Last weekend, I made the trek to a Standard Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier with Todd Maddock of Ypsilanti. At first, I was considering not attending, as I had lost faith in Abzan Aggro, and my new Esper Dragons list didn’t have a real sideboard yet. I liked the theory behind the tweaks I made to Esper, so I decided to give it a go. I like playing PPTQs so I don’t become rusty playing competitive events, as that is a skill in itself.

As the weeks progressed, Esper Dragons has evolved, but the core remains intact. The only time I have ever played the deck in a tournament was a local Thursday Standard event at Get Your Game On, where I went 1–2, drop. I felt there was a further evolution of the deck that takes advantage of the nut-draw: Kill your opponent’s stuff, and play Dragonlord Ojutai on turn five.

This is what I registered:

Esper Dragons ? Dragons of Tarkir Standard | Kyle Boggemes

• Creatures (6)
• 2 Dragonlord Silumgar
• 4 Dragonlord Ojutai

• Spells (26)
• 2 Dissolve
• 3 Bile Blight
• 3 Hero's Downfall
• 4 Dig through Time
• 4 Foul-Tongue Invocation
• 4 Silumgar's Scorn
• 2 Crux of Fate
• 4 Thoughtseize

• Lands (28)
• 2 Swamp
• 4 Island
• 1 Caves of Koilos
• 1 Temple of Silence
• 3 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
• 4 Dismal Backwater
• 4 Polluted Delta
• 4 Temple of Deceit
• 4 Temple of Enlightenment
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Drown in Sorrow
• 4 Ultimate Price
• 2 Duress
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 1 Negate
• 1 Perilous Vault
• 2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
• 1 Dragonlord's Prerogative

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Despite only playing some practice games here and there before the event, I was very confident in my main deck. I cut the Anticipates because this deck wants every game to play out the same way: Cast three interaction spells (counters, removal, and Thoughtseize) and then an Ojutai to close the game. When you spend an early turn casting Anticipate, it allows the opponent to keep a threat in play that would otherwise be removed. This adds up because Ojutai is planning on doing nothing but attacking; I don’t want to be drawing cards with Anticipate instead of interacting.

It is standard at this point to win with four Ojutai, one Silumgar (Dragonlord Silumgar or Silumgar, the Drifting Death), one Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, and maybe an Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. I wanted to play a shell of win conditions that are all Dragons to maximize the chances of having one in my hand or in play for the four Silumgar's Scorn and four Foul-Tongue Invocation. Since I have four Thoughtseize, the two copies of Dragonlord Silumgar will survive more often; this Dragon is more impactful than the Drifting Death, but it also lacks a hexproof shield. I want to steal Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Ashiok since they are both thorns in my side.

The typical removal suite features four 2-mana spells, but I trimmed down to three because I don’t want four Bile Blight and I dislike main-decking Ultimate Price thanks to so many gold Dragons and Abzan decks. The fourth Thoughtseize lets me keep a high number of early interaction spells. I have plenty of 3-mana kill spells because Hero's Downfall killing Planeswalkers is important against Abzan Control and Ashiok. I like playing the full number of Foul-Tongue Invocation because I have six Dragons to support it, and it helps me race with Ojutai more often thanks to the life-gain.

The sideboard was what scared me the most, as I don’t like casting Ashiok, and that was a staple; I’ll have to make some untested changes. Drown in Sorrow was an easy inclusion because Foul-Tongue Invocation backed by aggressive win conditions meant I had a reasonable matchup against red. I don’t like dedicating my sideboard to fight red unless I feel it’s enough to win the match. It’s very reasonable to hope to dodge the matchup and free up sideboard space if your Game 1 is too weak.

Ultimate Price was another easy addition because it’s great against non-Esper Dragon decks as well as Mono-Red and Mono-Green Devotion. There are some close matchups, such as R/G Dragons, that become very easy when you answer the opponent’s 5-mana threats for 2 mana.

I was most impressed with Duress because I want it in almost every matchup. It doesn’t deal you damage against Mono-Red, which makes it better than Thoughtseize; the same holds true against Jeskai Tokens because those opponents barely play creatures. I want at least six discard spells in the mirror to discard Dragonlord's Prerogative as well as Abzan Control because it hits Elspeth.

The Tournament

There were forty-two players in the event, which meant six rounds. The Metro Detroit area is very competitive as far as PPTQs are concerned, so I had my work cut out for me. The best players in the event are typically good enough to Top 8 consistently, so elimination rounds are more competitive than the average PTQ Top 8.

Round 1 — Sultai Whip: Win 2–0

Round 2 — Mardu Dragons: Win 2–0

Round 3 — Abzan Midrange: Lose 0–2

Round 4 — Jeskai Tokens: Win 2–1

Round 5 — Mardu Dragons: Win 2–1

Round 6 — Intentional draw with Abzan Midrange (Todd Maddock)

I entered the Top 8 at 4–1–1 in fifth place. This meant I was paired against the fourth-place player, who happened to be on Atarka Red, which meant he was on the play.

Quarterfinals — Atarka Red: Win 2–1

Semifinals — Abzan Midrange (Todd Maddock)

Finals — Abzan Midrange (Round 3 opponent)

Even though this event didn’t qualify me for a Pro Tour, it still felt good to get the PPTQ monkey off my back. I had five PPTQ Top 8s prior to this and was never able to close.

Going forward, I want to play the same main deck, but the new sideboard has three Duress instead of the Perilous Vault:

Esper Dragons Sideboard ? Dragons of Tarkir Standard | Kyle Boggemes

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Drown in Sorrow
• 4 Ultimate Price
• 2 Duress
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 1 Negate
• 1 Perilous Vault
• 2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
• 1 Dragonlord's Prerogative

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Here are how some of the popular matchups play out:

Abzan Control

This is all about discarding Elspeth before you tap out for Ojutai. There are only three Hero's Downfall to beat a resolved Elspeth, which is bad because it will come into play and do something nasty before you remove it.

Bile Blight can kill Fleecemane Lion or a morphed Den Protector, but it can also shrink the power of your Ojutai in response to Abzan Charm, Valorous Stance, and Elspeth’s minus ability. This rarely comes up against Abzan Charm because the opponent will use them early to draw cards while the Hero's Downfall rots in the opponent’s hand until you are ready to attack with Ojutai.

Thoughtseize is always good because you can kill the opponent’s Den Protector, which prompts him or her to morph it up in response, and you discard the best spell in his or her graveyard (usually Siege Rhino or Elspeth). It will also have a good chance of hitting a Hero's Downfall at any point to clear the way for Ojutai.

Sideboard in:

2 Duress

1 Disdainful Stroke

1 Dragonlord's Prerogative

2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

Sideboard out:

3 Bile Blight

2 Crux of Fate

1 Dig Through Time

It could be reasonable to sideboard out a land, but I expect Ojutai to hit the graveyard often in this matchup thanks to Thoughtseize and Self-Inflicted Wound; this means I want the Havens and enough mana to cast Ojutai in the same turn. The six discard spells will make sure you aren’t blown out by the opponent’s more specific creature-removal spells; it also fills the graveyard quickly for Tasigur, the Golden Fang.

Mirror Match

I like the way this deck is built for the mirror. The most important thing to do is hit your land drops, and we have twenty-eight instead of twenty-seven. Of these twenty-eight lands, there is an additional Temple and an additional Haven, and that translates into card advantage.

The fourth Thoughtseize over Anticipate is key because Game 1 can come down to decking, and it’s often not worth taking a card out of your deck unless it’s necessary. The Polluted Deltas should only be sacrificed if you need to cast something for this reason as well—don’t let decking happen to you! Each player will have an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to draw to in his or her deck, so Deltas will still produce mana.

The one thing you need to watch out for is the opponent’s main-deck singleton Ashiok. Even though it will almost immediately die to Hero's Downfall, it will still take three cards out of your deck, which puts the opponent ahead in the library war. Remember that you can also steal his or her Ashiok with Dragonlord Silumgar and minus it to 0 loyalty to make it a Downfall on a stick even if he or she didn’t exile a creature.

Since we have one fewer 2-mana kill spell and have an additional Foul-Tongue Invocation, we are better equipped to deal with opposing Ojutais and Silumgars. The additional Haven also gives us an additional win condition.

Sideboard in:

3 Duress

1 Dragonlord's Prerogative

2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

1 Negate

1 Disdainful Stroke

Sideboard out:

3 Bile Blight

2 Crux of Fate

1 Hero's Downfall

2 Foul-Tongue Invocation

Both players will have at least five discard spells post-’board, so things will come down to top-decks more often. I usually like to cut a Dig Through Time when I ’board in Tasigur, but I can keep all six delve spells when I have three Duress and four Thoughtseize.

Here are some quick guides to some other popular decks:

Mono-Red or Atarka Red

4 Ultimate Price

3 Drown in Sorrow

3 Duress

1 Negate

2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

Sideboard out:

4 Thoughtseize

3 Hero's Downfall

3 Dig Through Time

1 Dissolve

2 Crux of Fate

Aside from keeping your life total high, make sure to respect Atarka's Command when you are casting Foul-Tongue Invocation because of the ability to not gain life.

Abzan Aggro

2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

1 Dragonlord's Prerogative

1 Duress

Sideboard out:

2 Dig Through Time

2 Dissolve

The Prerogative will help you draw cards when you are ’boarding out digs. I would rather have Tasigur as my card-advantage engine, and I can only support so many delve spells. Remember that you can Bile Blight your Ojutai in response to Valorous Stance and Abzan Charm because the opponent’s 2-drops will survive it in the late game.

R/G Dragons

4 Ultimate Price

1 Disdainful Stroke

2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

1 Negate

Sideboard out:

2 Crux of Fate

3 Bile Blight

1 Dig Through Time

2 Foul-Tongue Invocation

You become very reactive after sideboard because Ultimate Price means you can sit back and answer the opponent’s spells efficiently. Crux of Fate is awkward because you want to kill Dragons and non-Dragons. Foul-Tongue Invocation is good when you are racing, but that happens less often once Ultimate Price is in your deck; it’s also bad when the opponent has mana dorks in play. Negate is a concession to Xenagos, God of Revels because that’s a card that can let a game slip away from you.

Overall, I’m very happy with this build. Once I began to think of this as a linear deck instead of a control deck, I won a lot more. This deck will win almost every game Ojutai deals damage to a player, so you may as well play for that scenario.

If you are curious about how I ’board against other decks give, me a shout out in the comments section.

Thanks for reading!

-Kyle