Hello, was hoping to get some advice on my board and a few odds and ends. I want to get on the blood moon plan but not sure about the land base. Also I want to bring in Ceremonous rejection as well for afinity and bant eldrazi.
im not an expert by anymeans but i tested dreadbore and i got very dissapointed by that card.. i got owned by a Celestial Colonnade with no ways of killing it with my dreadbore sitting in my hand.. instead i switch the card for hero's downfall sure its harder to cast but with 20 lands and you will need to cast it later in the game and i can kill the Celestial Colonnade aswell as planeswalkers at instant speed and dodges spell snare
Hello, was hoping to get some advice on my board and a few odds and ends. I want to get on the blood moon plan but not sure about the land base. Also I want to bring in Ceremonous rejection as well for afinity and bant eldrazi.
for blood moon: i would cut molten rain to get these in, they serve the same purpose, its just about whether a temporary damage-dealing solution or a permanent potentially game ending solution is better in your build. in the more aggressive delver lists, molten rain is of course better, as throwing them off tempo for a turn while shocking them is much better than slowing yourself down with blood moon. your list looks a bit more blood moon oriented, running less delve threats and running kalitas/new lilly hints towards a slow game. you will need to add a second basic swamp and a second island to support your spells with a blood moon sideboard plan
i highly reccomend against ceremonious rejection. we are already good against affinity and eldrazi run cavern of souls. unless your meta is infested with eldrazi, it is too narrow and too situational to be good in most matchups
Game 1: he kept a risky hand with only one land and multiple dorks. I noticed his missed land drop and went after his dorks. I pulled ahead very quickly and ended the game with a bolt-snap-bolt.
Game 2: I think this game might've been over faster than the first. Turn 2 Tasigur backed up by Spell Pierce to counter his Remand was the winning play here.
1-0
Round 2: Mono Blue Extra Turns
Game 1: I kept a solid hand, but I was quickly overrun by allowing him to resolve 3 Dictate of Kruphix. Game one was lost to him going "infinite" and killing me with a 6/6 land.
Game 2: I flipped a turn 1 Delver and proceeded to counter almost every spell he played. Countersquall actually finished him off.
Game 3: This one was long and close, towards the end of the game I managed to Surgical Extraction both Time Warp and Walk the Aeons. This was enough for him to scoop.
2-0
Round 3: Grixis Control
Game 1: Opponent is on the 'blue jund' variant with Jace, Vryns Prodigy and Rise / Fall. Game one I'm able to resolve a T3 Tasigur and protect it from his Terminate with Spell Snare. The next turn he taps out for a Tasigur of his own, which I Terminate. The rest of the game is me protecting my Tasigur and beating down. He didn't draw many more ways to deal with it and quickly lost.
Game 2: I board out my Delvers and prepare for a grind. We go back and forth for a few turns until I'm able to once again drop a Tasigur with plenty of protection. I could tell he was struggling to keep up with the efficiency of my deck the entire time. It really made me appreciate the Delver variant.
Overall I'm really happy with my list. I'll be making some small changes to the sideboard and hopefully getting my hands on some Spirebluff Canals. Thanks for reading
Game 2: I board out my Delvers and prepare for a grind. We go back and forth for a few turns until I'm able to once again drop a Tasigur with plenty of protection. I could tell he was struggling to keep up with the efficiency of my deck the entire time. It really made me appreciate the Delver variant.
This was exactly how i felt vs grixis control as well. Its so hard to use clunky cryptics when your opponent is answering them for 1 mana. Thought scours to keep tasigurs cheap, even in the grindy mirrors is huge as well.
what do you guys think about the land count of 3 Spirebluff Canal, 1 Darkslick Shore, 1 Steam Vent, 2 Watery Grave, 1 Blood Crypt, 2 Island, 1 Swamp, 8 fetches?
For fast land, definitely i would go 4, however is 3 Canal + 1 Shore (draw too much turn 4 onward is headache). The percentage of drawing colour land is like:
Hello, was hoping to get some advice on my board and a few odds and ends. I want to get on the blood moon plan but not sure about the land base. Also I want to bring in Ceremonous rejection as well for afinity and bant eldrazi.
for blood moon: i would cut molten rain to get these in, they serve the same purpose, its just about whether a temporary damage-dealing solution or a permanent potentially game ending solution is better in your build. in the more aggressive delver lists, molten rain is of course better, as throwing them off tempo for a turn while shocking them is much better than slowing yourself down with blood moon. your list looks a bit more blood moon oriented, running less delve threats and running kalitas/new lilly hints towards a slow game. you will need to add a second basic swamp and a second island to support your spells with a blood moon sideboard plan
i highly reccomend against ceremonious rejection. we are already good against affinity and eldrazi run cavern of souls. unless your meta is infested with eldrazi, it is too narrow and too situational to be good in most matchups
how has new lily been treating you?
