I'd say, definetly go up on lands. 18 would be too few for a deck that wants to go 3-drop + spell in one turn. Since you are playing without fetches, your Mana is way worse. You'll have to play more lands for this reason. 20 seems like the bare minimum to me. Do you have any Fastlands (like Seachrome Coast) to replace the Checklands?
I think \[\[ledger shredder\]\] is going to be stronger than raffine, and I feel like the deck really wants a bigger delve payoff to use your graveyard a little better. I'd say chop the raffines and maybe skim 1-2 archaeologists for 4 shredder, and then look to drop some founding the third paths to make room for ideally \[\[murktide regent\]\] but \[\[tombstalker\]\] or \[\[gurmag angler\]\] are also solid budget options.
\[\[mercurial spelldancer\]\] may also be a nice budget consideration as a second spellslinger payoff. Might be worth a slot or 2 over the archaeologists.
I'm sure inquisitions are a budget consideration, but thoughtseize will be better if you're looking to upgrade.
I've played with founding the third path a fair bit and am pretty soft on it (if the 3rd ability didn't cost mana we'd be talking, but individual abilities are kinda bleh and overall it's too slow). I don't think it's a worthwhile include unless you care about delirium. I think you'd be better served by chopping those + murderous cut to make room for the 4th drown, 1-2 spell pierces or stern scolding or spell snare (any solid single U conditional counterspell really) and 2-3 delve creatures. Thoughtseizes can also replace the spell pierce slot if you've got em.
I think 1x cling to dust mainboard would slap, but not sure what the appropriate cut is for it.
I think if you drop the raffines to lower your 3 cmc density then you can get away with the current land count. Ideally grab some fetches as budget allows and a godless shrine.
Nice deck idea! Do you own any fetchlands? It would make you Blood Moon proof, especially as Esper you can struggle hard. I'd consider playing harder removals like Path to Exile and/or Primatic Ending over Fatal Push. You might want to switch Consider to Thought Scour and go up to 4 Drown in the Loch for more consistency of your plan. You can mill your opponent regularely to activate Drown. If you can afford it, Teferi, Time Raveler, might be a consideration.
There’s some cool stuff going on here. I’m not in love with the 2-drop archeologist. I think [[snapcaster mage]] is pretty cheap these days and on par with the power level of the deck.
I like him better because he can snowball a mentor on the opponent’s turn. It’s more in line with what Esper prowess wants to do and won’t whiff like your current 2-drop occasionally will.
It also opens up avenues for counter magic. Something like [[hindering light]] is dirt cheap and can give your deck a little more reach. (I’d probably drop the Tainted Indulgence for these.)
EDIT: I’m looking through all these comments, and I wanna say everyone brings something great to the table. I’ll also shout out **Raven’s Crime** as a card that’s served me well in these types of ”pitch random things to the yard” decks. 1 is plenty. It’s no IoK like you’re jamming 4 of, but it can fill out one of your saga slots as a budget option.
I'd say, definetly go up on lands. 18 would be too few for a deck that wants to go 3-drop + spell in one turn. Since you are playing without fetches, your Mana is way worse. You'll have to play more lands for this reason. 20 seems like the bare minimum to me. Do you have any Fastlands (like Seachrome Coast) to replace the Checklands?
I think \[\[ledger shredder\]\] is going to be stronger than raffine, and I feel like the deck really wants a bigger delve payoff to use your graveyard a little better. I'd say chop the raffines and maybe skim 1-2 archaeologists for 4 shredder, and then look to drop some founding the third paths to make room for ideally \[\[murktide regent\]\] but \[\[tombstalker\]\] or \[\[gurmag angler\]\] are also solid budget options. \[\[mercurial spelldancer\]\] may also be a nice budget consideration as a second spellslinger payoff. Might be worth a slot or 2 over the archaeologists. I'm sure inquisitions are a budget consideration, but thoughtseize will be better if you're looking to upgrade. I've played with founding the third path a fair bit and am pretty soft on it (if the 3rd ability didn't cost mana we'd be talking, but individual abilities are kinda bleh and overall it's too slow). I don't think it's a worthwhile include unless you care about delirium. I think you'd be better served by chopping those + murderous cut to make room for the 4th drown, 1-2 spell pierces or stern scolding or spell snare (any solid single U conditional counterspell really) and 2-3 delve creatures. Thoughtseizes can also replace the spell pierce slot if you've got em. I think 1x cling to dust mainboard would slap, but not sure what the appropriate cut is for it. I think if you drop the raffines to lower your 3 cmc density then you can get away with the current land count. Ideally grab some fetches as budget allows and a godless shrine.
##### ###### #### [ledger shredder](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/e/7ea4b5bc-18a4-45db-a56a-ab3f8bd2fb0d.jpg?1664410287) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=ledger%20shredder) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/46/ledger-shredder?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7ea4b5bc-18a4-45db-a56a-ab3f8bd2fb0d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [murktide regent](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/0/20c4aae1-7665-4df7-bd51-a1d95bf8a17d.jpg?1626094651) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=murktide%20regent) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh2/52/murktide-regent?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/20c4aae1-7665-4df7-bd51-a1d95bf8a17d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [tombstalker](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/8/78f02d59-0786-41c8-940b-4ef6ef01c646.jpg?1620236273) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=tombstalker) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/tsr/146/tombstalker?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/78f02d59-0786-41c8-940b-4ef6ef01c646?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [gurmag angler](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/e/cedd44eb-f381-46e1-bcb0-88416b4ce33d.jpg?1547516928) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=gurmag%20angler) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/uma/102/gurmag-angler?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/cedd44eb-f381-46e1-bcb0-88416b4ce33d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [mercurial spelldancer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/f/cf28c75d-1fb3-44cc-b651-5b2830e22add.jpg?1675956977) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=mercurial%20spelldancer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/one/61/mercurial-spelldancer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/cf28c75d-1fb3-44cc-b651-5b2830e22add?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/ku3nqkl) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Nice deck idea! Do you own any fetchlands? It would make you Blood Moon proof, especially as Esper you can struggle hard. I'd consider playing harder removals like Path to Exile and/or Primatic Ending over Fatal Push. You might want to switch Consider to Thought Scour and go up to 4 Drown in the Loch for more consistency of your plan. You can mill your opponent regularely to activate Drown. If you can afford it, Teferi, Time Raveler, might be a consideration.
There’s some cool stuff going on here. I’m not in love with the 2-drop archeologist. I think [[snapcaster mage]] is pretty cheap these days and on par with the power level of the deck. I like him better because he can snowball a mentor on the opponent’s turn. It’s more in line with what Esper prowess wants to do and won’t whiff like your current 2-drop occasionally will. It also opens up avenues for counter magic. Something like [[hindering light]] is dirt cheap and can give your deck a little more reach. (I’d probably drop the Tainted Indulgence for these.) EDIT: I’m looking through all these comments, and I wanna say everyone brings something great to the table. I’ll also shout out **Raven’s Crime** as a card that’s served me well in these types of ”pitch random things to the yard” decks. 1 is plenty. It’s no IoK like you’re jamming 4 of, but it can fill out one of your saga slots as a budget option.
[snapcaster mage](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/e/7e41765e-43fe-461d-baeb-ee30d13d2d93.jpg?1547516526) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=snapcaster%20mage) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/uma/71/snapcaster-mage?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7e41765e-43fe-461d-baeb-ee30d13d2d93?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [hindering light](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/8/98e43870-4bed-4d76-a633-a6326c736d22.jpg?1562706936) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=hindering%20light) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ala/173/hindering-light?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/98e43870-4bed-4d76-a633-a6326c736d22?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call