What's the best way to deal with RG Tron? Guy showed up at FNM last night playing Tron and we have a small group. We were all unprepared for it. I was thinking of running Spreading Seas as a way to slow him down. Is this viable?
What's the best way to deal with RG Tron? Guy showed up at FNM last night playing Tron and we have a small group. We were all unprepared for it. I was thinking of running Spreading Seas as a way to slow him down. Is this viable?
Cards like Blood Moon, Spreading Seas and Fulminator Mage aren't particularly useful unless you're backing it up with a quick clock. Seas imo is one of the weakest of the options. I personally prefer Fulminator because it attacks and can be recurred with Kommand, though Crumble kills the combo itself for good and can be Snapped back.
Either way, don't depend on sideboard cards to beat Tron. Your #1 goal is to hit the ground running and not letting up. Turn 1 Delver is often not enough. There are times where I'll just run a Snap out on turn 2 to quicken the clock. Tasigur is your boy since he comes out early and is easier to get turn 2 than Angler. Things that die to Pyroclasm/Kozilek's Return/Firespout are kinda sketchy to just dump on the battlefield, so be prepared with counter magic if you're relying on a couple of Delvers, Pyromancers or Snapcasters.
What's the best way to deal with RG Tron? Guy showed up at FNM last night playing Tron and we have a small group. We were all unprepared for it. I was thinking of running Spreading Seas as a way to slow him down. Is this viable?
Cards like Blood Moon, Spreading Seas and Fulminator Mage aren't particularly useful unless you're backing it up with a quick clock. Seas imo is one of the weakest of the options. I personally prefer Fulminator because it attacks and can be recurred with Kommand, though Crumble kills the combo itself for good and can be Snapped back.
Either way, don't depend on sideboard cards to beat Tron. Your #1 goal is to hit the ground running and not letting up. Turn 1 Delver is often not enough. There are times where I'll just run a Snap out on turn 2 to quicken the clock. Tasigur is your boy since he comes out early and is easier to get turn 2 than Angler. Things that die to Pyroclasm/Kozilek's Return/Firespout are kinda sketchy to just dump on the battlefield, so be prepared with counter magic if you're relying on a couple of Delvers, Pyromancers or Snapcasters.
What's the best way to deal with RG Tron? Guy showed up at FNM last night playing Tron and we have a small group. We were all unprepared for it. I was thinking of running Spreading Seas as a way to slow him down. Is this viable?
Cards like Blood Moon, Spreading Seas and Fulminator Mage aren't particularly useful unless you're backing it up with a quick clock. Seas imo is one of the weakest of the options. I personally prefer Fulminator because it attacks and can be recurred with Kommand, though Crumble kills the combo itself for good and can be Snapped back.
Either way, don't depend on sideboard cards to beat Tron. Your #1 goal is to hit the ground running and not letting up. Turn 1 Delver is often not enough. There are times where I'll just run a Snap out on turn 2 to quicken the clock. Tasigur is your boy since he comes out early and is easier to get turn 2 than Angler. Things that die to Pyroclasm/Kozilek's Return/Firespout are kinda sketchy to just dump on the battlefield, so be prepared with counter magic if you're relying on a couple of Delvers, Pyromancers or Snapcasters.
I think in G1 we really rely on turn 1 delver, turn 2 tasigur for aggresively hit them before they have their third piece of tron land hit the ground. Usually game 1 usually is unfavor toward us more coz this feel like gamble game. Game 2 is slightly better than game 1, i would use ghost quarter/fulminator/molten rain follow up by crumble given if we are going first. Going second might be need to play mind game with them given open mana for ready to counter the first karn or wurmcoil, same time with one or two fast clock in play.
@hugeelfboy Kevin Jones's list is a very very good starting point. Welcome to the most fun deck in modern
I Had already pulled the trigger. The list is working out great for me thus far. RG tron hasn't been too bad for me , nor has many other matches...nahiri control is about 50/50, and eldrazi tron is usually bad due to worlbreaker and cavern of souls main. other than that you are right; the deck is a blast to play and wins quite often, although most games come down to experience of the players luckily i have been playing modern for quite awhile and know the surprises that other decks offer.
One final flex choice question I have for you all is 2 k commands mainboard. I can see drawing 2 as being clunky against fast decks, but we often play a second in the sb anyway. Is it so clunky that we can't run 2 main and use that now free sideboard slot for a strong anti aggro card? Is that a metagame decision or just bad deckbuilding? Thanks!
I think it's totally correct to run 2 copies mainboard. We side it in 90% of games anyway, so why not open the slot. What about fast decks - we already have resources to spend during first turns (I mean bolts/terminates, spell snares/mana leaks etc) and Kommand is usually "control shot" against them - qualitive 2-1, which turns game in our favour.
Round 1 - Living End
Obviously this was irritating as I had consciously not put graveyard hate into the board, choosing instead to focus on other matchups.
In game one I sucessfully beat him down to 8 before living end was cast, despite holding a totally dead spell snare all game. I had no counters for living end in hand so he got three fatties. I nearly beat through this as I followed up with delver and immediately flipped it, then terminated faerie macabre in order to attack with no chance of him blocking, and then bolted him to two. However, he (having played two fulminator mages already that game) used a third mage to blow up my last red source, and i scrambled to use my two islands and hand of cantrips to find one, but in the end the lethal bolt in my hand did no good. In game two I boarded in all of my discard but had to mulligan to six to get lands so I couldn't prioritize them. Despite two fulminators resolving against me I was able to mana leak living end but he had a simian spirit guide to exile and pay.
Round 2 - Elves
This was a friend of mine (of whom I know the tendencies of so well) and favorable matchup so I thought I was in the clear. However, clutch topdecks of 2 shamans of the pack in a row and me drawing all three tasigurs over the course of the game made it an unwinnable one. I brought in thoughtseize and both angers. Game two a delver backed up by mana leak, mana leak and snapcaster easily tempo-ed him out. Unfortunately in game three a combination of a mulligan to six, a start for him of dork into heritage druid, dwynen's elite, archdruid, and a delver that refused to flip (in addition of course to not getting access to the sideboard tech) made that game similarly unwinnable.
Round three - BW Tokens
Lingering souls is your worst enemy as a delver player (burn and tron are harder matchups but no individual card is so annoying as souls), so I wasn't looking forward to the games ahead (I saw him next to me during my last round). However, he mulliganed to five game one and had only an inquisition in the first two turns, using which he took one of my two snapcasters. I played a t1 delver, flipped it, attacked, and had remand for his t3 souls. His t4 souls were electrolyzed, and his t5 flashback of souls were snap-electrolyzed. I boarded in chandra, the visions and all sorts of nonsense but ultimately a turn two tasigur and a turn 3 staticaster (neither of which were answered) made the rest of the board irrelevant.