Got it, I'll swap those out and test,
Lily has been good for me in most matches, she's just bad in matches where someone goes over the top, Might cut one but is still worth it.
Does pyro NEED probe? I'm trying a 20 land build with him, but no probe. Reason being, is I feel more comfortable running more counters. Yes I understand probe is value with pyro, but I appreciate young p because he rewards you for protecting, or being proactive. I do feel the card is a solid medium, and am a bit torn between the pyro/probe build and the more controlling one. Thoughts?
Does pyro NEED probe? I'm trying a 20 land build with him, but no probe. Reason being, is I feel more comfortable running more counters. Yes I understand probe is value with pyro, but I appreciate young p because he rewards you for protecting, or being proactive. I do feel the card is a solid medium, and am a bit torn between the pyro/probe build and the more controlling one. Thoughts?
a pyro build is going to be more on the aggressive side. cards like probe give you extremely valuable information, as well as letting you trigger pyro without relying on your opponents casting counterable spells. you said it yourself, pyro rewards you for being proactive, counterspells are reactive.
I’m relatively new to the Grixis Delver list building and play-testing it for only 2 months since shifting from the straight UR Delver Faeries I have been playing for the past 2 years. Got to test out the list above at an FNM in an LGS in Shinjuku and went 3-0 with it against a field of R/G and R/G/W decks.
R1 vs Abzan Delirium (2-1)
Game 1 - I was on the draw and started with a good hand of counterspells and terminates that kept his Tarmogoyfs and Grim Flayers off the table until I can finish him off with a flipped Delver and Tasigur.
Sideboard
Out: 4 Delvers, 1 Remand, 2 Mana Leak
In: 2 Flashfreeze, 2 Surgical Extraction, 1 Deathmark, 1 Kolaghans’ Command, 1 Rakdos Charm
Game 2 - My opponent managed to fuel his graveyard quickly to enable a Grim Flayer and Tarmogoyf. I managed to counter his Lingering Souls and removed them with Surgical Extraction but eventually fell to his creatures.
Game 3 - No change in my sideboard. I have a Surgical Extraction and Rakdos Charm and decided to keep them. We fenced back and forth until he was at 4 life with a 5/6 Tarmogoyf, 2 spirit tokens and a 3 loyalty Liliana of the Veil on the board. I was at 6 life with a Tasigur and Snapcaster on the battlefield. It was his turn and I had no more counters or removal except for the Rakdos Charm and 2 lands. I just extracted his 3 Lingering Souls last turn. He cast a 4/4 Grim Flayer on his main phase and I responded with a Rakdos Charm using the 3rd mode. He read again the text on the 3rd mode of the charm and scooped.
MVP Cards: Surgical Extraction, Flashfreeze, Rakdos Charm
R2 vs. RGw Ponza (2-0)
Game 1 - I was on the play with 2 Delvers and 1 Serum Visions on my opening hand. I rode the 2 flipped Delver on turn 3 to victory, countering his removal and bolting his mana dorks and terminating his Fleecemane Lion and Pollukranos along the way before they became monstrous.
Sideboard
Out: 4 Delver, 1 Spell Pierce, 1 Remand, 1 Mana Leak
In: 2 Flashfreeze, 2 Magma Spray, 1 Deathmark, 1 Kolaghan’s Command, 1 Pithing Needle
I sided out the Delvers because to reduce targets for Lightning Bolts. I don’t expect to get lucky like the first match-up.
Game 2 – Knowing he had a Raging Ravine from Game 1, I kept a hand with a Pithing Needle. He managed to land a turn 3 Rest in Piece to remove my graveyard. Flashfreeze kept the dangerous red and green spells off the board. Snapcaster Mage chipped away at his life slowly until a hard casted Tasigur finished him off. He had no good removal for it.
MVP Cards: Pithing Needle, Flashfreeze, Deathmark
R3 vs RG Valakut Titan 2-0
Game 1 – I was on the play and with early pressure from a T2 flipped Delver and T2 Tasigur. He managed to remove them with Valakut triggers and Lightning Bolts. His resolved Primeval Titans did not last long with my Terminates and Dreadbore. After getting him to 3 life, I top deck a Lightning Bolt for the win. He was not on the Scapeshift plan so the Valakut triggers did not do much damage.
Sideboard
Out: 1 Remand, 2 Mana Leak, 1 Delver, 1 Though Scour
In: 2 Flashfreeze, 1 Countersquall, 2 Inquisition of Kozilek
Game 2 – I kept a good hand with counters and removal. At one point, he surprised me with a Summoning Trap when I countered his Primeval Titan but only managed to snag a Solemn Simulacrum. In the end, he could not handle a Snapcaster Mage and Tasigur beatdown backed with counterspells and removal. Again, his Valakut triggers only took out my early Delvers and Snapcaster Mages but did not pose too much threat to Tasigur without Lightning Bolt support.
