With the Magic Online Championships Series (MOCS) format being Standard this month, I decided I would try my best to earn as many Qualifier Points as I could by entering only Standard queues. That way, if I did qualify, I'd be familiar with the format and therefore more likely to do well in the MOCS.

I started off by playing Delver, but that didn't last long. While the deck certainly felt powerful at times, all of it's matchups were 55-45 at best (ie it didn't crush any deck, but it didn't automatically lose to anything either).

That's not the kind of deck I like to play if I can help it. I'd much rather play a deck that has some amazing matchups, and maybe only a single bad one (although preferably no bad matchups if it's possible!).

Why do I prefer a deck like that you may ask? Because going into any tournament you should always have a good idea at what the metagame is going to look like, so why not play a deck that's great against the decks currently seeing play, rather than a deck that's decent against everything? It doesn't matter if your deck is weak against say UB Control, if that's not seeing any play.

Now what's good against the decks currently seeing play in Standard? Why, Esper Control of course!

I love playing against this deck. Basically your plan is to gum up the board with either Lingering Souls or a Blade Splicer, forcing them to overextend right into your Day of Judgment. Then you play a Sun Titan, bringing back a bunch of guys and killing them from 20 in a couple of turns. I know it sounds like I've simplified the matchup, but that's honestly how most games go. A couple things to note:

• If they play a turn 2 Strangleroot Geist on the play, you might want to copy it with Phantasmal Image. Because of the way the stack works (active player's effects will go on the stack first, and therefore resolve last), if they attack and you decide to block with your copy, your Phantasmal Image will come back before Geist, and have nothing to copy unless there's another creature on the field.
  

• Most versions of the deck rely almost solely on Hellrider for reach, so always keep it in mind.

• Don't attack with more creatures than you have to, especially early game. The Sun Titan end game trumps anything they can do, so just make sure you survive till it's online.

This is another really good matchup for you, although Day of Judgment isn't nearly as good versus these guys. Your game plan is the same as against RG Aggro, gum up the board then win with Sun Titan. Things to be aware of include:

• Zombies actually packs a fair bit of removal, unlike RG Aggro. Thankfully it's all either -1/-1 effects, or sacrifice effects, both of which are pretty bad against you.

• If you have no creatures on the field when you cast a Sun Titan, be wary of bringing back a Phantasmal Image, as they could kill your Sun Titan in response, leaving you with nothing to copy. Try and keep a Spirit token or something floating around so they can't Geth's Verdict you if you can.
   
• Also when casting Sun Titan, keep their graveyard in mind, as they could easily use their own Phantasmal Image to copy your Titan and wreck you. Try and get them to use any Images before you cast Titan if you can.
   
• Post board, some lists have a single copy of Sever the Bloodline and/or Black Sun's Zenith, so keep them both in mind for games 2 and 3.

I really like the Humans deck, mainly because it's the best home for Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Coincidently, it's also their best card against you.

• Because of Thalia, Lingering Souls gets a little quite a bit worse here, although it's still insane if they don't have it. If they do have Thalia, then Blade Splicer gets much better. Blade Splicer really shines in this matchup actually, as the Golem token can single handedly hold back their team, giving you plenty of time to find a Day of Judgment.

• Try and trade with their Doomed Traveler's and Loyal Cathar's whenever possible so that they won't come back if you play a Day.

• Remember that you can use Phantasmal Image to get rid of Thalia (she's legendary).

• A good trick that comes up a fair amount in this matchup is using an Image to copy their Hero of Bladehold, then killing their copy with either Oblivion Ring or Go for the Throat. It's like killing them with their own card!

• Be mindful of Honor of the Pure, it can really mess up your blocks if you don't plan for it.

BW Tokens is a deck that's very near to my heart. Watching Luis Scott-Vargas play the original BW Tokens to a 2nd place finish at Pro Tour Kyoto is what got me into Magic (and was also the first competitive deck I ever purchased).

Sadly, this deck's much clunkier than the original. It still packs a punch though, and has been starting to show up a lot more now that people are no longer prepared for it.

• Try and get as much value as you possibly can game 1 from each of your Day of Judgments. If you try and 1 for 1 them you will lose.

• Because it's so easy for them to create hordes of tokens, try not to play Sun Titan until you have a couple Phantasmal Images in the graveyard if you can help it, as it's very easy for them to double/triple block to kill your Titan.

• Try and take note of how many Sorin, Lord of Innistrad they are playing, so well as any other black permanents. It's possible that you want to bring in Celestial Purge against them, depending on their exact list.

Remember how I said at the start of the article that pretty much all of Delver's matchups are around 50/50? Sadly that's true for this matchup too, but there's not a whole lot you can do about it (other than always draw your Lingering Souls, that card is INSANE against them!).

• Play it safe. If they don't have a decent clock on you, then you have no reason to run your stuff into their counters.

• Keep Sword of War and Peace and Runechanter's Pike in mind at ALL times, it's the easiest way for them to beat you.

• Remember that Phantasmal Image can be used to kill Geist of Saint Traft (he's Legendary).

• Because they have access to Gitaxian Probe, try and remember what cards they know you have and what cards they don't, especially lands.

• I know there's not much good info here for you guys, but it's the one matchup you really need to play in order to get a feel for it.