What are people's thoughts on Remand vs Mana Leak in this deck (classic RUG)? Off the top of my head:
Remand
Pros: cantrip smoothes out draws, buys us time so we can use Shackles and Cryptic, tempos out opponent, CA vs flashback and can also be used to get advantage in counter wars.
Cons: short term answer, weak against 1 and 2 mana spells such as removal and discard, awkward when behind
I am currently playing a split in my domain list - 2 Leaks, 3 Remand. Remand is one of the most powerful cards in Delver decks because it often is a cmc2 card that reads: Timewalk, draw a card. I did not have the slots to play the 4th because in my opinion spell pierce is even more important for this deck.
The countersuite I currently use is:
3 Remand
2 Mana Leak
3 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
It is important to incorporate different types of counterspells to maximize the potential Snapcaster Mage targets. Moreover the opponent won't be able to play around your permission. I am playing this deck for 3 months now and my list has evolved due to testing quite a lot - I really like the way the deck is able to shape games, if you are on the "non-tribal flames-train" playing straight RUG without PtE, you will need Ooze to be able to compete against Pod.
Remand is a really strong card but I would be maxing out Mana Leak before adding a third or fourth one. The reason I say this is hard counters are much much better in this meta right now. Mana Leak, while not Counterspellper se, functions as a hard counter unless the game has gone on way past the point where you should have already won.
I like this:
3 Mana Leak
2 Remand
2 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
And one more Spell Snare in the sideboard. Also, against creature decks, you want them to commit their resources to the board and answer them from there. Vapor Snag is pretty good there and is nearly a Remand in some situations.
There is a bunch of Event Decks running around, so I think I need some kind of sweeper effect. Maybe Bonfire of the Damned? Don't know what to take out though...
If you're talking about the Black/White deck, then Engineered Explosives is your best friend.
Nice report and nice performance. How do you like the maindeck Scavenging Ooze?
Thanks! Yeah, EE is a given. Guess I'll try counters before going for some kind of sweeper.
Regarding the Ooze, when I first goldfished the deck I had 20 Land, which felt too much and I needed another cheap threat, so I just threw in an Ooze from the SB to the main in place of an Island. Don't remember if I drew one in a game 1, but the ability would have been relevant in most match ups, removing persisters, snapcaster targets and Raven's Crime etc. It dies to bolt most of the times though, since you'll almost never play it with 2 green mana up. In the post board game against pod one of them was up to an 8/8, eating all the creatures and Eternal Witness targets.
TLDR; Ooze is a must have in the SB, but main I guess any cheap threat would do
As far as counters go in the Tokens matchup, I think they're pretty bad. Against Spectral Procession they're fine as you're gaining value for 2 mana vs. 3, but against Lingering Souls any kind of countermagic is baaaaad. I use Pyroclasm but sometimes they get out of range of it quickly. You might also try Firespout. Gives you a little more control over what you're torching (most of their guys fly).
Yeah, it's hard to get value out of most cards. Four Lingering Souls tokens with some kind of anthem out demands a sweeper, but still only trades one for one. It's annoying
Ratchet Bomb might be another option, though it's the same thing cost-wise as EE: 2 and a card.
What are this deck's toughest matchups? I'd say it falls under the banner "Disruptive Aggro" in terms of archetype. This means it's strongest against Control, weakest against dedicated Aggro, and fair against Midrange and Combo.
What are this deck's toughest matchups? I'd say it falls under the banner "Disruptive Aggro" in terms of archetype. This means it's strongest against Control, weakest against dedicated Aggro, and fair against Midrange and Combo.
You got it! It's actually not tremendous against midrange since cards like Birthing Pod and Thrun, the Last Troll can shut it down. RUG Delver is very uniquely positioned, though, in that it has no absolutely terrible matchups. You can win everything depending on how skilled a pilot you are (and how many blind flips you get!).
I was thinking about this the other day. Why isn't Young Pyromancer used here? I ended up with the conclusion that Tarmogoyf must be better than Young Pyromancer or else it wouldn't work.
We need to run 4 Snapcaster Mage and no less, 4 Delver and no less, and the whole point of being RUG is to use Goyf. If there were more creature slots for this deck then obviously YP would be a good choice. But in order to ensure a flipped Delver we need less guys. And for YP to be effective we need Gitaxian Probe. I feel like this dilutes the deck.
I could see adding 2 Young Pyromancer to the existing 14 creature configuration and seeing if it does work, but I feel like YP is an all-in strategy when it comes to deckbuilding. You either run and play to him full (4 Probe) or you don't do it at all.
You answered your own question! Very well said. The thing is Clique and even Ooze are often better than Pyromancer in this deck. If we're tapping two mana to play a Sorcery-speed creature, it better survive Lightning Bolt.
Remand is a really strong card but I would be maxing out Mana Leak before adding a third or fourth one. The reason I say this is hard counters are much much better in this meta right now. Mana Leak, while not Counterspellper se, functions as a hard counter unless the game has gone on way past the point where you should have already won.
I like this:
3 Mana Leak
2 Remand
2 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
And one more Spell Snare in the sideboard. Also, against creature decks, you want them to commit their resources to the board and answer them from there. Vapor Snag is pretty good there and is nearly a Remand in some situations.
I run the same counter split as ToxicJoker in my Nacatl list and I love it (3 Remand, 2 Leak, 3 Pierce, 2 Snare). I think the Pierces are much less essential in RUG Delver since you dillute the tempo plan with a midrange strategy (Blood Moon/Shackles/Thrun/Cryptic Command). It's wrong to say Remand is "less good" than Mana Leak, though. Maybe it does depend on your meta, and I think Leak is the preferred spell in RUG, but as TJ pointed out, Snapcaster Mage makes it very appealing to run a split. I like 3/2 or 3/3 and would never go 4/2. Drawing Mana Leak lategame really sucks.
the card itself really isn't worth the card board its printed on...does it serve a purpose? Sure its a blue 1 drop that might not be a 1/1. I would not put it in a list and expect to win a PTQ or GP though.
What are this deck's toughest matchups? I'd say it falls under the banner "Disruptive Aggro" in terms of archetype. This means it's strongest against Control, weakest against dedicated Aggro, and fair against Midrange and Combo.
You got it! It's actually not tremendous against midrange since cards like Birthing Pod and Thrun, the Last Troll can shut it down. RUG Delver is very uniquely positioned, though, in that it has no absolutely terrible matchups. You can win everything depending on how skilled a pilot you are (and how many blind flips you get!).
I was thinking about this the other day. Why isn't Young Pyromancer used here? I ended up with the conclusion that Tarmogoyf must be better than Young Pyromancer or else it wouldn't work.
