So, I've been continuing to play the deck online for the last couple of weeks, trying out various flex slots and creature configurations, and I haven't really been impressed with Harvest Pyre or Set Adrift, as they both take a bit too long to come online and don't really do enough. I'd rather run Roast than Pyre, and have Logic Knot as my main deck delve spell.
EDIT: I will admit that Set Adrift has been occasionally useful for dealing with the odd enchantment or planeswalker, but I think that it's more of a consideration for the sideboard.
What I have tried and loved is Cryptic Command as a 2 of. It does everything we need, and often casting just one is enough to seal or turn around a game. Yes, I'm aware that it's expensive, and difficult to cast, which is why it's only a two of, but I really think the pay off is worth it. Even the games in which I have had to wait a few turns to get the mana to cast it, it's been great. It provides interaction with lot of things that this deck struggles to interact with in game one, and I really think it's worth trying.
On another note, I really enjoyed seeing Pascal Vieren take that UR Pyromancer deck to the semis at the Pro Tour. Looked like a blast to play, and I'll definitely be giving it a spin at some point in the near future. What do you guys think of his list?
On another note, I really enjoyed seeing Pascal Vieren take that UR Pyromancer deck to the semis at the Pro Tour. Looked like a blast to play, and I'll definitely be giving it a spin at some point in the near future. What do you guys think of his list?
The UR Pyromancer deck had the distinct advantage of being an outsider deck: no one was ready for it (or for the Mardu Pyromancer deck being so popular). I think there's a lot of potential there (a bit like the "4-of" Jeskai Tempo deck last year, whose refined "Jeaskai Geist" version is now Tier One), but that the list could benefit from more refinement and testing. For example, I am not in love with Ancestral Vision, at least, not without a way to play it for free. There could be other tools that could offer card draw, like Think Twice, for example, which would trigger Pyro and Thing twice. There's also a lot of one-of cards in the main and the side, and the deck could be more consistent by making a more focuses selection.
In any case, it is easy to be a critic and hard to be an innovator: the deck looks like a ton of fun to play and the start of something great. I simply must congratulate Pascal Vieren's top 8 performance.
I agree that the list doesn't appear optimal. I'm hesitant to make changes before testing it though, as I'm sure Vieren must have put in plenty of hours with the deck before settling on the final list. I'd be interested in hearing what Pascal would change about the deck going forward, or even whether he'd take it to another large event now that it's more on the radar.
I'm also not a huge fan of Ancestral Vision, though it did seem to pull its weight in the mardu matchup. It seems very slow for the faster matchups, outside of the turn one suspend. Maybe it's worth looking into Bedlam Reveler as a two of for refilling. I know it's not the best with counterspells, but Pascal's matches showed that there were plenty of times where he went hellbent in the mid-late game and Reveler would have been the best top deck. Speaking of the interaction with counterspells, I've always thought that if your counters are live, you just hold Reveler until you've cast them, and if they're dead, or you need to interact with the board rather than the stack, there's not much harm in ditching them for three new cards and a 3/4 prowess.
Hello, everyone! Long time lurker of the forum and first timr posting.
I love UR/x (straight UR above all) decks and I'm thrilled to see the UR control archetype doing so well. Both Frank Karsten and MTGgoldfish's Saffron Olive stated that the Madcap Moon deck did pretty good and, of course, the Vieren brother's list managed to top 8! I love the idea of forgoing the combo finishes to focus on getting value from your spells as is the spirit of UR. I'd love to take the deck for a spin but unfortunately I'm still a budget player and have no Snapcaster Mages so I'll be looking forward for any reports you may write on the deck. I think Reveler is not the way to go in such a reactive style of deck, if it hasn't worked in delver chances aren't much better for control. However, it is a strong card as the Mardu deck has proven and deserves some testing. On Ancestral Vision, I have not played with the card and I understand that it is very slow, but it does synergize with the main win cons in a way Reveler does not.
As a sidenote, the deck was built by Peter Vieren rather than Pascal, so it's him who will be the most equipped to answer questions.
On the topic of the Shoal lists you've all been discussing (absolutely love them btw, great job Boogelawoof), do you think it could be possible to run the list with no snaps? I currently play 2 Cryptic Serpents and an extra spell in their place.
