Thanks to the power of Lingering Souls, token decks in Standard have been rising and falling in popularity for quite some time. Although the release of Detention Sphere took the Spirits down a notch, the card is seeing surprisingly little play at the moment, which might allow Lingering Souls to make a comeback. Also helping its case is the dominance of Boros Reckoner. Although the Reckoner will almost always be able to kill two of your creatures if you block it, for a token deck, those two creatures only amount to one card—or even just half of one card. It's not very good on defense either—Spirit tokens can fly right over it. In her article last week, Jackie Lee highlighted an Esper tokens deck that made Top 4 at a tournament in Florida. The list looked interesting, so using it as a starting point, I built a budget deck that operates along the same lines.

"Esper Tokens"

• Creatures (16)
• 4 Doomed Traveler
• 4 Drogskol Captain
• 4 Dungeon Geists
• 4 Gloom Surgeon

• Spells (20)
• 3 Beckon Apparition
• 3 Orzhov Charm
• 4 Midnight Haunting
• 4 Lingering Souls
• 2 Favorable Winds
• 4 Intangible Virtue

• Lands (24)
• 2 Swamp
• 5 Island
• 5 Plains
• 4 Azorius Guildgate
• 4 Evolving Wilds
• 4 Orzhov Guildgate

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Rootborn Defenses
• 2 Dispel
• 3 Stormbound Geist
• 2 Psychic Spiral
• 3 Tragic Slip
• 1 Beckon Apparition

Buy This Deck

The Threats

Beckon Apparition is rarely going to be castable on turn one, but later on, it gives you a very nice pair of abilities. It exiles a card from a graveyard, which gives you a way to stump Reanimator decks even before sideboarding. It also stops flashback in its tracks and makes Snapcaster Mage look just plain silly. The other useful part of the card is its ability to put a threat on the board at instant speed. This is invaluable against control decks, letting you almost effortlessly play around sweepers and counterspells and making sure you have a creature to attack with every turn. Don't be too eager to cast this when you happen to have an extra mana open. Save it for when you really need the extra threat or when you can generate some extra value from it by exiling something relevant.

Midnight Haunting gives you more instant-speed threats, and with twice as much power as Beckon Apparition, it can easily end games just when your opponent thought he was safe. Lingering Souls trades the instant speed for flashback, letting you double up on Spirit tokens. There's a reason this card has seen play in every format. It is very good. Not only does it give you four threats with one card, it allows you to slow-roll your creatures, making sure you have something to rebuild with after a sweeper.

Gloom Surgeon has a habit of making aggressive decks cringe, and with a Drogskol Captain on the board, this little guy become absolutely devastating. A 3/2 is large enough to take down any creature in today's aggro decks, and hexproof takes away your opponent's only method of killing the creature since it doesn't die in combat.

Dungeon Geists serves as both a top-end threat and another piece of removal. Since it doesn't try to kill the creature it targets, it's particularly adept at shutting down creatures such as Thragtusk and Falkenrath Aristocrat that would slip around normal removal spells. The hexproof from Drogskol Captain is also quite relevant here—your opponent won't be able to remove your removal and get his creature back.

The Support

Orzhov Charm is one of the few pieces of removal currently in the format that has no restrictions. It can kill Boros Reckoner, Olivia Voldaren, Restoration Angel, or anything else that stands between you and winning. Although the other two modes are less relevant than a Devour in Shadow, returning a Doomed Traveler to the battlefield could be useful if you really need another threat, and the bounce could theoretically be used to save an important creature such as Drogskol Captain from removal or to let you choose a new creature with Dungeon Geists.

The Sideboard

Rootborn Defenses is crushing against Supreme Verdict. It essentially counters the uncounterable spell and gives you another giant Spirit token in the process. This card will often be a game-breaker against control, and you should leave mana open for it whenever it's reasonable to do so.

Stormbound Geist is another card that laughs at Supreme Verdict. Although it doesn't quite make the main deck thanks to being a bad blocker, control decks will often have a tough time effectively dealing with an undying threat like this without sacrificing their ability to handle your tokens.

Dispel and Psychic Spiral help you deal specifically with Esper control. Dispel lets you put more threats on the board despite any counterspells your opponent might have, and Psychic Spiral makes it quite difficult for your opponent to win with Nephalia Drownyard. Although more of a backup plan than anything else, this card's ability to single-handedly win the game when nothing else will can't be ignored.

Tragic Slip can give you a bit more removal against the fastest decks in the format, such as Naya Blitz. It also handles Falkenrath Aristocrat with ease, making the usual method of saving the Vampire completely useless.

Playtesting

I virtually sleeved up the deck and took it for a spin on Magic Online. I ended up being matched up with an Unexpected Results deck, and chaos ensued.

Game 1

I drew Gloom Surgeon, played my Island, and cast it before ending my turn. My opponent played a tapped Temple Garden and passed.

I drew Orzhov Guildgate and attacked for 2. I cast the enchantment, played the Guildgate, and passed the turn. My opponent played another tapped shock land, this time a Hallowed Fountain, and ended his turn.

I drew Doomed Traveler, cast Drogskol Captain, and attacked for 3 before ending my turn. My opponent played Hinterland Harbor and cast Unexpected Results, finding a Stomping Ground.

I drew Intangible Virtue, played it, and flashed back Lingering Souls. I played my Guildgate and passed. My opponent cast Increasing Ambition, paid 2 life for an untapped Breeding Pool, then cast Detention Sphere to get rid of my two copies of Intangible Virtue. He ended his turn, and I drew a Swamp.

I attacked for 2 with my tokens, cast Doomed Traveler, then played the land and passed. My opponent cast Unexpected Results and revealed a Supreme Verdict, clearing the board again. I made a Spirit token from Doomed Traveler, and he played a Glacial Fortress and cast Increasing Ambition before ending his turn. I exiled one Increasing Ambition with Beckon Apparition during his end step to make a Spirit.

I drew Drogskol Captain, dropped my opponent to 4 with my tokens, and passed the turn. My opponent miracled a Terminus, clearing the board yet again, and then played Hinterland Harbor and cast Thragtusk, gaining 5 life and passing the turn.

Although at first glance it seemed that a lucky Unexpected Results into Supreme Verdict or a lucky miracled Terminus was the reason for my loss, the real reason is far more mundane: I forgot to play a land on turn four. Missed that? Yeah, me too. Analyzing the replay showed that if I’d had the extra mana to cast my Doomed Traveler on turn five, the extra damage from the Spirit token would have allowed me to attack for exactly lethal the turn before the Terminus miracle. Note to self: Don't miss land drops with lands in hand.

Sideboarding:

−4 Gloom Surgeon

−3 Orzhov Charm

+3 Stormbound Geist

+4 Rootborn Defenses

Game 2

I drew Lingering Souls, played my Island, and cast Intangible Virtue. I ended my turn. My opponent paid 2 life for an untapped Godless Shrine and then cast Farseek for a Breeding Pool. He passed the turn.

I drew Stormbound Geist, cast Favorable Winds, and passed. My opponent paid 2 life for a Hallowed Fountain and cast Unexpected Results. He hit a Detention Sphere, which exiled my Intangible Virtue.

I drew Rootborn Defenses, cast another Favorable Winds, and ended my turn. My opponent played another tapped Hallowed Fountain, cast Farseek for Watery Grave, and ended his turn.

I drew Midnight Haunting and passed. My opponent attacked for 5, played a Temple Garden, and ended his turn. I finally drew a land—a Plains—and played it. I cast Lingering Souls to make two 3/3s, and I ended my turn. My opponent cast Sylvan Primordial, destroying a Favorable Winds and fetching a Stomping Ground. He attacked with Thragtusk, for which I traded both of my Spirit tokens. My opponent made a Beast token and passed the turn.

I drew Orzhov Guildgate, played it, and cast Midnight Haunting before ending my turn. My opponent cast Farseek for a Breeding Pool and attacked with both creatures. I blocked the Beast token with my pair if 2/2 Spirits. I dropped to 9 from the Primordial and the Beast, and one of my Spirits bit the dust. My opponent ended his turn, and I drew Intangible Virtue.

I cast it and then cast the Lingering Souls from my graveyard. I passed the turn. My opponent attacked with the Primordial, and I blocked with everything, killing it in exchange for two of my three Spirits. My opponent passed the turn, and I drew Doomed Traveler.

I drew Intangible Virtue and made the mistake of casting it to make my tokens 4/4s. I dropped my opponent to 7, but he had the Supreme Verdict on his turn, and I had only 2 of the 3 mana required for my Rootborn Defenses. My opponent ended his turn after wiping the board.

I drew an Island, played it, and cast Stormbound Geist.

My opponent passed the turn with no play, and I attacked for 3. He cast Increasing Ambition, then cast Supreme Verdict. Stormbound Geist came back with Undying and killed him on my turn. I can only assume he neglected to read the junk common from Dark Ascension.

Game 3

My opponent played a Hallowed Fountain and ended his turn. I drew Orzhov Guildgate, played it, and passed.

My opponent put in a tapped Watery Grave and ended his turn. I drew Lingering Souls, played my Guildgate, and cast Intangible Virtue.

My opponent played Sunpetal Grove and then cast Farseek for an Overgrown Tomb and passed the turn. I drew a Swamp, played it, and cast Lingering Souls. I ended my turn.

My opponent cast Urban Evolution, played a Hallowed Fountain, and passed the turn. I cast Beckon Apparition during his end step, exiling Urban Evolution. I drew Azorius Guildgate, played it, and swung for 6. I passed the turn.

My opponent cast Supreme Verdict, and I cast Rootborn Defenses in response, making another Spirit and making them all indestructible. I drew another Rootborn Defenses and dropped my opponent to 6.

He hit me with a Terminus and passed the turn. I drew Doomed Traveler, flashed back Lingering Souls, and ended my turn.

My opponent cast Detention Sphere, but he targeted Intangible Virtue rather than my tokens. I made a third Spirit at end of turn with Rootborn Defenses, and a Drogskol Captain on my turn made them attack for exactly lethal.

Wrap-Up

This deck has a ton of staying power, as evidenced by Game 2, which I won despite missing my third land drop for several turns. Multiple board wipes are often not enough to stop the deck from killing your opponent, thanks to the power of Intangible Virtue, Favorable Winds, and Drogskol Captain. If you’re looking for a deck that won't roll over and die to anything in the format, give this one a shot at your next Friday Night Magic.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, you can find me on the forums under Twinblaze, on Twitter under @MTGCannon, or simply leave a comment below.