Round 4 - Some sort of kiki-chord/hatebear deck with eldritch evolution (apparently this is a thing?)
The first game went really long but ultimately a timely mana leak for eldritch evolution, bedlam reveler and lethal burn (not to mention a terminate for ruric thar, at which, as soon as I saw it with probe, I immediately shouted "In the main?!?!" which almost got me a warning).
In game two I had a great agressive start but my plans were almost foiled by thragtusk and obstinate baloth, then later a reveillark that I actually had kill at that point, bringing back a voice and a pia and kiran with two thopters. Luckily I already had an anger in my hand and after that the game was fairly easy to close out despite him being at a healthy 30-some life.
Round 5 - Temur delver
Also a friend of mine. I had a pretty bad draw game one and faced early pressure from a goyf. when I was at 1 life I almost got back in it with a topdecked bedlam reveler, but it only drew two fetches and a thought scour while he on the other hand proceeded to topdeck a goyf. On the play in game two I fetched for a swamp and duressed his hand of 6, seeing misty rainforest, mandrills, stubborn denial, bolt, mana leak and thought scour. I look the leak. He played the forest, got a breeding pool and thought scoured away a land and a goyf. I played turn 2 delver backed by dispel while he continued to struggle on lands. I then snap duressed on turn three seeing more cantrips and took the bolt. He was able to at that point cast a mandrills. It dealt me 4 while I continued to pack in with delver and snapcaster on the backswing. When it attacked again I delved four and cut it, which was leaked, which was dispelled. In game three it went back and forth until I electrolyzed him which drew bolt, and then I topdecked bolt to kill him. At that point though he was inevitably going to lose anyway, the two points of burn necessary would have come somehow sooner or later and neither of us had creatures on board.
Round 6 - Nahiri Jeskai
at 3-2 with 50-60 entrants and tiebreakers up in the air this was for a possible top 8. It was a tough one. Despite efficiently dealing with every nahiri played, he continually burned face until I was within range of a single colonnade attack.
Game two was equally hard- I game out of the gates fast and had counters for all his removal. But somehow he gained incremental card advantage and ground me out, this time winning with emrakul but it didn't really matter, the game was lost once I had no creatures and no card in hand with him at a life total above 10.
Bottom line: ryan overturf is a lucky... well you know what I mean. 4 snaps was too much with the amount of quick pressure I was forced to apply to get wins, and also too many with 4 delve spells and only 18 lands. It also occasionally shut off Bedlam Reveler, but I feel snapcaster was still the problem there. Young pyromancer admittedly would probably not have been any better so we really need to find another idiot to fill the slot, as a low threat density makes us just a worse grixis control. Might as well take out the delvers and stick in ancestral vision, right? I have little idea where to go from here, but I'm considering bitterblossom and or death's shadow (or both, considering the synergy between the two). I also think the future of successful delver rests in an aggressive shell, that is, when they eventually do print the "idiot" we need. That's pretty much all I got, I hope this can spur some ideas.
Round 1 - Living End
Obviously this was irritating as I had consciously not put graveyard hate into the board, choosing instead to focus on other matchups.
In game one I sucessfully beat him down to 8 before living end was cast, despite holding a totally dead spell snare all game. I had no counters for living end in hand so he got three fatties. I nearly beat through this as I followed up with delver and immediately flipped it, then terminated faerie macabre in order to attack with no chance of him blocking, and then bolted him to two. However, he (having played two fulminator mages already that game) used a third mage to blow up my last red source, and i scrambled to use my two islands and hand of cantrips to find one, but in the end the lethal bolt in my hand did no good. In game two I boarded in all of my discard but had to mulligan to six to get lands so I couldn't prioritize them. Despite two fulminators resolving against me I was able to mana leak living end but he had a simian spirit guide to exile and pay.
Round 2 - Elves
This was a friend of mine (of whom I know the tendencies of so well) and favorable matchup so I thought I was in the clear. However, clutch topdecks of 2 shamans of the pack in a row and me drawing all three tasigurs over the course of the game made it an unwinnable one. I brought in thoughtseize and both angers. Game two a delver backed up by mana leak, mana leak and snapcaster easily tempo-ed him out. Unfortunately in game three a combination of a mulligan to six, a start for him of dork into heritage druid, dwynen's elite, archdruid, and a delver that refused to flip (in addition of course to not getting access to the sideboard tech) made that game similarly unwinnable.
Round three - BW Tokens
Lingering souls is your worst enemy as a delver player (burn and tron are harder matchups but no individual card is so annoying as souls), so I wasn't looking forward to the games ahead (I saw him next to me during my last round). However, he mulliganed to five game one and had only an inquisition in the first two turns, using which he took one of my two snapcasters. I played a t1 delver, flipped it, attacked, and had remand for his t3 souls. His t4 souls were electrolyzed, and his t5 flashback of souls were snap-electrolyzed. I boarded in chandra, the visions and all sorts of nonsense but ultimately a turn two tasigur and a turn 3 staticaster (neither of which were answered) made the rest of the board irrelevant.
Round 4 - Some sort of kiki-chord/hatebear deck with eldritch evolution (apparently this is a thing?)
The first game went really long but ultimately a timely mana leak for eldritch evolution, bedlam reveler and lethal burn (not to mention a terminate for ruric thar, at which, as soon as I saw it with probe, I immediately shouted "In the main?!?!" which almost got me a warning).
In game two I had a great agressive start but my plans were almost foiled by thragtusk and obstinate baloth, then later a reveillark that I actually had kill at that point, bringing back a voice and a pia and kiran with two thopters. Luckily I already had an anger in my hand and after that the game was fairly easy to close out despite him being at a healthy 30-some life.
Round 5 - Temur delver
Also a friend of mine. I had a pretty bad draw game one and faced early pressure from a goyf. when I was at 1 life I almost got back in it with a topdecked bedlam reveler, but it only drew two fetches and a thought scour while he on the other hand proceeded to topdeck a goyf. On the play in game two I fetched for a swamp and duressed his hand of 6, seeing misty rainforest, mandrills, stubborn denial, bolt, mana leak and thought scour. I look the leak. He played the forest, got a breeding pool and thought scoured away a land and a goyf. I played turn 2 delver backed by dispel while he continued to struggle on lands. I then snap duressed on turn three seeing more cantrips and took the bolt. He was able to at that point cast a mandrills. It dealt me 4 while I continued to pack in with delver and snapcaster on the backswing. When it attacked again I delved four and cut it, which was leaked, which was dispelled. In game three it went back and forth until I electrolyzed him which drew bolt, and then I topdecked bolt to kill him. At that point though he was inevitably going to lose anyway, the two points of burn necessary would have come somehow sooner or later and neither of us had creatures on board.