We need to run 4 Snapcaster Mage and no less, 4 Delver and no less, and the whole point of being RUG is to use Goyf. If there were more creature slots for this deck then obviously YP would be a good choice. But in order to ensure a flipped Delver we need less guys. And for YP to be effective we need Gitaxian Probe. I feel like this dilutes the deck.
I could see adding 2 Young Pyromancer to the existing 14 creature configuration and seeing if it does work, but I feel like YP is an all-in strategy when it comes to deckbuilding. You either run and play to him full (4 Probe) or you don't do it at all.
You answered your own question! Very well said. The thing is Clique and even Ooze are often better than Pyromancer in this deck. If we're tapping two mana to play a Sorcery-speed creature, it better survive Lightning Bolt.
Remand is a really strong card but I would be maxing out Mana Leak before adding a third or fourth one. The reason I say this is hard counters are much much better in this meta right now. Mana Leak, while not Counterspellper se, functions as a hard counter unless the game has gone on way past the point where you should have already won.
I like this:
3 Mana Leak
2 Remand
2 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
And one more Spell Snare in the sideboard. Also, against creature decks, you want them to commit their resources to the board and answer them from there. Vapor Snag is pretty good there and is nearly a Remand in some situations.
I run the same counter split as ToxicJoker in my Nacatl list and I love it (3 Remand, 2 Leak, 3 Pierce, 2 Snare). I think the Pierces are much less essential in RUG Delver since you dillute the tempo plan with a midrange strategy (Blood Moon/Shackles/Thrun/Cryptic Command). It's wrong to say Remand is "less good" than Mana Leak, though. Maybe it does depend on your meta, and I think Leak is the preferred spell in RUG, but as TJ pointed out, Snapcaster Mage makes it very appealing to run a split. I like 3/2 or 3/3 and would never go 4/2. Drawing Mana Leak lategame really sucks.
Against Affinity and Tokens, Electrolyze pulls just as much weight as Pyroclasm without blowing up our Delvers/Snaps/Cliques. Against Hatebears and Merfolk, Electrolyze is awesome (especially against Phantasmal Image/Thalia/Flickerwisp/Dryad Militant/etc.) but that's less relevant anyway since we get Combust from the side and play 4 Bolts main (and sometimes Pillar etc.). Electroylze also has a lot of added utility in a variety of matchups (such as Delver and Pod, since you want to be keeping your own threat alive/drawing into counterspells, respectively) where Pyroclasm just does the job less well (murks your own guys and doesn't draw). That type of card is much better in a more control-oriented shell, like Scapeshift or Blue Moon. We can't afford to lose a threat to our own spell.
the card itself really isn't worth the card board its printed on...does it serve a purpose? Sure its a blue 1 drop that might not be a 1/1. I would not put it in a list and expect to win a PTQ or GP though.
Against Affinity and Tokens, Electrolyze pulls just as much weight as Pyroclasm without blowing up our Delvers/Snaps/Cliques. Against Hatebears and Merfolk, Electrolyze is awesome (especially against Phantasmal Image/Thalia/Flickerwisp/Dryad Militant/etc.) but that's less relevant anyway since we get Combust from the side and play 4 Bolts main (and sometimes Pillar etc.). Electroylze also has a lot of added utility in a variety of matchups (such as Delver and Pod, since you want to be keeping your own threat alive/drawing into counterspells, respectively) where Pyroclasm just does the job less well (murks your own guys and doesn't draw). That type of card is much better in a more control-oriented shell, like Scapeshift or Blue Moon. We can't afford to lose a threat to our own spell.
That's a pretty good argument against Pyroclasm et al.
I keep seeing Thrun in sideboards...what does he come in against? The most recent decklist I saw doing well had 2 of him. Can someone shed some light on this card choice?
Against decks like UWR that run a lot of removal it can sometimes be hard to stick a threat. They have Snare and Path for Tarmogoyf and burn spells for everything else. Thrun is unkillable, uncounterable, unbounceable, and big enough to trade with every creature in their deck... and live, thanks to Regenerate. He also shines in similarly grindy matchups, not just against UWR. He's also bigger than anything aggro has, so he can come in for Remand etc. against those decks.
the card itself really isn't worth the card board its printed on...does it serve a purpose? Sure its a blue 1 drop that might not be a 1/1. I would not put it in a list and expect to win a PTQ or GP though.
Against decks like UWR that run a lot of removal it can sometimes be hard to stick a threat. They have Snare and Path for Tarmogoyf and burn spells for everything else. Thrun is unkillable, uncounterable, unbounceable, and big enough to trade with every creature in their deck... and live, thanks to Regenerate. He also shines in similarly grindy matchups, not just against UWR. He's also bigger than anything aggro has, so he can come in for Remand etc. against those decks.
Thanks for clarifying that. How do folks feel about Blood Moon in our sideboard?
After trying many times the Blood Moon, I think it's a dead card against good players, as they tend to fetch for basic lands (If the deck is well built, it will work well anyway, even with some basic land in play)
Other than that. There are some situations when Blood Moon is bad. It does not work well with Tarmogoyf and Vedalken Shackles (very important cards).
Another situation, you're in the third turn against a control deck, with 2 island and 1 fetchland, opponent is tapped, and this is your chance to play the blood moon, it's now or never. Next turn you draw a Tarmogoyf, which can not play until you draw the only Forest in the deck. If you do not play the blood moon until you have 2 fetchlands (one for Forest and one for non-basic or Mountain), in many situations it will be a dead card in your hand. The initial hand 2fetchland 1island, is not always given. Sometimes you have to play with 1 fetch for Stomping Ground, and so many islands.
And of course another problem, with moon in play we can not cast thrun(nonbo), (for decks runnings both cards).
Urg delver is a 3colour deck but intensive at blue mana, and it has a solid mana base, but a little inconsistent for playing cards with double green (or red) mana cost, like Thrun, the last troll or Anger of the gods, many games we play with only one green/red mana source. Of course a mana base light on green or red supports Blood Moon, but running a three colour-deck means, often turning blood moon against us.
I think Moon is much better in UR delver.
First of all, I don't see how controlling 2 Vents and a Breeding Pool after siding in Blood Moon is common. When you have Moon, you're fetching for basics. In matchups where you need Tarmogoyf, you don't cast it without having a Forest first, and in matchups against Tarmogoyf, you don't run Moon and Shackles in the same MD. You also don't run Thrun and Moon in the same 60. If these are "fairly common" scenarios for you, you're sideboarding and playing incorrectly.
You also mentioned how it can be hard to cast double-color spells like Anger of the Gods in a RUG deck. You realize Blood Moon makes casting that easier, right?
the card itself really isn't worth the card board its printed on...does it serve a purpose? Sure its a blue 1 drop that might not be a 1/1. I would not put it in a list and expect to win a PTQ or GP though.