MVP Cards: Flashfreeze, Countersquall, Tasigur
My LGS is just a small group with 8-12 players but with very diverse decks. At any time, you can face BW token, Jund, Naya Kiki-Chord, Bant Knightfall, Dredge, Infect, RG Ponza, UW Control, RG Valakut/Titan builds, Ad Nauseam , Naya Zoo, Monoblue Tron, Abzan builds and random rogue decks. More than half are RG decks that’s why I board in 2 Flashfreeze and 1 Deathmark.
Some notes on my card selections:
1 Ghost Quarter – MB insurance against Cavern of Souls, enemy manlands and utility lands, i.e. Kessig Wolfrun, Gavony Township, etc.
1 Spell Pierce – MB vs T1-T3 shenanigans like LotV, mana artifacts, Lingering Souls, Goryos’ Vengeance and the likes
1 Dreadbore – better than a 4th Terminate vs MB planeswalkers like Nahiri, Lily and Gideon
1 Pillar of Flame – vs Kitchen Finks and persist pests and Dredge creatures like Bloodghast and Narcomoeba so I have a fighting chance pre-board
1 Vendilion Clique – I don’t run Gitaxian Probe and 3/1 flying beater with pseudo Thoughtseize is always good
I played in a 40 person pptq this past weekend. Felt like I played well and got unlucky. That's how it is sometimes.
Round 1 against ad nauseum: This feels very winnable, especially with an early delver or tasigur. Game one I drew two terminates and missed 3 turns in a row to find relevant interaction or reach to finish the game. Game 2 I closed out with relative ease. Game 3 my opponent lands an early unlife. I get him to 6 infect with lethal on the board when he manages to find a boseiju and ad nauseum. Sad panda.
Round 2 was against Martyr/Emeria control: This feels unwinnable. Game 1 was an epic struggle with my opponent getting up to 40 life early on with martyr. I was killing ascendants and rangers left and right, but after the dust settled opponent was still above 20, had two emeria's, and all I had was a tasigur to hold down the ground. Game 2 felt equally as bad. I kept a reasonable hand, but missed a few too many turns to get an early tasigur with disruption. Sitting on two mana and knowing my opponent had hawks in hand I played an EE on two, and got immediately punished when opponent played ranger for two ascendants. In retrospect EE should almost always be on 1 regardless. Ascendants are the only real threat.
Round 3 I knew I had to win against mardu Nahiri. Game one we traded resources left and right but I eventually got ground out by lingering souls. Game 2 I had all the answers and ripped timely burn and snaps. Game 3 went long much like game 1, but I had EE and staticaster to deal with souls. Board was at parity and I had a mana leak and staticaster. opponent ripped inquisition into big elspeth into removal spell and my dreams were crushed.
Round 4 opponent was way tired/tilted/brain dead. Playing mono black lantern (admittedly a pet project) game one he got an early bridge after hand disruption and planted a last hope lili. I couldn't stop ult and couldn't get enough pressure to kill him through zombies even if i found k command. Games 2 and 3 I got under easily and had many snaps and commands.
I was late to round 5 due to eating a sandwich. I got a game loss and then proceeded to 2-0 my opponent. He was a nice guy and had gotten paired down, so I conceded to him. He was on titan breach, and it was fairly academic on my end. Early pressure plus a few disruption spells and burn to finish it off. This match feels very easy unless they get natural valakuts in play and can just start doming you, or they can sneak in a breach/titan.
Round 6 I played very poorly against a UR delver variant. I tried to race game 1 and came up short. Game 2 I mulliganed to 5 with 2 lands, 2 terminates and a snapcaster. Opponent opened on two delvers and quietly put me away after I took too much early damage.
Later on I played a bunch of practice matches against burn. Game 1 feels very bad. I probably lost 10 game 1's in a row. Playing with sideboard feels much much better, and I probably won 8 out of the next 10.
Out of curiosity, is anyone else still running stubborn delver? Its been doing great for me the past few months (seriously, 1 mana negate is a very legitimate card). As a side note, any suggestions on the various chord decks? I've only had a few close games there, it usually feels like one of us just steamrolls the other. Oh, and pyro definitely needs probe. Just saying.
With only 4 creatures in the deck that actually turn on the stubborn, I've often found it to be a force spike. If you've ever felt mana leak turned bad, force spike is far worse.
Catching the occasional expedition map, ancient stirrings on the play is nice, but spell pierce is far more consistent for that purpose.
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BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
Hello, was hoping to get some advice on my board and a few odds and ends. I want to get on the blood moon plan but not sure about the land base. Also I want to bring in Ceremonous rejection as well for afinity and bant eldrazi.
hey deck looks pretty cool, however i dont think blood moon should be in grixis, the deck needs to transform into a late game control deck vs some match ups and only able to have 1 blue source would just be terrible.. also i think you want serum over ancestral. card is good but with all my testing it doest really fit in the main especially as a 4 of. i could defiantly see ceremonous as a sb card tho for tron.. as thats like our worst match up lol.