Round 6 - Nahiri Jeskai
at 3-2 with 50-60 entrants and tiebreakers up in the air this was for a possible top 8. It was a tough one. Despite efficiently dealing with every nahiri played, he continually burned face until I was within range of a single colonnade attack.
Game two was equally hard- I game out of the gates fast and had counters for all his removal. But somehow he gained incremental card advantage and ground me out, this time winning with emrakul but it didn't really matter, the game was lost once I had no creatures and no card in hand with him at a life total above 10.
Bottom line: ryan overturf is a lucky... well you know what I mean. 4 snaps was too much with the amount of quick pressure I was forced to apply to get wins, and also too many with 4 delve spells and only 18 lands. It also occasionally shut off Bedlam Reveler, but I feel snapcaster was still the problem there. Young pyromancer admittedly would probably not have been any better so we really need to find another idiot to fill the slot, as a low threat density makes us just a worse grixis control. Might as well take out the delvers and stick in ancestral vision, right? I have little idea where to go from here, but I'm considering bitterblossom and or death's shadow (or both, considering the synergy between the two). I also think the future of successful delver rests in an aggressive shell, that is, when they eventually do print the "idiot" we need. That's pretty much all I got, I hope this can spur some ideas.
No Young Pyro with 18 lands and G. Probes? it's really difficult to play the deck with 18 lands (we need to be lucky to get 2 lands on the first seven cards). That's why almost everyone is running 20 lands.
Hi everyone, normally play UB Fae but looking at giving Grixis a bit of a whirl for a bit.
Looking at buying the missing cards to fill out the Kevin Jones list, but just a few questions:
1. I'm not willing to drop money on the Scalding Tarns just yet, what would you advise out of 4 flooded strands, 4 polluted deltas, 2 bloodstained mires, or 4 mires, 4 deltas, 2 strands.
2. Bought the non-ancestral sideboard setup, and then foolishly spent more time on tcg and then bought the remaining avs anyway. So, this question becomes, 'When should I be siding them in? Just vs Jund/Jeskai?
Hi ya'll!
I recently started to put this deck together and was wondering, why I don't see any Young Pyromancer (pet card of mine) in any of the decks?
Anyway, this is the deck I've put together, including Young Pyromancer. Any constructive criticism is welcome (not that it derives much from the stock lists, but still).
Young Pyro was not what I wanted from a creature. I had three and gradually cut them down to 0 over the last year. That's one thing overturf definitely got right. However, I'm an 18 land deck because I want to be agressive. Sure I have snapcaster and kolaghan's command in the deck, but I'm not supposed to be a slower-midrangey build like what's currently popular. I see that as the wrong approach. I'm a tempo deck with a top end. I'd rather never get to 5 lands in a game. 3 is where it's at, and 4 is fine, and we can certainly operate on 2 for most of the game. My deck is based on the decks that were around following PT fate reforged.
Probe still fuels delve early on, and I really need a turn 2 delve creature or a turn 1 delver to win most of the time.
Edit: my point of this post was to state my opinion that overturf (and I guess jones as well) was wrong in his analysis of the archeype. This statement and the points that back it up are not connected to my results. Having minimal experience in actual modern tournaments (I've played the deck against friends for a year but only one other time in a tournament) and having zero gauge of the metagame meant I had to fight and play extremely tight to even get my 3-3 finish. Only 2 out of 57 showed up with affinity, which I thought would be one of the more popular decks compared to all the blue control decks and combo decks that turned out to be the popular choices. Stuff like that can't be helped. I had my "MTG gods hate me" round against one of my good matchups, etc. Anyway, overturf and jones view the deck as grixis control with delver in it. I don't. We're still a tempo deck that shoves in random powerful cards and hard answers to back up that plan. My approach to delver didn't lose me those rounds- if anything to do with deck choice was a factor, it was simply playing grixis.
Lots of people have turned away from peezer because the overturf/Jones version is shifting away from being a tempo deck and shifting towards an aggro-control deck. Basically these new list cut boltable threats for lands and more answers, to function as a grindy grixis control deck with a threat when it needs it. If we're cutting our boltable threats, peezer is the choice as its slower, double the cmc cost (although it functions more as a 3cmc card) and we get to cut git probe then too for more lands/answers.
I miss my peezy but I really am liking this new build.
Edit: also, about your build, I'd cut unsubstantiate. Go with around 6 2cmc counterspells split between mana leak and remand (favoring leak) and use your remaining counterspells slots for 1cmc counterspells. Probably spell snare, but dispel and spell pierce can work too
Round 1 vs. Death & Taxes, 1-1-1 Draw. Got tripped up by the usual hatebears (Leonin Arbiter, Aven Mindcensor) and didn’t know how to deal with newer cards (Thalia, Heretic Cathar and Selfless Spirit). Games dragged on. Third game started with 2 minutes left in the round. Engineered Explosives was handy to help blow up a Rest in Peace and an Arbiter, but I was too far behind by then.
Round 2 vs. Bogles, 2-0 Win. Easy win. Terminate their Kor Spiritdancer as they try to attach an aura to it. Kolaghan’s Command to shock their next Spiritdancer and get back a Tasigur from the graveyard. Another Kolaghan’s Command to shock a Spiritdancer and make them discard after mulling to five.
Round 3 vs. Gr Tron, 1-2 Loss. Outraced the combo on game 1. Almost had him again game 2 when he got Tron online with only 5 life left and he dropped two Wurmcoil Engine in consecutive turns. Dreadbore on one Karn Liberated, but another was soon to follow. Emrakul, the Promised End was in there, too. Biggest mistake in building my deck was only having one Crumble to Dust in the sideboard (could only find the one copy at home, my collection is a mess). I used Surgical Extraction as a substitute but it quickly became a dead card in my hand when he cracked a Relic of Progenitus.
Round 4 vs. Esper Polymorph, 2-1 Win. Game one he only played white/black lands and cards. It looked like a WB Tokens deck. He even Thoughtseize’d me, so I thought he was on more of a control tokens build. When I cast Vendilion Clique (the only time all day I got to cast Clique), I saw a full grip of Serum Visions, Spell Pierce and Mana Leak. Huh? Won game 1. On to game 2, he got me with the Polymorph on a spirit token into Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Didn’t top deck a response next turn so I scooped. Game three, I got Tasigur down on turn 2 and was able to wipe out his spirit tokens with Engineered Explosives on 0. Finally got to activate Tasigur, which got me back a Serum Visions, which allowed me to scry into a Bolt for the win.