Hey guys. I'm knew to the forums, and Magic in general, playing since the VERY tail end of Gatecrash. I only drafted and played Commander for my first year or so, and since then, I've decided to get into Modern. After trying U/B Faeries after the Bitterblossom unbanning, I decided to trade most of that away and try and play a Modern deck with a similar playstyle but more format staples which would allow me to switch decks up a lot easier. I had my eyes set on Tarmo Twin,(they're not similar playstyles, but I wanted to build BUG Delver in Modern and Legacy originally and then I realized that the Modern build sucks without DRS, so I disregarded that) but with only 2 Splinter Twins left to complete the deck, I realized I had all of the cards to play the U/R Delver posted on SCG a little while ago by Adrian Sullivan. I played that a little bit against a proxied UR Twin deck and I liked it. After I dropped the cash for the Goyfs, I decided to play in my first constructed tournaments that weekend at my local game store. I went 1-3 in Standard playing RUG Monsters (1 bye, and versus 1 Mono-Black Aggro and 2 Naya Hexproof). Modern was a much better story. I went 2-1, playing against UWR Delver, UG Infect, and UWR Control.
The deck I played for RUG Twin in that tournament was essentially the U/R List above with less Spell Snares, no Grim Lavamancers, and the Clique in the sideboard. I was running 19 lands with 1-2 drops in the main (if you count Snapcaster as a 2 drop) and my only three drop being the sideboard Cliques and Anger and Counterflux (last minute SB swap after my friend told me that Storm is popular and that's all I really had to side against it). I don't recall my exact list, as it was 2 weeks ago, but I remember not playing any Blood Moons, I think one more Spellskite, etc. I essentially made the UR Delver list RUG Delver.
Round 1 was interesting. I went 2-0, against my friend's roommate. He threw together a list at the last minute. He was playing UWR Delver, with the white splash just for Path to Exile. Being the last minute, he threw in the Arid Mesa's and forgot the white shocks and plains. Being only 4 dead cards, it was relevant, but not that relevant. It only mattered in game 2, but at that point, I was winning by a large margin and I don't think he could have changed up the game anyways. Pretty much, both games were about getting a threat, sticking it, and protecting it, and knowing when to Bolt his face or save it for his own Delver. He liked my build. Now, he's a great player, going 6th at States just recently, and probably the best at our local game store.
1-0
Round 2 was against U/G Infect. I've played against this deck with U/B Faeries on Cockatrice so I sort of remember how to play against it. Game 1, I had all of the answers and threats when I needed them, winning with 9 poison counters. Game 2 I lost. He had a great opening hand and I had a decent opening hand. Turn 1 Delver that never flipped, and had to chump block. Game 3, I finally drew my good sideboard cards. Ancient Grudge killed 2 of his manlands, and Spellskite redirected all of his pump spells.
2-0
Round 3 was against UWR Control. I played against this player before the tournament casually, and lost. I've played against him in drafts before and have a great record against him (despite him being one of the better players in my area). I don't remember exactly how it went down. I know I lost 0-2. Pretty much, my threats would get exiled, and he'd get through with his Angel and Colonnade in the late game. He won with a sideboarded Batterskull once too. I just remember staring at my Bolts wishing they were Path's. I also made the mistake of sideboarding in Ancient Grudge. I figured he'd board in the Batterskull like he did before the tournament, but he didn't. I also thought that Colonnade was an artifact creature, not an Elemental. So, I ended up drawing both copies game 2 and had 2 dead cards. I attribute that loss to my newbishness and unfamiliarity with the format.
2-1
I ended up getting second in a 6 man, small town tournament. I was happy with that. I loved how all of the cards were 1-2 CMC, but I changed it up. I added a few more lands, a Clique, and a Cryptic. I also took out the Young Pyromancers. This build isn't exactly what I want to do, but in the long term, I want to get to the point where my main deck is RUG Delver but my sideboard is Blue Moon + Artifact hate. Here's my deck as stands:
Any tips about this deck, or even Magic in general or the forums would be nice. I love RUG Delver and I may try and stick with it over Tarmo Twin. I've also been looking at the possibility of Bant Delver.
First of all, I don't see how controlling 2 Vents and a Breeding Pool after siding in Blood Moon is common. When you have Moon, you're fetching for basics. In matchups where you need Tarmogoyf, you don't cast it without having a Forest first
.
Good points. But I understand that only 5 cards to get the basic Forest (the forest itself and the four green fetchlands) is not so much. Sometimes playing against Control you need to cast the moon when the opponent is tapped. And maybe then, you have not draw any of the 5 cards to basic forest. Sometimes I needed to fetch with Scalding Tarn for Breeding Pool in order to play 1st turn-Visions or Delver, and 2nd turn Tarmogoyf against WUR Control. Imagine this hand: Island/Steam vents/Scalding tarn/Tarmogoyf/Countermagic/Visions/Burn, I think is a common opening hand. You want to play tarmogoyf at turn two so you fetch for Breeding Pool. May not always be the perfect situation to start playing with one forest, one mountain, and a few islands.
In matchups against Tarmogoyf, you don't run Moon and Shackles in the same MD
. Agree to this, but I often see many people using both cards in the Jund matchup or 3colour midrange decks (both cards are useful against them). It is a reason why I see the blood moon plan more feasible in UR Delver.
You also don't run Thrun and Moon in the same 60.
The two cards are good against Control decks. I think they come for the same matchups, mainly Control and Midrange Decks (with some exception). But both cards do not work well together, for that reason I don't like both cards in the same 75.
You also mentioned how it can be hard to cast double-color spells like Anger of the Gods in a RUG deck. You realize Blood Moon makes casting that easier, right?
Yes. But maybe against the decks you want to cast Anger of the Gods, you don't want to see Blood moon. In case to play a more control oriented role, I think Firespout or E.E. are easier to cast than Anger.
These points are unfocused and irrelevant. You ONLY want to slam turn 2 Goyf against control if you got to play Serum Visions and fetch for a land first, and if you're relying on the Blood Moon plan against them, you DON'T want to slam turn 2 Goyf. This isn't the big dillema you're making it out to be, it's just incorrect to slam Goyf and then to slam Moon if it means cutting off your own colors. And who cares if some bad players run Shackles and Moon in their 60 against Jund? Is Blood Moon bad because those players that you watch are bad at sideboarding? (Abrupt Decay makes Shackles terrible in that matchup anyway, so these are some really bad players.) Finanlly, if RUG players don't want Blood Moon when they want Anger, why did you even bring up Anger when talking about Blood Moon? Isn't that a different argument entirely?
