IntroductionEsper Ephemerate performed quite well at the Israeli Pauper Nationals, held on October 1. There were three Esper Ephemerates in the Top 8 out of 66 competitors. That may not sound impressive compared to other national events, but it shows this archetype should not be underestimated.Like several other new decks, this one also got better when Baleful Strix was introduced to Pauper through The Zeta Set. It takes each match into the late game much like the Jeskai variants but plays black, including both the new card and options such as Cut Down and Refurbished Familiar.DecklistMaindeckLike the Jeskai variants, the engine in this list includes Ephemerate and Archaeomancer. Together, they let you reuse any spell in your graveyard, and you will also be able to keep Ephemerate around for another cycle.Ephemerate also protects your creatures from removals and, as we will see with the cards below, lets you reuse ETB effects to create card advantage and disrupt the opponent.Because it can easily loop spells, Murmuring Mystic will complement your win conditions and, at the same time, create an almost endless supply of attackers and blockers as the game goes long.Baleful Strix definitely stands out among the ETB creatures and spell targets in this deck. Besides drawing extra cards, it also acts as pseudo-removal against practically any creature. Mulldrifter is a classic addition to Ephemerate. Together, they'll refill your hand and draw up to 6 cards for 4 mana.Refurbished Familiar takes advantage of the Metalcraft package to enter play early and destroy the opponent's resources whenever it does. If the opponent has no cards left, Familiar becomes another way to draw cards.Dispatch and Cut Down make it much easier to make the most of your mana and also stabilize the early game. Reusing them will be pretty simple once your engine is on, and you'll be able to answer any creature as well.Suffocating Fumes answers the X/1s from Battle Screech, Elves, and an army of Sneaky Snackers. In other matchups, you can cycle it to draw another card.Counterspell is the best option available in the format to interact with the stack, while the single copy of Dispel is useful in several matchups, including Blue Terror, the mirror, and Affinity.Lorien Revealed will fix your mana early on and later become another way to create card advantage. Preordain filters the top of your deck and is a reusable way to draw cards with Archaeomancer.You'll also fix your mana with Giant's Boulder, which enables Dispatch's Metalcraft and Refurbished Familiar's Affinity. However, Bender's Waterskin is the key artifact in this list. When you play more 1-mana removal spells, using a source that untaps on the opponent's turn means you can tap out on your turn and still have a way to stop their advances on the following turn.Idyllic Beachfront and Contaminated Aquifer are the main targets for Lorien Revealed when you want to fix your mana, but you can get an Island if you need to use it on the same turn.This combination of Bridges and artifact lands enables Metalcraft. Like Jund Wildfire, this list is more resilient to Dust to Dust, but you need to set up accordingly to avoid a "soft lock" early on.SideboardHydroblast will be a must as long as Red Aggro variants remain some of the most common decks in Leagues. Just as Nihil Spellbomb is still essential against Blue Terror and Spy Combo, Arms of Hadar is essential against Elves, White Weenie, and Faeries.Annul does the same thing as the cards above and is critical against Affinity, Tron, and Bogles, which has been rising lately.Duress is a universal answer for attrition matchups and archetypes that rely too much on noncreature spells, from Grixis Affinity to Bogles, as well as Faeries, Blue Terror, Tron, and Black Gardens.Because of this list's vulnerability to Dust to Dust, we decided to add Envelop. It will protect your mana base against White Weenie and also answer Battle Screech. In addition, this spell is an relatively cheap answer to Dread Return in Spy Combo.Sideboard GuideEsper AffinityINOUTGrixis AffinityINOUTMadness BurnINOUTBlue TerrorINOUTElvesINOUTBoglesINOUTSpy ComboINOUTBlack GardensINOUTMono White AggroINOUTWrapping UpWhat do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.Thank you for reading, and see you next time!
Reactions
0
0 Comments
Be the first to comment
Nothing here yet.