Overall 2-1-1 (6-4-1). 110 Prize Tix, which I redeemed for 11 packs (6 SOI, 5 EMN) that I have yet to crack.
Thoughts on the deck...
Crumble to Dust - You *need* two in the sideboard, period. I paid dearly for this.
Ancestral Vision - Three max in the sideboard. I only boarded them in once, and only boarded in two of them (to replace two dead cards for the matchup) and hit one of them mid-game that powered me to a win.
Darkslick Shores - One fast land? Why? I did get to play it on turn 1 once and within the first three turns a couple more times. But, I don’t know how helpful it was. Almost want to replace it with a Drowned Catacomb, since I will always have an Island or Swamp out by the time I take my second turn.
Fetchlands - Ten fetch lands is likely too many. I also made the dumb play of cracking a fetchland when I didn’t have anything left in the library it could fetch. The list above runs 9 fetchable lands (5 shocks and 4 basics). As much as I want fetchlands to set up a turn 2 or 3 Tasigur/Angler, it's probably okay to cut back here. I’ll add in a Sulfur Falls if I cut one fetchland. Not sure what to add if I cut a second fetchland.
Izzet Charm - Surprise star in this deck. Only a singleton to fill a flex spot, but it sure does some work. Shock a creature, counter a noncreature spell, or loot two cards to get out of a land flood or set up for a Tasigur/Angler.
Delver of Secrets - Don’t go out of your way to protect a flipped Delver. He’s really only there to keep your opponent busy while you set up for Tasigur/Angler or the Bolt-Snap-Bolt. But, if they don’t find a way to deal with it quickly then you’ll be way ahead. And, you can get your Delvers back with Kolaghan’s Command.
Artifact hate - Sorely missing from my sideboard. Kolaghan’s Command can cover you in the first game. Vandalblast is good for spot removal but might be a bit too slow to cast for its overload cost versus Affinity.
Graveyard hate - I wanted to include Nihil Spellbomb in the sideboard but couldn’t find one at home (I told you my collection was a mess).
Vampiric Link - Never boarded it in. Never wanted to board it in. What is it used for?
Standard (KLD):UR Thermo-Thing Modern:UR Delver, URB Delver, URB Control, G Elves, WB Soul Sisters Legacy:UR Delver, URB Delver, G Elves EDH:GWTrostani, Selesnya's Voice, UBOona, Queen of the Fae
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Round 1: Mono-U Faeries 2-0
Seemed like a good premise, but tempos itself a lot with its counters and unable to present good pressure. Threats + burn got the job done handily. It did help that he flooded game 1 and got stuck on lands game 2.
Round 2: Abzan CoCo 2-0
Close game 1; prioritizing what to kill without taking too much damage. The 1-of YP worked great providing chump blockers. Game 2 had T1 delver with double Mana Leak, flipped Delver T2 off a Lightning Bolt, and that was that.
Round 3: 8-Rack 0-2
Damage race game 1. I was 1 turn away from winning, but he top-decked a Raven's Crime to get rid of my land I was holding, which gave me lethal damage on my upkeep before I could attack for the win. Creeping Tar Pit was a damage house, getting in at least 12 damage just on its own. Game 2 had to mulligan, he had T1 Rack, T2 double discard, T3 Liliana. That was that.
Round 3: Some Lingering Souls/Life from the Loam/Spirit of the Labyrinth/Raven's Crime/Geier Reach Sanitarium deck 2-0
I had the luck to have seen this deck in a previous round (long and grindy) so I had a slight idea what he was up to. He wants to buy time with discard and Souls so he can resolve Spirit of the Labyrinth and Geier Reach Sanitarium to lock you out of your draw step. There's also a Knight of the Reliquary in there for good measure too. Fortunately, other than her, Spirit Token beats, and that weird lock, there isn't a real threatening win condition. Long and grindy games fought through several cast/flashed back Lingering souls (at least 5 game 1 and 6 game 2). Surgical Extraction was clutch in grabbing Raven's Crime, but my graveyard was Bojuka Bog'd before a Loam made its way to the GY. I had enough to fill my yard several times and resolve several Tasigurs and Anglers. They bounced off Spirit Tokens before finally breaking through and killing along with Bolts. Tasigur activations and the combination of Snap + K command lend handily for long and grindy games.
Finished 3-1.
Individual cards
Crumble to Dust - I totally get what people say about Tron being totally unwinnable and needing more hate, but I've almost just conceded that matchup. I may even remove the one-of for something more impactful in other matchups. Tron is so bad that I would have to dedicate several slots just to have a fighting chance. I haven't faced Tron in a while, but it never feels good no matter what is in my board.
Countersquall - It's so good, I've considered running it main deck. May replace SB Dispel with a third Squall.
Slaughter Games - Was good when there was a lot of Nahiri, Ad Nauseam, and other highly-impactful synergy cards in the local meta. Will probably get cut moving forward. (Maybe cut along with Crumble for 2x Molten Rain)
Land choices: More or less, I love the manabase.
I loved Darkslick. I often didn't need 4 mana on turn 4 and it's amazing in the first 3 turns. Keeping 1-2 land hands is common, so opening lands NEED to come in untapped.
Unless it's Creeping Tar Pit. A one-of that did massive work in the 8 rack match that almost single handedly won me game 1. I think 1 is fine with 20 lands. Activating it isn't a problem, but it does complicate opening hands depending on the other cards
Desolate Lighthouse. Great in the long game, comes in untapped, fills the yard for delve/snap/k command, draws into gas.
Young Pyro/V Clique - When they're good they're great, when they're not, they're super bad. Will probably cut one of them for an additional Tasigur. I liked the 1 YP because if people see it, they assume more. I often board him out and only leave the fatties, making stuff like Engineered Explosives, Pyroclasm, and Anger of the Gods mostly dead.
Surgical Extraction - I love this one-of because it can just randomly wreck many decks. If anything, I would add another to the main or side. Being able to cast it, Snapcaster, cast it again for 1U can be back-breaking.
AV - It's always good in early turns, but I only ever cast it twice all night, despite boarding it in against just about every matchup.
I will definitely need to get Izzet Charm a try though. Looks very good.
Here is the deck I'm going to run for my local PPTQ this weekend. The Dredge success as of late has me a little worried as more SB hate for the graveyard may be incoming. I want to stay with Grixis Delver so I'm going to try a suggestion from a friend and side out the Snapcaster Mage's in G2/3 and switch over to three Young Pyromancer's hoping to go wide past them.