Anyway, if you don't like the Moon, don't run it. It's won me countless games and that's why RUG players have used it to great success for years, and will continue to do so. IMO Blood Moon is one of the main reasons to play this deck, and I don't want players newer to the archetype to come here and see your post and cut their Blood Moons. I want them to keep the Moons and to laern how to play them effectively so they can do well with RUG Delver. But by all means do what you want with your own 75!
the card itself really isn't worth the card board its printed on...does it serve a purpose? Sure its a blue 1 drop that might not be a 1/1. I would not put it in a list and expect to win a PTQ or GP though.
I've been playing UR Delver for a while and wanted to try RUG with Goyfs instead of Pyromancer. I got a chance yesterday in a local event because I was able to borrow a set of Goyfs. I went 4-0-2 and top 8ed (36 people) and lost in the top 8 to Affinity. Here's the list I played, which is unconventional:
The basic idea for the deck is to take a very aggressive stance game 1, hence the Goblin Guides. I started doing this at GP Minneapolis with U/R Delver (sub Young Pyromancer for Goyf) and made day 2, losing only to Affinity (twice) on day 1, then losing a lot on day 2 (including 2 or 3 times against Affinity, can't recall). Pyromancer is typically only good against the stuff that the deck is already good against, which motivated me to want to try Goyf. I've played a bunch of UR on MTGO and tested some in person with RUG since, but not enough with RUG to really learn much other than to confirm Goyf > Pyro (yeah yeah, you all already know that). Game 2 I found myself siding out the Guides a lot, but for different things and often my opponents were siding in things like Pyroclasm and Anger of the Gods, so this seemed OK.
Deprive is a very recent addition that I like a lot - in this deck, it's often just Counterspell. Remand hadn't really been pulling it's weight because often I really just you to counter 1 or 2 things and let the lest resolve, while remand just buys you a turn. There are times where remand is basically Time Walk and there are times against decks with instant speed interaction (usually counters) where you can remand your own spell in order to generate a +1 in card advantage (a 1-0 typically). Here, Remand is phenomenal. But Deprive is usually good enough in those spots while the spots where Remand isn't as good, Deprive is way better.
The cantrip package is designed to maximize Delver and Goyf. I like at least 8 cantrips, but the Twisted Image or one of the Probes could be cut for a business spell. The probes ensure that Goyf is resilient to bolts and are a crutch because I'm bad at figuring out what's in my opponent's hand. I think in the future I'll go down to 3 probes for a single Thought Scour just to give Snapcaster another instant speed card draw spell to use. It's also good for making your Goyf bigger as a surprise.
The manabase is lazy. It's possible that 1-2 Steam Vents can be cut for some other dual land in order to minimize life loss, but I'm sure I don't want Sulfur Falls because it limits the number of 1 land hands you can keep with the deck.
Here's how the tournament went (with possible some rounds out of order, apologies for my memory):
Game 1 I have 2 goyfs and probe him to see Bolt + Snapcaster, among other things. I misplay and expose the first Goyf to Snap + Bolt because Bolt was the only instant in the yard. As a result, the game takes a very long time but I do end up winning. Game two I make a mistake and fight over an end of turn Clique which allows my opponent to untap and slam {card]Keranos, God of Storms[/card]. I make another mistake by not conceding very quickly and instead try to draw the game out in order to win 1-0-0. This doesn't work, and we only make it a couple of turns into game 3 before time is called in a spot where I'm clearly advantaged but just can't win quickly. So we draw round 1.
Result: Draw, record: 0-0-1
Round 2: vs. UR Twin
I don't recall much of this match, but my opponent does make the mistake of bolting a 2/3 Goyf when there were no instants in the yard game 1, so I win that game fairly easily. Game 2 I think I end up with an aggressive draw that he can't beat, but I don't recall.
Result: Win 2-0, record: 1-0-1
Round 3: vs. BW Tokens
Game 1 I have an aggressive start with T1 Guide, T2 Guide, T4 Guide with some removal to keep the guides attacking. He does manage to resolve a Lingering Souls and flash it back to nearly stabilize, but Snag plus a Snapcaster make it irrelevant. Game 2 I have an early Grim Lavamancer that grinds through 3 Lingering Souls, a Spectral Procession and a set of Squadron Hawks, with some help -- including a key counterspell to protect the Lavamancer, but I eventually go to 1 life vs an empty board. Ultimately, I'm able to nickel and dime him through all of that with attacks here and there with Lavamancer, a Delver (which doesn't flip for some time), and a couple of Snapcaster Mages until eventually a flurry of burn puts it away.
Result: Win 2-0, record: 2-0-1
Round 4: vs Jund
Game 1 is a grind as I try to get my opponent to use all of his removal before I stick a Goyf while he casts Inquisition of Kozilek twice. I bolt an Ooze and Flame Slash a Goyf in the mean time. At some point I know he has an Abrupt Decay in hand and I have a Snag, so I cast my Goyf. Turns out he just drew a Maelstrom Pulse so we simply trade 2 for 2 cards. Eventually the natural card advantage of playing so few lands and so many fetches wins the game as we're both in topdeck mode and I draw a Goyf before he draws anything relevant, and counter backup in time to protect it. Game 2 is trickier. My opening hand as Batterskull in it, so I have a plan, but after my early threats are dealt with, he drops an Ooze that threatens to get very large. I'm able to use the Batterskull plus random dudes to grind through 2 Oozes and a Goyf, plus a snap + bolt to keep a Raging Ravine from getting out of hand. I think he misplayed by attacking with both Oozes into my creatures, because it allowed me to trade random creatures and Germs for large Oozes that could have gotten larger. Ultimately, Batterskull grinds him out.
Result: Win 2-0, record: 3-0-1
Round 5: vs. Melira Pod (not the Angel Pod variant LSV recently wrote about)
At this point, my opponent and I are the only two without a loss and he doesn't have a draw, so he can draw and I maybe can - my opponent from round 1 only lost once - but I don't want to risk it. Game 1 I have a double Goblin Guide draw with a Probe and he kept something a bit awkward. I bolt an early Noble Hierarch and counter a Spellskite and a Chord of Calling, and my opponent doesn't really do much else. Game 2 I misSB and leave 2 Goblin Guides in (intending to take all 4 out, but I'm bad at counting apparently). He keeps another awkward one and again I have a probe, but my hand is less aggressive. I'm able to systematically deal with everything he plays in order to maximize awkwardness until I can stick a Goyf with counter backup. I ride that to victory.
Result: Win 2-0, record: 4-0-1
Round 6: vs WUBG Gifts+Loam. Intentional Draw.
Final record: 4-0-2, top seed (using the modified play-draw rule, so I'm on the play throughout.
