2. What is the deck doing exactly besides putting cards in the graveyard? It looks like it is just going to durdle around, kill a few creatures/permanents, then die.
I recommend cutting most (or all) of your one-of's. Go to Scryfall and search for cards that interact with the Graveyard in Black/Green. EmeticLunch has some good ideas with the creatures he mentioned. Another great graveyard payoff is Bone Dragon.
There is 0% chance that Wizards would ever import Modern Cards.
MTGA is set up to create an online platform that is modern (unlike MTGO, which I still love, Go Cube!), profitable (micro-transactions :flame:), and is welcoming to newer players who may be unfamiliar with Magic: The Gathering. They saw how profitable Hearthstone was/is, and to be honest, Magic is simply a better game than Hearthstone both in complexity and replay value.
On the brightside, I don't see a reason MTGO will ever be "unsupported". It will be similar to the game Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. Blizzard still has a small team (I want to say 1-4 people) who work with the game, keep it updated and fix bugs. My only concern would be if Wizards stops adding new sets to MTGO, but I feel like we are still years away from that date.
Who knows, maybe as more people get involved with MTGA they will find interest in the great format of Modern and start playing MTGO
Is there a place we can find your mammoth sized post?
I'm sure it'll be easy to find a spot in the deck if you're having regular matches against Valakut, Tron, or KCI. It's all a matter of where that hate balances out. Are we going to dedicate 4 SB slots right away to send a message to the meta? Are we going to test the waters with 1 then up the numbers? I'm sure many will be mixed on how to approach that part and it will have to do with their current meta.
I have zero (seriously) of the three mentioned decks in my meta, so even though I'm picking up Ego, I won't be listing them right away.
1) Seems silly to test a card by playing 1 in the Sideboard. If you want to test it you should run multiple so you actually draw it (and draw it early!)
2) I live in Minneapolis right by Universe Games. Do you ever play during the week?
Note that with the addition of Guilds of Ravnica, we're aligning the pool of available cards on MTG Arena with Standard. When Open Beta starts, you'll be able to get the following sets: Ixalan, Rivals of Ixalan, Dominaria, Core Set 2019, and, of course, Guilds of Ravnica. We are committed to ultimately providing a format for MTG Arena post-rotations, so once we have settled on how set rotation works, next year we will likely return previous sets to the system, including Kaladesh, Aether Revolt, Amonkhet, and Hour of Devastation.
This is the first time I've seen Wizards actually go on record for a non-rotating Arena format: note that they say "post-rotations" plural, not just post-rotation singular. I think there was a vague reference earlier to the so-called rotation problem, but this kind of more explicit acknowledgement deserves discussion. I'm particularly nervous about how this would affect MTGO collections, in addition to its impact on Modern.
Arena is adding a pauper-style format that exists within the standard-legal sets but will allow only commons. Hence referencing multiple rotations.
Is there a source for this? That doesn't seem to resolve the so-called rotation problem at all, as only your commons would retain post-rotation value. This format almost certainly refers to a new post-Arena Modernesque format
I think what BlueTron is saying is that having a Pauper-Standard format with the same rotation will lead to a much smaller card pool during certain instances (like the current one, for example). The Pauper-Standard (Or Pauper-MTGA) format will need to be as large as the current standard to have a good variety and meta-game. I believe that is what the "Multiple rotations" is mentioning.
too weak imo (although i believe running less than 4 snap is a big mistake).
i mean its better than Twincast, but its just not a good card. not playable imo.
surveil is not bad (i think the value ascribed to scry 1 is 1/4 card, so scry2 is 1/2 card plus a bit of grave fuel.
i just dont think we have the time to play this. snap blocks and swings, this doesnt. how many games have i won with snap beats? a ton. this is way worse.
Couple of things:
1) Surveil is much better than scry.
2) This would be used in conjunction with snap, not as a replacement.
As for the card itself, it is amazing. It is going to be a staple in every format without question. The better question we have is what does it give grixis control?
At first glance, the card is a combination of a 2-mana Thought Scour (puts 2 cards in bin, plus itself) and snapcaster mage (without the body). Seems extremely playable in this type of deck, but as you brought up, it could be a hair too slow. However, with BGx decks becoming more popular, the meta should slow down. If that is the case, look out for this card. This is another card that absolutely crushes BGx matchups (like snap and cryptic).
I think with a lot of current builds running discard, this thing is nuts, especially in conjunction with the new surveil discard card at 2 mana.
First off I recommend only running one Logic Knot in your 75.
The whole point of Logic Knot is that it is versatile, with the drawback on requiring 2 blue mana. It can be used as a force spike early, Mana Leak mid-game, and counterspell late game. It has a flexibility that other 2 mana "counters" dont.