I also had in two Nihil Spellbomb's, but everything I read about Dredge seems to show they can still fight past a GY wipe (and with only two copies how many times will you see it). I'm going to try out Yixlid Jailer instead. Granted it locks my SM flashback out, but without the GY I can attack Dredge with an unflipped Delver and probably still win (not to mention the Jailer is hitting for 2 as well), plus Delve still works. I also realize they have Darkblast, but its max. 1 or 2 copies, which I can keep a counter up and they can't use it from the GY if the Jailer is in play anyway.
Only other non-standard change is switching out the Dispel main for a Spell Pierce. After some tests I sat there a load of times wanting to counter a utility sorcery or artifact, but was stuck only holding the Dispel. Spell Pierce is weaker as the game goes on, but great IMO in the first few turns.
Any suggestions would be appreciated (my Meta is unknown, old to Magic, but newly back to playing competitive).
Hey guys I'm currently working on building my grixis delver deck(going with the Jones build minus some pricier cards like tarn and AV) . I've been a commander player for the past 2 years and got into modern about 8 months ago with a budget mono red burn deck to play at FNM before commander started up..
I recently moved and money is tight so I've been gradually accumulating cards through pucatrade and just buying off tcg, but it's taking time. I'm wondering if you guys have any ideas that will help me get experience with the deck, I don't want to waste money on mtgo, and the deck is far from finished to use even if I just proxy(not to mention I just got a new job and can't currently make it to modern nights at any shops within at least an hour of my house). I feel like I'm kinda just SOL here..
Thanks for any info and I'm excited to be getting into grixis delver!
Build UR delver first using swiftspears instead of snaps (you should have those I'd you play burn) next get the Kahn's fetches, get a decent grixis manabase and tasigurs, anglers and proxy for snaps
I have a couple 4 steam vents on their way, ordered more than I needed by accident, I'm gonna trade those for some deltas, and was gonna pick up some flooded strands... I also have 2 snapcaster on their way as well..
As for finding ways to test, just find someone you enjoy spending time with that has an interest in the game and proxy something up for them. You don't need to play at a LGS to get a feel for how things should work, and by playing with someone new to the deck, you get a feel mis-steps/bad plays from both sides of the table, and if you can both learn at the same speed, you will learn faster than just being repeatedly stomped. If you can help each other postgame you will learn matchups faster, and it will give you a wider understanding of the field.
I returned to MTG when Shadows dropped after a 14 year break, my kid was turning 13 and I didn't like the idea of buying 2 a minimum of 2 standard decks per season, so we spent months drafting/pre-releasing/playing sealed/etc while proxying legacy and modern decks and finding what worked for us. (As a side note, in hindsight I should have videotaped us playing proxied legacy, was goddamn hilariously bad). Over the time, we pretty much proxied most of the t1/t2 decks and got a feel of how they worked and I actually just bought new sleeves for each new deck to keep them ready. From it, I got to learn and buy into UB Fae and Grixis Delver, and he got into RG Tron which I'm slowly throwing around $50-60 a month at based on grades and junk.
Failing having someone you can reliably chill with and learn, I'd then just recommend cockatrice or xmage, too. But, results may vary there, I hate the interfaces so much I never got past a few games with each of them, I'd rather just learn with the kid.
I have a couple 4 steam vents on their way, ordered more than I needed by accident, I'm gonna trade those for some deltas, and was gonna pick up some flooded strands... I also have 2 snapcaster on their way as well..
I was about to say "but it is" until I scrolled up lol
Cards like Blood Moon, Spreading Seas and Fulminator Mage aren't particularly useful unless you're backing it up with a quick clock. Seas imo is one of the weakest of the options. I personally prefer Fulminator because it attacks and can be recurred with Kommand, though Crumble kills the combo itself for good and can be Snapped back.
Either way, don't depend on sideboard cards to beat Tron. Your #1 goal is to hit the ground running and not letting up. Turn 1 Delver is often not enough. There are times where I'll just run a Snap out on turn 2 to quicken the clock. Tasigur is your boy since he comes out early and is easier to get turn 2 than Angler. Things that die to Pyroclasm/Kozilek's Return/Firespout are kinda sketchy to just dump on the battlefield, so be prepared with counter magic if you're relying on a couple of Delvers, Pyromancers or Snapcasters.
URW Control
WBG Abzan
GRW Burn
EDH
GR Rosheen Meanderer
I think in G1 we really rely on turn 1 delver, turn 2 tasigur for aggresively hit them before they have their third piece of tron land hit the ground. Usually game 1 usually is unfavor toward us more coz this feel like gamble game. Game 2 is slightly better than game 1, i would use ghost quarter/fulminator/molten rain follow up by crumble given if we are going first. Going second might be need to play mind game with them given open mana for ready to counter the first karn or wurmcoil, same time with one or two fast clock in play.
WDeath and TaxesW
RWGBurnGWR
I think it's totally correct to run 2 copies mainboard. We side it in 90% of games anyway, so why not open the slot. What about fast decks - we already have resources to spend during first turns (I mean bolts/terminates, spell snares/mana leaks etc) and Kommand is usually "control shot" against them - qualitive 2-1, which turns game in our favour.
BTW, congratulations on coming back to Tier2!
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Gurmag Angler
1 Bedlam Reveler
4 Serum Visions
4 Thought Scour
3 Gitaxian Probe
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Electrolyze
2 Terminate
1 Murderous Cut
1 Dreadbore
3 Mana Leak
2 Remand
1 Spell Snare
1 Dispel
4 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Steam Vents
1 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Darkslick Shores
2 Island
1 Swamp
2 Ancestral Vision
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Vampiric Link
2 Duress
1 Thoughtseize
1 Vandalblast
1 Dispel
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Flashfreeze
Here is my report, round by round of the event.
Round 1 - Living End
Obviously this was irritating as I had consciously not put graveyard hate into the board, choosing instead to focus on other matchups.
In game one I sucessfully beat him down to 8 before living end was cast, despite holding a totally dead spell snare all game. I had no counters for living end in hand so he got three fatties. I nearly beat through this as I followed up with delver and immediately flipped it, then terminated faerie macabre in order to attack with no chance of him blocking, and then bolted him to two. However, he (having played two fulminator mages already that game) used a third mage to blow up my last red source, and i scrambled to use my two islands and hand of cantrips to find one, but in the end the lethal bolt in my hand did no good. In game two I boarded in all of my discard but had to mulligan to six to get lands so I couldn't prioritize them. Despite two fulminators resolving against me I was able to mana leak living end but he had a simian spirit guide to exile and pay.