Top 8 vs. Affinity
Game 1 my opener is Island, 3 Delver, 2 Probe, and something blank. I know I'm playing against Affinity, so I mulligan into a mediocre 6 with a bolt, Spell Pierce and decent mana. He opens with land, Mox Opal, Ornithopter, 2 Signal Pest. I EOT bolt myself to bolt a Pest. On his turn 2 I pierce a Cranial Plating after playing a Delver. The Delver flips after he plays a Steel Overseer and I probe him to see a Shrapnel Blast. I have Dismember + Deprive + Steam Vents in hand and am at about 10 life, with only Island + Mountain untapped. So I'm forced to play the Steam Vents untapped and dismember the Overseer, which he uses as Shrap Blast fodder to kill my delver, which I deprive. This leaves us both with no cards in hand (or maybe I have a Snapcaster) and him with Ornithopter + Pest to my flipped Delver while I'm tapped out. He naturally topdecks an Arcbound Ravager which I never am in a position to deal with, so I die.
Game 2 I mulligan a 7 with a bunch of two drops and 1 land for an aggressive 6 with 2 delvers and a grudge. The delvers don't flip over several turns, and I'm stuck on 2 lands (breeding pool + steam vents) but I'm able to interact with bolt + grudge. He has an Etched Champion which is racing me, but I'm in it. He draws another etched champion which I'm forced to Deprive, which also forces me to pay 2 life in order to interact on my next turn and the Delvers again don't flip - I have a Goyf, Ooze, and Snapcaster in my hand at this point. He draws a Spellskite and a Steel Overseer. The Spellskite eats the grudge and the Delvers flip off of a Bolt to kill the Overseer. But at this point he has a Nexus and an Ornithopter to start chumping with and I don't force through much damage after the first swing for 6. I do draw a land so I can Snap + Bolt, but my life total is too low and the Etched Champion eventually gets me.
Result: Loss 0-2, record: 4-1-2
I think I got pretty unlucky in the top 8 match, and I don't just mean the mulligans. Had my Delvers flipped early or had I drawn more land when they weren't flipping game 2, I could have raced much more effectively. Game 1 the Ravager came at the worst possible time for me to interact (I would have had Snap + Deprive the next turn, I believe). But overall, I felt happy with the matchup.
I doubt that this build is better than the Wild Nacatl builds discussed farther upthread - I want to try them next - but in the spirit of getting all available information out there, I wanted to post this. Nacatl is obviously better than Goblin Guide, and having access to Path + Helix/Charm also shores up some holes in the strictly RUG builds, but the manabase is is significantly worse/more painful and you probably can't play Deprive in the Nacatl builds. Occasionally, Guide is insane too, especially when you have multiple guide draws or turn 1 delver, blind flip, play guide, attack for 5. (This may be win-more relative to Nacatl though)
I doubt that this build is better than the Wild Nacatl builds discussed farther upthread - I want to try them next - but in the spirit of getting all available information out there, I wanted to post this. Nacatl is obviously better than Goblin Guide, and having access to Path + Helix/Charm also shores up some holes in the strictly RUG builds, but the manabase is is significantly worse/more painful and you probably can't play Deprive in the Nacatl builds. Occasionally, Guide is insane too, especially when you have multiple guide draws or turn 1 delver, blind flip, play guide, attack for 5. (This may be win-more relative to Nacatl though)
Nice post. I'm a fan of your list; I ran a UR Delver list before I got Goyfs with 4x Goblin Guide and loved it. Got shouted out of the UR Delver thread talking about it though, people really hate that guy in this archetype for some reason. (They think you're giving opponents lands they wouldn't have drawn anyways? What?) The 4 or 5 attacking damage on Turn 2 thing is real though. I think this version might want some Searing Blaze to make sure Guide can break through walls. Too bad we can't play Ghor-Clan Rampager in a Delver build.
As far as your bad luck in Top 8, it happens. Delver players use the insect (I here posit) because we find ourselves more attracted to variance than other Magic players. Delver stays 1/1 some games and gives us free wins others. The free wins, combined with the tight play required to properly pilot Delver decks, draw me to the archetype.
On that note, I want to thank everyone participating in the discussion and helping make Aberration work in Modern. We have a great deck here!
the card itself really isn't worth the card board its printed on...does it serve a purpose? Sure its a blue 1 drop that might not be a 1/1. I would not put it in a list and expect to win a PTQ or GP though.
Nice post. I'm a fan of your list; I ran a UR Delver list before I got Goyfs with 4x Goblin Guide and loved it. Got shouted out of the UR Delver thread talking about it though, people really hate that guy in this archetype for some reason. (They think you're giving opponents lands they wouldn't have drawn anyways? What?) The 4 or 5 attacking damage on Turn 2 thing is real though. I think this version might want some Searing Blaze to make sure Guide can break through walls. Too bad we can't play Ghor-Clan Rampager in a Delver build.
Thanks! I posted a bit in the U/R thread too leading up to and just after GP Minneapolis, but they didn't seem to like GG then either. They're trying to position the deck as a slower, nickel-and-diming deck that wins over a grindy long game. In that case, the card disadvantage from Guide is a problem, and it's the reason I side out Guide so aggressively. That said, I think taking the slower approach just turns the deck into tempo twin except without the combo, which is much worse in game 1's and vs certain decks. If UR(G) Delver is a viable alternative to just playing UR(G) Twin, it will have to come from taking an aggressive stance.
I don't really like Searing Blaze MD because it's so often dead game 1 and when it isn't, it's still just another Bolt. The deck has a million ways to deal with creatures that are efficiently dealt with by Lightning Bolt as it is, so the non-bolt removal should be more flexible. E.g. the difference between Searing Blaze and Flame Slash is small when you're killing a random <4 toughness dude - sometimes the 3 damage is huge, but sometimes the cheaper mana/land drop cost is more important, but it's a gaping chasm when you're trying to kill a Restoration Angel or a Tarmogoyf. If I were forced to fit Searing Blaze in somewhere, I'd cut the Pillar of Flame - it only really shines against Kitchen Finks and Murderous Redcap, but the Pod matchup feels pretty decent without it anyway. Honestly, though, Electrolyze is the burn spell I most want in the MD that isn't already there. I'd probably cut a Gitaxian Probe or Twisted Image for it though.
Edit: Oh, and I think 3 Deprive might be too many, because sometimes you do want to counter something on turn 2 and play your third land next turn to set up Snapcaster Mage. Probably a Mana Leak belongs there, but maybe Remand.
I like Goblin Guide a lot and its inclusion speaks to that variance we love, the same variance that (like ashtonkutcher says) rewards tight play. It gives them lands which isn't so problematic, but gets them one card closer to what's under those lands. That's card advantage. On the other hand, he does give information. And you may get lucky...he may attack for 4 or 6 and give them nothing and you info.
GG does get hosed pretty quickly by a variety of things though. Against some decks he might as well be a Shock, because after turn 2 you're probably not going to be attacking with him. Spellskite nerfs him and they always come in against us.