You're right about Reveler, of course, I guess I love that card a little too much, heh. It's just I feel like I want something splashy at the top of the curve. I've been playing with Vieren's list since the pro tour, and the deck is great at grinding out incremental advantage, and obviously suspending Vision early allows you to bury the opponent in card advantage. However, if there's one thing I feel the list lacks, it's a late game hay-maker; something to just draw off the top and smash your opponent into the ground with. I understand the point of the list was to just focus on the cheap spells-matter creatures, but there a re definitely some flex spots, and I would really like a powerful finisher. I wouldn't want to go over four mana at the top of the curve though, since in general playing multiple spells a turn is important to the deck.
Yeah I was aware that Peter built the deck, but given Pascals finish, it'd be good to hear what both have to say about the deck going forward.
On Shoal, I think if you're going to run it, you need ways to recoup the lost card advantage from using its alt cost. Chart a Course (with Pyromancer) is kind of the reason we can run Shoal now since it addresses that very issue, but Snapcaster is an important part of the card advantage engine, and chaining Snaps and Charts is a good way to pull ahead in longer games. It also helps to have a flash creature to attack out of nowhere and turn Chart on. And of course Snap-Bolt-Snap is still great. However, I don't think not having Snapcaster necessarily means you can't run shoal, it's just that you would either need another source of CA, possibly something like Augur of Bolas, or maybe try Titi and just go for a 'protect the queen' style of play. I mention those two cards because I'm also thinking about the number of 2-drops for Shoal's alt cost.
Keranos comes to mind but seems more like sideboard material. Maybe Goblin Dark-Dwellers as it can flashback Vision, a cantrip or a burn spell. One of my first builds of Delver had a single Pia and Kiran Nalaar but in people will board sweepers against the Pyro deck anyway so it's probably not a good idea. Maybe the flying 4/4 sphinx that cycles?
Ahh of course!
Yeah I know I won't really have a lategame until I get the snaps. That's why I play more like an aggro/tempo deck than a tempo/control one. On the brightside, the 2 Serpents give me some staying power as well as blanking Bolts and Pushes. I think I'll try a single shoal and see how it goes from there. Turn one threat and counter opp's removal seems super strong.
I put together this: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/09-02-18-YVR-izzet-delver/, but have yet to play it thoroughly. I switched from a prowess build to a more traditional Delver deck. I would say it's somewhere between the PT deck and the SCG one a few pages back. Only thing I want to play around with immediately is a 2 creature flex spot where Cryptic Serpent current sits. I don't know if Cryptic Serpent, Bedlam Reveler, or Thing in the Ice are just better. (Nimble Obstructionist is actually really good IMO but perhaps it should be Shadow of Doubt as it usually is just a Stone Rain + draw a card).
There might be too many pump spells here for me. I'd rather have more protection for my stuff. Personally, I like the Disrupting Shoal package, as it allows you to tap out and still protect your threat.
Anyone going to jam JTMS in light of the unban? Or maybe change a few flex slots to deal with an influx of them?
I've thought about putting one or two in the side for grindy matchups. But I'm probably going to add another threat in place of the third Vapor Snag. I've toyed with Nimble Obstructionist in the past, and having an answer to a Jace activation or fetch plus a draw, or a 3 power evasive threat, or a 3 drop to pitch to Shoal seems good to me. Will test at FNM and report back.
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EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
I dont think JTMS is for Delver. You will just be trying to play a long game with sub optimal cards when you don't have Jace. Legacy Delver decks have always had access to JTMS and never played him.
I think we actually go the other way and make the deck more low to the ground as creatures with haste are good against him.
There might be too many pump spells here for me. I'd rather have more protection for my stuff. Personally, I like the Disrupting Shoal package, as it allows you to tap out and still protect your threat.
Thanks for your feedback, maybe I can just cut 2 Twisted Image and a Mutagenic Growth for 3 Remands or 3 Shoals in order to have more protection.
Talking about Jace, I have to agree with GrixMage: we have to be more aggressive. I don't think that UR Delver needs to be such a control deck.
I've moved away from Monastery Swiftspear for the time being. It spent a lot of time just getting walled by bigger creatures, and while there have been a handful of games where the damage output has been absurd, there were even more games where it just didn't do anything. I wanted something that could at least survive burn based removal, so I'm trying Thing in the Ice. That card really does a lot for the deck, providing a maindeck sweeper effect, a decent blocker for aggro matches, a huge game winning threat, and upping the blue count for Disrupting Shoal. Bouncing our own creatures is not as much as a problem as it would seem, since we're generally in a good spot if we can transform Thing. EDIT: This could change again if Jace changes the meta significantly.
