Standard: Esper Legends Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Esper Legends, Esper Midrange or Esper Raffine is a solid option for Standard currently, being one of Grixis Midrange's main rivals in the format.

This deck has a much more aggressive approach than the other midranges, and despite not actually being an Aggro, its strategy consists of abusing impactful creatures or that have synergy with each other, the vast majority of them being legendary creatures, hence the name of the deck.

The Decklist

Let's take as a basis a list that made the top 8 in a recent challenge on Magic Online.

The mana base has 27 lands and here we can highlight Plaza of Heroes, which has great synergy with the deck's strategy, managing to fix mana and serve as a protection in the later stages of the game. The Channel Lands also have a special place in this deck.

Introducing the deck creatures, we have one that can give evasion and/or protect other creatures practically for free. Skrelv, Defector Mite is an excellent one-drop and its ability to use the Toxic ability (both by itself and granting this ability to other creatures) makes it quite interesting in the deck.

Evasion and a lord ability that works until the end of the turn. Harbin, Vanguard Aviator fits very well with the deck, which has its own soldier package to allow for this. Besides, of course, being a 2 mana, 3/2 with flying, which is already an excellent reason to have it on this list.

Dennick, Pious Apprentice is yet another great soldier-type creature present in the deck. 2/3 with lifelink, which can be reused with its Disturb ability and still protects your graveyard, ensuring Disturb will trigger. Its transformed spellcasting is a source of card advantage, in addition to having evasion and imposing a higher clock.

We have another two-drop that always impacts when it enters the battlefield. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is a pretty annoying card to play, slowing down opponent interactions and any high-impact spells that could change the course of the game. First Strike lets her attack against most blockers and still synergizes with the deck's soldier subtheme.

Toluz, Clever Conductor is a creature that can be underestimated, but that still has a role in this list that can be very well explored. A good body for a three-drop that can replenish the hand or have a kind of evasion, as the opponent may prefer to take damage before letting her put more cards in your hand. This card also interacts well with the next creature on the list.

Raffine, Scheming Seer is our main engine. A 3 drop with Flying and Ward that has an ability that can generate an absurd card filtering while also increasing the power of one of your creatures (usually Raffine himself). This card is the reason why the deck is on the Esper colors.

Adeline is an interesting addition to this list, as the more numerous your table is, the stronger she gets, and she can fulfill this task herself by creating tokens, being a great attacker and blocker.

No deck that runs black in Standard can afford not to use Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. I already talked about this card in my last article, about the Grixis Midrange, and I repeat here the importance of the praetor.

A card that has insane interaction with Raffine and can finish the game by itself, being used as an attacker more efficiently than any other deck would be able to.

The legendary dragon is one of the bombs in the deck, and whether alive or dead, it can close the game with extreme ease.

The deck has few non-creature spells, just a few cards to help with the main plan.

Wedding Annoucement will populate the board, generate card advantage, and buff your creatures. Go for the Throat and Cut Down are removals that will help by getting some block out of the way or removing a bigger threat that the opponent can bring.

Mulligan

An ideal starting hand should have 2 to 3 lands that allow you to play all three colors.

Skrelv and Thalia are ideal drops in the first two turns. Esper Legends, despite looking a lot like an Aggro deck and primarily having a more aggressive play stance, is still a Midrange. With that in mind, we must adapt as the game demands, and that's where this deck shines.

Example of an ideal hand:

The current Standard is a format with a lot of action in the first turns, impactful creatures and powerful removals. A slow hand against an unknown opponent can be dangerous, however tempting it may seem, as can a hand that is too aggressive and without a well-laid plan.

Now let's talk about Esper's Sideboard and how to use it.

Loran of the Third Path is a card that will find its way into almost every matchup, as Standard is full of artifacts and enchantments that generate a lot of value and need a quick iteration. Its ability to make both players draw a card also synergizes with Sheoldred and can be a clever way to kill the opponent faster.

Ratadrabik is a card that can be played in matchups with more attrition, where many of your creatures end up in the graveyard.

Dinsdainful Stroke is a very flexible card which can be used in many situations. Malicious Malfunction, Cut Down, Destroy Evil, and Go for the Throat will complement the removals when needed.

Vs. Grixis Midrange

The most popular deck in the format and uses Sheoldred very defensively. Here, the posture is to aggressively attack and make good use of Skrelv and Thalia, as they are creatures that can hinder the opponent.

Sheoldred will be important as it can nullify an opposing Sheoldred. Creatures with flying, mainly Harbin, are great here.

IN

OUT

Vs. Atraxa Reanimator

Midranges based on Atraxa, Grand Unifier have become more and more popular and this can be a very problematic matchup. Post-side, the game is a bit more favorable, but here again Thalia and Skrelv are important cards.

IN

OUT

Vs. Mono White Midrange

Another complicated matchup. Toluz can be crippled by exile removals and Skrelv becomes important once again, especially against creatures like Phyrexian Vindicator. Sanctuary Warden and The Wandering Emperor are also problematic cards.

IN

OUT

Vs. Mono Red Aggro

In this matchup, we have Sheoldred and Dennick to recover some life points, we can also use the extra interaction between Sheoldred and Raffine to win the game. The stance here is to gain time and play defensively until you can turn the tables.

IN

OUT

Vs. Esper Legends

The most interesting and complex matchup. The mirror has many variables and possibilities to consider, but overall games will be heavily influenced by starting hand and draws. Whoever makes the most impactful plays on the deck first has the advantage and probably takes the game.

Be careful with the opponent's Sheoldred and remember that two Sheoldreds on opposite sides of the board cancel each other out. Also, keep in mind that the opponent can use a few different cards like Ertai Resurrected, The Wandering Emperor and even sweepers like Depopulate.

IN

OUT

This aggressive version of Esper really pleases me and seems to be doing better than the version with planeswalkers, which has a closer to a Control stance. Always keep in mind that you are dealing with a deck full of legendaries and work well on the synergy that the creatures have with each other. Raffine and Sheoldred are a great example of this, functioning as a combo within the deck and which can be an alternative wincondition.

Esper Legends is a versatile and complex deck and perhaps one of the most fun decks in Standard today, being able to rival the main decks of the format in efficiency.

Well, we have reached the end of another article! Thanks for reading and if you have questions and/or suggestions, you can send them in the comments, and I'll try to answer them all.