How is Flame Slash working for everyone? Is it better than Vapor Snag?
Remand
Pros: cantrip smoothes out draws, buys us time so we can use Shackles and Cryptic, tempos out opponent, CA vs flashback and can also be used to get advantage in counter wars.
Cons: short term answer, weak against 1 and 2 mana spells such as removal and discard, awkward when behind
I like this:
3 Mana Leak
2 Remand
2 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
And one more Spell Snare in the sideboard. Also, against creature decks, you want them to commit their resources to the board and answer them from there. Vapor Snag is pretty good there and is nearly a Remand in some situations.
Nice report and nice performance. How do you like the maindeck Scavenging Ooze?
What are this deck's toughest matchups? I'd say it falls under the banner "Disruptive Aggro" in terms of archetype. This means it's strongest against Control, weakest against dedicated Aggro, and fair against Midrange and Combo.
You got it! It's actually not tremendous against midrange since cards like Birthing Pod and Thrun, the Last Troll can shut it down. RUG Delver is very uniquely positioned, though, in that it has no absolutely terrible matchups. You can win everything depending on how skilled a pilot you are (and how many blind flips you get!).
You answered your own question! Very well said. The thing is Clique and even Ooze are often better than Pyromancer in this deck. If we're tapping two mana to play a Sorcery-speed creature, it better survive Lightning Bolt.
I run the same counter split as ToxicJoker in my Nacatl list and I love it (3 Remand, 2 Leak, 3 Pierce, 2 Snare). I think the Pierces are much less essential in RUG Delver since you dillute the tempo plan with a midrange strategy (Blood Moon/Shackles/Thrun/Cryptic Command). It's wrong to say Remand is "less good" than Mana Leak, though. Maybe it does depend on your meta, and I think Leak is the preferred spell in RUG, but as TJ pointed out, Snapcaster Mage makes it very appealing to run a split. I like 3/2 or 3/3 and would never go 4/2. Drawing Mana Leak lategame really sucks.
For those stuggling with token decks, Engineered Explosives and Electrolyze are amazing. Lightning Bolt sucks in that matchup. Keep your counterspells - Spell Pierce pulls a lot of weight here, Snare takes care of anthem effects and Tidehollow Sculler, Leak just counters stuff and Remand handles Lingering Souls. Cryptic Command can also tap draw them so your 7/8 Tarmogoyf can come through. Don't mess around with unfocused stuff like Firespout or Pyroclasm.
Counter-Cat
Colorless Eldrazi Stompy
I see some folks in the top-finishing lists have run Deprive. Is anyone still using it?
Counter-Cat
Colorless Eldrazi Stompy
I keep seeing Thrun in sideboards...what does he come in against? The most recent decklist I saw doing well had 2 of him. Can someone shed some light on this card choice?
Counter-Cat
Colorless Eldrazi Stompy
First of all, I don't see how controlling 2 Vents and a Breeding Pool after siding in Blood Moon is common. When you have Moon, you're fetching for basics. In matchups where you need Tarmogoyf, you don't cast it without having a Forest first, and in matchups against Tarmogoyf, you don't run Moon and Shackles in the same MD. You also don't run Thrun and Moon in the same 60. If these are "fairly common" scenarios for you, you're sideboarding and playing incorrectly.
You also mentioned how it can be hard to cast double-color spells like Anger of the Gods in a RUG deck. You realize Blood Moon makes casting that easier, right?
Counter-Cat
Colorless Eldrazi Stompy
The deck I played for RUG Twin in that tournament was essentially the U/R List above with less Spell Snares, no Grim Lavamancers, and the Clique in the sideboard. I was running 19 lands with 1-2 drops in the main (if you count Snapcaster as a 2 drop) and my only three drop being the sideboard Cliques and Anger and Counterflux (last minute SB swap after my friend told me that Storm is popular and that's all I really had to side against it). I don't recall my exact list, as it was 2 weeks ago, but I remember not playing any Blood Moons, I think one more Spellskite, etc. I essentially made the UR Delver list RUG Delver.
Round 1 was interesting. I went 2-0, against my friend's roommate. He threw together a list at the last minute. He was playing UWR Delver, with the white splash just for Path to Exile. Being the last minute, he threw in the Arid Mesa's and forgot the white shocks and plains. Being only 4 dead cards, it was relevant, but not that relevant. It only mattered in game 2, but at that point, I was winning by a large margin and I don't think he could have changed up the game anyways. Pretty much, both games were about getting a threat, sticking it, and protecting it, and knowing when to Bolt his face or save it for his own Delver. He liked my build. Now, he's a great player, going 6th at States just recently, and probably the best at our local game store.
1-0
Round 2 was against U/G Infect. I've played against this deck with U/B Faeries on Cockatrice so I sort of remember how to play against it. Game 1, I had all of the answers and threats when I needed them, winning with 9 poison counters. Game 2 I lost. He had a great opening hand and I had a decent opening hand. Turn 1 Delver that never flipped, and had to chump block. Game 3, I finally drew my good sideboard cards. Ancient Grudge killed 2 of his manlands, and Spellskite redirected all of his pump spells.
2-0
Round 3 was against UWR Control. I played against this player before the tournament casually, and lost. I've played against him in drafts before and have a great record against him (despite him being one of the better players in my area). I don't remember exactly how it went down. I know I lost 0-2. Pretty much, my threats would get exiled, and he'd get through with his Angel and Colonnade in the late game. He won with a sideboarded Batterskull once too. I just remember staring at my Bolts wishing they were Path's. I also made the mistake of sideboarding in Ancient Grudge. I figured he'd board in the Batterskull like he did before the tournament, but he didn't. I also thought that Colonnade was an artifact creature, not an Elemental. So, I ended up drawing both copies game 2 and had 2 dead cards. I attribute that loss to my newbishness and unfamiliarity with the format.
2-1
I ended up getting second in a 6 man, small town tournament. I was happy with that. I loved how all of the cards were 1-2 CMC, but I changed it up. I added a few more lands, a Clique, and a Cryptic. I also took out the Young Pyromancers. This build isn't exactly what I want to do, but in the long term, I want to get to the point where my main deck is RUG Delver but my sideboard is Blue Moon + Artifact hate. Here's my deck as stands:
1x Vendilion Clique
4x Snapcaster Mage
4x Tarmogoyf
4x Delver of Secrets
1x Cryptic Command
3x Spell Pierce
2x Vapor Snag
3x Remand
4x Mana Leak
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Flame Slash
4x Serum Visions
3x Gitaxian Probe
4x Misty Rainforest
4x Scalding Tarn
2x Steam Vents
2x Breeding Pool
1x Forest
2x Mountain
6x Island
Sideboard
2x Ancient Grudge
2x Hurkyl's Recall
3x Blood Moon
1x Vedalken Shackles
2x Combust
1x Dispel
2x Spellskite
2x Counterflux
Any tips about this deck, or even Magic in general or the forums would be nice. I love RUG Delver and I may try and stick with it over Tarmo Twin. I've also been looking at the possibility of Bant Delver.