@marcwizard
I run 5 delve guys and 2 denial, it is almost always turned on when I'm casting it and it is one of the best cards to have in the late game.
@bvnnned
I've always found Tron to be if not good, at least a favorable MU. Can you elaborate on that? (Then again, it may be denial as that card is an absolute beating vs Tron).
And no, I've only had problems running out of GY if the opponent brought in relic, RIP, etc (and even then a lot of people are waaay too conservative with relic and you can sneak out a tas)
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"Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire." --Jaya Ballard
So David Nolan's manabase appears to have (from my manabase) cut darkslick and sulfur falls for 2 spirebluff canals and cut a steam vents for a second watery grave.
Not sure I agree with the sulfur falls cut, but I guess it's OK. Anyone done any extensive maths/testing with new bases?
So David Nolan's manabase appears to have (from my manabase) cut darkslick and sulfur falls for 2 spirebluff canals and cut a steam vents for a second watery grave.
Not sure I agree with the sulfur falls cut, but I guess it's OK. Anyone done any extensive maths/testing with new bases?
I ran that exact land setup last night and found it extremely playable. I was rarely choked on mana overall and never color screwed. It felt so smooth, I even tried prioritizing basics in my final match against burn after a T1 Spirebluff into Delver. I won that match with 3 life left; so it really does make a difference compared to the usual bolt-yourself opening draw.
Hello, was hoping to get some advice on my board and a few odds and ends. I want to get on the blood moon plan but not sure about the land base. Also I want to bring in Ceremonous rejection as well for afinity and bant eldrazi.
hey deck looks pretty cool, however i dont think blood moon should be in grixis, the deck needs to transform into a late game control deck vs some match ups and only able to have 1 blue source would just be terrible.. also i think you want serum over ancestral. card is good but with all my testing it doest really fit in the main especially as a 4 of. i could defiantly see ceremonous as a sb card tho for tron.. as thats like our worst match up lol.
I think some wires got crossed here, I run 4 serum main and 3 ancestral in the board. And yeah I'm not huge on blood moon, but I've been beating tron with surgical extraction. It's bant eldrazi that has me stumped. I win 1/5ish games vs them. Was hoping to turn them off with moon long enough to win.
Game 1
Opened up with flipping delver on turn 2 or 3, and beats in pretty good. He resolved a restoration angel, but he was running cryptic command, and missed land drops, so mana leak was very easy.
Game 2
he got stuck on 4 lands, while I resolved tasigur, with counter protection.
Cryptic command is so bad against dispel.
2-0
overall 1-0
Round 2 vs goblins
Game 1
MB blood moon is horrible. lost to a grenade or w/e.
Game 2
I knew I was wrong to keep a hand with no fetch's, and of course he blood moons t3. Loss. Almost did it with a pyro and some bolts though...!
0-2
Overall 1-1
Round 3 vs affinity
Game 1
I tapped out for God knows what, and he resolved an etched and hooked him up with cranial plating. Loss.
+2 magma spray
+1 loothouse
+1 izzet staticaster
+1 vandalblast
-3 gitaxian probe
-1 thought scour
-1 mana leak
Game 2
flashed staticaster endstep and untapped and drew without using her. Long day of magic had me misplaying quite a bit in this matchup. He opened up with grafdiggers cage, and proceeded to infect me with a big inkmoth from archbound.
0-2
Overall 1-2
Round 4 vs Naya Zoo
Game 1
He lands Gaddock teeg, and I kill it. Couple of goyfs and terminates/murderous cut's later I beat face and snapcaster bolt sorcery speed for the win.
-3 probe
-1 thought scour
+2 countersquall
+1 loothouse
+1 dispel
Game 2
He lands t2 thalia, which i terminate for 3. He lands another, which i Kommand for 4. My delver doesn't flip for like 5 turns, but when it finally does, I already have tasigur on the field, and win by mana leak, snap, mana leak in response to thunderbolt on my delver and finally, snap countersquall in response to path to exile while he was at 1 life.
Overall 2-2
I know made some big mistakes vs affinity, and I should've mulled to find fetches vs the goblins, but all in all a solid night of magic.
SB:
1 EE
2 dispel
1 izzet staticaster
2 surgical
1 painful truths
1 d loot house
1 slaughter games
2 f mages
1 spell pierce
1 vandal blast
2 counter squal
match 1 was vs "dumpsterfire" lol.. was dredge with valakult.. dude made a really cool deck and game 1 he beat me on t4 game 2 and 3 i just surgicaled what i had to with some counters.
(2-1)
match 2
UW control.
game 1 had a t2 tasigur and followed by a pyro and just pounded him out.
game 2 he got stuck on 3 lands and could not verdict me and when he finally hit i was in bolt snap bolt range was quick
(2-0)
match 3
D&t
game 1 had 2 delvers on t2 then smashed for 6 a turn only killing serra avengers and he couldnt race
game 2 i blew out a aether vial activation when he had 1 land on t3 with k command and continued to beat him down.