I cut a Vapor Snag and Remand for Roast and Abrade because I wanted more permanent answers, and the incidental burn was less relevant after cutting Swiftspear. Roast helps answer bigger threats and Abrade is just generally more useful against Lantern, Affinity, and Tron etc. It's nice to have a maindeck answer to Chalice of the Void. These are really the main flex slots for the deck in my view.
The fourth Swiftspear slot and singleton Deprive made way for a pair of Cryptic Commands. What can I say? Cryptic is fantastic, it just does everything. It's only a two-of, unfortunately, because the deck's land count is too low to support any more than that (Deprive, although sweet, is too much of a set back when trying to get to Cryptic mana), and upping the land count to play four just turns the deck into UR Pyromancer, which is not where I want to be. I like the aggression of Delver, and Shoal is a lot of fun to play with. We sacrifice some grinding capability for early game aggression and the cheapest interaction possible. I think that's definitely worth it, and it suits my play style down to the ground.
I'm really happy to be winning lots of games with a Delver deck in Modern, and when the it's firing on all cylinders, it feels almost like a Legacy deck. I think it's really powerful.
I tried the Disrupting Shoal route, and i was pretty impressed with it. Played 6 games against Eldrazi tron and only lost once with a resolved Chalice of the Void for 1 (all games it was met by Shoal:) ) Played 5 games against humans and only lost once with 2 Aether Vial in play. 4-0 against Elves. But got raped by Green Stompy Got a 1 game edge against GDS, vapor snag is mvp Chart a course is wow on this approach.
Played at an FNM-type event tonight. Played pretty well, but went 1-3.
Round 1, 2-0 against a weird Abzan Soul Sisters list. It was mostly BW splashing for Abrupt Decay. I feel like this deck has good game against these fair decks that aren't loaded to the gills with removal. Disrupting Shoal was a beating.
Round 2, 1-2 against Skred. I've never played against this deck before and didn't have a firm plan. Was able to tempo her out with some Swiftspears game 2, but she had more Bolts and Skreds than I had threats the other games.
Round 3, 1-2 against UW Bogles. This is weirdly a popular list locally, I found out tonight. Bogle, Invisible Stalker, Kor Spiritdancer, Stubborn Denial, and the usual suite of auras. When I could Shoal his T1 Bogle, I won. When I couldn't, I didn't. Being on the draw in this matchup sucks.
Round 4, 0-2 against Jund. This was a really fun match against a really good opponent and friend. I was hoping to play at least one round against Bloodbraid or Jace tonight, so this was it. The games were very close and super grindy, and I played really well here, playing to outs that I just didn't draw. Bloodbraid Elf is really good. Kolaghan's Command is an absolute beating.
So I was 4-6 in games tonight and that's not great. But other than the Skred matchup, I felt I played pretty well, and being pretty new with the deck and not getting to play very often, it felt okay. There's some tweaking to do here, and I think my list needs another threat, maybe a Clique or Obstructionist or Bedlam Reveler or the 4th Snapcaster or something, because often I just needed a little more beef on board. Young Pyromancer was the hero of the night and took over pretty much every game where I stuck him. Swiftspear also very good. I think I attacked with a flipped Delver twice tonight, which was odd. Bolt's good. Snag is fine but I'm going back to 2 copies, I think. Chart and Shoal were good. Spell Pierce, which I added last minute over Deprive, was not great. I may play a Mana Leak here instead.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
I'm going to experiment a little with Gemstone Mines because I needed a more versatile manabase in order to always have the right mana when needed, especially in the first turns (it sucks when you have only red cards in hand and only islands in play) . I thought this was the best "budget" since, for now, I can't afford fetch+shock lands.
Do you think it is a good idea? Or I must add fetch and/or shocks?
Seems fine for a budget deck. I would consider turning 1 Mutagenic Growth into an Apostle's Blessing as it can give you a way to break through chump blockers.
I'm refining a few slots for FNM this week. Added a Bedlam Reveler to the sideboard to help with the grindy matchups. Thinking also of a Clique somewhere in the 75. I value seeing hands, and miss Probe very much.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
I got stomped at FNM last night. Went 0-2-1 and won one game the whole night. It was brutal.
Round 1 against Death Shadow Jund and a great pilot. Lost in 2 games. Game 2 was one of those games of Magic where I saw 18 cards and 9 were lands. That happens. Game 1 was a grind but I came out on the losing side to a Rabblemaster and a Grim Flayer.