These points are unfocused and irrelevant. You ONLY want to slam turn 2 Goyf against control if you got to play Serum Visions and fetch for a land first, and if you're relying on the Blood Moon plan against them, you DON'T want to slam turn 2 Goyf. This isn't the big dillema you're making it out to be, it's just incorrect to slam Goyf and then to slam Moon if it means cutting off your own colors. And who cares if some bad players run Shackles and Moon in their 60 against Jund? Is Blood Moon bad because those players that you watch are bad at sideboarding? (Abrupt Decay makes Shackles terrible in that matchup anyway, so these are some really bad players.) Finanlly, if RUG players don't want Blood Moon when they want Anger, why did you even bring up Anger when talking about Blood Moon? Isn't that a different argument entirely?
Anyway, if you don't like the Moon, don't run it. It's won me countless games and that's why RUG players have used it to great success for years, and will continue to do so. IMO Blood Moon is one of the main reasons to play this deck, and I don't want players newer to the archetype to come here and see your post and cut their Blood Moons. I want them to keep the Moons and to laern how to play them effectively so they can do well with RUG Delver. But by all means do what you want with your own 75!
Counter-Cat
Colorless Eldrazi Stompy
4 Goblin Guide
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Pillar of Flame
1 Flame Slash
1 Dismember
1 Vapor Snag
1 Twisted Image
4 Serum Visions
4 Gitaxian Probe
3 Deprive
1 Remand
2 Mana Leak
1 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Steam Vents
2 Breeding Pool
1 Stomping Ground
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Forest
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Counterflux
2 Combust
2 Blood Moon
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Batterskull
The basic idea for the deck is to take a very aggressive stance game 1, hence the Goblin Guides. I started doing this at GP Minneapolis with U/R Delver (sub Young Pyromancer for Goyf) and made day 2, losing only to Affinity (twice) on day 1, then losing a lot on day 2 (including 2 or 3 times against Affinity, can't recall). Pyromancer is typically only good against the stuff that the deck is already good against, which motivated me to want to try Goyf. I've played a bunch of UR on MTGO and tested some in person with RUG since, but not enough with RUG to really learn much other than to confirm Goyf > Pyro (yeah yeah, you all already know that). Game 2 I found myself siding out the Guides a lot, but for different things and often my opponents were siding in things like Pyroclasm and Anger of the Gods, so this seemed OK.
Deprive is a very recent addition that I like a lot - in this deck, it's often just Counterspell. Remand hadn't really been pulling it's weight because often I really just you to counter 1 or 2 things and let the lest resolve, while remand just buys you a turn. There are times where remand is basically Time Walk and there are times against decks with instant speed interaction (usually counters) where you can remand your own spell in order to generate a +1 in card advantage (a 1-0 typically). Here, Remand is phenomenal. But Deprive is usually good enough in those spots while the spots where Remand isn't as good, Deprive is way better.
The cantrip package is designed to maximize Delver and Goyf. I like at least 8 cantrips, but the Twisted Image or one of the Probes could be cut for a business spell. The probes ensure that Goyf is resilient to bolts and are a crutch because I'm bad at figuring out what's in my opponent's hand. I think in the future I'll go down to 3 probes for a single Thought Scour just to give Snapcaster another instant speed card draw spell to use. It's also good for making your Goyf bigger as a surprise.
The manabase is lazy. It's possible that 1-2 Steam Vents can be cut for some other dual land in order to minimize life loss, but I'm sure I don't want Sulfur Falls because it limits the number of 1 land hands you can keep with the deck.
Here's how the tournament went (with possible some rounds out of order, apologies for my memory):
Round 1: vs. UWR Control - nonstandard: 0 Restoration Angels, MD Warleader's Helix
Game 1 I have 2 goyfs and probe him to see Bolt + Snapcaster, among other things. I misplay and expose the first Goyf to Snap + Bolt because Bolt was the only instant in the yard. As a result, the game takes a very long time but I do end up winning. Game two I make a mistake and fight over an end of turn Clique which allows my opponent to untap and slam {card]Keranos, God of Storms[/card]. I make another mistake by not conceding very quickly and instead try to draw the game out in order to win 1-0-0. This doesn't work, and we only make it a couple of turns into game 3 before time is called in a spot where I'm clearly advantaged but just can't win quickly. So we draw round 1.
Result: Draw, record: 0-0-1
Round 2: vs. UR Twin
I don't recall much of this match, but my opponent does make the mistake of bolting a 2/3 Goyf when there were no instants in the yard game 1, so I win that game fairly easily. Game 2 I think I end up with an aggressive draw that he can't beat, but I don't recall.
Result: Win 2-0, record: 1-0-1
Round 3: vs. BW Tokens
Game 1 I have an aggressive start with T1 Guide, T2 Guide, T4 Guide with some removal to keep the guides attacking. He does manage to resolve a Lingering Souls and flash it back to nearly stabilize, but Snag plus a Snapcaster make it irrelevant. Game 2 I have an early Grim Lavamancer that grinds through 3 Lingering Souls, a Spectral Procession and a set of Squadron Hawks, with some help -- including a key counterspell to protect the Lavamancer, but I eventually go to 1 life vs an empty board. Ultimately, I'm able to nickel and dime him through all of that with attacks here and there with Lavamancer, a Delver (which doesn't flip for some time), and a couple of Snapcaster Mages until eventually a flurry of burn puts it away.
Result: Win 2-0, record: 2-0-1
Round 4: vs Jund
Game 1 is a grind as I try to get my opponent to use all of his removal before I stick a Goyf while he casts Inquisition of Kozilek twice. I bolt an Ooze and Flame Slash a Goyf in the mean time. At some point I know he has an Abrupt Decay in hand and I have a Snag, so I cast my Goyf. Turns out he just drew a Maelstrom Pulse so we simply trade 2 for 2 cards. Eventually the natural card advantage of playing so few lands and so many fetches wins the game as we're both in topdeck mode and I draw a Goyf before he draws anything relevant, and counter backup in time to protect it. Game 2 is trickier. My opening hand as Batterskull in it, so I have a plan, but after my early threats are dealt with, he drops an Ooze that threatens to get very large. I'm able to use the Batterskull plus random dudes to grind through 2 Oozes and a Goyf, plus a snap + bolt to keep a Raging Ravine from getting out of hand. I think he misplayed by attacking with both Oozes into my creatures, because it allowed me to trade random creatures and Germs for large Oozes that could have gotten larger. Ultimately, Batterskull grinds him out.
