Legacy: Esper Midrange - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Greetings, Legacy community!

Decks come in many shapes and forms: some decks center around a combo involving 2 cards and ways to find these cards and protect them, while others lean on different synergies between mechanics or creature types.

Some decks focus on disabling certain game mechanics, and have adapted to perform better against them. On the other side, a few decks seem to just be a playable compilation of the best cards available in the format. Esper Midrange is basically that: a combination of the best blue, white, and black cards in Legacy.

And, sometimes, raw power is enough. This deck is quite effective!

Today, let's go through the list that Rafael Villela, a Brazilian player, used to win a Magic Online Challenge 32.

In its essence, this is an Esper Control list, and, as such, it uses everything these colors have to offer - 4 Force of Will, 4 Brainstorm, 4 Ponder, 4 Swords to Plowshares, 4 Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, and 4 Orcish Bowmasters. However, then there's what makes this list different from traditional Control decks: it doesn't play cards like Lórien Revealed, Triumph of Saint Katherine, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, or Narset, Parter of Veils so it can play tempo elements like Wasteland, Daze, and Murktide Regent and cross the victory line faster.

So, this deck is not entirely aggressive as Delver lists would be, but swapping this aggression for tempo gives this list more answers, and makes it more stable.

For instance, it also plays Thoughtseize, Prismatic Ending, and Teferi, Time Raveler, which are great, broad-spectrum answers for anything your opponent might throw at you. The last nonland card in this deck is Barrowgoyf, two copies. This black, 3-mana Lhurgoyf has become a known staple in Legacy, either in Dimir Tempo or in Reanimator's or Doomsday's transformative sideboards.

Please note that our dear friend Barrowgoyf is useful in a few ways: it has lifelink, which is great against aggro decks, it creates resources for you in games that turn into wars of attrition, and, I have to stress, it is nearly impossible to kill!

Apart from Swords to Plowshares, the main removals in Legacy aren't efficient if you want to deal with it: Lightning Bolt is usually not enough to handle it; unlike Murktide Regent, it ignores Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast; its stats make it naturally resistant to Pyrogoyf's triggered ability, and, thanks to its Deathtouch, it also beats Pyrogoyf in combat and survives; finally, Prismatic Ending is not efficient to deal with it, not at all. So, it is a very resilient threat.

Like any great noncombo deck with Brainstorm and Ponder, you can keep various opening hands if they have at least a bit of action, enough mana, and a vague game plan. Will you be aggressive or control the game?

Hand examples:

This hand is a bit average, and relatively vulnerable to Wasteland, but it has Brainstorm, so you can find more gas and some protection. Thoughtseize, however, is a dead card until you find a black mana. Verdict: keep, but it's nothing exceptional.

Though this hand only has one land, it has basically everything this deck wants - card draw and protection. Verdict: easy keep.

This hand is complicated: it has two cards that rely on a third land, but no way to draw it and make sure it is viable. You can, arguably, keep this hand against a few decks, but it is a bit risky. Verdict: mulligan, but it was almost keepable.

This hand is also viable, as it has answers and card draw. Verdict: keep.

As this deck was built to face the online meta in particular, its sideboard includes ways to deal with graveyards specifically: Surgical Extraction, Nihil Spellbomb, and Grafdigger's Cage.

Consign to Memory is still one of the most efficient answers against Eldrazi threats, but it is also useful against eventual Chalice of the Voids and The One Rings.

Hydroblast is relevant because of the ever-growing presence of Red Stompys.

Force of Negation is another 0-cost counter that will be essential in certain matches, and Engineered Explosives is a generic answer to board threats outside your radar.

A few other cards that show up in this deck's sideboard are Containment Priest, Damping Matrix, Harbinger of the Seas, Lavinia, Azorius Renegade, Null Rod, rest in Peace, Stony Silence, and Wrath of the Skies.

Dimir Reanimator

Now that you don't need to face this deck on two fronts - Reanimation and Psychic Frog - you'll only need to stop them from putting a creature in play.

Post-side, you'll have the tools to attack their graveyard, but don't cut all removals because they'll most likely bring extra creatures, like Barrowgoyf, from their sideboard.

In:

Out:

Temur/Izzet Delver

Unlike versions that are more Control, you won't struggle as much when this deck attacks your lands because your mana curve is lower. You have answers for their Murktide Regent (namely, Swords to Plowshares), while the best they can do is simply Brazen Borrower.

Post-side, try to keep up in card advantage with cards like Force of Will. They have enough red cards to make Hydroblast efficient, particularly as a "counter to a counter" if you target Pyroblast with it.

In:

Out:

Eldrazi Aggro

The two most problematic cards they can play against you are Chalice of the Void and Sowing Mycospawn, which you can fortunately contain with Consign to Memory post-side. Your other counters aren't fantastic against them, but always keep a good number of them so you can stop Chalice from disrupting you too much.

In:

Out:

Red Stompy

This is another Stompy list that plays problematic cards. Namely, the aforementioned Chalice of the Void, which they can play on turn 1 even more easily than Eldrazi lists, and Blood Moon, which disables a good part of your mana base, even if you've already got a basic land.

Daze is often not that efficient, considering they can simply exile a Simian Spirit Guide to pay for its cost.

One advantage this deck has over Stompy is that, if you resolve a Murktide Regent or Barrowgoyf, they are practically immortal in game 1. Your opponent can have Pyroblast or Dead//Gone post-side for Murktide Regent, but they won't have an effective answer for Barrowgoyf.

In:

Out:

Nadu Breakfast

They can play their combos very easily if you let down your guard even for one moment, so Thoughtseize is extra valuable. After all, with it, you'll be able to look at their hand and know what you're facing at that moment.

Your sideboard will deal with their plan A, but, their plan B, Nadu, Winged Wisdom, can simply drown you in a torrent of cards if they resolve it. Post-side, you'll remove your heaviest cards, as they'll consume all your mana in a matchup you need to look for answers constantly.

In:

Out:

Esper Midrange is a mid-point between Dimir Aggro and Esper Control, but it still plays the best cards from both archetypes, which is probably why it is so successful. Using Daze is a choice, considering this isn't only a tempo deck that plays a threat on turn 1 and keeps with it throughout the game. You'll be able to catch many opponents off-guard with it.

Sometimes, a deck full of synergies and a real engine full of clogs is fascinating, but, in occasionally, all you need is to throw the best cards available in a pot and stir. It really does work!

What did you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below!

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!