Round 2 was against this RW Stuffy Doll combo deck. I've whooped this guy in the past. Somehow we ended up with a draw G1 since we both died to the same spell. That was a first. Game 2 I ran out of answers for Boros Reckoner after a few Remands and a Vapor Snag, and was stuck on Steam Vents and Island when he Crumble to Dusted my Vents. At that point my only red sources were Mountain, 3 Tarns to get it, and any of 3 Canals, and I had several turns to find one before he could put enough pressure on to kill me, but it just didn't happen. Game 3 I smooshed him with two Swiftspears, a Pyromancer, and cantrips.
Round 3 was against Jeskai Humans. Lost a grindy G1 where he Vialed in a Magus of the Moon that did nothing against me, but ended up sticking a Purphoros of all things and my Pyromancers wept. Game 2 Thalia got me and eventually he won on the backs of 2 Thalia's Lieutenants, small Thalia, and big Thalia.
Overall a very disappointing night. I'm off the Breeding Pool and Ancient Grudge plan for now. I drew it a few times last night and it's just an awful Island, plus there seems to be no Lantern at the store and there are easier answers to artifacts without splashing green for Grudge. I've got a Bedlam Reveler in the side and think I may stick a pair in the main to give me a little better lategame.
I'm a gracious loser, but when I got home last night I was about ready to quit Modern. I think the deck has some legs, but it needs a great pilot, which I'm not, and to be tuned for a local meta, which mine isn't yet. I'm going to try a few things in UR, but I'm leaving open the possibility of morphing this into RUG to stick some actual threats in, like Goyf and Mandrills.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
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EDIT: I will admit that Set Adrift has been occasionally useful for dealing with the odd enchantment or planeswalker, but I think that it's more of a consideration for the sideboard.
What I have tried and loved is Cryptic Command as a 2 of. It does everything we need, and often casting just one is enough to seal or turn around a game. Yes, I'm aware that it's expensive, and difficult to cast, which is why it's only a two of, but I really think the pay off is worth it. Even the games in which I have had to wait a few turns to get the mana to cast it, it's been great. It provides interaction with lot of things that this deck struggles to interact with in game one, and I really think it's worth trying.
On another note, I really enjoyed seeing Pascal Vieren take that UR Pyromancer deck to the semis at the Pro Tour. Looked like a blast to play, and I'll definitely be giving it a spin at some point in the near future. What do you guys think of his list?
The UR Pyromancer deck had the distinct advantage of being an outsider deck: no one was ready for it (or for the Mardu Pyromancer deck being so popular). I think there's a lot of potential there (a bit like the "4-of" Jeskai Tempo deck last year, whose refined "Jeaskai Geist" version is now Tier One), but that the list could benefit from more refinement and testing. For example, I am not in love with Ancestral Vision, at least, not without a way to play it for free. There could be other tools that could offer card draw, like Think Twice, for example, which would trigger Pyro and Thing twice. There's also a lot of one-of cards in the main and the side, and the deck could be more consistent by making a more focuses selection.
In any case, it is easy to be a critic and hard to be an innovator: the deck looks like a ton of fun to play and the start of something great. I simply must congratulate Pascal Vieren's top 8 performance.
WBC Eldrazi & Taxes CBW
UR Keep on Cantripin' (UR Phoenix) RU
WU Surprise! It's not UW Control! (UW Midrange) UW
BG The Rock, Straight BG
U Mono-Blue Fish U
RBW Mardu Pyromancer BWR
RG Rabble! Rabble! (GR Blood Moon Aggro) GR
Legacy
W Death & Taxes W
I'm also not a huge fan of Ancestral Vision, though it did seem to pull its weight in the mardu matchup. It seems very slow for the faster matchups, outside of the turn one suspend. Maybe it's worth looking into Bedlam Reveler as a two of for refilling. I know it's not the best with counterspells, but Pascal's matches showed that there were plenty of times where he went hellbent in the mid-late game and Reveler would have been the best top deck. Speaking of the interaction with counterspells, I've always thought that if your counters are live, you just hold Reveler until you've cast them, and if they're dead, or you need to interact with the board rather than the stack, there's not much harm in ditching them for three new cards and a 3/4 prowess.
I love UR/x (straight UR above all) decks and I'm thrilled to see the UR control archetype doing so well. Both Frank Karsten and MTGgoldfish's Saffron Olive stated that the Madcap Moon deck did pretty good and, of course, the Vieren brother's list managed to top 8! I love the idea of forgoing the combo finishes to focus on getting value from your spells as is the spirit of UR. I'd love to take the deck for a spin but unfortunately I'm still a budget player and have no Snapcaster Mages so I'll be looking forward for any reports you may write on the deck. I think Reveler is not the way to go in such a reactive style of deck, if it hasn't worked in delver chances aren't much better for control. However, it is a strong card as the Mardu deck has proven and deserves some testing. On Ancestral Vision, I have not played with the card and I understand that it is very slow, but it does synergize with the main win cons in a way Reveler does not.
As a sidenote, the deck was built by Peter Vieren rather than Pascal, so it's him who will be the most equipped to answer questions.
On the topic of the Shoal lists you've all been discussing (absolutely love them btw, great job Boogelawoof), do you think it could be possible to run the list with no snaps? I currently play 2 Cryptic Serpents and an extra spell in their place.
Yeah I was aware that Peter built the deck, but given Pascals finish, it'd be good to hear what both have to say about the deck going forward.
On Shoal, I think if you're going to run it, you need ways to recoup the lost card advantage from using its alt cost. Chart a Course (with Pyromancer) is kind of the reason we can run Shoal now since it addresses that very issue, but Snapcaster is an important part of the card advantage engine, and chaining Snaps and Charts is a good way to pull ahead in longer games. It also helps to have a flash creature to attack out of nowhere and turn Chart on. And of course Snap-Bolt-Snap is still great. However, I don't think not having Snapcaster necessarily means you can't run shoal, it's just that you would either need another source of CA, possibly something like Augur of Bolas, or maybe try Titi and just go for a 'protect the queen' style of play. I mention those two cards because I'm also thinking about the number of 2-drops for Shoal's alt cost.
Ahh of course!
Yeah I know I won't really have a lategame until I get the snaps. That's why I play more like an aggro/tempo deck than a tempo/control one. On the brightside, the 2 Serpents give me some staying power as well as blanking Bolts and Pushes. I think I'll try a single shoal and see how it goes from there. Turn one threat and counter opp's removal seems super strong.
Recently I played online with this list, which is pretty basic and budget but is really going well.
5 Island
4 Mountain
4 Shivan Reef
4 Spirebluff Canal
//Instants
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Mana Leak
4 Mutagenic Growth
4 Opt
2 Spell Pierce
2 Twisted Image
2 Chart a Course
2 Distortion Strike
3 Lava Spike
4 Serum Visions
//Creatures
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
3 Stormchaser Mage
3 Young Pyromancer
Have you got any suggestions? (besides buying the fetches and the shocklands)
G Mono Green Stompy G
UR UR Delver Prowess UR
URBGrixis DelverURB
RBWMardu PyromancerRBW
There might be too many pump spells here for me. I'd rather have more protection for my stuff. Personally, I like the Disrupting Shoal package, as it allows you to tap out and still protect your threat.
Anyone going to jam JTMS in light of the unban? Or maybe change a few flex slots to deal with an influx of them?
I've thought about putting one or two in the side for grindy matchups. But I'm probably going to add another threat in place of the third Vapor Snag. I've toyed with Nimble Obstructionist in the past, and having an answer to a Jace activation or fetch plus a draw, or a 3 power evasive threat, or a 3 drop to pitch to Shoal seems good to me. Will test at FNM and report back.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
I think we actually go the other way and make the deck more low to the ground as creatures with haste are good against him.
Thanks for your feedback, maybe I can just cut 2 Twisted Image and a Mutagenic Growth for 3 Remands or 3 Shoals in order to have more protection.
Talking about Jace, I have to agree with GrixMage: we have to be more aggressive. I don't think that UR Delver needs to be such a control deck.
G Mono Green Stompy G
UR UR Delver Prowess UR
URBGrixis DelverURB
RBWMardu PyromancerRBW
Not playing them in Delver, it's a little top heavy for us.
EDIT:
I just thought I'd share my current list. It's ended up as a kind of hybrid between Delver and UR Pyromancer:
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Young Pyromancer
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Thing in the Ice
Cantrip (12)
4 Chart a Course
4 Opt
4 Serum Visions
Counter (9)
4 Disrupting Shoal
2 Cryptic Command
2 Mana Leak
1 Logic Knot
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Abrade
1 Roast
1 Vapor Snag
Land (18)
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Steam Vents
1 Breeding Pool
3 Island
1 Mountain
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Blood Moon
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Entrancing Melody
1 Dispel
I'm really happy to be winning lots of games with a Delver deck in Modern, and when the it's firing on all cylinders, it feels almost like a Legacy deck. I think it's really powerful.
