Modern Esper Control
Esper Control is a Modern control strategy that usually features Counterspell, Sink into Stupor, and Force of Negation.
Meta
0.6%
Colors
Shift
+16%
Variability
High
ApproachesAllTamiyo, Inquisitive Student16 · 24%Wrath of the Skies10 · 15%Stock Up8 · 12%Stock32 · 48%
226 decks in Stock
| Date | View Decklist | Player | Event | Place | Record | Uniqueness | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 16 | View | newbarola | Modern Challenge 32 | 21st | 3-3 | Distinct · band 7 of 10 · 7 | |
| Feb 16 | View | Silentstorm1003 | Modern Challenge 32 | 23rd | 3-3 | Stock · band 1 of 10 · 1 | |
| Feb 16 | View | ZKG | Modern Challenge 32 | 24th | 3-3 | Tuned · band 5 of 10 · 5 | |
| Feb 16 | View | JakeTMS | Modern Challenge 32 | 26th | 3-3 | Tuned · band 5 of 10 · 5 | |
| Feb 16 | View | 1OR513N86 | Modern Challenge 32 | 28th | 3-3 | Distinct · band 7 of 10 · 7 | |
| Feb 15 | View | DrewEldon | Modern Challenge 32 2026-02-15 | 3rd | 7-1 | Distinct · band 7 of 10 · 7 | |
| Feb 15 | View | jvidarte | Modern Challenge 32 2026-02-15 | 26th | 3-3 | Stock · band 1 of 10 · 1 | |
| Feb 15 | View | creas | Modern League 2026-02-15 | — | 5-0 | Standard · band 4 of 10 · 4 | |
| Feb 14 | View | festering88 | Modern Showcase Challenge | 6th | 7-3 | Tuned · band 5 of 10 · 5 | |
| Feb 14 | View | jvidarte | Modern Challenge 32 | 6th | 5-2 | Stock · band 1 of 10 · 1 | |
| Feb 14 | View | jvidarte | Modern Challenge 32 | 7th | 5-2 | Stock · band 1 of 10 · 1 | |
| Feb 14 | View | eneges | Modern Showcase Challenge | 8th | 7-3 | Standard · band 4 of 10 · 4 | |
| Feb 14 | View | alessandro81 | Modern Challenge 32 | 11th | 3-2 | Standard · band 4 of 10 · 4 | |
| Feb 14 | View | jvidarte | Modern Challenge 32 | 13th | 3-2 | Stock · band 1 of 10 · 1 | |
| Feb 14 | View | TekiAkuma | Modern Challenge 32 | 28th | 0-2 | Tuned · band 5 of 10 · 5 | |
| Feb 14 | View | DrewEldon | Modern Challenge 32 | 29th | 2-2 | Distinct · band 7 of 10 · 7 | |
| Feb 12 | View | Fugglez | Modern League 2026-02-12 | — | 5-0 | Stock · band 1 of 10 · 1 | |
| Feb 11 | View | Accio | Modern League 2026-02-11 | — | 5-0 | Tuned · band 5 of 10 · 5 | |
| Feb 10 | View | Spezzagatti23 | Modern League 2026-02-10 | — | 5-0 | Distinct · band 7 of 10 · 7 | |
| Feb 9 | View | aspiringspike | Modern Challenge 32 | 29th | 3-2 | Distinct · band 7 of 10 · 7 | |
| Feb 9 | View | Spezzagatti23 | Modern League | — | 5-0 | Distinct · band 7 of 10 · 7 | |
| Feb 8 | View | IsacDove | Modern League 2026-02-08 | — | 5-0 | Tuned · band 5 of 10 · 5 | |
| Feb 7 | View | jvidarte | Modern Challenge 64 | 4th | 6-2 | Stock · band 1 of 10 · 1 | |
| Feb 7 | View | jvidarte | Modern Challenge 32 | 14th | 4-2 | Stock · band 1 of 10 · 1 | |
| Feb 7 | View | jvidarte | Modern Challenge 32 2026-02-07 | 14th | 4-2 | Stock · band 1 of 10 · 1 |
Esper Control has slipped from ~1.6% to 0.6% of the Modern metagame over the last 90 days.