(2-0)
match 4
GB midrange
lost (0-2)
couldnt draw a terminate and he just beat me down with more value creatures ect.
Hello, was hoping to get some advice on my board and a few odds and ends. I want to get on the blood moon plan but not sure about the land base. Also I want to bring in Ceremonous rejection as well for afinity and bant eldrazi.
for blood moon: i would cut molten rain to get these in, they serve the same purpose, its just about whether a temporary damage-dealing solution or a permanent potentially game ending solution is better in your build. in the more aggressive delver lists, molten rain is of course better, as throwing them off tempo for a turn while shocking them is much better than slowing yourself down with blood moon. your list looks a bit more blood moon oriented, running less delve threats and running kalitas/new lilly hints towards a slow game. you will need to add a second basic swamp and a second island to support your spells with a blood moon sideboard plan
i highly reccomend against ceremonious rejection. we are already good against affinity and eldrazi run cavern of souls. unless your meta is infested with eldrazi, it is too narrow and too situational to be good in most matchups
how has new lily been treating you?
UWRjeskai nahiri UWR
UBRgrixis titi UBR
UBRgrixis delverUBR
UR ur kikimite UR
EDH
RUG Riku of Two Reflections RUG
UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose UBR
UBRGYidris, Maelstrom Wielder UBRG
UBRJeleva, Nephalia's ScourgeUBR
Round 1: Jeskai Ascendancy combo
Game 1: he kept a risky hand with only one land and multiple dorks. I noticed his missed land drop and went after his dorks. I pulled ahead very quickly and ended the game with a bolt-snap-bolt.
-3 terminate
-1 dismember
-1 murderous cut
-1 kolaghans command
-1 bolt
+2 surgical extraction
+2 countersquall
+1 dispel
+1 engineered explosives
+1 extirpate
Game 2: I think this game might've been over faster than the first. Turn 2 Tasigur backed up by Spell Pierce to counter his Remand was the winning play here.
1-0
Round 2: Mono Blue Extra Turns
Game 1: I kept a solid hand, but I was quickly overrun by allowing him to resolve 3 Dictate of Kruphix. Game one was lost to him going "infinite" and killing me with a 6/6 land.
-2 terminate
-1 murderous cut
-1 dismember
-1 kolaghans command
-2 bolt
+2 surgical extraction
+2 countersquall
+1 dispel
+1 engineered explosives
+1 extirpate
Game 2: I flipped a turn 1 Delver and proceeded to counter almost every spell he played. Countersquall actually finished him off.
Game 3: This one was long and close, towards the end of the game I managed to Surgical Extraction both Time Warp and Walk the Aeons. This was enough for him to scoop.
2-0
Round 3: Grixis Control
Game 1: Opponent is on the 'blue jund' variant with Jace, Vryns Prodigy and Rise / Fall. Game one I'm able to resolve a T3 Tasigur and protect it from his Terminate with Spell Snare. The next turn he taps out for a Tasigur of his own, which I Terminate. The rest of the game is me protecting my Tasigur and beating down. He didn't draw many more ways to deal with it and quickly lost.
-4 delver of secrets
-1 spell pierce
-1 mana leak
+2 painful truths
+1 kolaghans command
+1 dispel
+1 extirpate
+1 dreadbore
Game 2: I board out my Delvers and prepare for a grind. We go back and forth for a few turns until I'm able to once again drop a Tasigur with plenty of protection. I could tell he was struggling to keep up with the efficiency of my deck the entire time. It really made me appreciate the Delver variant.
Overall I'm really happy with my list. I'll be making some small changes to the sideboard and hopefully getting my hands on some Spirebluff Canals. Thanks for reading
BGX Midrange
URX Control
This was exactly how i felt vs grixis control as well. Its so hard to use clunky cryptics when your opponent is answering them for 1 mana. Thought scours to keep tasigurs cheap, even in the grindy mirrors is huge as well.
UWRjeskai nahiri UWR
UBRgrixis titi UBR
UBRgrixis delverUBR
UR ur kikimite UR
EDH
RUG Riku of Two Reflections RUG
UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose UBR
UBRGYidris, Maelstrom Wielder UBRG
UBRJeleva, Nephalia's ScourgeUBR
For fast land, definitely i would go 4, however is 3 Canal + 1 Shore (draw too much turn 4 onward is headache). The percentage of drawing colour land is like:
Blue sources mana - 28.3% (17/60)
Red sources mana - 21.6% (13/60)
Black sources mana - 21.6% (13/60)
Got it, I'll swap those out and test,
Lily has been good for me in most matches, she's just bad in matches where someone goes over the top, Might cut one but is still worth it.
a pyro build is going to be more on the aggressive side. cards like probe give you extremely valuable information, as well as letting you trigger pyro without relying on your opponents casting counterable spells. you said it yourself, pyro rewards you for being proactive, counterspells are reactive.
