Everything you say is true. Thoughtseize is an unfair card, Pacifism and Devouring Light are dead against Silumgar, the Drifting Death, but not against Dragonlord Ojutai. If anything game 1 is a huge advantage for me since Pacifism is not completely dead. Esper Dragons has roughly 7-10 dead cards game 1 from Foul-Tongue Invocation, Crux of Fate, Bile Blight, and, until I play a PW, Hero's Downfall while I'm stuck with 3 unplayable Silkwrap. The worst card to play against is a turn 3 Ashiok, which are in less than half Esper Dragon decks. Post board is a 5-7 card swap with 2 Negate, 2 Swan Song, 1 Jace's Ingenuity, and 2 Banishing Light(depending on PW use). Remember, in the mirror, Scorn is a completely worthless card without a dragon while most of those same decks run 2 or less Dissolve betting on Scorn being Counterspell. Nullify is really good against Esper Dragons considering how reliant they are on them to win. The mirror, for me, is really fun and usually ends up being 1-0-1 in my favor.
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Never claimed tier 1 status. Won't know till a PPTQ, IQ, GP or SCG Open comes near by. Until then I'll continue to rack up store credit with this non tier 1 deck, according to you...the authority on tier 1 decks.
It doesn't need black. I have zero problems with 4-5 drop dragons getting Nullify and Dissolve not to mention End Hostilities and Elspeth. Plenty of answers for mid rangy decks you speak of. Mid range is my best matchup anyway so many dead cards game one. If they(Silkwrap) don't hit game one then Suspension Field/Banishing LIght/Encase in Ice will. Your main deck doesn't always win game one matchups, this is what sideboards are for.It will also hit from the Mardu Dragons list: Soulfire Grand Master Seeker of the Way Goblin Rabblemaster Flamewake Phoenix(seen it in a couple of lists) Monastery Mentor(SB usually)Nothing lucky about choosing cards for the current meta. Those listed creatures makes up over a 3rd of all their creatures. Silkwrap does a fine job dealing with early threats on an extensive list of targets. You must be fine with the rest of the list if you are only arguing Silkwrap. You haven't given a legitimate reason for hating on Silkwrap other than it doesn't deal with things outside its design.
Again, I'm not here to debate your blind love for esper dragons. If you want to talk about this deck in it's current form then I'm all ears. End Hostilities and Ojutai do not mix. Forced Spike is still a poop card in standard even with the upside of Counterspell. Plus 5 slots wasted on dragons instead of Elspeth. Finally, no need for dragon lands mucking up UU spells. I can see why Silkwrap would bother most, but here are my targets and the main reason why to play silkwrap: Fleecemane Lion Raksasha Deathdealer Deathmist Raptor Savage Knuckleblade Anafenza, the Foremost Any mana dork not named Sylvan Caryatid Any morph creature Most creatures in any mono color aggro build.Just to name a few. It's also a reliable 2 drop to keep you on the removal game while keeping much needed mana up for counterspells. I would guess there is a correct number of them. Maybe 3 is too many, so far they are wonderful tempo plays and the exile effect is also great. I'm surprised the hubbub is about Silkwrap and not Pacifism. LOL. The dragons/scorn package are great when they are not being feasted upon by all the sac effects in the game. It's my main reason for going a different direction with U/W control.
Whisperwood can be a problem, but it's a problem for any control deck not main boarding Perilous Vault. I like my chances main board against any midrange deck in this format to include any multi colored aggro decks.
They see no current tier 1 play because everyone is satisfied with Esper Dragons as is. I have no interest in playing dragons/scorn thus the reason for the debate about this deck and not about your personal belief on dragons/scorn being tier 1 or 1.5.
Even an early Thoughtseize would have issues from poor selection, but yeah Thoughtseize with an average hand is always a killer. More often than not I've watched the forehead rubbing opponent pondering what to take. Don't forget Banishing light is a very efficient way to deal with PW/enchantments. It's become a forgotten piece of removal for control in a era of folks fearing Dromoka's Command. This would up my outs to 8 after board against PW/enchantments. I like my chances in those scenarios. I played and lost to a very morph centric deck making Ugin less effective and Whisperwood Elemental is hard to deal with if it hits the board or you never get End Hostilities before you opponent starts untapping.
I disagree. The Dragon/Scorn package was good when there were less fliers. Right now a Nullify runs a high percentage of counterspell opportunities without the reliance on dragons. Plus not having dragons in the deck list frees up 5 slots for things like silkwrap. Plus I'm not running B to play Crux of Fate which would allow me to play dragons and still boardwipe. I could argue why esper dragons is still tier 2 for days, but some of why it's not good I just described.
I just recently played my U/W control deck with some rather outside the box selections. I would gather most would scoff at my choices, but I can say with certainty they are great for this current meta. The reason I'm sharing this is because your deck is still base U/W which means you could possibly glean some different choices for yourself.http://www.mtgvault.com/mcflyguy/decks/uw-control-2/Give it a look, tell what you like and ask me anything about why those selections were made. I would enjoy some debate on the subject of moving away from tri color control to two color control.
