Standard format is experiencing one of the most varied moments of recent years and there are always surprises. Today we are going to talk about a new entry in the format, namely Esper Aggro, which has managed to get 5 times in a row a score of 5-0 in the Standard League of MTGO.
The Deck
As you can see from the mana curve, the deck is a real aggro even if the game dynamics are slightly different from those of a classic aggro. The deck can afford to get to advanced stages of the game thanks to Stormchaser's Talent and its various levels.
It is necessary to analyze the deck in its entirety and proceed step by step so that we can better understand its functioning and potential.
Card Choices
The creature spells
Mockingbird is an extremely flexible card and surely, considering the other creatures in the deck, the preferred target should be Optimistic Scavenger or alternatively Spiteful Hexmage if you need a tempo play to quickly close the game. In fact, it should be remembered that when it enters the battlefield it does not trigger "Enter the battlefield" effects. In most cases this little bird will serve as "insurance" against our opponents and will copy precisely the enemy creatures. In this way, considering the current meta, this creature will want to copy creatures with mana cost of 3 or 4 mana. By playing the deck you will realize how important it is to resist the temptation to play this card in the early stages of the game so that you can face complicated situations in later stages.
Nurturing Pixie is one of the most relevant creatures in the deck as it will give us the chance to activate our "enter the battlefield" effects as many times as possible. The permanent we want to bounce with this fairy is multiple:
- Hopeless Nightmare is a good target in many cases but it's definitely more effective to bounce this enchantment against Midrange or Control decks (currently absent in the meta) than against Aggro decks;
- Stormchaser's Talent is the target of the deck that is most flexible and can generate more value thanks to the synergy with This Town Ain't Big Enough;
- Nowhere to Run is the perfect target to bounce against Aggro or Midrange decks;
- Shardmage's Rescue can become a great target if we find ourselves playing against decks full of removal spells. Bouncing this enchantment grants us more ways to protect our creatures;
- Mockingbird is a decent target whenever we have a better target than the one previously chosen.
Optimistic Scavenger thanks to the 18 (+4 generated by Spiteful Hexmage) enchantments within the deck is a perfect 1 mana creature. Also, thanks to the many ways to bounce permanents, this creature's potential is incredibly high. If left unchallenged this creature can be a huge problem for our opponents.
Spiteful Hexmage has a virtually irrelevant drawback within this list as 12 of the other 16 creatures are already 1/1s. The generated token can also be very useful to pay the casting cost of Fear of Isolation. On top of that the token is an enchantment capable of triggering Optimistic Scavenger.
What was said for Nurturing Pixie is also valid for Fear of Isolation with the only difference that in this case bouncing a permanent is part of the casting cost of the creature. On top of that this creature is an enchantment as well.
The other spells
Hopeless Nightmare is a very important card for this deck as we will be able to bounce it many times generating so much value and lots of damage to our opponent. Also, don't forget to sacrifice it in order to scry 2. Bouncing this card even a couple of times can generate enough value to win the game.
Whenever I read Stormchaser's Talent I regret not having bought dozens of them. The card is simply strong and can generate very complicated situations to handle for our opponents. In late stages of the game combining it with This Town Ain't Big Enough is very strong and all this for only 1 mana is ridiculous. The card is absolutely strong even in this archetype.
Nowhere to Run is the only removal available for the deck and should be used with great caution considering also the many ways present in the format to increase the toughness of creatures at instant speed.
This Town Ain't Big Enough is yet another card with a lot of flexibility in the deck and many uses. It is a card that fits very well in many different situations and becomes even stronger within decks that have access to Stormchaser's Talent.
Shardmage's Rescue is definitely a great way to protect our creatures as it is an enchantment (so it stays on the field once used), it's cheap and can be bounced for future uses forcing our opponent to play around it.
Sideboard
Knight of Grace is the card we want to play in the deck when playing against black-based decks full of removal spells.
Shrouded Shepherd is great against the Convoke decks currently in the format.
Rest in Peace is useful against decks that use the graveyard.
Blot Out is very useful against various midrange strategies of the format. Indeed decks like Dimir or Golgari Midrange have creatures and planeswalkers that are difficult to remove for this deck, and Blot Out is a cheap, quick and effective way to deal with them.
Invasion of Gobakhan is great against decks full of removal spells and control decks in general. At the moment even some Midrange archetypes of the format may suffer from this card. One of them could be Dimir Midrange.
Conclusions
The deck brings a breath of fresh air to the format and resurrects the Esper colors that had now disappeared from the rotation of Raffine, Scheming Seer. From the first games played with the deck I can guarantee that the deck is not only fun but it also has a lot of potential. You can certainly find a better sideboard than the current one and I do not exclude some changes to the maindeck. Generally I don't think it's a tier 1 deck of the format but it can definitely be an unexpected outsider in the weeks ahead before the next expansion.
That's all for today, good Esper Aggro to you all!