Result: Win 2-0, record: 3-0-1
Round 5: vs. Melira Pod (not the Angel Pod variant LSV recently wrote about)
At this point, my opponent and I are the only two without a loss and he doesn't have a draw, so he can draw and I maybe can - my opponent from round 1 only lost once - but I don't want to risk it. Game 1 I have a double Goblin Guide draw with a Probe and he kept something a bit awkward. I bolt an early Noble Hierarch and counter a Spellskite and a Chord of Calling, and my opponent doesn't really do much else. Game 2 I misSB and leave 2 Goblin Guides in (intending to take all 4 out, but I'm bad at counting apparently). He keeps another awkward one and again I have a probe, but my hand is less aggressive. I'm able to systematically deal with everything he plays in order to maximize awkwardness until I can stick a Goyf with counter backup. I ride that to victory.
Result: Win 2-0, record: 4-0-1
Round 6: vs WUBG Gifts+Loam. Intentional Draw.
Final record: 4-0-2, top seed (using the modified play-draw rule, so I'm on the play throughout.
Top 8 vs. Affinity
Game 1 my opener is Island, 3 Delver, 2 Probe, and something blank. I know I'm playing against Affinity, so I mulligan into a mediocre 6 with a bolt, Spell Pierce and decent mana. He opens with land, Mox Opal, Ornithopter, 2 Signal Pest. I EOT bolt myself to bolt a Pest. On his turn 2 I pierce a Cranial Plating after playing a Delver. The Delver flips after he plays a Steel Overseer and I probe him to see a Shrapnel Blast. I have Dismember + Deprive + Steam Vents in hand and am at about 10 life, with only Island + Mountain untapped. So I'm forced to play the Steam Vents untapped and dismember the Overseer, which he uses as Shrap Blast fodder to kill my delver, which I deprive. This leaves us both with no cards in hand (or maybe I have a Snapcaster) and him with Ornithopter + Pest to my flipped Delver while I'm tapped out. He naturally topdecks an Arcbound Ravager which I never am in a position to deal with, so I die.
Game 2 I mulligan a 7 with a bunch of two drops and 1 land for an aggressive 6 with 2 delvers and a grudge. The delvers don't flip over several turns, and I'm stuck on 2 lands (breeding pool + steam vents) but I'm able to interact with bolt + grudge. He has an Etched Champion which is racing me, but I'm in it. He draws another etched champion which I'm forced to Deprive, which also forces me to pay 2 life in order to interact on my next turn and the Delvers again don't flip - I have a Goyf, Ooze, and Snapcaster in my hand at this point. He draws a Spellskite and a Steel Overseer. The Spellskite eats the grudge and the Delvers flip off of a Bolt to kill the Overseer. But at this point he has a Nexus and an Ornithopter to start chumping with and I don't force through much damage after the first swing for 6. I do draw a land so I can Snap + Bolt, but my life total is too low and the Etched Champion eventually gets me.
Result: Loss 0-2, record: 4-1-2
I think I got pretty unlucky in the top 8 match, and I don't just mean the mulligans. Had my Delvers flipped early or had I drawn more land when they weren't flipping game 2, I could have raced much more effectively. Game 1 the Ravager came at the worst possible time for me to interact (I would have had Snap + Deprive the next turn, I believe). But overall, I felt happy with the matchup.
I doubt that this build is better than the Wild Nacatl builds discussed farther upthread - I want to try them next - but in the spirit of getting all available information out there, I wanted to post this. Nacatl is obviously better than Goblin Guide, and having access to Path + Helix/Charm also shores up some holes in the strictly RUG builds, but the manabase is is significantly worse/more painful and you probably can't play Deprive in the Nacatl builds. Occasionally, Guide is insane too, especially when you have multiple guide draws or turn 1 delver, blind flip, play guide, attack for 5. (This may be win-more relative to Nacatl though)
Nice post. I'm a fan of your list; I ran a UR Delver list before I got Goyfs with 4x Goblin Guide and loved it. Got shouted out of the UR Delver thread talking about it though, people really hate that guy in this archetype for some reason. (They think you're giving opponents lands they wouldn't have drawn anyways? What?) The 4 or 5 attacking damage on Turn 2 thing is real though. I think this version might want some Searing Blaze to make sure Guide can break through walls. Too bad we can't play Ghor-Clan Rampager in a Delver build.
As far as your bad luck in Top 8, it happens. Delver players use the insect (I here posit) because we find ourselves more attracted to variance than other Magic players. Delver stays 1/1 some games and gives us free wins others. The free wins, combined with the tight play required to properly pilot Delver decks, draw me to the archetype.
On that note, I want to thank everyone participating in the discussion and helping make Aberration work in Modern. We have a great deck here!
P.S. I'm not mad at Batterskull in the main.
Counter-Cat
Colorless Eldrazi Stompy
Thanks! I posted a bit in the U/R thread too leading up to and just after GP Minneapolis, but they didn't seem to like GG then either. They're trying to position the deck as a slower, nickel-and-diming deck that wins over a grindy long game. In that case, the card disadvantage from Guide is a problem, and it's the reason I side out Guide so aggressively. That said, I think taking the slower approach just turns the deck into tempo twin except without the combo, which is much worse in game 1's and vs certain decks. If UR(G) Delver is a viable alternative to just playing UR(G) Twin, it will have to come from taking an aggressive stance.
I don't really like Searing Blaze MD because it's so often dead game 1 and when it isn't, it's still just another Bolt. The deck has a million ways to deal with creatures that are efficiently dealt with by Lightning Bolt as it is, so the non-bolt removal should be more flexible. E.g. the difference between Searing Blaze and Flame Slash is small when you're killing a random <4 toughness dude - sometimes the 3 damage is huge, but sometimes the cheaper mana/land drop cost is more important, but it's a gaping chasm when you're trying to kill a Restoration Angel or a Tarmogoyf. If I were forced to fit Searing Blaze in somewhere, I'd cut the Pillar of Flame - it only really shines against Kitchen Finks and Murderous Redcap, but the Pod matchup feels pretty decent without it anyway. Honestly, though, Electrolyze is the burn spell I most want in the MD that isn't already there. I'd probably cut a Gitaxian Probe or Twisted Image for it though.
Edit: Oh, and I think 3 Deprive might be too many, because sometimes you do want to counter something on turn 2 and play your third land next turn to set up Snapcaster Mage. Probably a Mana Leak belongs there, but maybe Remand.
GG does get hosed pretty quickly by a variety of things though. Against some decks he might as well be a Shock, because after turn 2 you're probably not going to be attacking with him. Spellskite nerfs him and they always come in against us.
How is Flame Slash working for everyone? Is it better than Vapor Snag?