We all know that the current core colors for the Magic: the Gathering control deck in the Standard format is Blue and Black, with the former catering counterspells and the latter on spot and mass removals. Today’s Standard deck feature has empowered the return of an old control menace in the triad of colors: Esper. Check out the decklist below.

Maindeck
25 LANDS (27)
4 Brightclimb Pathway
4 Clearwater Pathway
1 Deserted Beach
2 Field of Ruin
2 Hall of Storm Giants
2 Island
1 Plains
3 Shattered Sanctum
4 Shipwreck Marsh
2 Swamp

10 CREATURES
2 Edgar, Charmed Groom
4 Graveyard Trespasser
2 Henrika Domnathi
2 Iymrith, Desert Doom

19 INSTANTS and SORC.
4 Infernal Grasp
2 Jwari Disruption
3 Memory Deluge
3 Path of Peril
3 Siphon Insight
1 Soul Shatter
1 Test of Talents
2 Wash Away

6 OTHER SPELLS
3 Sorin the Mirthless
3 The Meathook Massacre

Sideboard
2 Curse of Silence
2 Fracture
3 Go Blank
2 Malevolent Hermit
1 Path of Peril
1 Soul Shatter
2 Test of Talents
2 Vanishing Verse

Dimir still fills most of the list whereas the access to White opens to two copies of Edgar, Charmed Groom is sort of a token producer when flipped to Edgar Markov’s Coffin to be able to put pressure while preventing opponents to develop their board.

The sideboard card choices also adjusted to the color options to maximize the cards to use in certain situations. For instance, Fracture and Vanishing Verse are good card upgrades to deal with the variance of removals to use.

Can we expect Esper Control to be one of the top-tier decks in the metagame in the coming weeks? We shall see.