Round 2 - Elves
This was a friend of mine (of whom I know the tendencies of so well) and favorable matchup so I thought I was in the clear. However, clutch topdecks of 2 shamans of the pack in a row and me drawing all three tasigurs over the course of the game made it an unwinnable one. I brought in thoughtseize and both angers. Game two a delver backed up by mana leak, mana leak and snapcaster easily tempo-ed him out. Unfortunately in game three a combination of a mulligan to six, a start for him of dork into heritage druid, dwynen's elite, archdruid, and a delver that refused to flip (in addition of course to not getting access to the sideboard tech) made that game similarly unwinnable.
Round three - BW Tokens
Lingering souls is your worst enemy as a delver player (burn and tron are harder matchups but no individual card is so annoying as souls), so I wasn't looking forward to the games ahead (I saw him next to me during my last round). However, he mulliganed to five game one and had only an inquisition in the first two turns, using which he took one of my two snapcasters. I played a t1 delver, flipped it, attacked, and had remand for his t3 souls. His t4 souls were electrolyzed, and his t5 flashback of souls were snap-electrolyzed. I boarded in chandra, the visions and all sorts of nonsense but ultimately a turn two tasigur and a turn 3 staticaster (neither of which were answered) made the rest of the board irrelevant.
Round 4 - Some sort of kiki-chord/hatebear deck with eldritch evolution (apparently this is a thing?)
The first game went really long but ultimately a timely mana leak for eldritch evolution, bedlam reveler and lethal burn (not to mention a terminate for ruric thar, at which, as soon as I saw it with probe, I immediately shouted "In the main?!?!" which almost got me a warning).
In game two I had a great agressive start but my plans were almost foiled by thragtusk and obstinate baloth, then later a reveillark that I actually had kill at that point, bringing back a voice and a pia and kiran with two thopters. Luckily I already had an anger in my hand and after that the game was fairly easy to close out despite him being at a healthy 30-some life.
Round 5 - Temur delver
Also a friend of mine. I had a pretty bad draw game one and faced early pressure from a goyf. when I was at 1 life I almost got back in it with a topdecked bedlam reveler, but it only drew two fetches and a thought scour while he on the other hand proceeded to topdeck a goyf. On the play in game two I fetched for a swamp and duressed his hand of 6, seeing misty rainforest, mandrills, stubborn denial, bolt, mana leak and thought scour. I look the leak. He played the forest, got a breeding pool and thought scoured away a land and a goyf. I played turn 2 delver backed by dispel while he continued to struggle on lands. I then snap duressed on turn three seeing more cantrips and took the bolt. He was able to at that point cast a mandrills. It dealt me 4 while I continued to pack in with delver and snapcaster on the backswing. When it attacked again I delved four and cut it, which was leaked, which was dispelled. In game three it went back and forth until I electrolyzed him which drew bolt, and then I topdecked bolt to kill him. At that point though he was inevitably going to lose anyway, the two points of burn necessary would have come somehow sooner or later and neither of us had creatures on board.
Round 6 - Nahiri Jeskai
at 3-2 with 50-60 entrants and tiebreakers up in the air this was for a possible top 8. It was a tough one. Despite efficiently dealing with every nahiri played, he continually burned face until I was within range of a single colonnade attack.
Game two was equally hard- I game out of the gates fast and had counters for all his removal. But somehow he gained incremental card advantage and ground me out, this time winning with emrakul but it didn't really matter, the game was lost once I had no creatures and no card in hand with him at a life total above 10.
Bottom line: ryan overturf is a lucky... well you know what I mean. 4 snaps was too much with the amount of quick pressure I was forced to apply to get wins, and also too many with 4 delve spells and only 18 lands. It also occasionally shut off Bedlam Reveler, but I feel snapcaster was still the problem there. Young pyromancer admittedly would probably not have been any better so we really need to find another idiot to fill the slot, as a low threat density makes us just a worse grixis control. Might as well take out the delvers and stick in ancestral vision, right? I have little idea where to go from here, but I'm considering bitterblossom and or death's shadow (or both, considering the synergy between the two). I also think the future of successful delver rests in an aggressive shell, that is, when they eventually do print the "idiot" we need. That's pretty much all I got, I hope this can spur some ideas.
No Young Pyro with 18 lands and G. Probes? it's really difficult to play the deck with 18 lands (we need to be lucky to get 2 lands on the first seven cards). That's why almost everyone is running 20 lands.
Looking at buying the missing cards to fill out the Kevin Jones list, but just a few questions:
1. I'm not willing to drop money on the Scalding Tarns just yet, what would you advise out of 4 flooded strands, 4 polluted deltas, 2 bloodstained mires, or 4 mires, 4 deltas, 2 strands.
2. Bought the non-ancestral sideboard setup, and then foolishly spent more time on tcg and then bought the remaining avs anyway. So, this question becomes, 'When should I be siding them in? Just vs Jund/Jeskai?
I recently started to put this deck together and was wondering, why I don't see any Young Pyromancer (pet card of mine) in any of the decks?
Anyway, this is the deck I've put together, including Young Pyromancer. Any constructive criticism is welcome (not that it derives much from the stock lists, but still).
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Instant and sorceries (27)
4 Thought Scour
4 Serum Visions
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Mana Leak
2 Unsubstantiate
3 Remand
2 Terminate
1 Kolaghan's Command
1 Electrolyze
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Steam Vents
1 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Desolate Lighthouse
Probe still fuels delve early on, and I really need a turn 2 delve creature or a turn 1 delver to win most of the time.
Edit: my point of this post was to state my opinion that overturf (and I guess jones as well) was wrong in his analysis of the archeype. This statement and the points that back it up are not connected to my results. Having minimal experience in actual modern tournaments (I've played the deck against friends for a year but only one other time in a tournament) and having zero gauge of the metagame meant I had to fight and play extremely tight to even get my 3-3 finish. Only 2 out of 57 showed up with affinity, which I thought would be one of the more popular decks compared to all the blue control decks and combo decks that turned out to be the popular choices. Stuff like that can't be helped. I had my "MTG gods hate me" round against one of my good matchups, etc. Anyway, overturf and jones view the deck as grixis control with delver in it. I don't. We're still a tempo deck that shoves in random powerful cards and hard answers to back up that plan. My approach to delver didn't lose me those rounds- if anything to do with deck choice was a factor, it was simply playing grixis.
I miss my peezy but I really am liking this new build.