Meta share, last 90 days
Slipped from ~1.6% to 0.6% · trend line is 3-week smoothed
Approaches, last 90 days
Weekly breakdown of lists by automatically detected approach
Typical Modern Esper Control maindeck cards
Maindeck adoption across 79 decklists in the last 90 days. Click a row to filter decklists.
| Card | Avg copies | % |
|---|---|---|
| Island | 2.8 | 99% |
| Flooded Strand | 3.2 | 89% |
| Counterspell | 3.9 | 81% |
| Sink into Stupor | 1.7 | 80% |
| Force of Negation | 2.3 | 78% |
| Spell Snare | 2.5 | 78% |
| Undercity Sewers | 2.1 | 71% |
| Wan Shi Tong, Librarian | 2.4 | 71% |
| Polluted Delta | 3.9 | 70% |
| Subtlety | 2.9 | 70% |
| Watery Grave | 2.5 | 67% |
| Fatal Push | 4.0 | 66% |
| Swamp | 1.1 | 66% |
| Orcish Bowmasters | 3.8 | 63% |
| Sheoldred's Edict | 1.9 | 62% |
| Cling to Dust | 1.6 | 59% |
| Scalding Tarn | 1.2 | 56% |
| Hallowed Fountain | 1.7 | 49% |
| Consult the Star Charts | 3.1 | 44% |
| Kaito, Bane of Nightmares | 1.3 | 44% |
| Meticulous Archive | 1.5 | 44% |
| Otawara, Soaring City | 1.0 | 44% |
| Quantum Riddler | 3.2 | 43% |
| Marsh Flats | 1.5 | 39% |
| Psychic Frog | 4.0 | 38% |
| Thoughtseize | 3.0 | 35% |
| Snapcaster Mage | 2.1 | 34% |
| Field of Ruin | 4.0 | 33% |
| Misty Rainforest | 1.8 | 33% |
| Plains | 2.0 | 33% |
| Prismatic Ending | 3.6 | 30% |
| Darkslick Shores | 1.5 | 29% |
| Solitude | 3.8 | 29% |
| Teferi, Time Raveler | 3.8 | 28% |
| Drown in the Loch | 1.6 | 25% |
| Orim's Chant | 3.9 | 25% |
| Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student | 1.8 | 25% |
| Arid Mesa | 2.8 | 23% |
| Day's Undoing | 1.9 | 22% |
| Narset, Parter of Veils | 3.9 | 22% |
Typical Modern Esper Control sideboard
Built from sideboard adoption across 79 decklists in the last 90 days.
Full sideboard card play rate
Per-card sideboard adoption across 79 decklists in the last 90 days. Click a row to filter decklists.
| Card | Avg copies | % |
|---|---|---|
| Mystical Dispute | 2.7 | 94% |
| Consign to Memory | 3.6 | 92% |
| Engineered Explosives | 1.7 | 44% |
| Nihil Spellbomb | 1.4 | 37% |
| Harbinger of the Seas | 2.1 | 35% |
| High Noon | 1.9 | 34% |
| Toxic Deluge | 1.1 | 29% |
| Break the Ice | 2.2 | 23% |
| Stern Scolding | 1.4 | 20% |
| Dress Down | 1.5 | 19% |
| Ghost Vacuum | 1.3 | 18% |
| Celestial Purge | 1.7 | 16% |
| Damping Sphere | 1.5 | 16% |
| Rest in Peace | 1.8 | 16% |
| Soul-Guide Lantern | 2.6 | 16% |
| Requiting Hex | 1.3 | 15% |
| Pest Control | 1.6 | 14% |
| Strategic Betrayal | 1.0 | 13% |
| Thoughtseize | 1.4 | 13% |
| Surgical Extraction | 1.1 | 11% |
| Temporary Lockdown | 1.0 | 10% |
| The Meathook Massacre | 1.1 | 10% |
| Damnation | 1.6 | 9% |
| Pithing Needle | 1.0 | 9% |
| Force of Despair | 1.8 | 8% |
| Graveyard Trespasser | 1.5 | 8% |
| Wear/Tear | 1.8 | 8% |
| Flusterstorm | 1.0 | 6% |
| Kaheera, the Orphanguard | 1.0 | 6% |
| Wrath of the Skies | 1.8 | 6% |
| Ashiok, Dream Render | 1.0 | 5% |
| Chalice of the Void | 1.8 | 5% |
| March of Otherworldly Light | 2.3 | 5% |
| Stony Silence | 2.0 | 5% |
| Teferi, Time Raveler | 1.0 | 5% |
| Commandeer | 2.0 | 4% |
| Hallowed Moonlight | 1.7 | 4% |
| Kaito, Bane of Nightmares | 1.0 | 4% |
| Orim's Chant | 2.3 | 4% |
| Void Mirror | 1.3 | 4% |