Every Esper Deck Ever Primer

[Aetherium Slinky]

I'm putting together a list of cards that every Esper deck could use. This is mostly for myself because I'm putting together so many Esper lists at once but I decided to share it with you guys in case someone has something to add to the list. These cards should be staples, universally good and be a good basis for any Esper coloured deck. There might be exceptions (some of my blink decks draw via creatures) but in general this should be an accepted list for what works in almost all situations.
https://deckstats.net/decks/93006/1730357-every-esper-deck-ever

[Maxix]

Hey, thanks for putting this useful resource together. That's 3/4 of any Esper deck already assembled, neat

I would consider myself by no means an Esper specialist, but could you develop why you put both Return to Dust AND All that Glitters ? I would have intuitively replaced one of them (probably RtD) by some board wipe or graveyard hate, especially considering that your list doesn't have any yet.

[Holtaz]

How about mass removals? Cyclonic won't always be enough, try to consider:
Wrath of God
Damnation
Supreme Verdict
Day of Judgment
Kaya's Wrath
Fumigate
Final Judgment
In that order

[Aetherium Slinky]

Hey, thanks for putting this useful resource together. That's 3/4 of any Esper deck already assembled, neat

I would consider myself by no means an Esper specialist, but could you develop why you put both Return to Dust AND All that Glitters ? I would have intuitively replaced one of them (probably RtD) by some board wipe or graveyard hate, especially considering that your list doesn't have any yet.

Did you mean Crush Contraband? I think it's better to have both because you have a better chance of hitting at least one.

How about mass removals? Cyclonic won't always be enough, try to consider:
Wrath of God
Damnation
Supreme Verdict
Day of Judgment
Kaya's Wrath
Fumigate
Final Judgment
In that order

You missed Toxic Deluge! I should probably add a category for mass removal. Wrath of God, Damnation and Day of Judgement are good. They're easy to hit. Supreme Verdict should be higher on the list. Kaya's Wrath is kind of a tough one to hit due to the colours. I don't think Fumigate and Final Judgment are that good... Maybe if you need lots of wraths in your deck. I'll probably add the best 5-7 wraths. Just a moment.

EDIT: Added some wraths.

EDIT: And in go the counterspells, too. They're pretty important.

[Bonethor]

Arcane Signet should fit the criteria and I guess I'd put a category along the lines of "useful creatures" like baleful strix since it's an evasive deterrent with an upside. If you do decide to go that way you know them; Archaeomancer, peregrine drake.

[Xaarvaxus]

Some additional cards that could potentially be added:

Reality Shift
Pongify - listing here to advocate promoting from your 'maybe' list
Rapid Hybridization - as above

Frantic Search - arguably better than Careful Study in some Esper decks

Austere Command
Cleansing Nova
I could see a case for Merciless Eviction though I'd keep as 'maybe'

Is Force of Negation too expensive to list?

And if you're advocating for 8 of each basic:

Fabled Passage - I'm assuming the best fetches are cost-prohibitive
Prismatic Vista - ibid
Wayfarer's Bauble could be there too.

[Aetherium Slinky]

Arcane Signet should fit the criteria and I guess I'd put a category along the lines of "useful creatures" like baleful strix since it's an evasive deterrent with an upside. If you do decide to go that way you know them; Archaeomancer, peregrine drake.

Arcane Signet exists in the deck already. I think blinking/flickering is a strategy by itself so I'm not going to add the other cards you suggested. This is meant to be a very generic list.

Some additional cards that could potentially be added:

Reality Shift
Pongify - listing here to advocate promoting from your 'maybe' list
Rapid Hybridization - as above

Frantic Search - arguably better than Careful Study in some Esper decks

Austere Command
Cleansing Nova
I could see a case for Merciless Eviction though I'd keep as 'maybe'

Is Force of Negation too expensive to list?

And if you're advocating for 8 of each basic:

Fabled Passage - I'm assuming the best fetches are cost-prohibitive
Prismatic Vista - ibid
Wayfarer's Bauble could be there too.

Reality Shift is not a bad idea. I added it in. Pongify and Rapid Hybridization... Well... Let's put them in. Frantic Search is also in.

I'm not a fan of the 'big' wraths. They're pretty clunky and I think spot removal should be enough in regular metas. It's very rare to have multiple artifact/enchantment threats out at the same time.

Force of Negation is now in the Maybeboard where all the expensive staples reside.

Added Prismatic Vista. Fabled Passage isn't an autoinclude in my opinion because it has that crucial early turn sluggishness. Same kinda goes for Wayfarer's Bauble.

[Bonethor]

My bad, I was wondering why I didn't see it there but looked at just the small list a bit tired and thought the ramp section started there. Also of course it's your list but the point was that there are good creatures that should be generic enough; you have Stormscape Familiar in there so a case could be made for Drannith Magistrate, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV and Grand Abolisher if you want to run it closer to ground.

[Aetherium Slinky]

My bad, I was wondering why I didn't see it there but looked at just the small list a bit tired and thought the ramp section started there. Also of course it's your list but the point was that there are good creatures that should be generic enough; you have Stormscape Familiar in there so a case could be made for Drannith Magistrate, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV and Grand Abolisher if you want to run it closer to ground.

Yeah, people keep suggesting good cards. Maybe I should just add those to a separate category. I'll do that just now.

Also yay for 100 cards!