Edit: also, about your build, I'd cut unsubstantiate. Go with around 6 2cmc counterspells split between mana leak and remand (favoring leak) and use your remaining counterspells slots for 1cmc counterspells. Probably spell snare, but dispel and spell pierce can work too
GP Portland - Modern Side Event 2016-08-13
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Gurmag Angler
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Serum Visions
4 Thought Scour
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Spell Snare
3 Mana Leak
2 Remand
3 Terminate
1 Dreadbore
1 Izzet Charm
2 Kolaghan's Command
1 Electrolyze
4 Polluted Delta
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Steam Vents
2 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
1 Darkslick Shores
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
4 Ancestral Vision
2 Dispel
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Magma Spray
1 Vandalblast
1 Crumble to Dust
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Countersquall
1 Vampiric Link
Round 1 vs. Death & Taxes, 1-1-1 Draw. Got tripped up by the usual hatebears (Leonin Arbiter, Aven Mindcensor) and didn’t know how to deal with newer cards (Thalia, Heretic Cathar and Selfless Spirit). Games dragged on. Third game started with 2 minutes left in the round. Engineered Explosives was handy to help blow up a Rest in Peace and an Arbiter, but I was too far behind by then.
Round 2 vs. Bogles, 2-0 Win. Easy win. Terminate their Kor Spiritdancer as they try to attach an aura to it. Kolaghan’s Command to shock their next Spiritdancer and get back a Tasigur from the graveyard. Another Kolaghan’s Command to shock a Spiritdancer and make them discard after mulling to five.
Round 3 vs. Gr Tron, 1-2 Loss. Outraced the combo on game 1. Almost had him again game 2 when he got Tron online with only 5 life left and he dropped two Wurmcoil Engine in consecutive turns. Dreadbore on one Karn Liberated, but another was soon to follow. Emrakul, the Promised End was in there, too. Biggest mistake in building my deck was only having one Crumble to Dust in the sideboard (could only find the one copy at home, my collection is a mess). I used Surgical Extraction as a substitute but it quickly became a dead card in my hand when he cracked a Relic of Progenitus.
Round 4 vs. Esper Polymorph, 2-1 Win. Game one he only played white/black lands and cards. It looked like a WB Tokens deck. He even Thoughtseize’d me, so I thought he was on more of a control tokens build. When I cast Vendilion Clique (the only time all day I got to cast Clique), I saw a full grip of Serum Visions, Spell Pierce and Mana Leak. Huh? Won game 1. On to game 2, he got me with the Polymorph on a spirit token into Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Didn’t top deck a response next turn so I scooped. Game three, I got Tasigur down on turn 2 and was able to wipe out his spirit tokens with Engineered Explosives on 0. Finally got to activate Tasigur, which got me back a Serum Visions, which allowed me to scry into a Bolt for the win.
Overall 2-1-1 (6-4-1). 110 Prize Tix, which I redeemed for 11 packs (6 SOI, 5 EMN) that I have yet to crack.
Thoughts on the deck...
Crumble to Dust - You *need* two in the sideboard, period. I paid dearly for this.
Ancestral Vision - Three max in the sideboard. I only boarded them in once, and only boarded in two of them (to replace two dead cards for the matchup) and hit one of them mid-game that powered me to a win.
Darkslick Shores - One fast land? Why? I did get to play it on turn 1 once and within the first three turns a couple more times. But, I don’t know how helpful it was. Almost want to replace it with a Drowned Catacomb, since I will always have an Island or Swamp out by the time I take my second turn.
Fetchlands - Ten fetch lands is likely too many. I also made the dumb play of cracking a fetchland when I didn’t have anything left in the library it could fetch. The list above runs 9 fetchable lands (5 shocks and 4 basics). As much as I want fetchlands to set up a turn 2 or 3 Tasigur/Angler, it's probably okay to cut back here. I’ll add in a Sulfur Falls if I cut one fetchland. Not sure what to add if I cut a second fetchland.
Izzet Charm - Surprise star in this deck. Only a singleton to fill a flex spot, but it sure does some work. Shock a creature, counter a noncreature spell, or loot two cards to get out of a land flood or set up for a Tasigur/Angler.
Delver of Secrets - Don’t go out of your way to protect a flipped Delver. He’s really only there to keep your opponent busy while you set up for Tasigur/Angler or the Bolt-Snap-Bolt. But, if they don’t find a way to deal with it quickly then you’ll be way ahead. And, you can get your Delvers back with Kolaghan’s Command.
Artifact hate - Sorely missing from my sideboard. Kolaghan’s Command can cover you in the first game. Vandalblast is good for spot removal but might be a bit too slow to cast for its overload cost versus Affinity.
Graveyard hate - I wanted to include Nihil Spellbomb in the sideboard but couldn’t find one at home (I told you my collection was a mess).
Vampiric Link - Never boarded it in. Never wanted to board it in. What is it used for?
Modern: UR Delver, URB Delver, URB Control, G Elves, WB Soul Sisters
Legacy: UR Delver, URB Delver, G Elves
EDH: GWTrostani, Selesnya's Voice, UBOona, Queen of the Fae
Find me on MTGO and Twitter with the same username
2x Kolaghan's Command
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Mana Leak
1x Murderous Cut
2x Remand
3x Spell Snare
1x Surgical Extraction
2x Terminate
4x Thought Scour
Creature (13)
4x Delver of Secrets
1x Gurmag Angler
4x Snapcaster Mage
2x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1x Vendilion Clique
1x Young Pyromancer
1x Dreadbore
4x Serum Visions
Land (20)
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Darkslick Shores
1x Desolate Lighthouse
2x Island
1x Mountain
4x Polluted Delta
4x Scalding Tarn
2x Steam Vents
1x Swamp
1x Watery Grave
4x Ancestral Vision
2x Anger of the Gods
2x Countersquall
1x Crumble to Dust
1x Dispel
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Magma Spray
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Shatterstorm
1x Slaughter Games
Round 1: Mono-U Faeries 2-0
Seemed like a good premise, but tempos itself a lot with its counters and unable to present good pressure. Threats + burn got the job done handily. It did help that he flooded game 1 and got stuck on lands game 2.
Round 2: Abzan CoCo 2-0
Close game 1; prioritizing what to kill without taking too much damage. The 1-of YP worked great providing chump blockers. Game 2 had T1 delver with double Mana Leak, flipped Delver T2 off a Lightning Bolt, and that was that.
Round 3: 8-Rack 0-2
Damage race game 1. I was 1 turn away from winning, but he top-decked a Raven's Crime to get rid of my land I was holding, which gave me lethal damage on my upkeep before I could attack for the win. Creeping Tar Pit was a damage house, getting in at least 12 damage just on its own. Game 2 had to mulligan, he had T1 Rack, T2 double discard, T3 Liliana. That was that.
