Against other mid to late game decks (IE: Team America, UW Control blade, etc), it's good for the same reasons its powerful against the mirror. Ripping a threat or a quarter of their mana base is crippling, and most decks just can't recover. It also is an out to Wastelock.

    Thoughtseize: To me, this is the flex slot in the entire 75. I’m constantly switching between having these MD and in the board. If you don’t like Jace in the main, this is a good replacement for him.

    This next section is cards that just didn’t make the cut:

    Dark Confidant: Bob is my boy, but he just doesn’t fit in this deck. The problem with Bob is that he doesn’t play well with Force of Will, Batterskull, and Tombstalker. If you cut Tombstalker, you lose out on the one creature that can best take advantage of the deck’s tempo. Bob just slows things down and makes this a different deck . . . It makes it a worse version of Esperblade.

    Bitterblossom: Bitterblossom has it’s merits, I just feel like it’s attempting to fill the late game wincon slot. Unfortunately, it’d be competing with Jace at that point, and I feel like Jace is just better in that slot.

    Mother of Runes: I love you mom, but we need to leave the nest eventually. Your guys are going to get hit, it sucks, but it happens. Mom can stay at home for this one. Batterskull allows you to have a threat that you can just keep playing, and Jace doesn’t go down easy.

    Ponder: Team America players may notice that I’ve cut Ponder completely from the deck. After a lot of testing, I found I’d rather just have more action spells in my MD than ponder. First I cut it for thoughtseize, and eventually Jace. If you’re unhappy with both of those card choices, you can always try ponder back in your MD.

    Snuff Out: Another cut some Team America players may have noticed. Snuff out is replaced with dismember. Snuff out can’t hit Bob, germ tokens or Tombstalkers. Dismember hits all of those, and misses a few giant knights / goyfs / terravores. Let’s be honest though, against decks running knights / goyfs and terravores, you’re bringing in all of your other removal, so you’ll probably be alright

    Darkblast: This card is just good. I don’t have a Meta filled with grim Lavamancers and bobs, but if I did, it’d be in my 75. This card is purely a Meta call.

    Engineered Plague: Too narrow. Batterskull pretty much answers all the tribal decks, and with a board packed with removal, those decks aren’t too bad anyway.

    Final thoughts before we go into match ups:

    19 – 22 Lands: I personally feel like 20 is the right number, but it’s a matter of preference. If you want to support jace more frequently, make room for 22. If you want to cut jace entirely and play ponder or thoughtseize, go 19. Or if you’re like me, go for the middle ground and stick with 20.

    3 Force of Will: The deck already beats the pants off of combo. With combo rare in the current meta, why stack your MD so heavily against them? Against most of the Meta, three is about all you need.

    3 StP / 2 Dismember: I constantly bounce between 5 removal MD and 5 discard MD. When I switch into discard I do 3 Hymn, 2 Thoughtseize, porting the dismember to the board and cutting 1 hymn completely and moving StP 4 back into the MD. I do this purely as a Meta call.


    Match ups:
    (Courtesy of IsThisACatInAHat?)

    Merfolk:

    As one of Legacy’s most popular decks, Merfolk is likely to be a good percentage of the room at any large tournament. Classically favored against U/x aggro-control, the Stoneforge package plus sideboard removal suite make this more of a push. The best way to beat Merfolk is by resolving a turn 2 Stoneforge Mystic, but it doesn’t stop there. Merfolk decks are more prepared than they used to be, bringing in some number of Dismembers out of the board (in addition to their counter magic and non-interactive lord effects). Some Merfolk decks are also playing Tower of the Magistrate, so save Wastelands until you need them. Postboard, side in removal and hand disruption for counter magic. In addition to resolving Stoneforge Mystic, keeping Lord of Atlantis off the table is a critical part of winning. Overall, this matchup is about even, which is considerably improved from BUG Team America (this deck’s closest similarity).

    Zoo:

    Zoo mixes some elements you really want to see across from you with some elements you really don’t. As with most aggro matchups, a resolved Batterskull is almost definitely game over, especially since most Zoo decks are cutting Pridemages for additional speed. Save your counter magic to protect Stoneforge and Batterskull rather than countering their guys if you can and the game should be over quickly. While the creature side of Zoo can be very easy to deal with, burn can be very difficult. Stoneforge is still an easy target for all of their removal and Lavamancers, while Price of Progress can be absolutely devastating to our mana-intensive mono-nonbasic manabase. Stopping the initial rush of creatures (or getting Batterskull online) is the most important step to beating Zoo. Postboard, side in your entire removal suite and cut cards as you see fit, likely some combination of Stifle, Hymn, Daze and Force of Will. Expect Red Blasts, Choke and Price of Progress, but otherwise, it’s all mostly the same. This matchup is very draw-dependent, but wavers from even to slightly better.

    Team America:

    This pseudo mirror match plays out much like old threshold mirrors. It depends heavily on draws and careful play, since tapping out exposes you to opposing Dazes and cracking lands at the wrong time can put you on the wrong end of a Stifle. Hymn is crucial for knocking cards out of each other’s hands, but all told this matchup is about as even as it gets. After all, you’re both practically playing the same deck. The only real difference, white versus green, can be an advantage either way. Swords is better removal than anything in black, but it’s also counterable by Mental Misstep. Tarmogoyf is much bigger than Stoneforge Mystic and doesn’t leave you susceptible to Thoughtseize or Hymn, but a resolved Batterskull can easily race a goyf. Since neither side has any real bombs except Jace, it’s safe to side out counter magic in favor of removal or other disruption like Thoughtseize. Play carefully and patiently and hope you draw well.

    NO RUG:

    The greenest competitive deck in the format is sort of like everything you want to see out of Zoo, but with nothing you don’t. Black disruption and white Stoneforge Mystics match up pretty much perfectly against everything in their deck. You’ve even got 4+ outs to a resolved Natural Order if you’re running Edicts and Perishes (as you should), while all of your Hymns and Dazes already play well against Green Sun’s and Natural Orders. This is the dream matchup for Esper America and very difficult to lose unless you’re trying to. It’s safe to side out all or most of your counter magic in favor of removal postboard since this can go long if you don’t just walk over them in the first few turns. Perish is your all-star, but you’ve got more removal spells than they have targets, so use non-Edict/Perish removal liberally and be glad to have gotten such a lucky pairing.

    Hive Mind/ Sneak Attack/ other Show and Tell:

    Combo decks trying to resolve expensive spells sounds like a perfect combination to a thresh-style deck with Stifle, Daze, Hymn and Wasteland. Esper America, like its predecessors, is a natural predator to these kinds of decks. This is most apparent in your sideboard design, where you’re dedicating 6-10 slots to various kinds of aggro decks, but actual 0 specifically to combo decks. This is because you’re already running some of the best 75 you can; it’s appropriate to side in Thoughtseize or Edict if you have them, but otherwise your disruption suite can be very difficult for Show and Tell decks to resolve spells through. Given the choice between resolving a threat and resolving disruption, even assuming they’re low on cards, almost always choose disruption. There’s plenty of time to resolve your threats, but giving them a window to resolve theirs is basically the only way they can win. I also prefer fetching Sword over Batterskull against these decks, since while Batterskull is a faster (albeit essentially irrelevant) clock, Sword can ensure they’ll never get the chance to go off, even out of desperation, no matter how many extra turns you give them.

    U/W/x Blade Control:

    UW and its various splashes can range from difficult to easy, depending on the exact build. The lynchpin card in this matchup is Standstill, since that card is a classic trump to Hymn decks and exactly what you don’t want to see when you’re playing a deck that 1. can’t play under it and 2. wants to grind a long war of attrition. Against Standstill versions, aggressively keep Standstill off the board and try to win the game as fast as possible. Jace is another problem, especially against your threat suite of Stoneforge Mystic/ Tombstalker. Stifle is useless as a land destruction spell, but actually extremely valuable as a tool for protecting Stalker from Jace and opposing Mystics from searching up Batterskull. Depending on your sideboard you have some relevant cards (additional Cliques, Vindicate, Thoughtseize) that should help you against the biggest problem cards, but overall, Standstill remains difficult to beat without getting a little bit lucky.

    On the other hand, versions with Ancestral Vision are very easy to beat. All of the same cards are there, but where Standstill makes your hand disruption a liability, Vision makes it much more powerful, taking a card out of their hand for four(!) full turns and allowing you to hit the really good stuff with Hymn. Once both your hands are nearly empty, Stifling the CITP trigger on Vision that would Recall them back into the game is a final nail in the coffin. If they’re even cutting good cards like the 24th land or 4th Jace for Spellstutter Sprites, so much the better. 1/1 flyers that cost a card are a critical liability in these attrition-style battles. Your most counterable spells, Brainstorm and Swords to Plowshares, are both greatly diminished in this matchup anyway. Jace is still a problem on the top end, but without Standstill, they’re much less likely to get into a position where they can resolve him with counter backup against an empty board.

  2. #2
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    Re: Esper America

    Was wondering when this would get its own thread.

    I would like to say, that I think Vindicate would be a really good spell to somehow fit in the maindeck. It's versatile and answers all sorts of randomness, from Jace TMS to whatever, and adds to the decks LD gameplan.

    From your current list, I'd probably cut 2 Jace TMS and 2 Dismember to add these, although I'd want to find a way to run 4 StP too.

    EDIT: Actually, I have no idea. Cutting Jace TMS cuts the blue count too low. Since I'm not extremely experienced with the deck, I won't make on comments on what to cut to fit them.
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    Re: Esper America

    Love the writeup. I might be taking this out for a spin when I have a chance to play again.

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    Re: Esper America

    Quote Originally Posted by Hanni View Post
    Was wondering when this would get its own thread.

    I second that. Long time TA player here and from the transition of a typical BUG list, this looks like it would solve all the problems agaisnt aggro. I must give it a try!

  5. #5
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    Re: Esper America

    Dear Carson,

    Your deck sucks.

    I love you.

    xoxo <3 ,

    Alex
    Quote Originally Posted by emidln View Post
    If you have 3 mana and 2 draws and can't win through bullshit permanents, you are mentally deficient and probably want to examine a game with less thought. I recommend Lawn Darts.

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    Re: Esper America

    I currently run a 3 / 2 split of removal as a pure meta call. We have a lot of bant aggro / no rug in the area. Dismember gets there against almost everything there and doesnt get MM'd. I'm still hammering out bugs, but its an idea im trying out right now. In a less aggro filled meta, i switch back to 4 StP and bring in the thought seize to hurt on the control / combo (cutting 1 hymn completely).

    As far as vindicate MD, I want it so bad it hurts. But I found it too slow against too many decks to justify. Maybe I'm wrong though.

  7. #7
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    Re: Esper America

    With Stifle and MM, I would think Vindicate being slow would be a non-issue. At least a couple copies, anyway.
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    Re: Esper America

    I agree, vindicate would add something to the MD, maybe I just had a bad taste in my mouth from it not bieng instant speed in corner cases where that mattered. I'll give it another whirl, but I'd suggest not touching the Jace slot until you try him against UW conrolblade. Thats the match where JTMS shines, but Vindicate could be better. I never really tested it

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    Re: Esper America

    Excellent primer and thank you for your efforts. I have just begun testing most of the things we spoke of and right away I see why you run the 3/2 removal split. Having our primary removal in the splash color can occasionally be a pain.

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    Re: Esper America

    Great primer, thanks! I'm curious to see if Team Esper will make an appereance in the Grand Prix.

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    Re: Esper America

    With only 20 land, does it become difficult to play jace? The general consensus is that you have to have 22, though I wonder if that is really true.
    And if you were to add land, would you only need to add 1 in reality, bringing the count to 21.
    Also vindicate feels more like the deck's purpose, that is destorying things, over jace, but it's also pretty obvious jace is awesome when it comes down.
    It's a tough call.
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    Re: Esper America

    So ive been testing this deck and I gotta say so far its been absolutely sick! I think once decklists get a little more dialed in we are going to see this deck in a lot of top 8s. Heres what ive been running for reference:


    Creatures 9
    4 Stoneforge Mystic
    3 Tombstalker
    2 Vendilion Clique

    Artifacts 2
    1 Batterskull
    1 Umezawa’s Jitte

    Permission 10
    4 Mental Misstep
    3 Daze
    3 Force of Will

    Disruption 8
    4 Hymn to Tourach
    4 Stifle

    Cantrips 4
    4 Brainstorm

    Removal 7
    3 Swords to Plowshares
    2 Dismember
    2 Vindicate

    Lands 20
    4 Marsh Flats
    4 Underground Sea
    4 Wasteland
    2 Misty Rainforest
    2 Verdant Catacombs
    2 Scrubland
    2 Tundra

    Side Board 15
    2 Perish
    1 Retribution of the Meek
    2 Engineered Explosives
    1 Llawan, Cephalid Empress
    1 Tormod’s Crypt
    2 Surgical Extraction
    1 Extirpate
    2 Diabolic Edict
    2 Spell Pierce
    1 Force of Will


    The difference in life gain vs. lifeloss between this and traditional TA is simply game changing. Ive chosen Jitte over sword of x and y due to utility and 2cc, and I havent found a significant reason to change yet. Ive mainly been testing against fast zoo and merfolk, and a little against stoneblade since these decks give me problems. So far im pleased to say that between batterskull and Jitte the aggro matchups have become far easier. I will say that the deck is mana hungry in a completely different way than TA, I think in part due to removal in white but also due to the preferred timing of casting SFM as opposed to a goyf.

    It took me a little while to let go of my crutches...i.e. the 4th FoW and Ponder but so far I havent missed the 4th FoW maindeck at all. Ponder otoh Im still unsure on, mostly because Im still not always happy to see Clique as opposed to tombstalker and I do occasionally miss Ponders card selection and shuffle effects. If anything I may drop 1 (or both) Clique for Ponders and squeeze the 4th tombstalker back in, not sure yet. Ill keep testing without them and see how it goes.
    I do feel that if you can run vindicate in the main then daze could easily be a 4 of.

    I know my manabase isnt optimal but I dont currently own the proper fetches since I recently traded them off. Still I am amazed how powerful this deck has become just by changing green to white.

    Anyway feel free to comment.

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    Re: Esper America

    My quick thoughts.

    4x Stalker - While stalker is more often then not what gets you there, getting stalker flooded sucks. Any hand with 2 stalkers is almost an auto mull. I just found myself getting flooded entirely too much.

    Vindicate versus Jace - If you look at this strictly as a late game scenario, which would you rather top deck? Vindicate is a good top deck, where as jace wins games. That was ultimately why I put Jace MD. However, I dont know if vindicate and jace are fighting for the same slot. If you want vindicate, I'd toy with slots other than JTMS, maybe the cliques and MD removal number 5. I'm not sure cutting 2 threats (be they jace or clique) is the right call. All i can say in Jaces defense is that he's Jace.

    20 lands enough to support Jace - Well, I've never really had a problem with it. For me, Jace has only ever had to hit late game. I havent done much testing with him since SCG Boston.

    Also, Tombstalker mentioned it briefly. This deck IS very mana needy. The only other problem I see with vindicate MD, is that good opponents will try and keep us off of white. This deck wants white right now, but if you MD vindicate, it will need it. Seems a bit like setting yourself up for failure

  14. #14
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    Re: Esper America

    As far as the manabase goes, I don't think Vindicate, or rather wanting WB, is the problem. The deck already wants W for SFM and StP. Adding Vindicate doesn't change the fact that you need W.

    On the surface, the problem looks to be the fact that you are running 7 spells that require BB and 4 spells that require UU. With or without Vindicate, you still need W. You're trying to hit BBUUW with 20 lands, where 4 of those lands produce colorless (Wasteland). That seems to be the bigger issue, if you ask me.

    Especially considering that this deck is way more top heavy than your average "tempo" deck, I really think the deck needs 22 lands. The list is so tight though, and I have no idea how to fit everything.
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    Re: Esper America

    thanks for the very good primer.

    Biggest problems I had with this build (besides of not playing it correctly)

    - I often want to Daze, Stifle, Hymn instead of playing SFM/batterskull which cannot be done early to get batterskull down. Goyf takes 1 turn -> batterskull 2 turns.

    - We are more vulnerable to wasteland, because we need W twice and not only once like for goyf.

    - It sucks to be vulnerable to red

    - overall I feel the SFM plan has some antisynergy with the orignial TA tempo strategy.

    Would be interesting to hear your experiences of changing the playstyle from green to white!

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    Re: Esper America

    As far as the manabase goes, I don't think Vindicate, or rather wanting WB, is the problem. The deck already wants W for SFM and StP. Adding Vindicate doesn't change the fact that you need W.

    On the surface, the problem looks to be the fact that you are running 7 spells that require BB and 4 spells that require UU. With or without Vindicate, you still need W. You're trying to hit BBUUW with 20 lands, where 4 of those lands produce colorless (Wasteland). That seems to be the bigger issue, if you ask me.

    Especially considering that this deck is way more top heavy than your average "tempo" deck, I really think the deck needs 22 lands. The list is so tight though, and I have no idea how to fit everything.
    This is why I dont really think JTMS belongs here although plenty of people have proven otherwise im sure. But yes IMO its the double color requirements and just as importantly the cc of 3+ that can be a problem. Im in the Vindicate > JTMS camp, for this type of deck that is.

    Biggest problems I had with this build (besides of not playing it correctly)

    - I often want to Daze, Stifle, Hymn instead of playing SFM/batterskull which cannot be done early to get batterskull down. Goyf takes 1 turn -> batterskull 2 turns.

    - We are more vulnerable to wasteland, because we need W twice and not only once like for goyf.

    - It sucks to be vulnerable to red

    - overall I feel the SFM plan has some antisynergy with the orignial TA tempo strategy.
    These are all my same gripes with SFM (and clique when talking red vulnerability). That being said the trade off really does seem to be worth it. Access to far better removal in StP and Vindicate is huge and batterskull/jitte/Sword of xy bring an element to TA that it has needed to evolve, namely a late game + utility, and their even tutorable!

    Just when I was starting to feel solid about my TA plays this comes along :)

  17. #17

    Re: Esper America

    White America works so much better as a name for this deck.

    It's seeing a lot of play over here on the West Coast, ATM. It seems pretty good and has made a Top 8 since showing up.

  18. #18
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    Re: Esper America

    Quote Originally Posted by Tombstalker View Post
    ...
    The difference in life gain vs. lifeloss between this and traditional TA is simply game changing. Ive chosen Jitte over sword of x and y due to utility and 2cc, and I havent found a significant reason to change yet.
    ...
    Anyway feel free to comment.
    I like Jitte in the 75, but I'm not sure it belongs in the main.

    It was a card that 'Jager and I mulled around for a while as a sideboard card, as in some matchups it just does more than the Swords do. Unfortunately in the maindeck it felt as though we didn't really have the creature base to make Jitte the monster that it can be. Trading an SFM or Clique just to get counters isn't really a viable strategy because of how reliant we are on our few resolved beaters (whereas something like GW has the dudes to keep throwing at it). Also it's nice when an equipped dude is able to halt Goyf beats or swing by unmolested. A Jitte that has already triggered can do this, but the Swords do it right away.

    I'd be interested to see how your build matches up against Bant or GW Mav game 1 with the Jitte > Sword change. It's possible that it's just better because of the help it gives in the aggro/folk matchups.

  19. #19
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    Re: Esper America

    RogueMTG- I cant honestly rate the swords yet because I went straight for Jitte but I will test the swords eventually. As you say, it may be a whole different experience against those specific decks. What I have been testing is the match ups I have the most problems against with TA and so far they have all improved quite a bit.

    On another note, with more play time ive actually found the loss of ponder and the 4th tombstalker to be fine, especially since vindicate just owns.
    Last edited by Tombstalker; 08-30-2011 at 11:23 AM.

  20. #20
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    Re: Esper America

    I don't mean to take the wind out of anyone's sails, but this deck has been known about for awhile. I posted my own list in both the Team America and Esperblade threads a few weeks before the deck gained notoriety by top 8ing some events. So I would be wary on anyone claiming to 'invent' this deck.

    Anyways..

    The conclusion I came to after testing this deck for awhile is that while SFM can help solve some of TA's hardest matchups, it's not really any better than what green offers post-board, specifically Pernicious Deed in the aggro matchups. The other issue is that other SFM-based decks can sideboard into an alternative gameplan in the postboard games (making an opponent's Krosan Grips and whatnot useless), whereas Esper still needs to rely on Mystic as a primary kill condition. So if I were going to play a tempo deck, I'd stick with the efficiency of Tarmogoyf over devoting 5-6 slots to a somewhat clunky plan that doesn't adhere to the tempo plan of traditional TA. Just my two cents, but obviously results speak for themselves. Here's to hoping Innistrad gives us some new toys to play with for this style of deck.

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