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Esper Legends Tips, Tricks & Sideboard Guide by Mogged
About the deck
Esper Legends probably qualify as a tempo deck since the theme of getting ahead on the board correlates with having a more successful plan than your usual deck.
The plan is to line up cumulative threats quickly, similar to a typical aggro deck, but with the difference being that the pressure isn't solely put on the opponent's life points. Instead, it is split between the traditional life "clock" and attempting to reach board states that are impossible to answer through brute force and card selection.
Compared to your usual standard midrange, this deck greatly benefits from curving and consistently hitting your 2-drop and 3-drop, a theme that should be included in your keep/mull criteria. Therefore, mulliganing to curve up is more important than mulliganing to answer the enemy's plan or having enough threats to survive removal.
My current version
$497/393.46 Tix
Maindeck (60)
| Creature [30] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Dennick, Pious Apprentice | $0.69 | |
| 4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben | $0.79 | |
| 4 Raffine, Scheming Seer | $5.99 | |
| 2 Toluz, Clever Conductor | $0.49 | |
| 4 The Raven Man | $0.49 | |
| 3 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse | $79.99 | |
| 1 Ertai Resurrected | $0.99 | |
| 1 Loran of the Third Path | $4.99 | |
| 4 Skrelv, Defector Mite | $5.49 | |
| 3 Unctus, Grand Metatect | $0.59 | |
| Instant [2] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2 Go for the Throat | $1.49 | |
| Land [28] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3 Shipwreck Marsh | $7.49 | |
| 3 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire | $9.99 | |
| 3 Otawara, Soaring City | $24.99 | |
| 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire | $12.99 | |
| 2 Raffine's Tower | $15.99 | |
| 2 Caves of Koilos | $0.49 | |
| 4 Plaza of Heroes | $9.99 | |
| 4 Darkslick Shores | $2.29 | |
| 4 Seachrome Coast | $4.49 | |
| 1 Plains | $0.01 | |
| 1 Swamp | $0.01 | |
| Sideboard [15] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 Spell Pierce | $0.59 | |
| 2 Disdainful Stroke | $0.35 | |
| 2 Temporary Lockdown | $6.99 | |
| 4 Cut Down | $1.29 | |
| 2 Loran of the Third Path | $4.99 | |
| 1 Go for the Throat | $1.49 | |
| 3 Razorlash Transmogrant | $0.49 | |
$130.97 Tix @cardhoarder
$3.27 / Week @cardhoarder
$468.52 @tcgplayer
$579.31 @cardkingdom
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Similar Decks
Proxies
Archetype Analysis
Magic online format
Apprentice and MWS .dec
Card choices
EXPECTED METAGAME
If the expected Standard metagame had a gauntlet, it would be something like this, with that popularity order:
- 1st - Grixis Midrange
- 2nd - Esper Legends
- 3rd - Mono-Red Aggro
- 4th - Mono White Midrange
- 5th - Gw Toxic
There is also a sizable portion of other midrange decks, such as the Atraxa decks. However, most of them do not look too promising, are difficult to target due to their midrange nature, and likely overlap with our efforts to beat Grixis. Ultimately, these are the five decks I am trying to build Esper Legends to be effective against.
Mono-red and Gw Toxic are already great matchups, and you can get the most value per sideboard slot by targeting these post-board.
Grixis and Mono-White are the more difficult matchups. Attempting to hedge against them too much provides the least equity per slot, as it's challenging to target midrange decks, especially without altering our deck's core plan.
ADDRESSING THE MIRROR
I believe that building your main deck to have some advantages against the mirror is probably the smartest play here, as the deck is becoming increasingly popular. It is easy to make significant improvements without interfering with our plan. I think the best way to achieve this is by using this magic card that I never thought would see play:
Raven Man is the future of Esper Legends mirror, just like how Razorlash became the Grixis Mirror Breaker. It has a rare text for Standard that triggers on the opponent's effects as well, meaning double the Eiganjos, Otawaras, Raffines, Toluzes, and all the other minor cards.
Raven Man simply demands an answer; otherwise, your Raffine will connive for an entire army eventually. However, the appeal of this card is that it is barely good enough to justify having it against other matchups as well.
UNCTUS GRAND METATECT
Unctus is a great replacement for Adeline Resplendent Cathar.
This card may appear average, but I believe it can create a strong Raffine impression, which the deck is built around. The anthem and loot effects are particularly useful in mirror matches and enable our Raven Man plan even more. Adeline is problematic in mirror matches because the soldier token can be easily blocked and killed, and Adeline itself cannot attack or block as easily due to Eiganjo. Additionally, it can be traded up with Go for the Throat. On the other hand, Unctus does not have to attack and can extract value without being involved in combat. Furthermore, as an artifact creature, it cannot be targeted by Go for the Throat.
OTHER CARDS
Having 2 basic lands serves as a countermeasure to the emerging 8 Field of Ruin Mono-white deck and Razorlash Transmogrant.