Round 1, 2-0 against a weird Abzan Soul Sisters list. It was mostly BW splashing for Abrupt Decay. I feel like this deck has good game against these fair decks that aren't loaded to the gills with removal. Disrupting Shoal was a beating.
Round 2, 1-2 against Skred. I've never played against this deck before and didn't have a firm plan. Was able to tempo her out with some Swiftspears game 2, but she had more Bolts and Skreds than I had threats the other games.
Round 3, 1-2 against UW Bogles. This is weirdly a popular list locally, I found out tonight. Bogle, Invisible Stalker, Kor Spiritdancer, Stubborn Denial, and the usual suite of auras. When I could Shoal his T1 Bogle, I won. When I couldn't, I didn't. Being on the draw in this matchup sucks.
Round 4, 0-2 against Jund. This was a really fun match against a really good opponent and friend. I was hoping to play at least one round against Bloodbraid or Jace tonight, so this was it. The games were very close and super grindy, and I played really well here, playing to outs that I just didn't draw. Bloodbraid Elf is really good. Kolaghan's Command is an absolute beating.
So I was 4-6 in games tonight and that's not great. But other than the Skred matchup, I felt I played pretty well, and being pretty new with the deck and not getting to play very often, it felt okay. There's some tweaking to do here, and I think my list needs another threat, maybe a Clique or Obstructionist or Bedlam Reveler or the 4th Snapcaster or something, because often I just needed a little more beef on board. Young Pyromancer was the hero of the night and took over pretty much every game where I stuck him. Swiftspear also very good. I think I attacked with a flipped Delver twice tonight, which was odd. Bolt's good. Snag is fine but I'm going back to 2 copies, I think. Chart and Shoal were good. Spell Pierce, which I added last minute over Deprive, was not great. I may play a Mana Leak here instead.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
//Lands
4 Gemstone Mine
3 Island
2 Mountain
4 Shivan Reef
4 Spirebluff Canal
//Instants
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Mana Leak
3 Mutagenic Growth
4 Opt
2 Remand
1 Spell Pierce
2 Twisted Image
2 Vapor Snag
2 Chart a Course
3 Lava Spike
4 Serum Visions
//Creatures
1 Cryptic Serpent
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Monastery Swiftspear
3 Stormchaser Mage
2 Young Pyromancer
I'm going to experiment a little with Gemstone Mines because I needed a more versatile manabase in order to always have the right mana when needed, especially in the first turns (it sucks when you have only red cards in hand and only islands in play) . I thought this was the best "budget" since, for now, I can't afford fetch+shock lands.
Do you think it is a good idea? Or I must add fetch and/or shocks?
G Mono Green Stompy G
UR UR Delver Prowess UR
URBGrixis DelverURB
RBWMardu PyromancerRBW
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Round 1 against Death Shadow Jund and a great pilot. Lost in 2 games. Game 2 was one of those games of Magic where I saw 18 cards and 9 were lands. That happens. Game 1 was a grind but I came out on the losing side to a Rabblemaster and a Grim Flayer.
Round 2 was against this RW Stuffy Doll combo deck. I've whooped this guy in the past. Somehow we ended up with a draw G1 since we both died to the same spell. That was a first. Game 2 I ran out of answers for Boros Reckoner after a few Remands and a Vapor Snag, and was stuck on Steam Vents and Island when he Crumble to Dusted my Vents. At that point my only red sources were Mountain, 3 Tarns to get it, and any of 3 Canals, and I had several turns to find one before he could put enough pressure on to kill me, but it just didn't happen. Game 3 I smooshed him with two Swiftspears, a Pyromancer, and cantrips.
Round 3 was against Jeskai Humans. Lost a grindy G1 where he Vialed in a Magus of the Moon that did nothing against me, but ended up sticking a Purphoros of all things and my Pyromancers wept. Game 2 Thalia got me and eventually he won on the backs of 2 Thalia's Lieutenants, small Thalia, and big Thalia.
Overall a very disappointing night. I'm off the Breeding Pool and Ancient Grudge plan for now. I drew it a few times last night and it's just an awful Island, plus there seems to be no Lantern at the store and there are easier answers to artifacts without splashing green for Grudge. I've got a Bedlam Reveler in the side and think I may stick a pair in the main to give me a little better lategame.
I'm a gracious loser, but when I got home last night I was about ready to quit Modern. I think the deck has some legs, but it needs a great pilot, which I'm not, and to be tuned for a local meta, which mine isn't yet. I'm going to try a few things in UR, but I'm leaving open the possibility of morphing this into RUG to stick some actual threats in, like Goyf and Mandrills.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered