What are the good and bad match ups of Pyrodelver?
From my experience,
Good Matchups:
Burn
Affinity
Merfolk
Twin
Scapeshift
50/50 Matchups
Pod (we're better against Melira than Kiki imo)
UWR Midrange
Bad Matchups
Bogles
Living End
Jund
UWR Control
Martyr Proc (though of course not played much any longer)
How do you beat Burn?
I pick them apart and 2-0 them every time, so I guess I assumed everybody had the same experience. But I'm a red mage at heart so know their game plan as well or better than them. Spell Snare is huge in the matchup, like Sasky said, but almost all of our cards match well against them. They run the same number of sometimes fewer lands than us so even Remand is good when you're on the play. I'd board out Clique and bring in the Dispel from my board, take out the G-Probes and bring in Snare, Lavamancer, Magma Spray, and Spellskite. (I'm referring to my list I posted just a few posts ago). Let them attack with their Goblin Guides so you can draw a land if it's there, then kill or Snag it before damage. A lot of their good cards are 2cmc, Pierce, Leak, and Dispel are all excellent, and you just tempo them out. Don't be afraid of going down to single digits - you should win the race.
@Sasky - my bad on Living End. I actually haven't played that matchup, and don't know why I put it there. I'll edit it out of my list.
New cards not in previous builds:
1x Cryptic command - This is a card I saw as a late game catch all and anytime utility. 4 lands happens often, many games become grindy. After it's performance, considering adding another
1x Sword of Fire and Ice - I knew I wanted a sword, and I think it was this, Sword of War and Peace (as more of an "anti removal thing), and Sword of Feast and Famine. In the end, I decided it best to have the best proactive sword there is, and in hindsight I believe this is the best choice.
2x Mana Leak - It did some things, and sat there at times making me angry it wasn't something stronger. Might try Deprive next as a one of, but I really dont like mana leak yet in this deck. Usually you have to choose 1)Keep threats back so you can play a small control game, or 2)Play threats and by the time you need to play mana leak, it's too late.
Took out from previous builds:
2x Spell Pierce - Relegated these to the sideboard. Too narrow, and I find myself with them too often in situations I wish I had other things to do.
1x Gitaxian Probe - I think G. Probe is a crutch I'm leaning on right now. The "2 life for a card" is OK, but seeing opp's hand is becoming less and less valuable, as I find myself "guessing correctly" often. The more I learn the meta, the less value this card holds. Would love to replace it someday with a card that actually does something. I think maybe as a 2-of next time.
1x Shivan Reef - Straight up dropped a land. It was fine, might remove the conclaves next as they've fallen out of favor with me. A little too mana intensive for this particular deck.
Sideboard:
Kept
2x Spell Pierce - I went from a possible 4 of to 2 of out of the board here. I think it's right. I was discussing its narrow nature with a buddy, and he harmlessly said "sounds like a sideboard card." Great thinking Jon!
2x Spellskite - Friggin love this guy. Dont know if i've activated the ability once because he keeps eating path to exile. Also played the role of MVP vs. a surprising Bogles match!
2x Relic of Progenitus - Down from 3, I think this is the right number. Still like this card a lot, but it is difficult to play in this deck.
1x Tectonic Edge - Still like the 1/1 Main/Side split here. it comes in vs. decks with Manlands/Tron, and out vs. decks that don't. Love simple sideboard decisions.
1x Combust - This card was there for Twin and Kiki-Angel shenanigans. It stays for the same reasons.
2x Pillar of flame - Pod Hate (although apparently no one ran pod this day LOL). I see decks online running this main, and with good reason.
Out -
1x Dismember - don't really like this spell. I think vapor snag is the only "removal" we really need.
3x Mana Leak - added these to main instead.
1x Combust - took one of these out due to its narrowness.
In -
2x Blood Moon - Not sure how I came to the conclusion that I could play this deck without this card. Free wins? Yes please.
1x Batterskull - Blood Moon's best friend. When the game has long stalled, and cryptic command has no chance of coming down, the 'skull mops up.
2x Engineered Explosives - Affinity, tokens, bogles hate. Seemed broad enough that it was worth a few slots.
Match 1: GR Tron 2-1
Yay! A match I was not prepared for or expecting at all! In fact, there was quite a bit of Tron floating around today.
G1: Lucky for me, he dug and dug but saw no Tower. I ate a pretty timely pyroclasm, but in the end got him low enough to burn out.
In: Tec Edge x1, Blood Moon x2, Batterskull x1
Out: Spell Snare x2, Remand x2
G2: Didn't see any sideboard hate, and ended up folding to back to back wurmcoils (even though the first got eaten by an army of YPZ tokens). Pretty one sided here.
In: Remand x2, Spell Snare x2
Out: Electrolyze x2, Vapor Snag x1, Mana Leak x1
G3: Early blood moon gave me game as he would have had T3 tron. However, my only threat was a single delver (blind flip T2? Yes please). I countered 3 different pyroclasms with 4 different counterspells (double leak LOL) to protect my only threat, and it proved to be enough. He would have had a slight chance towards the end, but he forgot that Batterskull can equip to another creature as well hah! Batterskull'd Abberation came in for lethal and a good start to today.
Match 2: UR Storm 2-0
As always, combo is scary. However I think UR delver is in the rare position to turn on a clock and have just enough denial to keep things moving your direction.
G1: He gets flooded out, I have god hand (T1 Delver, T2 Flip and counter backup, T3 V. Clique shows me his garbage hand which I leave). Ends quick..
In: EE x1, Relic x2, Spell Pierce x2
Out: Vapor Snag x3, Grim Lavamancer x2
G2: A timely electrolyze on his electromancer keeps the turns flowing to T4. He tries to combo out and gets me to 1 after bolt/grapeshot for 14 damage. His clock ticks away as I develop my board. I swing for lethal, and he reveals his top card which is Lightning Bolt!
Match 3: URW Control 0-2
This is a fair matchup. Every game against URW seems to go long, and this was no different. He starts on the play, which definitely matters here.
G1: He has all the relevant answers for my threats, and I probably overcommitted too early without appropriate protection. What i've learned in this matchup, is to never send out just 1 threat with no backup.
In: Spell Pierce x2, Tectonic Edge x1, Blood Moon x2, Batterskull x1
Out: Grim Lavamancer x2, Vapor Snag x1, Faerie Conclave x2, Gitaxian Probe x1
G2: I land an early Blood Moon, which definitely helps - but I didnt really have a board when I did so. He gets pretty lucky and draws the basics he needs, ultimately landing an Ajani which I can't deal with in time before he wipes my lands out. I almost come back with the 5 lands left in my library at the time, but it's too late and he Celestial Purge's my blood moon to come in with colonnades.
Match 4: URW Control 2-1
I learned much from the previous match, and it helped greatly in this matchup. Sideboard was almost exactly the same as previous round.
G1: I'm on the play, and am able to win tempo-style the way I like with a decent board and answers to his removal.
G2: On the draw, he is able to counter/answer my threats in time, and stabilizes relatively early. He missed a few land drops which kept me in it, and the game went very long. We went into G3 with 10:00 on the clock.
G3: A tough mulligan choice brought our clock to about 6:00. I kept a hand of Delver, Probe, Fetchx2, leak, and spell snare. T1 probe shows his keep of Landx3 and Cryptic x2 Snapcaster x2. I'm sure he kicked himself for that keep in the end. T1 delver flying in free and clear after a T3 flip puts the clock on that I need. I eventually land a Sword of Fire and ice which leaves his only out as Path to Exile, which he did not draw a plains for (blood moon came down as well). Was pretty tight on time, but I finished him off just as time expired in the round.
Match 5: GB Rock - 0-0-3
Intentional draw here, and I'm awfully happy about that after we played a few games for fun! (sorry didnt track SB here)
G1: He didnt have any discard early, so my threats came out and flew overhead. Not sure what he kept, but his board state was very good by the time I finished him off.
G2: Discard, abrupt decay, golgari charm spelled my doom.
G3: See G2 LOL! Post board this match seems unwinnable.
Now that the swiss was complete, we moved on to the top 8, see next spoiler.
Quarterfinals - Boggles - 2-1
This match was against an opponent who is very knowledgeable about the meta and a very fast player because of it. I did a great job keeping the pace at what I wanted it to be, and not get spooked into making quick/wrong decisions.
G1: He seems to have an ideal hand, but being stuck on 1 temple garden until T3 made it hard for him to explode the way he wanted to. I chumped all day with pyromancer tokens, and although it was close, Cryptic Command gave me 2 turns (snap backup) to come in for what I needed to end it. It definitely helped that the 2 lands he eventually played were Dryad Arbor, so he again wasn't able to keep the pressure on because of it (plus they were tapped by cryptic woot!)
In: Spellskite x2, EE x2, Spell Pierce x1 (not sure if this is right or not)
Out: Vapor Snag x3, Electrolyze x2
G2: This one showed my lack of experience against bogles. Spellskite came down T2, which gave me a false sense of confidence. I V. Clique'd him next turn, and saw 2x Daybreak Coronet, and a bunch of other voltron pieces. I let him keep that hand, thinking I could redirect all his pieces to spellskite. Woops - Daybreak Coronet's wording prevents it from hitting spellskite (unless I've already had him enchanted somehow), so double daybreak landed eventually and I got ROFLSTOMPED. After making the mistake against daybreak, I made a bunch of misplays too - a game I'd like to soon forget.
In: Blood Moon x2
Out: Spell Pierce x1, Lightning Bolt x1
G3: I brought in the blood moons on the play, seeing as how this deck plays a ton of non-basics (even though it's only 2 colors). This proved to be what won me the game, as I played Spellskite T2, Blood Moon T3, and turned off path to exile which I'm sure he planned to do at some point. He was stuck with only one forest, and even Remand became an all star (basically time walking him twice). This game was one where I drew the right cards and played them sequenced perfectly, so I handily beat him after about 6 turns. Cryptic starred again.
Semi-Finals - URW Control 2-1
This was the longest match of the day. They turned the clocks off for the T8, so we fought an epic battle. This was the same player who I lost to earlier for my only loss of the day (0-2), so of course we're joking that I'm due. I start on the draw due to the fact he was placed higher than me going into the T8.
G1: This game was about 50 minutes alone. We battled back and forth, threat for answer, until we both had no board and no cards in hand. I started to sandbag my threats so I could flood all at once, and Snapcaster helped me serum multiple times. He had about 9 lands in play, 2 colonnades. However he was holding them back (I'm assuming for countermagic/my endstep shenanigans for blockers). Eventually, he decided to turn on the clock, and that was all I needed. Snapcaster into Vapor Snag to chip away 5 points (he was at 18 at the time and I was at 7, 2 snaps in play now). Then he held back for several more turns, ultimately deciding to swing with collonade again. Again I snagged it and this time had Vendilion Clique to land end step. Clique(3), Snapx2 (4), and a freshly drawn sword (4) did 11 damage and drew me a bolt for the finish! Whew!
In: Blood Moon x2, Batterskull x1, Relic x2, Tec edge x1, Spellskite x2
Out: Remand x2, Faerie Conclave x2, Electrolyze x2, Vapor Snag x1, Grim Lavamancer x1
G2: Another lengthy game. Early tec edge kept him off his colors and stunted. Of course blood moon comes down in the long game (about T6 with Mana Leak backup that stopped a cryptic command on his end). His answers are enough up until that point to keep me at bay, and eventually we go into topdeck mode. He misplays Sphinx's Revelation into a Mana Leak (played around pierce but not leak!), which buys me time. I start pinging him with 1 pyromancer token, which gets a lot scarier when I land Sword of Fire and Ice. Unfortunately, he Wear/Tears it (i tried to spell snare it, but got blown out by cryptic). This left me with a token, and just enough creatures for him to get value from Timely Reinforcements. His tokens start pecking away, until I draw a Batterskull while he has an empty hand. Thinking I just stole the game, he swings into batterskull and bolts the token. I need to wait a few turns (which I can due to the 4 life I just gained) before bouncing it, which I eventually do. I think he has cryptic in hand, but I run out of options and eventually cast Batterskull directly into it. His 2 1/1 tokens chip away until bolt finishes me off.
G3: My opponent now offers a draw here and to split whatever would be left for 2nd/3rd place. I am stunned by this after spending 1.5 hrs on the previous 2 games, and respectfully decline. (being on the play for g3 FINALLY may have had soemthing to do with it LOL!). I left my sideboard as is, except I brought in Remands for my last Grim Lavamancer and 1 vapor snag.
I mull to an excellent 6 (Delver, Blood moon, Probe, Remand, Fetch x1, Serum Visions), and he ponders long and hard before saying "keep". A T1 probe shows his hand of Supreme Verdict, Cryptic Command x2, Electrolyze, and Colonnade/Arid Mesa. I Sigh in relief, and play my delver. Serum visions gets me the land I needed and sets up a T3 flip. He could have drawn a Mana Leak, but I go for the T3 blood moon anyway. He doesnt have it, but did fetch for a few basics before that happened. However, Verdict is now out, Cryptic is dead, and his electrolyze kills my delver. I draw YPZ, a few snapcaster mages which generate some crazy value plays, and my itty bitty army swings him pretty low. I start sandbagging my threats as he gets rid of blood moon with celestial purge, so after he verdicts away my board at 6, I draw a bolt to go along with the snapcaster in my hand to finish him. Spell snare takes care of his Lightning helix in response. A flurry finish to a long day.
Finals - URW Control 0-0-3
Knowing what my opponent was playing, I was happy to accept his offer to draw split the $650 store credit with him and save both of us from losing another 2 hours of our lives on a brilliant sunny day.
Final Thoughts:
Cryptic Command belongs in this deck. Probably as a 2 of. I believe it is necessary to give us game where we wouldn't have had it before, instead relying on variance and aggro plans than a true tempo plan.
I want to find a different threat that is NOT young pyromancer. Unfortunately, I see this going the green direction and slotting in Tarmogoyfs - something I was hoping wouldn't happen. Goyf has huge upside vs. this decks worst enemies: Electrolyze, Pyroclasm, Anger of the Gods, Lightning Bolt, Golgari Charm (probably others - you get the idea). That, combined with the fact that I usually only get 1-2 tokens out of YPZ before he eats dirt makes me lean heavily on this decision.
- Note* - Green splash takes this deck in a whole different direction (especially the SB), so much more must be thought through before committing.
I wouldn't go as far as saying I have this sideboard figured out, but it is definitely a powerful set of colors and deck style for a great sideboard. Open to critique on SB options here as well as critique on anything else in this post. Thanks for reading!
What are the good and bad match ups of Pyrodelver?
From my experience,
Good Matchups:
Burn
Affinity
Merfolk
Twin
Scapeshift
50/50 Matchups
Pod (we're better against Melira than Kiki imo)
UWR Midrange
Bad Matchups
Bogles
Jund
UWR Control
Martyr Proc (though of course not played much any longer)
This list seems fine except for UWR control as a bad matchup. I find it quite favorable.
Mind posting your thoughts on the matchup? That list was just from my experience in the tournaments in which I've played UR PyroDelver. The NorthEast is a hotbed for Control players and they're typically pretty good. I just haven't been able to punch through the matchup.
New cards not in previous builds:
1x Cryptic command - This is a card I saw as a late game catch all and anytime utility. 4 lands happens often, many games become grindy. After it's performance, considering adding another
1x Sword of Fire and Ice - I knew I wanted a sword, and I think it was this, Sword of War and Peace (as more of an "anti removal thing), and Sword of Feast and Famine. In the end, I decided it best to have the best proactive sword there is, and in hindsight I believe this is the best choice.
2x Mana Leak - It did some things, and sat there at times making me angry it wasn't something stronger. Might try Deprive next as a one of, but I really dont like mana leak yet in this deck. Usually you have to choose 1)Keep threats back so you can play a small control game, or 2)Play threats and by the time you need to play mana leak, it's too late.
Took out from previous builds:
2x Spell Pierce - Relegated these to the sideboard. Too narrow, and I find myself with them too often in situations I wish I had other things to do.
1x Gitaxian Probe - I think G. Probe is a crutch I'm leaning on right now. The "2 life for a card" is OK, but seeing opp's hand is becoming less and less valuable, as I find myself "guessing correctly" often. The more I learn the meta, the less value this card holds. Would love to replace it someday with a card that actually does something. I think maybe as a 2-of next time.
1x Shivan Reef - Straight up dropped a land. It was fine, might remove the conclaves next as they've fallen out of favor with me. A little too mana intensive for this particular deck.
Sideboard:
Kept
2x Spell Pierce - I went from a possible 4 of to 2 of out of the board here. I think it's right. I was discussing its narrow nature with a buddy, and he harmlessly said "sounds like a sideboard card." Great thinking Jon!
2x Spellskite - Friggin love this guy. Dont know if i've activated the ability once because he keeps eating path to exile. Also played the role of MVP vs. a surprising Bogles match!
2x Relic of Progenitus - Down from 3, I think this is the right number. Still like this card a lot, but it is difficult to play in this deck.
1x Tectonic Edge - Still like the 1/1 Main/Side split here. it comes in vs. decks with Manlands/Tron, and out vs. decks that don't. Love simple sideboard decisions.
1x Combust - This card was there for Twin and Kiki-Angel shenanigans. It stays for the same reasons.
2x Pillar of flame - Pod Hate (although apparently no one ran pod this day LOL). I see decks online running this main, and with good reason.
Out -
1x Dismember - don't really like this spell. I think vapor snag is the only "removal" we really need.
3x Mana Leak - added these to main instead.
1x Combust - took one of these out due to its narrowness.
In -
2x Blood Moon - Not sure how I came to the conclusion that I could play this deck without this card. Free wins? Yes please.
1x Batterskull - Blood Moon's best friend. When the game has long stalled, and cryptic command has no chance of coming down, the 'skull mops up.
2x Engineered Explosives - Affinity, tokens, bogles hate. Seemed broad enough that it was worth a few slots.
Match 1: GR Tron 2-1
Yay! A match I was not prepared for or expecting at all! In fact, there was quite a bit of Tron floating around today.
G1: Lucky for me, he dug and dug but saw no Tower. I ate a pretty timely pyroclasm, but in the end got him low enough to burn out.
In: Tec Edge x1, Blood Moon x2, Batterskull x1
Out: Spell Snare x2, Remand x2
G2: Didn't see any sideboard hate, and ended up folding to back to back wurmcoils (even though the first got eaten by an army of YPZ tokens). Pretty one sided here.
In: Remand x2, Spell Snare x2
Out: Electrolyze x2, Vapor Snag x1, Mana Leak x1
G3: Early blood moon gave me game as he would have had T3 tron. However, my only threat was a single delver (blind flip T2? Yes please). I countered 3 different pyroclasms with 4 different counterspells (double leak LOL) to protect my only threat, and it proved to be enough. He would have had a slight chance towards the end, but he forgot that Batterskull can equip to another creature as well hah! Batterskull'd Abberation came in for lethal and a good start to today.
Match 2: UR Storm 2-0
As always, combo is scary. However I think UR delver is in the rare position to turn on a clock and have just enough denial to keep things moving your direction.
G1: He gets flooded out, I have god hand (T1 Delver, T2 Flip and counter backup, T3 V. Clique shows me his garbage hand which I leave). Ends quick..
In: EE x1, Relic x2, Spell Pierce x2
Out: Vapor Snag x3, Grim Lavamancer x2
G2: A timely electrolyze on his electromancer keeps the turns flowing to T4. He tries to combo out and gets me to 1 after bolt/grapeshot for 14 damage. His clock ticks away as I develop my board. I swing for lethal, and he reveals his top card which is Lightning Bolt!
Match 3: URW Control 0-2
This is a fair matchup. Every game against URW seems to go long, and this was no different. He starts on the play, which definitely matters here.
G1: He has all the relevant answers for my threats, and I probably overcommitted too early without appropriate protection. What i've learned in this matchup, is to never send out just 1 threat with no backup.
In: Spell Pierce x2, Tectonic Edge x1, Blood Moon x2, Batterskull x1
Out: Grim Lavamancer x2, Vapor Snag x1, Faerie Conclave x2, Gitaxian Probe x1
G2: I land an early Blood Moon, which definitely helps - but I didnt really have a board when I did so. He gets pretty lucky and draws the basics he needs, ultimately landing an Ajani which I can't deal with in time before he wipes my lands out. I almost come back with the 5 lands left in my library at the time, but it's too late and he Celestial Purge's my blood moon to come in with colonnades.
Match 4: URW Control 2-1
I learned much from the previous match, and it helped greatly in this matchup. Sideboard was almost exactly the same as previous round.
G1: I'm on the play, and am able to win tempo-style the way I like with a decent board and answers to his removal.
G2: On the draw, he is able to counter/answer my threats in time, and stabilizes relatively early. He missed a few land drops which kept me in it, and the game went very long. We went into G3 with 10:00 on the clock.
G3: A tough mulligan choice brought our clock to about 6:00. I kept a hand of Delver, Probe, Fetchx2, leak, and spell snare. T1 probe shows his keep of Landx3 and Cryptic x2 Snapcaster x2. I'm sure he kicked himself for that keep in the end. T1 delver flying in free and clear after a T3 flip puts the clock on that I need. I eventually land a Sword of Fire and ice which leaves his only out as Path to Exile, which he did not draw a plains for (blood moon came down as well). Was pretty tight on time, but I finished him off just as time expired in the round.
Match 5: GB Rock - 0-0-3
Intentional draw here, and I'm awfully happy about that after we played a few games for fun! (sorry didnt track SB here)
G1: He didnt have any discard early, so my threats came out and flew overhead. Not sure what he kept, but his board state was very good by the time I finished him off.
G2: Discard, abrupt decay, golgari charm spelled my doom.
G3: See G2 LOL! Post board this match seems unwinnable.
Now that the swiss was complete, we moved on to the top 8, see next spoiler.
Quarterfinals - Boggles - 2-1
This match was against an opponent who is very knowledgeable about the meta and a very fast player because of it. I did a great job keeping the pace at what I wanted it to be, and not get spooked into making quick/wrong decisions.
G1: He seems to have an ideal hand, but being stuck on 1 temple garden until T3 made it hard for him to explode the way he wanted to. I chumped all day with pyromancer tokens, and although it was close, Cryptic Command gave me 2 turns (snap backup) to come in for what I needed to end it. It definitely helped that the 2 lands he eventually played were Dryad Arbor, so he again wasn't able to keep the pressure on because of it (plus they were tapped by cryptic woot!)
In: Spellskite x2, EE x2, Spell Pierce x1 (not sure if this is right or not)
Out: Vapor Snag x3, Electrolyze x2
G2: This one showed my lack of experience against bogles. Spellskite came down T2, which gave me a false sense of confidence. I V. Clique'd him next turn, and saw 2x Daybreak Coronet, and a bunch of other voltron pieces. I let him keep that hand, thinking I could redirect all his pieces to spellskite. Woops - Daybreak Coronet's wording prevents it from hitting spellskite (unless I've already had him enchanted somehow), so double daybreak landed eventually and I got ROFLSTOMPED. After making the mistake against daybreak, I made a bunch of misplays too - a game I'd like to soon forget.
In: Blood Moon x2
Out: Spell Pierce x1, Lightning Bolt x1
G3: I brought in the blood moons on the play, seeing as how this deck plays a ton of non-basics (even though it's only 2 colors). This proved to be what won me the game, as I played Spellskite T2, Blood Moon T3, and turned off path to exile which I'm sure he planned to do at some point. He was stuck with only one forest, and even Remand became an all star (basically time walking him twice). This game was one where I drew the right cards and played them sequenced perfectly, so I handily beat him after about 6 turns. Cryptic starred again.
Semi-Finals - URW Control 2-1
This was the longest match of the day. They turned the clocks off for the T8, so we fought an epic battle. This was the same player who I lost to earlier for my only loss of the day (0-2), so of course we're joking that I'm due. I start on the draw due to the fact he was placed higher than me going into the T8.
G1: This game was about 50 minutes alone. We battled back and forth, threat for answer, until we both had no board and no cards in hand. I started to sandbag my threats so I could flood all at once, and Snapcaster helped me serum multiple times. He had about 9 lands in play, 2 colonnades. However he was holding them back (I'm assuming for countermagic/my endstep shenanigans for blockers). Eventually, he decided to turn on the clock, and that was all I needed. Snapcaster into Vapor Snag to chip away 5 points (he was at 18 at the time and I was at 7, 2 snaps in play now). Then he held back for several more turns, ultimately deciding to swing with collonade again. Again I snagged it and this time had Vendilion Clique to land end step. Clique(3), Snapx2 (4), and a freshly drawn sword (4) did 11 damage and drew me a bolt for the finish! Whew!
In: Blood Moon x2, Batterskull x1, Relic x2, Tec edge x1, Spellskite x2
Out: Remand x2, Faerie Conclave x2, Electrolyze x2, Vapor Snag x1, Grim Lavamancer x1
G2: Another lengthy game. Early tec edge kept him off his colors and stunted. Of course blood moon comes down in the long game (about T6 with Mana Leak backup that stopped a cryptic command on his end). His answers are enough up until that point to keep me at bay, and eventually we go into topdeck mode. He misplays Sphinx's Revelation into a Mana Leak (played around pierce but not leak!), which buys me time. I start pinging him with 1 pyromancer token, which gets a lot scarier when I land Sword of Fire and Ice. Unfortunately, he Wear/Tears it (i tried to spell snare it, but got blown out by cryptic). This left me with a token, and just enough creatures for him to get value from Timely Reinforcements. His tokens start pecking away, until I draw a Batterskull while he has an empty hand. Thinking I just stole the game, he swings into batterskull and bolts the token. I need to wait a few turns (which I can due to the 4 life I just gained) before bouncing it, which I eventually do. I think he has cryptic in hand, but I run out of options and eventually cast Batterskull directly into it. His 2 1/1 tokens chip away until bolt finishes me off.
G3: My opponent now offers a draw here and to split whatever would be left for 2nd/3rd place. I am stunned by this after spending 1.5 hrs on the previous 2 games, and respectfully decline. (being on the play for g3 FINALLY may have had soemthing to do with it LOL!). I left my sideboard as is, except I brought in Remands for my last Grim Lavamancer and 1 vapor snag.
I mull to an excellent 6 (Delver, Blood moon, Probe, Remand, Fetch x1, Serum Visions), and he ponders long and hard before saying "keep". A T1 probe shows his hand of Supreme Verdict, Cryptic Command x2, Electrolyze, and Colonnade/Arid Mesa. I Sigh in relief, and play my delver. Serum visions gets me the land I needed and sets up a T3 flip. He could have drawn a Mana Leak, but I go for the T3 blood moon anyway. He doesnt have it, but did fetch for a few basics before that happened. However, Verdict is now out, Cryptic is dead, and his electrolyze kills my delver. I draw YPZ, a few snapcaster mages which generate some crazy value plays, and my itty bitty army swings him pretty low. I start sandbagging my threats as he gets rid of blood moon with celestial purge, so after he verdicts away my board at 6, I draw a bolt to go along with the snapcaster in my hand to finish him. Spell snare takes care of his Lightning helix in response. A flurry finish to a long day.
Finals - URW Control 0-0-3
Knowing what my opponent was playing, I was happy to accept his offer to draw split the $650 store credit with him and save both of us from losing another 2 hours of our lives on a brilliant sunny day.
Final Thoughts:
Cryptic Command belongs in this deck. Probably as a 2 of. I believe it is necessary to give us game where we wouldn't have had it before, instead relying on variance and aggro plans than a true tempo plan.
I want to find a different threat that is NOT young pyromancer. Unfortunately, I see this going the green direction and slotting in Tarmogoyfs - something I was hoping wouldn't happen. Goyf has huge upside vs. this decks worst enemies: Electrolyze, Pyroclasm, Anger of the Gods, Lightning Bolt, Golgari Charm (probably others - you get the idea). That, combined with the fact that I usually only get 1-2 tokens out of YPZ before he eats dirt makes me lean heavily on this decision.
- Note* - Green splash takes this deck in a whole different direction (especially the SB), so much more must be thought through before committing.
I wouldn't go as far as saying I have this sideboard figured out, but it is definitely a powerful set of colors and deck style for a great sideboard. Open to critique on SB options here as well as critique on anything else in this post. Thanks for reading!
Thank you for the excellent write up, it looks like the deck is treating you well.
A few comments about your final thoughts.
I agree with Cryptic Command, I've been playing it as a 2 of for a while and it's simply fantastic. Yes, there are a few games here and there where you're stuck at 2 lands, but that's largely due to bad variance for a deck that has a minimum of 10 cantrips. I don't know about you, but I consider tapping all my opponent's creatures and bounce a problematic permanent to be a very strong tempo spell.
I like Young Pyromancer just fine, he is the nuts in this deck when he survives. Part of reason he's worse in your version is that you've cut the Spell Pierces for lands. I can see going down to 1 Spell Pierce, but it's still a vital card for protecting your threats.
I'm not sure about Tarmogoyf. If there's anything that I've gauged from your report, it is that Blood Moon is just the nuts sideboard card. If you're running Tarmogoyf, then you can't run Blood Moon. Vapor Snag on your Young Pyromancer is a legitimate play if you need to keep him alive.
I also agree on 3 Gitaxian Probe over the conventional 4. It's not a card that you want to see multiples in the opening hand, just 1 or maybe 2 per game. We're weak to aggro and burn as is, while it only slightly improves our control match up.
For those wondering about the maindeck Incinerates, those are a concession to my local meta where Gruul decks are very popular. I need access to two extra burn spells that deal three damage in a world where Kird Ape, Flinthoof Boar, Stormblood Berserker, etc run rampant.
Match 1 vs UB Mill (1-2 loss): this was the strangest match of Magic I ever played. My opponent was on a deck with no removal and cards like Mind Funeral, Breaking / Entering, Archive Trap, Surgical Extraction, and Extirpate maindeck. I lost game one after keeping a slow hand and my opponent milling 30 off a Mind Funeral.
Game two was much easier as I got an aggressive start and ended the game quickly. Game three I mull to six and snap keep a hand with two Delvers and four lands. I proceed to topdeck lands for five (!) straight turns in unbelievable fashion.
Match 2 vs Tempered Steel (2-1 win): He's running Puresteel Paladin, Precinct Captain, Mirran Crusader, and lots of equipment. I win game one off the back of an early Delver while holding off his guys with removal.
I lose game two after he gets a fast start and find multiple Puresteel Paladins. Game three is long and grindy but I win after resolving a Grim Lavamancer later in the game and he goes to town on his dudes.
Match 3 vs Ninja Bear Delver (2-0 win): I was just poking fun at a friend for running this deck, so of course I get paired against him. We always have interesting games and I consider him one of the best players in the area. That said, this matchup was probably the easiest win I've had over him, no doubt because Ninja Bear Delver is a ***** deck and stands no chance against UR Delver. He's on the play game one and gets an early start with Delver but it doesn't flip for two turns and I am able to even the board state with a Delver and Young Pyromancer. The turning point in the game comes when he plays a Snapcaster Mage on turn four to Vapor Snag my Young Pyromancer and I respond with an Electrolyze the following turn for the three for one. Grim Lavamancer joins the party soon after and that's all she wrote.
The postboard plan against any Delver deck is to play more mana efficient spells and play the control role early, attempting to land a Young Pyromancer or Grim Lavamancer and ride it to victory. Electrolyze is a bit mana intensive and counter wars are important postboard so I take it out here despite it being awesome against Phantasmal Bear and Snapcaster Mage. Brining in the third Lavamancer makes up for the potential loss in card advantage Electrolyze offers. Game two is similar to game one except I get ahead a lot earlier due to playing Grim Lavamancer, then casting Probe and seeing Disrupting Shoal, Cryptic Command, Remand, and lands. I play around his Shoal for awhile and keep his board clear with Lavamancer and slowly whittle away at his life total until I overwhelm the board and he loses.
Match 4 vs White Weenie (2-0 win): easiest match of the night. I'm pretty sure this guy brought his Standard deck to a Modern event because I saw no non-Standard cards in the deck. I won't even go into the match.
Match 5 vs Mono Green Beatdown (draw): I was in 8th place with 9 points with everyone below me having 6, so I was safe to draw into top 8. He's on a deck with Experiment One, Dryad Militant, Scavenging Ooze, Strangleroot Geist, Leatherback Baloth, Vines of Vastwood, Aspect of Hydra, Rancor, and a fun-of Hurricane he's been owning people with all night. We play three preboard games for fun and I go 1-2, but I imagine this matchup is much more favorable to me postboard with access to three Hibernation, two Flashfreeze, and two Dispel.
Top 8 match vs Living End (2-0 win): this is about as close to a bye as you can get as UR Delver without actually getting a bye. Living End has real problems with Remand decks or any deck with countermagic for that matter. This was actually my first time playing against Living End, but I knew the basic strategy of the deck. The key to the match is not to get too greedy when the opponent has open mana to ensure he can't cast Violent Outburst at instant speed. Game one I present an early clock and ride my countermagic to victory.
Game two is a bit slower than game one. I keep a hand with a Delver, Grim Lavamancer and a lot of countermagic. He evokes Shriekmaw and I attempt to counter it but he has Ricochet Trap to change the target of the counter to itself. He kills my Delver with the Shriekmaw after I get 3 damage off it. He tries to resolve a couple of cascade spells but I take care of them with a Remand followed by a couple of counterspells. I continue getting damage in with Grim Lavamancer and he starts hardcasting some of his creatures which I take care of with burn spells and Grim Lavamancer. He is facing lethal next turn and is forced to cast Demonic Dread. I allow it to resolve with a Remand and a Dispel in hand. He cascades into Living End, I Remand it, he casts Ricochet Trap, and I Dispel it for the win.
ALL STAR OF THE NIGHT: Grim Lavamancer. This is the first time I've had the pleasure of playing Grim Lavamancer, and boy do I love this card. He did SO MUCH WORK! It's borderline unfair in my meta and I sided it in so much (every game actually) that I'm considering moving the third to the main, probably at the expense of an Electrolyze.
WORST CARD OF THE NIGHT: nothing. Every card performed well. The only card I didn't board in was Hibernation which I would have boarded in against the mono green deck I drew with.
PROPOSED CHANGES: I think the 75 here is pretty solid for my meta, though it's beginning to develop quite a bit as more people have started to fill their decks out with fetchlands and are moving toward more recognized decks like Splinter Twin, Pod, Storm, etc. As such I'm considering the addition of Spell Snare to the main and taking out either two Incinerates or one Incinerate and another card (maybe a Remand). I like having what's effectively a fifth Lightning Bolt in the deck to hedge against x/3s but I could be paranoid. I'm seriously considering the third Lavamancer in the main because of just how good he was for me this night. I was always happy to see him in my opener and it gives me another solid turn one play which this deck needs help with.
What are the good and bad match ups of Pyrodelver?
From my experience,
Good Matchups:
Burn
Affinity
Merfolk
Twin
Scapeshift
50/50 Matchups
Pod (we're better against Melira than Kiki imo)
UWR Midrange
Bad Matchups
Bogles
Jund
UWR Control
Martyr Proc (though of course not played much any longer)
This list seems fine except for UWR control as a bad matchup. I find it quite favorable.
Mind posting your thoughts on the matchup? That list was just from my experience in the tournaments in which I've played UR PyroDelver. The NorthEast is a hotbed for Control players and they're typically pretty good. I just haven't been able to punch through the matchup.
Sure. Keep in mind when I talk about the matchup I'm referring to my 75. I can see that others could have problems against the deck without the proper sideboard.
Game one tends to be an uphill battle, but it's best to play it slow. Use Vapor Snag to counter opposing removal spells. Don't run out creatures with no open mana available for counters. Knowing when to participate in a counter war is pivotal. I've found the key card in the matchup to be Young Pyromancer as they have no real sweeper in the deck. Resolve one, make a few tokens, and ride them to victory. If you get late enough in the game and still have a Vapor Snag in hand, a big power play is bouncing a Colonnade with it.
Postboard this matchup becomes a lot better because you can side out your low impact cards like Electrolyze and Pillar of Flame for Dispel, Combust, and Counterflux. Combust is particularly nasty against them as it kills Colonnade and Resto Angel uncontested. Dispel is great for counter wars, and Counterflux lines up perfectly with Sphinx's Revelation or any other high impact spell they try to cast.
In short, the key to the matchup is patience. This sounds counterintuitive, but I actually feel like the control deck against UWR control postboard. I play more efficient spells and more aggressive threats that require answers while they're busy sitting on Cryptic Commands and Sphinx's Revelations that have no hope of winning a counter war. I just don't run out my threats early just for them to get Bolted out of the sky. I wait for the correct opportunity, then play my cards when an opening presents itself and I have the right set of answers in my hand.
What is everyone's thoughts on forked bolt? I've been having problems with hate bears lately, notably Thalia, Guardian of Thraben has been wrecking my tempo. Thinking of pulling electrolyze for 3 forked bolts main. Also, looking for ideas on what I should consider cutting for Spell Pierce or two. Here's my 75:
If Thalia is a concern you may want 1-2 Gut Shot in the side. It's instant speed and can be cast for free or one colorless with Thalia out. It's also a reasonable card against Affinity, Soul Sisters, Fae, and the mirror. I don't like more than one Forked Bolt main because it can be a bit clunky.
"I like Young Pyromancer just fine, he is the nuts in this deck when he survives. Part of reason he's worse in your version is that you've cut the Spell Pierces for lands. I can see going down to 1 Spell Pierce, but it's still a vital card for protecting your threats."
I can totally see that. Maybe 1 Spell Pierce is the right answer in that scenario, treating YPZ as a 3-4 drop depending on your protection at the time. He is still so fragile that it scares me to think he dies to a stiff breeze (as do ALL of our threats). Vapor snag hits him early and often. I wish I could find a nimble mongoose-esque answer in UR. YPZ does snowball sometimes, and I think I probably have a sour taste in my mouth from playing 3 different URW control matchups. He shines elsewhere, for sure.
"I'm not sure about Tarmogoyf. If there's anything that I've gauged from your report, it is that Blood Moon is just the nuts sideboard card. If you're running Tarmogoyf, then you can't run Blood Moon. Vapor Snag on your Young Pyromancer is a legitimate play if you need to keep him alive."
This is true. As I said it takes this deck a completely different direction so I think I'm barking up the wrong tree here. Sticking with just UR has major draws, and I think the answers to complete this deck lie within those colors.
Isn't Flame Slash better than Spite of Mogis? They are both sorceries that can't hit the player. I don't like that Spite of Mogis has an additional condition over that.
I'm considering putting 1 of Twisted Image on the board versus Pod and Affinity and taking out 1 Magma Spray. Hits about 8 targets for both decks, and it's a 1 mana answer + cantrip answer to Spellskite.
I play with a singleton Forked Bolt in the main for some time now. IMHO you might not want to add all three copies due to the tempo/flexibility loss when you exchange Instants with Sorceries.
It isn't terribly uncommon to see lists running 2 copies of pillar of flame mb. No one at my LGS runs pod though so those spots are open to try something else. Maybe I'll try a 2 forked bolt/ 1 electrolyze split? My goal here is to make hate bears slightly more favorable pre-board, and there is quite a bit of difference between a 2cmc sorcery and a 4cmc instant (with Thalia on board).
If Thalia is a concern you may want 1-2 Gut Shot in the side. It's instant speed and can be cast for free or one colorless with Thalia out. It's also a reasonable card against Affinity, Soul Sisters, Fae, and the mirror. I don't like more than one Forked Bolt main because it can be a bit clunky.
In your list there's also a tension between Lavamancer and Spite of Mogis. Something to consider for matches where you'd board in both.
I considered gut shot but thought it was too narrow. My reasoning on forked bolt here is it can often 2-for-1 hate bears along with most of the decks you listed there. I might try to find room in my side for misers of gut shot though and see how I like it. Spite only comes in against Tron. I have yet to run into a match up where I want both Spite and Grim post board.
Isn't Flame Slash better than Spite of Mogis? They are both sorceries that can't hit the player. I don't like that Spite of Mogis has an additional condition over that.
Spite of Mogis is only there to have some sort of out against a resolved Wurmcoil Engine. Yes it is awfully sketchy, but the look you get when you smack a Wurmcoil for 7 damage is priceless.
Here's the decklist I'm playing at the moment, I've top 4'd the last two modern tournaments in my area (although they are fairly small). The deck list has the one-of Vendilion Clique that helps lock up matches like Tron where I just need to pull out an Expedition Map after a Spreading Seas or stop them from slamming Wurmcoil Engine if they reach 6 lands after a successful Blood Moon. It seems wrong to only play 3 Young Pyromancer but double Pizzy hands are too clunky, and a draw of Pyro+Clique (instead of the 4th Pyro) allows me to take a hold of the game.
Here's the decklist I'm playing at the moment, I've top 4'd the last two modern tournaments in my area (although they are fairly small). The deck list has the one-of Vendilion Clique that helps lock up matches like Tron where I just need to pull out an Expedition Map after a Spreading Seas or stop them from slamming Wurmcoil Engine if they reach 6 lands after a successful Blood Moon. It seems wrong to only play 3 Young Pyromancer but double Pizzy hands are too clunky, and a draw of Pyro+Clique (instead of the 4th Pyro) allows me to take a hold of the game.
The sideboard is incredibly soft to Bogles so I'm thinking of switching Flashfreeze for Hibernation.
Maindeck Batterskull, Blood Moon, and V Clique makes me think you're playing the wrong deck. You are diluting the deck by playing with so many reactive, non spell cards, you have to have a critical mass of instants and sorceries with Delvers, Young Pyromancers, and Snapcasters. Blue Moon/UR Control just seems straight up better if that what you want to do.
@xnorth how do you feel about mainboarding the Blood Moons? Most keep them in the side but I've considered maining them also.
This was mainly an addition to hedge against the environment I knew I would face at the store, I believe Blood Moon mainboard is a safe bet if you're playing at a known meta.
Maindeck Batterskull, Blood Moon, and V Clique makes me think you're playing the wrong deck. You are diluting the deck by playing with so many reactive, non spell cards, you have to have a critical mass of instants and sorceries with Delvers, Young Pyromancers, and Snapcasters. Blue Moon/UR Control just seems straight up better if that what you want to do.
Lots of decks play a 1-of swords, I chose Batterskull because it's what I had and I have yet to be convinced through play testing alternatives that I want a sword instead. When I play online I don't mainboard Blood Moon but as I said previously the deck was being played at a known meta.. and you should try out V Clique - it is a huge tempo play.
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But I do agree that I don't want to play stock U/R delver lists. I enjoy having my own spin on the deck and feel like if I play the same list too often my actually enjoyment level when playing is hindered. I guess that opens up the question, where do people see the deck going in the future?
I wouldn't put living end as a bad matchup. Living end is really soft to decks with counterspells, and I would call it a good matchup.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
I pick them apart and 2-0 them every time, so I guess I assumed everybody had the same experience. But I'm a red mage at heart so know their game plan as well or better than them. Spell Snare is huge in the matchup, like Sasky said, but almost all of our cards match well against them. They run the same number of sometimes fewer lands than us so even Remand is good when you're on the play. I'd board out Clique and bring in the Dispel from my board, take out the G-Probes and bring in Snare, Lavamancer, Magma Spray, and Spellskite. (I'm referring to my list I posted just a few posts ago). Let them attack with their Goblin Guides so you can draw a land if it's there, then kill or Snag it before damage. A lot of their good cards are 2cmc, Pierce, Leak, and Dispel are all excellent, and you just tempo them out. Don't be afraid of going down to single digits - you should win the race.
@Sasky - my bad on Living End. I actually haven't played that matchup, and don't know why I put it there. I'll edit it out of my list.
Standard: lol no
Modern: BG/x, UR/x, Burn, Merfolk, Zoo, Storm
Legacy: Shardless BUG, Delver (BUG, RUG, Grixis), Landstill, Depths Combo, Merfolk
Vintage: Dark Times, BUG Fish, Merfolk
EDH: Teysa, Orzhov Scion / Krenko, Mob Boss / Stonebrow, Krosan Hero
This list seems fine except for UWR control as a bad matchup. I find it quite favorable.
Swiss Match record: 3-1-1
2x Grim Lavamancer
4x Delver of Secrets
4x Snapcaster Mage
4x Young Pyromancer
2x Vendilion Clique
Spells(24)
2x Electrolyze
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Remand
2x Mana Leak
2x Spell Snare
3x Gitaxian Probe
4x Serum Visions
3x Vapor Snag
1x Cryptic Command
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
2x Island
2x Faerie Conclave
4x Misty Rainforest
1x Mountain
1x Tectonic Edge
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Steam Vents
2x Sulfur Falls
2x Spellskite
2x Relic of Progenitus
1x Tectonic Edge
2x Spell Pierce
2x Engineered Explosives
2x Blood Moon
1x Batterskull
1x Combust
2x Pillar of Flame
New cards not in previous builds:
1x Cryptic command - This is a card I saw as a late game catch all and anytime utility. 4 lands happens often, many games become grindy. After it's performance, considering adding another
1x Sword of Fire and Ice - I knew I wanted a sword, and I think it was this, Sword of War and Peace (as more of an "anti removal thing), and Sword of Feast and Famine. In the end, I decided it best to have the best proactive sword there is, and in hindsight I believe this is the best choice.
2x Mana Leak - It did some things, and sat there at times making me angry it wasn't something stronger. Might try Deprive next as a one of, but I really dont like mana leak yet in this deck. Usually you have to choose 1)Keep threats back so you can play a small control game, or 2)Play threats and by the time you need to play mana leak, it's too late.
Took out from previous builds:
2x Spell Pierce - Relegated these to the sideboard. Too narrow, and I find myself with them too often in situations I wish I had other things to do.
1x Gitaxian Probe - I think G. Probe is a crutch I'm leaning on right now. The "2 life for a card" is OK, but seeing opp's hand is becoming less and less valuable, as I find myself "guessing correctly" often. The more I learn the meta, the less value this card holds. Would love to replace it someday with a card that actually does something. I think maybe as a 2-of next time.
1x Shivan Reef - Straight up dropped a land. It was fine, might remove the conclaves next as they've fallen out of favor with me. A little too mana intensive for this particular deck.
Sideboard:
Kept
2x Spell Pierce - I went from a possible 4 of to 2 of out of the board here. I think it's right. I was discussing its narrow nature with a buddy, and he harmlessly said "sounds like a sideboard card." Great thinking Jon!
2x Spellskite - Friggin love this guy. Dont know if i've activated the ability once because he keeps eating path to exile. Also played the role of MVP vs. a surprising Bogles match!
2x Relic of Progenitus - Down from 3, I think this is the right number. Still like this card a lot, but it is difficult to play in this deck.
1x Tectonic Edge - Still like the 1/1 Main/Side split here. it comes in vs. decks with Manlands/Tron, and out vs. decks that don't. Love simple sideboard decisions.
1x Combust - This card was there for Twin and Kiki-Angel shenanigans. It stays for the same reasons.
2x Pillar of flame - Pod Hate (although apparently no one ran pod this day LOL). I see decks online running this main, and with good reason.
Out -
1x Dismember - don't really like this spell. I think vapor snag is the only "removal" we really need.
3x Mana Leak - added these to main instead.
1x Combust - took one of these out due to its narrowness.
In -
2x Blood Moon - Not sure how I came to the conclusion that I could play this deck without this card. Free wins? Yes please.
1x Batterskull - Blood Moon's best friend. When the game has long stalled, and cryptic command has no chance of coming down, the 'skull mops up.
2x Engineered Explosives - Affinity, tokens, bogles hate. Seemed broad enough that it was worth a few slots.
Match 1: GR Tron 2-1
Yay! A match I was not prepared for or expecting at all! In fact, there was quite a bit of Tron floating around today.
G1: Lucky for me, he dug and dug but saw no Tower. I ate a pretty timely pyroclasm, but in the end got him low enough to burn out.
In: Tec Edge x1, Blood Moon x2, Batterskull x1
Out: Spell Snare x2, Remand x2
G2: Didn't see any sideboard hate, and ended up folding to back to back wurmcoils (even though the first got eaten by an army of YPZ tokens). Pretty one sided here.
In: Remand x2, Spell Snare x2
Out: Electrolyze x2, Vapor Snag x1, Mana Leak x1
G3: Early blood moon gave me game as he would have had T3 tron. However, my only threat was a single delver (blind flip T2? Yes please). I countered 3 different pyroclasms with 4 different counterspells (double leak LOL) to protect my only threat, and it proved to be enough. He would have had a slight chance towards the end, but he forgot that Batterskull can equip to another creature as well hah! Batterskull'd Abberation came in for lethal and a good start to today.
Match 2: UR Storm 2-0
As always, combo is scary. However I think UR delver is in the rare position to turn on a clock and have just enough denial to keep things moving your direction.
G1: He gets flooded out, I have god hand (T1 Delver, T2 Flip and counter backup, T3 V. Clique shows me his garbage hand which I leave). Ends quick..
In: EE x1, Relic x2, Spell Pierce x2
Out: Vapor Snag x3, Grim Lavamancer x2
G2: A timely electrolyze on his electromancer keeps the turns flowing to T4. He tries to combo out and gets me to 1 after bolt/grapeshot for 14 damage. His clock ticks away as I develop my board. I swing for lethal, and he reveals his top card which is Lightning Bolt!
Match 3: URW Control 0-2
This is a fair matchup. Every game against URW seems to go long, and this was no different. He starts on the play, which definitely matters here.
G1: He has all the relevant answers for my threats, and I probably overcommitted too early without appropriate protection. What i've learned in this matchup, is to never send out just 1 threat with no backup.
In: Spell Pierce x2, Tectonic Edge x1, Blood Moon x2, Batterskull x1
Out: Grim Lavamancer x2, Vapor Snag x1, Faerie Conclave x2, Gitaxian Probe x1
G2: I land an early Blood Moon, which definitely helps - but I didnt really have a board when I did so. He gets pretty lucky and draws the basics he needs, ultimately landing an Ajani which I can't deal with in time before he wipes my lands out. I almost come back with the 5 lands left in my library at the time, but it's too late and he Celestial Purge's my blood moon to come in with colonnades.
Match 4: URW Control 2-1
I learned much from the previous match, and it helped greatly in this matchup. Sideboard was almost exactly the same as previous round.
G1: I'm on the play, and am able to win tempo-style the way I like with a decent board and answers to his removal.
G2: On the draw, he is able to counter/answer my threats in time, and stabilizes relatively early. He missed a few land drops which kept me in it, and the game went very long. We went into G3 with 10:00 on the clock.
G3: A tough mulligan choice brought our clock to about 6:00. I kept a hand of Delver, Probe, Fetchx2, leak, and spell snare. T1 probe shows his keep of Landx3 and Cryptic x2 Snapcaster x2. I'm sure he kicked himself for that keep in the end. T1 delver flying in free and clear after a T3 flip puts the clock on that I need. I eventually land a Sword of Fire and ice which leaves his only out as Path to Exile, which he did not draw a plains for (blood moon came down as well). Was pretty tight on time, but I finished him off just as time expired in the round.
Match 5: GB Rock - 0-0-3
Intentional draw here, and I'm awfully happy about that after we played a few games for fun! (sorry didnt track SB here)
G1: He didnt have any discard early, so my threats came out and flew overhead. Not sure what he kept, but his board state was very good by the time I finished him off.
G2: Discard, abrupt decay, golgari charm spelled my doom.
G3: See G2 LOL! Post board this match seems unwinnable.
Now that the swiss was complete, we moved on to the top 8, see next spoiler.
Quarterfinals - Boggles - 2-1
This match was against an opponent who is very knowledgeable about the meta and a very fast player because of it. I did a great job keeping the pace at what I wanted it to be, and not get spooked into making quick/wrong decisions.
G1: He seems to have an ideal hand, but being stuck on 1 temple garden until T3 made it hard for him to explode the way he wanted to. I chumped all day with pyromancer tokens, and although it was close, Cryptic Command gave me 2 turns (snap backup) to come in for what I needed to end it. It definitely helped that the 2 lands he eventually played were Dryad Arbor, so he again wasn't able to keep the pressure on because of it (plus they were tapped by cryptic woot!)
In: Spellskite x2, EE x2, Spell Pierce x1 (not sure if this is right or not)
Out: Vapor Snag x3, Electrolyze x2
G2: This one showed my lack of experience against bogles. Spellskite came down T2, which gave me a false sense of confidence. I V. Clique'd him next turn, and saw 2x Daybreak Coronet, and a bunch of other voltron pieces. I let him keep that hand, thinking I could redirect all his pieces to spellskite. Woops - Daybreak Coronet's wording prevents it from hitting spellskite (unless I've already had him enchanted somehow), so double daybreak landed eventually and I got ROFLSTOMPED. After making the mistake against daybreak, I made a bunch of misplays too - a game I'd like to soon forget.
In: Blood Moon x2
Out: Spell Pierce x1, Lightning Bolt x1
G3: I brought in the blood moons on the play, seeing as how this deck plays a ton of non-basics (even though it's only 2 colors). This proved to be what won me the game, as I played Spellskite T2, Blood Moon T3, and turned off path to exile which I'm sure he planned to do at some point. He was stuck with only one forest, and even Remand became an all star (basically time walking him twice). This game was one where I drew the right cards and played them sequenced perfectly, so I handily beat him after about 6 turns. Cryptic starred again.
Semi-Finals - URW Control 2-1
This was the longest match of the day. They turned the clocks off for the T8, so we fought an epic battle. This was the same player who I lost to earlier for my only loss of the day (0-2), so of course we're joking that I'm due. I start on the draw due to the fact he was placed higher than me going into the T8.
G1: This game was about 50 minutes alone. We battled back and forth, threat for answer, until we both had no board and no cards in hand. I started to sandbag my threats so I could flood all at once, and Snapcaster helped me serum multiple times. He had about 9 lands in play, 2 colonnades. However he was holding them back (I'm assuming for countermagic/my endstep shenanigans for blockers). Eventually, he decided to turn on the clock, and that was all I needed. Snapcaster into Vapor Snag to chip away 5 points (he was at 18 at the time and I was at 7, 2 snaps in play now). Then he held back for several more turns, ultimately deciding to swing with collonade again. Again I snagged it and this time had Vendilion Clique to land end step. Clique(3), Snapx2 (4), and a freshly drawn sword (4) did 11 damage and drew me a bolt for the finish! Whew!
In: Blood Moon x2, Batterskull x1, Relic x2, Tec edge x1, Spellskite x2
Out: Remand x2, Faerie Conclave x2, Electrolyze x2, Vapor Snag x1, Grim Lavamancer x1
G2: Another lengthy game. Early tec edge kept him off his colors and stunted. Of course blood moon comes down in the long game (about T6 with Mana Leak backup that stopped a cryptic command on his end). His answers are enough up until that point to keep me at bay, and eventually we go into topdeck mode. He misplays Sphinx's Revelation into a Mana Leak (played around pierce but not leak!), which buys me time. I start pinging him with 1 pyromancer token, which gets a lot scarier when I land Sword of Fire and Ice. Unfortunately, he Wear/Tears it (i tried to spell snare it, but got blown out by cryptic). This left me with a token, and just enough creatures for him to get value from Timely Reinforcements. His tokens start pecking away, until I draw a Batterskull while he has an empty hand. Thinking I just stole the game, he swings into batterskull and bolts the token. I need to wait a few turns (which I can due to the 4 life I just gained) before bouncing it, which I eventually do. I think he has cryptic in hand, but I run out of options and eventually cast Batterskull directly into it. His 2 1/1 tokens chip away until bolt finishes me off.
G3: My opponent now offers a draw here and to split whatever would be left for 2nd/3rd place. I am stunned by this after spending 1.5 hrs on the previous 2 games, and respectfully decline. (being on the play for g3 FINALLY may have had soemthing to do with it LOL!). I left my sideboard as is, except I brought in Remands for my last Grim Lavamancer and 1 vapor snag.
I mull to an excellent 6 (Delver, Blood moon, Probe, Remand, Fetch x1, Serum Visions), and he ponders long and hard before saying "keep". A T1 probe shows his hand of Supreme Verdict, Cryptic Command x2, Electrolyze, and Colonnade/Arid Mesa. I Sigh in relief, and play my delver. Serum visions gets me the land I needed and sets up a T3 flip. He could have drawn a Mana Leak, but I go for the T3 blood moon anyway. He doesnt have it, but did fetch for a few basics before that happened. However, Verdict is now out, Cryptic is dead, and his electrolyze kills my delver. I draw YPZ, a few snapcaster mages which generate some crazy value plays, and my itty bitty army swings him pretty low. I start sandbagging my threats as he gets rid of blood moon with celestial purge, so after he verdicts away my board at 6, I draw a bolt to go along with the snapcaster in my hand to finish him. Spell snare takes care of his Lightning helix in response. A flurry finish to a long day.
Finals - URW Control 0-0-3
Knowing what my opponent was playing, I was happy to accept his offer to draw split the $650 store credit with him and save both of us from losing another 2 hours of our lives on a brilliant sunny day.
Final Thoughts:
Cryptic Command belongs in this deck. Probably as a 2 of. I believe it is necessary to give us game where we wouldn't have had it before, instead relying on variance and aggro plans than a true tempo plan.
I want to find a different threat that is NOT young pyromancer. Unfortunately, I see this going the green direction and slotting in Tarmogoyfs - something I was hoping wouldn't happen. Goyf has huge upside vs. this decks worst enemies: Electrolyze, Pyroclasm, Anger of the Gods, Lightning Bolt, Golgari Charm (probably others - you get the idea). That, combined with the fact that I usually only get 1-2 tokens out of YPZ before he eats dirt makes me lean heavily on this decision.
- Note* - Green splash takes this deck in a whole different direction (especially the SB), so much more must be thought through before committing.
I wouldn't go as far as saying I have this sideboard figured out, but it is definitely a powerful set of colors and deck style for a great sideboard. Open to critique on SB options here as well as critique on anything else in this post. Thanks for reading!
Mind posting your thoughts on the matchup? That list was just from my experience in the tournaments in which I've played UR PyroDelver. The NorthEast is a hotbed for Control players and they're typically pretty good. I just haven't been able to punch through the matchup.
Standard: lol no
Modern: BG/x, UR/x, Burn, Merfolk, Zoo, Storm
Legacy: Shardless BUG, Delver (BUG, RUG, Grixis), Landstill, Depths Combo, Merfolk
Vintage: Dark Times, BUG Fish, Merfolk
EDH: Teysa, Orzhov Scion / Krenko, Mob Boss / Stonebrow, Krosan Hero
Thank you for the excellent write up, it looks like the deck is treating you well.
A few comments about your final thoughts.
I agree with Cryptic Command, I've been playing it as a 2 of for a while and it's simply fantastic. Yes, there are a few games here and there where you're stuck at 2 lands, but that's largely due to bad variance for a deck that has a minimum of 10 cantrips. I don't know about you, but I consider tapping all my opponent's creatures and bounce a problematic permanent to be a very strong tempo spell.
I like Young Pyromancer just fine, he is the nuts in this deck when he survives. Part of reason he's worse in your version is that you've cut the Spell Pierces for lands. I can see going down to 1 Spell Pierce, but it's still a vital card for protecting your threats.
I'm not sure about Tarmogoyf. If there's anything that I've gauged from your report, it is that Blood Moon is just the nuts sideboard card. If you're running Tarmogoyf, then you can't run Blood Moon. Vapor Snag on your Young Pyromancer is a legitimate play if you need to keep him alive.
I also agree on 3 Gitaxian Probe over the conventional 4. It's not a card that you want to see multiples in the opening hand, just 1 or maybe 2 per game. We're weak to aggro and burn as is, while it only slightly improves our control match up.
That would actually just be a totally different deck.
4 Delver of Secrets
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Snapcaster Mage
Spells (28)
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
2 Spell Pierce
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Vapor Snag
2 Incinerate
4 Remand
3 Mana Leak
2 Electrolyze
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Breeding Pool
4 Island
2 Mountain
1 Grim Lavamancer
2 Magma Spray
2 Dispel
2 Flashfreeze
2 Combust
2 Ancient Grudge
3 Hibernation
1 Counterflux
For those wondering about the maindeck Incinerates, those are a concession to my local meta where Gruul decks are very popular. I need access to two extra burn spells that deal three damage in a world where Kird Ape, Flinthoof Boar, Stormblood Berserker, etc run rampant.
Match 1 vs UB Mill (1-2 loss): this was the strangest match of Magic I ever played. My opponent was on a deck with no removal and cards like Mind Funeral, Breaking / Entering, Archive Trap, Surgical Extraction, and Extirpate maindeck. I lost game one after keeping a slow hand and my opponent milling 30 off a Mind Funeral.
OUT: 1 Electrolyze, 3 Vapor Snag
IN: 2 Dispel, 1 Grim Lavamancer, 1 Counterflux
Game two was much easier as I got an aggressive start and ended the game quickly. Game three I mull to six and snap keep a hand with two Delvers and four lands. I proceed to topdeck lands for five (!) straight turns in unbelievable fashion.
Match 2 vs Tempered Steel (2-1 win): He's running Puresteel Paladin, Precinct Captain, Mirran Crusader, and lots of equipment. I win game one off the back of an early Delver while holding off his guys with removal.
OUT: 2 Electrolyze, 3 Vapor Snag, 2 Spell Pierce
IN: 1 Grim Lavamancer, 2 Magma Spray, 2 Ancient Grudge, 2 Combust
I lose game two after he gets a fast start and find multiple Puresteel Paladins. Game three is long and grindy but I win after resolving a Grim Lavamancer later in the game and he goes to town on his dudes.
Match 3 vs Ninja Bear Delver (2-0 win): I was just poking fun at a friend for running this deck, so of course I get paired against him. We always have interesting games and I consider him one of the best players in the area. That said, this matchup was probably the easiest win I've had over him, no doubt because Ninja Bear Delver is a ***** deck and stands no chance against UR Delver. He's on the play game one and gets an early start with Delver but it doesn't flip for two turns and I am able to even the board state with a Delver and Young Pyromancer. The turning point in the game comes when he plays a Snapcaster Mage on turn four to Vapor Snag my Young Pyromancer and I respond with an Electrolyze the following turn for the three for one. Grim Lavamancer joins the party soon after and that's all she wrote.
OUT: 3 Vapor Snag, 2 Incinerate, 2 Electrolyze
IN: 1 Grim Lavamancer, 2 Magma Spray, 2 Dispel, 2 Combust
The postboard plan against any Delver deck is to play more mana efficient spells and play the control role early, attempting to land a Young Pyromancer or Grim Lavamancer and ride it to victory. Electrolyze is a bit mana intensive and counter wars are important postboard so I take it out here despite it being awesome against Phantasmal Bear and Snapcaster Mage. Brining in the third Lavamancer makes up for the potential loss in card advantage Electrolyze offers. Game two is similar to game one except I get ahead a lot earlier due to playing Grim Lavamancer, then casting Probe and seeing Disrupting Shoal, Cryptic Command, Remand, and lands. I play around his Shoal for awhile and keep his board clear with Lavamancer and slowly whittle away at his life total until I overwhelm the board and he loses.
Match 4 vs White Weenie (2-0 win): easiest match of the night. I'm pretty sure this guy brought his Standard deck to a Modern event because I saw no non-Standard cards in the deck. I won't even go into the match.
Match 5 vs Mono Green Beatdown (draw): I was in 8th place with 9 points with everyone below me having 6, so I was safe to draw into top 8. He's on a deck with Experiment One, Dryad Militant, Scavenging Ooze, Strangleroot Geist, Leatherback Baloth, Vines of Vastwood, Aspect of Hydra, Rancor, and a fun-of Hurricane he's been owning people with all night. We play three preboard games for fun and I go 1-2, but I imagine this matchup is much more favorable to me postboard with access to three Hibernation, two Flashfreeze, and two Dispel.
Top 8 match vs Living End (2-0 win): this is about as close to a bye as you can get as UR Delver without actually getting a bye. Living End has real problems with Remand decks or any deck with countermagic for that matter. This was actually my first time playing against Living End, but I knew the basic strategy of the deck. The key to the match is not to get too greedy when the opponent has open mana to ensure he can't cast Violent Outburst at instant speed. Game one I present an early clock and ride my countermagic to victory.
OUT: 2 Electrolyze, 3 Vapor Snag
IN: 2 Dispel, 2 Flashfreeze, 1 Counterflux
Game two is a bit slower than game one. I keep a hand with a Delver, Grim Lavamancer and a lot of countermagic. He evokes Shriekmaw and I attempt to counter it but he has Ricochet Trap to change the target of the counter to itself. He kills my Delver with the Shriekmaw after I get 3 damage off it. He tries to resolve a couple of cascade spells but I take care of them with a Remand followed by a couple of counterspells. I continue getting damage in with Grim Lavamancer and he starts hardcasting some of his creatures which I take care of with burn spells and Grim Lavamancer. He is facing lethal next turn and is forced to cast Demonic Dread. I allow it to resolve with a Remand and a Dispel in hand. He cascades into Living End, I Remand it, he casts Ricochet Trap, and I Dispel it for the win.
ALL STAR OF THE NIGHT: Grim Lavamancer. This is the first time I've had the pleasure of playing Grim Lavamancer, and boy do I love this card. He did SO MUCH WORK! It's borderline unfair in my meta and I sided it in so much (every game actually) that I'm considering moving the third to the main, probably at the expense of an Electrolyze.
WORST CARD OF THE NIGHT: nothing. Every card performed well. The only card I didn't board in was Hibernation which I would have boarded in against the mono green deck I drew with.
PROPOSED CHANGES: I think the 75 here is pretty solid for my meta, though it's beginning to develop quite a bit as more people have started to fill their decks out with fetchlands and are moving toward more recognized decks like Splinter Twin, Pod, Storm, etc. As such I'm considering the addition of Spell Snare to the main and taking out either two Incinerates or one Incinerate and another card (maybe a Remand). I like having what's effectively a fifth Lightning Bolt in the deck to hedge against x/3s but I could be paranoid. I'm seriously considering the third Lavamancer in the main because of just how good he was for me this night. I was always happy to see him in my opener and it gives me another solid turn one play which this deck needs help with.
Sure. Keep in mind when I talk about the matchup I'm referring to my 75. I can see that others could have problems against the deck without the proper sideboard.
Game one tends to be an uphill battle, but it's best to play it slow. Use Vapor Snag to counter opposing removal spells. Don't run out creatures with no open mana available for counters. Knowing when to participate in a counter war is pivotal. I've found the key card in the matchup to be Young Pyromancer as they have no real sweeper in the deck. Resolve one, make a few tokens, and ride them to victory. If you get late enough in the game and still have a Vapor Snag in hand, a big power play is bouncing a Colonnade with it.
Postboard this matchup becomes a lot better because you can side out your low impact cards like Electrolyze and Pillar of Flame for Dispel, Combust, and Counterflux. Combust is particularly nasty against them as it kills Colonnade and Resto Angel uncontested. Dispel is great for counter wars, and Counterflux lines up perfectly with Sphinx's Revelation or any other high impact spell they try to cast.
In short, the key to the matchup is patience. This sounds counterintuitive, but I actually feel like the control deck against UWR control postboard. I play more efficient spells and more aggressive threats that require answers while they're busy sitting on Cryptic Commands and Sphinx's Revelations that have no hope of winning a counter war. I just don't run out my threats early just for them to get Bolted out of the sky. I wait for the correct opportunity, then play my cards when an opening presents itself and I have the right set of answers in my hand.
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Snapcaster Mage
Burn (7)
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Forked Bolt
Cantrip (8)
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
Counters n' snags (14)
3 Spell Snare
4 Remand
4 Mana Leak
3 Vapor Snag
2 Mutavault
4 Steam Vents
4 Sulfur Falls
3 Mountain
6 Island
2 Grim Lavamancer
2 Spite of Mogis
2 Dispel
2 Counterflux
2 Salt the Earth
2 Shattering Spree
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Pithing Needle
"I like Young Pyromancer just fine, he is the nuts in this deck when he survives. Part of reason he's worse in your version is that you've cut the Spell Pierces for lands. I can see going down to 1 Spell Pierce, but it's still a vital card for protecting your threats."
I can totally see that. Maybe 1 Spell Pierce is the right answer in that scenario, treating YPZ as a 3-4 drop depending on your protection at the time. He is still so fragile that it scares me to think he dies to a stiff breeze (as do ALL of our threats). Vapor snag hits him early and often. I wish I could find a nimble mongoose-esque answer in UR. YPZ does snowball sometimes, and I think I probably have a sour taste in my mouth from playing 3 different URW control matchups. He shines elsewhere, for sure.
"I'm not sure about Tarmogoyf. If there's anything that I've gauged from your report, it is that Blood Moon is just the nuts sideboard card. If you're running Tarmogoyf, then you can't run Blood Moon. Vapor Snag on your Young Pyromancer is a legitimate play if you need to keep him alive."
This is true. As I said it takes this deck a completely different direction so I think I'm barking up the wrong tree here. Sticking with just UR has major draws, and I think the answers to complete this deck lie within those colors.
I considered gut shot but thought it was too narrow. My reasoning on forked bolt here is it can often 2-for-1 hate bears along with most of the decks you listed there. I might try to find room in my side for misers of gut shot though and see how I like it. Spite only comes in against Tron. I have yet to run into a match up where I want both Spite and Grim post board.
Spite of Mogis is only there to have some sort of out against a resolved Wurmcoil Engine. Yes it is awfully sketchy, but the look you get when you smack a Wurmcoil for 7 damage is priceless.
How about this:
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Snapcaster Mage
Burn (7)
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Forked Bolt
1 Electrolyze
Cantrip (8)
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
Counters n' snags (14)
2 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
4 Remand
3 Mana Leak
3 Vapor Snag
2 Mutavault
4 Steam Vents
4 Sulfur Falls
3 Mountain
6 Island
2 Grim Lavamancer
1 Gut Shot
1 Forked Bolt
2 Dispel
1 Spell Snare
2 Counterflux
2 Sowing Salt
2 Shattering Spree
2 Engineered Explosives
4 Remand
3 Mana Leak
2 Spell Snare
2 Vapor Snag
Cantrips (8)
4 Serum Visions
4 Gitaxian Probe
Burn (5)
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Electrolyze
Creatures (14)
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Delver of Secrets
3 Young Pyromancer
2 Grim Lavamancer
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Blood Moon
1 Batterskull
Lands (19)
4 Steam Vents
3 Scalding Tarn
1 Shivan Reef
1 Sulfur Falls
7 Island
3 Mountain
2 Magma Spray
1 Batterskull
1 Dispel
2 Negate
2 Spreading Seas
1 Flame Slash
2 Combust
2 Flashfreeze
2 Vandalblast
The sideboard is incredibly soft to Bogles so I'm thinking of switching Flashfreeze for Hibernation.
Maindeck Batterskull, Blood Moon, and V Clique makes me think you're playing the wrong deck. You are diluting the deck by playing with so many reactive, non spell cards, you have to have a critical mass of instants and sorceries with Delvers, Young Pyromancers, and Snapcasters. Blue Moon/UR Control just seems straight up better if that what you want to do.
This was mainly an addition to hedge against the environment I knew I would face at the store, I believe Blood Moon mainboard is a safe bet if you're playing at a known meta.
Lots of decks play a 1-of swords, I chose Batterskull because it's what I had and I have yet to be convinced through play testing alternatives that I want a sword instead. When I play online I don't mainboard Blood Moon but as I said previously the deck was being played at a known meta.. and you should try out V Clique - it is a huge tempo play.
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But I do agree that I don't want to play stock U/R delver lists. I enjoy having my own spin on the deck and feel like if I play the same list too often my actually enjoyment level when playing is hindered. I guess that opens up the question, where do people see the deck going in the future?