The deck can function without this card, but its inclusion is mandatory, as Sheoldred is extremely popular.
Tips and Tricks
Tip & Tricks #1: Using Eiganjo
In cases of facing creatures with 5+ toughness, consider using Eiganjo during the damage step if it is still activatable, as this could potentially save you from a removal blowout.
Tip & Tricks #2: Defector + Unctus
Defector Mite can be tapped without attacking. You can turn him into a looter in combination with Unctus if the appropriate mana or life costs are paid. Furthermore, there is synergy with The Raven Man and Toluz if the board stalls to that point.
Tip & Tricks #3: Toluz’s Triggers + Razorlash
You can activate Razorlash's transmogrify ability in response to Toluz's trigger before it exiles the target.
Tip & Tricks #4: Ertai & abilities
Ertai can counter an ability for a card; you can counter a Skrelv or Unctus activation to potentially draw a card for free in scenarios where you are looking to put Ertai on the board and use your mana.
Tip & Tricks #5: Killing Toluz
You can kill your own Toluz to obtain a buried pile of cards. This can happen through various methods, such as using Eiganjo on it for free during the damage step to acquire the pile and retrieve Eiganjo.
Tip & Tricks #6:The flip side
Don't forget that the flip side of Dennick triggers when a creature enters the graveyard from anywhere. This includes your draw and discard abilities, an enemy Corpse Appraiser, Toluz, Takenuma activation, etc.
5 Questions to Navigate Throughout Your Matches
Some useful questions to ask yourself throughout the matches to shape your decisions:
Question #1
Can I beat Sheoldred?/Can I afford to beat Sheoldred?
Question #2
Can I make their Invoke Despair bad?/Can I make a board that will get lethal 1 or 2 turns after invoke?
Question #3
What part of their deck does Dennick’s graveyard hate ability stops?/should I protect him for that ability?
Question #4
Do I actually attack with Skrelv for a Raffine/Unctus activation? I think not attacking with Skrelv with the intention to protect Raffine is a common mistake players make. Maybe you are fine with Raffine dying, or maybe the protect ability isn't going to be useful depending on the enemy deck configuration.
Question #5
Should I keep Sheoldred when looting? Sheoldred might be good in a given matchup, but perhaps the risk of trading down to a 2 mana answer could give your opponent some outs in an otherwise winning situation for you. Usually, in most matchups, Sheoldred is a high-risk, high-reward card. It is better when you are behind in a game than most cards are, but it's also one of the few ways to bait you into throwing a win through tempo out the window.
Sideboard guide
ESPER LEGENDS MIRROR
GRIXIS MIDRANGE
In this matchup, you assume the beatdown role, as Grixis is definitely capable of answering your threats efficiently and will win in the late game. Having a token or a cheap creature is very valuable in this matchup, as it makes the first Invoke Despair a 5-mana play that gains no tempo. If the first Invoke is looking bad, the other three are useless. This matchup is slightly unfavorable.
MONORED AGGRO/ RAKDOS AGGRO
In this matchup, you assume the control role. Your high-toughness creatures can stall their board, and if their pressure stops for a turn, it will likely stop for the entire game. Overall, this is a great matchup.
MONOWHITE MIDRANGE
This is likely an even matchup; their answers align well against you, but their threats don't, as they need time to turn them into something that affects the board. You will always assume the beatdown role against them and will manage better versus them post-board.
GW TOXIC
This matchup is very dynamic in terms of roles. You will race them more often than you would race any other aggro deck, but sometimes you may also choose to be on the defensive, especially when they have trouble dealing with 3+ toughness. Overall, it's a great matchup.
GRIXIS ATRAXA
This matchup is very similar to Grixis; it's not a good one, and you will assume the beatdown role. Dennick stops their Cruelty of Gix.
MONOBLUE
In this matchup, you assume the beatdown role. Don't be afraid to run your threats into open mana, as they have a really hard time dealing with your cheap creatures. Their goal is to buy time, but overall, it's a great matchup.
UW SOLDIERS
Unlike other aggro decks, I think you might be slightly behind in this one, as their creatures scale if left unanswered and we aren't playing enough removal. This forces us into a weird race that we are slightly slower in. Also, Harbin Vanguard Aviator is a nightmare for Esper Legends.
Final words
Finally Standard is starting to look like a format which highlights some of the most interesting parts of magic, adaptation and deckbuilding, despite Standard’s shortcomings week to week changes are interesting and are pushing us to be creative when registering decks
If you liked this article maybe you will also find interesting on of the following ones Monored Anax primer & sideboard guide, Going Mythic with Mono Green in Explorer
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Mogged is one of the MTGO grinders behind many of the top winning decks across formats. He has the most Challenge top8s and wins in 2021, and is currently leading in Challenge wins in 2022. His articles show a deep understanding of the MTG theory and are great for those looking to improve their gameplay, better understanding the game, and learning how the metagame evolves over time.