Round 3: Some Lingering Souls/Life from the Loam/Spirit of the Labyrinth/Raven's Crime/Geier Reach Sanitarium deck 2-0
I had the luck to have seen this deck in a previous round (long and grindy) so I had a slight idea what he was up to. He wants to buy time with discard and Souls so he can resolve Spirit of the Labyrinth and Geier Reach Sanitarium to lock you out of your draw step. There's also a Knight of the Reliquary in there for good measure too. Fortunately, other than her, Spirit Token beats, and that weird lock, there isn't a real threatening win condition. Long and grindy games fought through several cast/flashed back Lingering souls (at least 5 game 1 and 6 game 2). Surgical Extraction was clutch in grabbing Raven's Crime, but my graveyard was Bojuka Bog'd before a Loam made its way to the GY. I had enough to fill my yard several times and resolve several Tasigurs and Anglers. They bounced off Spirit Tokens before finally breaking through and killing along with Bolts. Tasigur activations and the combination of Snap + K command lend handily for long and grindy games.
Finished 3-1.
Individual cards
Crumble to Dust - I totally get what people say about Tron being totally unwinnable and needing more hate, but I've almost just conceded that matchup. I may even remove the one-of for something more impactful in other matchups. Tron is so bad that I would have to dedicate several slots just to have a fighting chance. I haven't faced Tron in a while, but it never feels good no matter what is in my board.
Countersquall - It's so good, I've considered running it main deck. May replace SB Dispel with a third Squall.
Slaughter Games - Was good when there was a lot of Nahiri, Ad Nauseam, and other highly-impactful synergy cards in the local meta. Will probably get cut moving forward. (Maybe cut along with Crumble for 2x Molten Rain)
Land choices: More or less, I love the manabase.
I loved Darkslick. I often didn't need 4 mana on turn 4 and it's amazing in the first 3 turns. Keeping 1-2 land hands is common, so opening lands NEED to come in untapped.
Unless it's Creeping Tar Pit. A one-of that did massive work in the 8 rack match that almost single handedly won me game 1. I think 1 is fine with 20 lands. Activating it isn't a problem, but it does complicate opening hands depending on the other cards
Desolate Lighthouse. Great in the long game, comes in untapped, fills the yard for delve/snap/k command, draws into gas.
Young Pyro/V Clique - When they're good they're great, when they're not, they're super bad. Will probably cut one of them for an additional Tasigur. I liked the 1 YP because if people see it, they assume more. I often board him out and only leave the fatties, making stuff like Engineered Explosives, Pyroclasm, and Anger of the Gods mostly dead.
Surgical Extraction - I love this one-of because it can just randomly wreck many decks. If anything, I would add another to the main or side. Being able to cast it, Snapcaster, cast it again for 1U can be back-breaking.
AV - It's always good in early turns, but I only ever cast it twice all night, despite boarding it in against just about every matchup.
I will definitely need to get Izzet Charm a try though. Looks very good.
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
Burn, specifically Eidolon of the Great Revel.
Here is the deck I'm going to run for my local PPTQ this weekend. The Dredge success as of late has me a little worried as more SB hate for the graveyard may be incoming. I want to stay with Grixis Delver so I'm going to try a suggestion from a friend and side out the Snapcaster Mage's in G2/3 and switch over to three Young Pyromancer's hoping to go wide past them.
I also had in two Nihil Spellbomb's, but everything I read about Dredge seems to show they can still fight past a GY wipe (and with only two copies how many times will you see it). I'm going to try out Yixlid Jailer instead. Granted it locks my SM flashback out, but without the GY I can attack Dredge with an unflipped Delver and probably still win (not to mention the Jailer is hitting for 2 as well), plus Delve still works. I also realize they have Darkblast, but its max. 1 or 2 copies, which I can keep a counter up and they can't use it from the GY if the Jailer is in play anyway.
Only other non-standard change is switching out the Dispel main for a Spell Pierce. After some tests I sat there a load of times wanting to counter a utility sorcery or artifact, but was stuck only holding the Dispel. Spell Pierce is weaker as the game goes on, but great IMO in the first few turns.
Any suggestions would be appreciated (my Meta is unknown, old to Magic, but newly back to playing competitive).
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Gurmag Angler
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Young Pyromancer
Spells (27)
4 Serum Visions
4 Thought Scour
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Gitaxian Probe
3 Terminate
2 Mana Leak
2 Forked Bolt
2 Kolaghan's Command
1 Spell Pierce
1 Electrolyze
1 Murderous Cut
4 Polluted Delta
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Steam Vents
2 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
1 Drowned Catacomb
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
2 Yixlid Jailer
2 Young Pyromancer
2 Dispel
2 Negate
2 Vampiric Link
2 Rough // Tumble
1 Vandalblast
1 Spell Snare
1 Izzet Staticaster
http://www.cubetutor.com/visualspoiler/20765
I recently moved and money is tight so I've been gradually accumulating cards through pucatrade and just buying off tcg, but it's taking time. I'm wondering if you guys have any ideas that will help me get experience with the deck, I don't want to waste money on mtgo, and the deck is far from finished to use even if I just proxy(not to mention I just got a new job and can't currently make it to modern nights at any shops within at least an hour of my house). I feel like I'm kinda just SOL here..
Thanks for any info and I'm excited to be getting into grixis delver!
I returned to MTG when Shadows dropped after a 14 year break, my kid was turning 13 and I didn't like the idea of buying 2 a minimum of 2 standard decks per season, so we spent months drafting/pre-releasing/playing sealed/etc while proxying legacy and modern decks and finding what worked for us. (As a side note, in hindsight I should have videotaped us playing proxied legacy, was goddamn hilariously bad). Over the time, we pretty much proxied most of the t1/t2 decks and got a feel of how they worked and I actually just bought new sleeves for each new deck to keep them ready. From it, I got to learn and buy into UB Fae and Grixis Delver, and he got into RG Tron which I'm slowly throwing around $50-60 a month at based on grades and junk.
Failing having someone you can reliably chill with and learn, I'd then just recommend cockatrice or xmage, too. But, results may vary there, I hate the interfaces so much I never got past a few games with each of them, I'd rather just learn with the kid.
Some great budget options for UR Delver (and recently updated) here: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/budget-modern/545304-primer-cheapo-ur-delver-updated-june-2016
It may not be the strongest deck in the world, but it should certainly hold its own at FNM-style events.
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate