Which deck should I play?

[Basaka]

There is a large legacy tournament coming up in about 2-3 weeks, for $500 store credit.

I have 2 deck choices:

Esper Blade
High Tide

I'm fairly confident with both. I predict the meta to be pretty diverse (RUG, Bant, several stoneblade variants, seen a storm or two, reanimator, elf combo etc), with maybe a slight increase in dredge/burn due to budget reasons. That being said, I have a bye, and expect the best players to be playing blue-based decks (blade, bant and RUG). I've even seen stax/Mono-B nether void on occasion.

I'm wondering which would be the better deck to play over say, 5-6 rounds + a top 8. I enjoy playing both, so I will be happy to play either. I'm thinking Esper leaves me more room to outplay people and crush random decks, but High Tide seems better against the top players, plus having a bye means I'll see less random decks.

I really can't decide, and I want to start testing soon. Any opinions to sway me in either direction?

[ESG]

Hi, Basaka. I believe this query should be posed in the What Should I Play In My Metagame? thread in the Format & Article Discussion section.

That said, I'll consider your question. Stax and Mono Black with Nether Void sound unfavorable for High Tide, but High Tide excels at beating non-Countertop control decks, so a blue-heavy room would be good for you. High Tide is less forgiving of small mistakes, and your rounds would longer, since the deck takes so long going through the motions. If you don't know High Tide inside and out, I would recommend Esper Blade. If you're a combo pro, then High Tide is probably the more strategic choice in that environment.

[Basaka]

I forgot that thread existed! Guess it can be merged if mods are willing.

I play storm combo, so I can go through the motions relatively quickly, and can probably finish off most motions verbally so my opponents acknowledge and scoop. I'm expecting more blue, so HT may be more strategic. Not sure if I want to play a bunch of stoneblade mirrors either, lol.