UWRjeskai nahiri UWR
UBRgrixis titi UBR
UBRgrixis delverUBR
UR ur kikimite UR
EDH
RUG Riku of Two Reflections RUG
UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose UBR
UBRGYidris, Maelstrom Wielder UBRG
UBRJeleva, Nephalia's ScourgeUBR
4 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Steam Vents
1 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Ghost Quarter
3 Island
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
Creatures (13)
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Gurmag Angler
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Mana Leak
4 Serum visions
4 Thought Scour
3 Terminate
3 Spell Snare
1 Kolaghan's Command
1 Dreadbore
1 Spell Pierce
1 Remand
1 Pillar of Flame
2 Magma Spray
2 Dispel
2 Flashfreeze
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Countersquall
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Deathmark
1 Kolaghan's Command
1 Pithing Needle
I’m relatively new to the Grixis Delver list building and play-testing it for only 2 months since shifting from the straight UR Delver Faeries I have been playing for the past 2 years. Got to test out the list above at an FNM in an LGS in Shinjuku and went 3-0 with it against a field of R/G and R/G/W decks.
R1 vs Abzan Delirium (2-1)
Game 1 - I was on the draw and started with a good hand of counterspells and terminates that kept his Tarmogoyfs and Grim Flayers off the table until I can finish him off with a flipped Delver and Tasigur.
Sideboard
Out: 4 Delvers, 1 Remand, 2 Mana Leak
In: 2 Flashfreeze, 2 Surgical Extraction, 1 Deathmark, 1 Kolaghans’ Command, 1 Rakdos Charm
Game 2 - My opponent managed to fuel his graveyard quickly to enable a Grim Flayer and Tarmogoyf. I managed to counter his Lingering Souls and removed them with Surgical Extraction but eventually fell to his creatures.
Game 3 - No change in my sideboard. I have a Surgical Extraction and Rakdos Charm and decided to keep them. We fenced back and forth until he was at 4 life with a 5/6 Tarmogoyf, 2 spirit tokens and a 3 loyalty Liliana of the Veil on the board. I was at 6 life with a Tasigur and Snapcaster on the battlefield. It was his turn and I had no more counters or removal except for the Rakdos Charm and 2 lands. I just extracted his 3 Lingering Souls last turn. He cast a 4/4 Grim Flayer on his main phase and I responded with a Rakdos Charm using the 3rd mode. He read again the text on the 3rd mode of the charm and scooped.
MVP Cards: Surgical Extraction, Flashfreeze, Rakdos Charm
R2 vs. RGw Ponza (2-0)
Game 1 - I was on the play with 2 Delvers and 1 Serum Visions on my opening hand. I rode the 2 flipped Delver on turn 3 to victory, countering his removal and bolting his mana dorks and terminating his Fleecemane Lion and Pollukranos along the way before they became monstrous.
Sideboard
Out: 4 Delver, 1 Spell Pierce, 1 Remand, 1 Mana Leak
In: 2 Flashfreeze, 2 Magma Spray, 1 Deathmark, 1 Kolaghan’s Command, 1 Pithing Needle
I sided out the Delvers because to reduce targets for Lightning Bolts. I don’t expect to get lucky like the first match-up.
Game 2 – Knowing he had a Raging Ravine from Game 1, I kept a hand with a Pithing Needle. He managed to land a turn 3 Rest in Piece to remove my graveyard. Flashfreeze kept the dangerous red and green spells off the board. Snapcaster Mage chipped away at his life slowly until a hard casted Tasigur finished him off. He had no good removal for it.
MVP Cards: Pithing Needle, Flashfreeze, Deathmark
R3 vs RG Valakut Titan 2-0
Game 1 – I was on the play and with early pressure from a T2 flipped Delver and T2 Tasigur. He managed to remove them with Valakut triggers and Lightning Bolts. His resolved Primeval Titans did not last long with my Terminates and Dreadbore. After getting him to 3 life, I top deck a Lightning Bolt for the win. He was not on the Scapeshift plan so the Valakut triggers did not do much damage.
Sideboard
Out: 1 Remand, 2 Mana Leak, 1 Delver, 1 Though Scour
In: 2 Flashfreeze, 1 Countersquall, 2 Inquisition of Kozilek
Game 2 – I kept a good hand with counters and removal. At one point, he surprised me with a Summoning Trap when I countered his Primeval Titan but only managed to snag a Solemn Simulacrum. In the end, he could not handle a Snapcaster Mage and Tasigur beatdown backed with counterspells and removal. Again, his Valakut triggers only took out my early Delvers and Snapcaster Mages but did not pose too much threat to Tasigur without Lightning Bolt support.
MVP Cards: Flashfreeze, Countersquall, Tasigur
My LGS is just a small group with 8-12 players but with very diverse decks. At any time, you can face BW token, Jund, Naya Kiki-Chord, Bant Knightfall, Dredge, Infect, RG Ponza, UW Control, RG Valakut/Titan builds, Ad Nauseam , Naya Zoo, Monoblue Tron, Abzan builds and random rogue decks. More than half are RG decks that’s why I board in 2 Flashfreeze and 1 Deathmark.
Some notes on my card selections:
1 Ghost Quarter – MB insurance against Cavern of Souls, enemy manlands and utility lands, i.e. Kessig Wolfrun, Gavony Township, etc.
1 Spell Pierce – MB vs T1-T3 shenanigans like LotV, mana artifacts, Lingering Souls, Goryos’ Vengeance and the likes
1 Dreadbore – better than a 4th Terminate vs MB planeswalkers like Nahiri, Lily and Gideon
1 Pillar of Flame – vs Kitchen Finks and persist pests and Dredge creatures like Bloodghast and Narcomoeba so I have a fighting chance pre-board
1 Vendilion Clique – I don’t run Gitaxian Probe and 3/1 flying beater with pseudo Thoughtseize is always good
Round 1 against ad nauseum: This feels very winnable, especially with an early delver or tasigur. Game one I drew two terminates and missed 3 turns in a row to find relevant interaction or reach to finish the game. Game 2 I closed out with relative ease. Game 3 my opponent lands an early unlife. I get him to 6 infect with lethal on the board when he manages to find a boseiju and ad nauseum. Sad panda.
Round 2 was against Martyr/Emeria control: This feels unwinnable. Game 1 was an epic struggle with my opponent getting up to 40 life early on with martyr. I was killing ascendants and rangers left and right, but after the dust settled opponent was still above 20, had two emeria's, and all I had was a tasigur to hold down the ground. Game 2 felt equally as bad. I kept a reasonable hand, but missed a few too many turns to get an early tasigur with disruption. Sitting on two mana and knowing my opponent had hawks in hand I played an EE on two, and got immediately punished when opponent played ranger for two ascendants. In retrospect EE should almost always be on 1 regardless. Ascendants are the only real threat.
Round 3 I knew I had to win against mardu Nahiri. Game one we traded resources left and right but I eventually got ground out by lingering souls. Game 2 I had all the answers and ripped timely burn and snaps. Game 3 went long much like game 1, but I had EE and staticaster to deal with souls. Board was at parity and I had a mana leak and staticaster. opponent ripped inquisition into big elspeth into removal spell and my dreams were crushed.
Round 4 opponent was way tired/tilted/brain dead. Playing mono black lantern (admittedly a pet project) game one he got an early bridge after hand disruption and planted a last hope lili. I couldn't stop ult and couldn't get enough pressure to kill him through zombies even if i found k command. Games 2 and 3 I got under easily and had many snaps and commands.
I was late to round 5 due to eating a sandwich. I got a game loss and then proceeded to 2-0 my opponent. He was a nice guy and had gotten paired down, so I conceded to him. He was on titan breach, and it was fairly academic on my end. Early pressure plus a few disruption spells and burn to finish it off. This match feels very easy unless they get natural valakuts in play and can just start doming you, or they can sneak in a breach/titan.
Round 6 I played very poorly against a UR delver variant. I tried to race game 1 and came up short. Game 2 I mulliganed to 5 with 2 lands, 2 terminates and a snapcaster. Opponent opened on two delvers and quietly put me away after I took too much early damage.
Later on I played a bunch of practice matches against burn. Game 1 feels very bad. I probably lost 10 game 1's in a row. Playing with sideboard feels much much better, and I probably won 8 out of the next 10.
Martyr of sands is a nightmare though.
My current SB is the following:
1 sudden shock
2 ancestral vision
1 engineered explosives
1 hurkyl's recall
1 dispel
1 countersquall
2 thoughtseize
2 vampiric link
1 spellskite
1 ashiok, nightmare weaver
1 blood moon ***I'm planning on changing this, any recommendations on crumble vs rain?
1 izzet staticaster
Primers
4C Walkers
Catching the occasional expedition map, ancient stirrings on the play is nice, but spell pierce is far more consistent for that purpose.
BGW Elves BGW|BW Tokens BW|WBR Sword&ShieldWBR|BUG DelverBUG|UWR Kiki UWR | UR Storm UR
hey deck looks pretty cool, however i dont think blood moon should be in grixis, the deck needs to transform into a late game control deck vs some match ups and only able to have 1 blue source would just be terrible.. also i think you want serum over ancestral. card is good but with all my testing it doest really fit in the main especially as a 4 of. i could defiantly see ceremonous as a sb card tho for tron.. as thats like our worst match up lol.
BRU Grixis Control/delver URB
standard:
BWUEsper controlUWB
legacy:
UWRMiraclesRWU
I run 5 delve guys and 2 denial, it is almost always turned on when I'm casting it and it is one of the best cards to have in the late game.
@bvnnned
I've always found Tron to be if not good, at least a favorable MU. Can you elaborate on that? (Then again, it may be denial as that card is an absolute beating vs Tron).