I still play a one of Banishing Light to keep competitive against any enchantment/PW I may not be able to handle for whatever reason. A turn 3 Ashiok is devastating, they have no pressure to do anything but mill you 3 per turn while you hope it doesn't exile all your win cons.
Even with 4 Dragonlord Ojutai, I would only put 2-3 Silumgar's Scorn. There just isn't a reason to play more than this when you have only 4 dragons. To go up to 5-6 dragons then you have a case for 4, but the downside for Silumgar's Scorn is pretty bad as a Forced Spike. However some number of Nullify is going to be good as a main board card right now in this current meta, plus it still gives you game against any Dragon control decks. Thus the reason to go U/W or U/B, to make sure UU isn't a problem. Still rather have Jace's Ingenuity to as an on their turn mana go style of deck. Avoid as many sorcery in the main as possible. I wouldn't be against Raise the Alarm in the 75 some where.
Depending on you local meta, Nullify should be in your main 60, most definitely in your 75 as a 2-3 of. Could afford to main 1-2 Encase in Ice, your worst nightmare is a turn 3 Stormbreath Dragon and if you have Nullify and Encase in Ice in your main you'll cover your bases pre-board. I also like Rending Volley in your side board for those pesky Dragonlord Ojutai and any other matchups with white creatures...which is every Abzan deck ATM: Fleecemane Lion(GW) 3/3 Wingmate Roc(3WW) 3/4 Anafenza, the Foremost(GWB) 4/4 Brimaz, King of Oreskos(1WW) 3/4All staples, and all integral to their plan. Plus Temur Aggro is on the rise somewhat which means Savage Knuckleblade(GRU) 4/4. The other SB card worth mentioning is Glare of Heresy for many of the same reason plus Siege Rhino. I also don't like more than one Perilous Vault for the simple reason of having PW's as WC's, can be awkward. Jeskai Charm could be really underrated, the bounce effect is really nice tempo play and the burn is relevant, could use more than 2, but it's a good call either way. Disdainful Stroke is OK in the main, but rather underwhelming unless you are in the mirror or midrange matchup. Shift to them to the SB IMO.The biggest concession you'll have is from Atarka Red to which I say Arc Lightning/Anger of the Gods. The best 2 for 1, or 3 for 1, should they get sloppy and keep Hordeling Outburst in post board. The other concession is life gain, you don't really have as many opportunities to gain any with this configuration nor will you since you can't afford to play Radiant Fountain past 1 or 2 copies. The best option is Soulfire Grand Master and burn which is your current configuration. Not to say SGM should be main, but some number of them for consideration is warranted in your 75. Again good luck and have fun.
Kudos for the Mardu Ascendency + Ambuscade Shaman. I would look for more opportunities to expound on this by including more flyers and some Mogis Marauders to push through more damage at a higher more consistent clip. Don't see the need to have both Fodder and Outburst unless you are all in with Impact Tremors, got yourself a bit of an identity crisis. Better off with Butcher or the Horde and Crackling Doom, best removal in standard ATM, in the main. I would strongly consider Goblin Heelcutter to once again push through damage. Whip of Erebos is a luxury item and doesn't really fill a role. You would do better with more removal/draw spells in the main over such cards as Outpost Siege, Impact Tremors, Whip of Erebos, and either Dragon Fodder/Hordeling Outburst. Lastly you might consider Dragonlord Kolaghan. This deck is also severely lacking Goblin Rabblemaster. Good luck, and have fun.
One of the biggest advantages of running red is playing main board Anger of the Gods. I would caveat this with the fact Abzan anything has so many creature with 4 toughness that it becomes a detriment to the overall scheme. I would guess going either UB control or UW control is just strictly better ATM. Either way, good luck and have fun.
I would argue how Ascendancy is just better than Reap since it also provides sweeper protection. Thanks though, I did forget about said card.
I would like some feedback on this since it's got some room for growth. I'm sure there's some varying ways to efficiently produce +1/+1 counters while maintaining a balanced attack.
Just thought of it today.
The creatures currently in white have the best in the field abilities. From having access to Banisher Priest to having an attacking fog bank in Seraph of the Sword. White also has access to Detain. Black and Red have more aggressive plans of attack that won't allow you to survive. I think after rotation this deck will have a real chance of being tier 1 or tier 1.5.
You can do it either way, depending on which creatures are needed. If you need to get two creatures in echelon then you let each Yisan activation resolve individually otherwise you can put two activations on the stack which allows you to search for two at the same verse count.
That's irrelevant, Yisan being a legend allows you to reset him when needed. Flexibility, unlike Pod which relies on sacing creatures, allows for multiple cards in one turn at varying CMC. Also instant speed summoning...ballin.
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