And no, I've only had problems running out of GY if the opponent brought in relic, RIP, etc (and even then a lot of people are waaay too conservative with relic and you can sneak out a tas)
Primers
4C Walkers
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Spirebluff Canal
1 Steam Vents
2 Watery Grave
So David Nolan's manabase appears to have (from my manabase) cut darkslick and sulfur falls for 2 spirebluff canals and cut a steam vents for a second watery grave.
Not sure I agree with the sulfur falls cut, but I guess it's OK. Anyone done any extensive maths/testing with new bases?
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
I ran that exact land setup last night and found it extremely playable. I was rarely choked on mana overall and never color screwed. It felt so smooth, I even tried prioritizing basics in my final match against burn after a T1 Spirebluff into Delver. I won that match with 3 life left; so it really does make a difference compared to the usual bolt-yourself opening draw.
I don't know if this is absolutely correct, but it feels good for what I am running and I really can't think of a way to better optimize lands. I am running this list: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/16-08-16-wFe-grixis-delver/
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
I think some wires got crossed here, I run 4 serum main and 3 ancestral in the board. And yeah I'm not huge on blood moon, but I've been beating tron with surgical extraction. It's bant eldrazi that has me stumped. I win 1/5ish games vs them. Was hoping to turn them off with moon long enough to win.
Round 1 vs U/W control
Game 1
Opened up with flipping delver on turn 2 or 3, and beats in pretty good. He resolved a restoration angel, but he was running cryptic command, and missed land drops, so mana leak was very easy.
-3 probe
-4 delver
+1 loothouse
+1 dispel
+2 countersquall
+1 painful truths
+2 fulminator mage
Game 2
he got stuck on 4 lands, while I resolved tasigur, with counter protection.
Cryptic command is so bad against dispel.
2-0
overall 1-0
Round 2 vs goblins
Game 1
MB blood moon is horrible. lost to a grenade or w/e.
Game 2
I knew I was wrong to keep a hand with no fetch's, and of course he blood moons t3. Loss. Almost did it with a pyro and some bolts though...!
0-2
Overall 1-1
Round 3 vs affinity
Game 1
I tapped out for God knows what, and he resolved an etched and hooked him up with cranial plating. Loss.
+2 magma spray
+1 loothouse
+1 izzet staticaster
+1 vandalblast
-3 gitaxian probe
-1 thought scour
-1 mana leak
Game 2
flashed staticaster endstep and untapped and drew without using her. Long day of magic had me misplaying quite a bit in this matchup. He opened up with grafdiggers cage, and proceeded to infect me with a big inkmoth from archbound.
0-2
Overall 1-2
Round 4 vs Naya Zoo
Game 1
He lands Gaddock teeg, and I kill it. Couple of goyfs and terminates/murderous cut's later I beat face and snapcaster bolt sorcery speed for the win.
-3 probe
-1 thought scour
+2 countersquall
+1 loothouse
+1 dispel
Game 2
He lands t2 thalia, which i terminate for 3. He lands another, which i Kommand for 4. My delver doesn't flip for like 5 turns, but when it finally does, I already have tasigur on the field, and win by mana leak, snap, mana leak in response to thunderbolt on my delver and finally, snap countersquall in response to path to exile while he was at 1 life.
Overall 2-2
I know made some big mistakes vs affinity, and I should've mulled to find fetches vs the goblins, but all in all a solid night of magic.
4 delvers
3 young pyros
4 snapcaster
3 tasigur
1 gurmag angler
4 blots
4 serum vision
2 mana leak
3 termiantes
2 k command
2 electrolyze
2 spell snare
4 thought scour
3 probe
4 delta
4 mires
2 island
1 mountain
1 swap
2 steamvents
2 waterygrave
1 blood crypt
2 spiral buffs
SB:
1 EE
2 dispel
1 izzet staticaster
2 surgical
1 painful truths
1 d loot house
1 slaughter games
2 f mages
1 spell pierce
1 vandal blast
2 counter squal
match 1 was vs "dumpsterfire" lol.. was dredge with valakult.. dude made a really cool deck and game 1 he beat me on t4 game 2 and 3 i just surgicaled what i had to with some counters.
(2-1)
match 2
UW control.
game 1 had a t2 tasigur and followed by a pyro and just pounded him out.
game 2 he got stuck on 3 lands and could not verdict me and when he finally hit i was in bolt snap bolt range was quick
(2-0)
match 3
D&t
game 1 had 2 delvers on t2 then smashed for 6 a turn only killing serra avengers and he couldnt race
game 2 i blew out a aether vial activation when he had 1 land on t3 with k command and continued to beat him down.
(2-0)
match 4
GB midrange
lost (0-2)
couldnt draw a terminate and he just beat me down with more value creatures ect.
deck was fine i was happy.
BRU Grixis Control/delver URB
standard:
BWUEsper controlUWB
legacy:
UWRMiraclesRWU