One aspect that you seem to be overlooking is its ability to coincide and compliment with tasigur. Sculpting your graveyard in long, grindy games is crucial, and the ability to delve away 5, or even 10 cards in the late game can be game changing.
I am under the belief that 4 or 5 delve spells are ideal, and the choice between murderous cut or logic knot is generally that 5th spell. Logic Knot gives you a hard counter while Murderous Cut gives you a Path to Exile.
thanks for sharing your list and thoughts. I really like your list, except for the murderous cut (i just believe push is better) and the dreadbore. Gonna give the 3x remand a try. Im also curious how maindeck discard is working out for you, been toying with the idea, but i keep going back to my 7 counters.
18 lands is quite tight, i think i prefer 19, but maybe with the 3x remand, and the electrolyze, its manageable.
Would you be so kind to make a little sideboard guide(lines)
cheers, and thanks for sharing.
Hey mate, I changed my list to this after doing some more research, reading this thread (mostly older posts) and some more testing.
So, a couple of changes, I added an extra land and switched up the mana base. I currently have 17/13/13 for sources, but I am debating on changing the Sulfur Falls for another fetch land (either another blue or just another Bloodstained Mire). The mana base was too painful at 18 and getting stuck on two lands is a terrible feeling. Swapping out one Young Pyromancer for a Vendilion Clique is more of a personal choice, but I really like having "some" sort of information, and certain cards are hard to beat with this deck. Moving the Dreadbore to the sideboard allows me to play 24 instants with Serum Visions being the only main deck sorcery. I cut the discard for a Deprive and Logic Knot as they aren't noticeably more difficult to cast than Mana Leak and are far better against decks we struggle with; Tron and Spaceshift. For the sideboard, cutting down Disdainful Strokes wasn't easy, but my local meta does not have as many "big mana decks" as online, but still enough for the card to be useful.
My plan is to be able to interact for turns 1-3 (we almost always lose game 1), try and stick a threat turn 3-4 and then ride that threat out. I cut some of my 3 drops for cheaper spells, essentially trading our normal 2-1 or 3-1 in Kolaghan's Command and Electrolyze for Collective Brutality and then Terminate and a delver of secrets for counter magic.
UW Control:
I have not faced this matchup very much. I would imagine bringing in 1 or 2 dispel and two 2 Countersquall for a fatal push, terminate, and electrolyze is the play here. Maybe even a 2nd terminate or Murderous Cut for a Disdainful Stroke.
Why the Brutality? We aren't beating a "resolved" Prime Time, so removal does not look like our friend. Brutality can strip a ramp spell or spaceshift, and deal two damage. My main goal here is to stick a threat and get a clock going ASAP. Disdainful Stroke hits Hour of Promise, Spaceshift, and Primetime.
I like to keep in my Fatal Push's to take out their creatures. Kolaghan's Command doesn't do enough in this matchup, and I would rather have counter magic. I tend to be very active with my counters, even trading one for one early with them can set them back far enough where they can't go off. Pay attention to their graveyard and hand size.
You need to Spell Snare chalice on two. You need counter magic on two for this matchup, which makes playing on the draw difficult, which is one of the reasons for the Smash to Smithereens.
GDS
I love this matchup for some reason. One, they do a lot of damage to themselves. Two, we have chump blockers and the same size creatures. Three, we have fliers. Four, we have a ton of cheap interaction. Five, we have a ton of reach. I don't know how many times I have bolt-snap-bolt and then bolt again and deal 9+ damage to close out a game here. I always try to keep heavy draw/filtering hands or a hand with Nihil Spellbomb. Remanding a delve threat feels great. Honestly, you don't need to sideboard here, but you can put in Nihil Spellbomb depending on your list.
Affinity
-1 Vendillion Clique
-2 Terminate
+1 Ceremonious Rejection
+1 Collective Brutality
+1 Smash to Smithereens
Yeah, this is an interesting one. When your removal lines up it feels great. I just try to keep them off of Cranial Plating and then try and race, which is actually rather each given our interaction and larger fliers. Electrolyze and Kolaghan's Command are always a 2-1. Make sure to keep interaction-heavy hands post-board. I like Brutality because it helps race and kills a majority of their threats while giving us bonus health. Rejection should be obvious, and Smash helps us race as well.
Side Note: I have my first "big" event this weekend and I am super excited. I have been jamming 1-2 leagues per day online and constantly changing 2-4 cards, but I am set with this 75 for the event. It is a PPTQ at the biggest store in the Twin Cities area so I expect there to be a big turnout. Unfortunately I don't have time to get extra practice in tomorrow or friday but I am feeling confident nonetheless.
why the discard mainboard and not more tempo oriented cards?
I asked myself the same question and cut them. After doing more research (specifically reading some higher level SCG articles), I realized that discard should be an "all or nothing" type of action. Considering that I only played two, it was very easy for me to take them out. When I compounded that thought with the fact that I prefer remand and other "counters" (not mana leak), I cut them without hesitation.
Hey, I know this is probably not a place to discuss budget brews, but I feel like it would be better asked here...
Right now, I'm not running Snapcaster Mages (eventually will, of course), and I was wondering how good Kolaghan's Command is without them? I'm already rnning one, but I'm debating whether a second one will be good right now, or if I should get another Collective Brutality or something else instead? Or is it actually a viable play to revive an Angler or a Delver?
To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't play this deck without Snapcaster. He is just so good and allows you to get back in games you otherwise shouldn't have, allows you to close out games, and anything in between.
If you insist on playing this deck without Snapcaster God, I would try something lower to the ground, maybe even a UR Delver type list. 4x Swiftspear, 4x Young Peezy, 4x Delver, 2x Grim Lavamancer and then some extra burn.
I have been having a lot of success with this list on MTGO. In my last 5 run's through Competitive League's I have finished 4-1 4 times and then had one run end up 2-3.
Young Pyromancer - Go wide strategies and cards like Young Pyromancer are so difficult to deal with for many decks. Grixis Death's Shadow struggles mightily against this guy, and the clock he can put on decks with out 29 Instant/Sorceries is a beating. He also covers an area for this deck that it is inherently weak to, Planeswalkers.
Remand over Mana Leak, Deprive, and Logic Knot - Our deck is a tempo deck, and being able to slow down an opponent while allowing us to stay even in cards is exactly what this deck needs. Snapcaster Mage, flashing back a Remand feels so great and allows us to dig deeper for an answer to a problem, or allows us to get that much closer to closing out the game against many decks we are trying to race. Let's not forget remanding a delve threat
Murderous Cut - This card has been great for me as a 1-of. Considering I only run 18 mana (which I will cover later) and only 3 delve threats, this card reads "Pay 1 Black, destroy a creature". I would recommend running this card over a 3rd terminate if you were to cut anything in this list (likely for a 19th land). Considering I am running only 2 fatal Push's, this is also a clean answer to Master of Waves.
Dreadbore - One of the most difficult problems of this deck, as mentioned above, is planeswalkers. This one-of is rarely a bad draw and being able to snipe out a problematic planeswalker is very meaningful against a few decks in the meta. Again, along with 1 terminite, I could see this being a 4th Remand or another land.
Mana Base - 18 Lands? Yes. With only Three 3-drops and 11 cantrips, this deck can manage with 18 lands. I am likely to bump up to 19 lands if I am losing games because of mana, but so far that hasn't been a big issue.
Side Board:
Disdainful Stroke - What a noob! Not! Tron and RG Valakut have been our most difficult matches in the past, and bring in Disdainful Stroke has been nothing but amazing against these decks, specifically RG Valakut. It used to be Countersquall, but that does not stop a Prime Time. Terminate hits PrimeTime after the damage has already been done, and I hate trying to attack a mana base as it is difficult at instant speed, and honestly, attacking a mana base is simply a speed bump. I have loved this card, but playing 3 may be the right number.
Grave hate - I try and race decks that utilize the graveyard, but the spell bombs are excellent because they are cheap and replace themselves.
I am happy that people are still playing this deck and taking it in their own way. Yes, DeathShadow is great, but often times a flipped delver can "get there" against them in a way that Death Shadow can't.
Interesting list. Has Chandra been working for you? Because at first glance, she seems kinda weird in a draw-go control deck like this.
Also, which matchups would you say are the hardest for this deck? And which cards would you remove for Dynavolt Tower?
Chandra works well, but I take her our in a fair amount of matchups. She is fantastic in the mirror, she is great if you can play her on an "empty" board or a board with a single x/4 (or less toughness) creature. Her ability to kill a lot of the 3 toughness threats I mentioned earlier, pound 2 against a resolved walker, or get a hulk on line turn 5 can be great.
You are right, she does seem awkward in a draw-go style deck, but I only cast her when the board is clear, and as a 1-of I don't see her often, but when I do, I am generally happy. Her versatility allows her to shine in many games, especially in the mid-late game.
The toughest matchups are Mardu Vehicles and BG variants. The BG variants (Counters and Energy) can grind extremely well, and then the creatures get out of range of magma spray/harnessed lightning. This deck does great against zombies (I don't think I've lost a match), has a decent matchup against Temur Energy. Ironically, Chandra does a very good job against both our weakest matchups.
Edit: For the Tower, I would take out 1 anticipate, 1 censor, and I am unsure of the last card. Perhaps it is moving Chandra to the sideboard.
I've started playing UR control few weeks ago and went 7-0-2 in matches in last 3 local tournaments (played vs mirror & esper control, vs jund gods, vs mardu machines, etc)
One interesting thing I've found is that my sideboard plans all had one thing in common:
-4 Torrential Gearhulk
-3 Censor (I play only 3)
-something else, depending on matchup
+4 Thing in the Ice
+2 Dragonmaster Outcast
+4 Dispel
+1 Negate
+something else
So, what your thoughts on siding out all gearhulks and becoming more lighter tempo deck?
I don't like it. Against good competition they know you do this. Whenever I play Online Qualifiers or Competitive Leagues, people keep in their cheap removal for g2 expecting exactly this. I do have to question the level of competition you have been playing against if this strategy works. If you want to actually go the "tempo" route, I would run 2-4 Stormchaser Mage and cut the DragonMaster Outcast.
I have been having good success with a few 3-2 and 4-1 finishes recently (since Marvel ban) in competitive league's and qualifiers online. Here is my list.
I am planning on giving Dynavolt Tower a try. The card is great against midrange decks, and that seems to be the theme of current decks. It also deals with the pesky x/3's in the format AND Planeswalkers (which the deck sucks against) including all these creatures:
That doesn't even include all the x/2 it kills off of a Glimmer or one of our counter spells. I think it could have a great place (again) in a deck like this, where Planeswalkers and out of range of Magma Spray cards just do work against us.
2. What is the deck doing exactly besides putting cards in the graveyard? It looks like it is just going to durdle around, kill a few creatures/permanents, then die.
I recommend cutting most (or all) of your one-of's. Go to Scryfall and search for cards that interact with the Graveyard in Black/Green. EmeticLunch has some good ideas with the creatures he mentioned. Another great graveyard payoff is Bone Dragon.
MTGA is set up to create an online platform that is modern (unlike MTGO, which I still love, Go Cube!), profitable (micro-transactions :flame:), and is welcoming to newer players who may be unfamiliar with Magic: The Gathering. They saw how profitable Hearthstone was/is, and to be honest, Magic is simply a better game than Hearthstone both in complexity and replay value.
On the brightside, I don't see a reason MTGO will ever be "unsupported". It will be similar to the game Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. Blizzard still has a small team (I want to say 1-4 people) who work with the game, keep it updated and fix bugs. My only concern would be if Wizards stops adding new sets to MTGO, but I feel like we are still years away from that date.
Who knows, maybe as more people get involved with MTGA they will find interest in the great format of Modern and start playing MTGO
1) Seems silly to test a card by playing 1 in the Sideboard. If you want to test it you should run multiple so you actually draw it (and draw it early!)
2) I live in Minneapolis right by Universe Games. Do you ever play during the week?
I think what BlueTron is saying is that having a Pauper-Standard format with the same rotation will lead to a much smaller card pool during certain instances (like the current one, for example). The Pauper-Standard (Or Pauper-MTGA) format will need to be as large as the current standard to have a good variety and meta-game. I believe that is what the "Multiple rotations" is mentioning.
Couple of things:
1) Surveil is much better than scry.
2) This would be used in conjunction with snap, not as a replacement.
As for the card itself, it is amazing. It is going to be a staple in every format without question. The better question we have is what does it give grixis control?
At first glance, the card is a combination of a 2-mana Thought Scour (puts 2 cards in bin, plus itself) and snapcaster mage (without the body). Seems extremely playable in this type of deck, but as you brought up, it could be a hair too slow. However, with BGx decks becoming more popular, the meta should slow down. If that is the case, look out for this card. This is another card that absolutely crushes BGx matchups (like snap and cryptic).
I think with a lot of current builds running discard, this thing is nuts, especially in conjunction with the new surveil discard card at 2 mana.
Be aware that recent lists are running some number of Ensnaring Bridge's in so Abrade is a good call.
2x Opt
2x Faithless Looting
4x Thought Scour
4x Street Wraith
4x Gurmag Angler
4x Death's Shadow
4x Snapcaster Mage
1x Kolaghan's Command
2x Fatal Push
2x Lightning Bolt
1x Dreadbore
1x Dismember
2x Stubborn Denial
4x Thoughtsieze
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Polluted Delta
4x Scalding Tarn
3x Bloodstained Mire
2x Watery Grave
1x Steam Vents
1x Blood Crypt
1x Swamp
1x Island
1x Negate
1x Stubborn Denial
2x Young Pyromancer
1x Grim Lavamancer
1x Temur Battle Rage
1x Ratchet Bomb
1x Pyroclasm
1x Disdainful Stroke
1x Search for Azcanta
2x Ceremonious Rejection
2x Nihil Spellbomb
1x Liliana, the Last Hope
The whole point of Logic Knot is that it is versatile, with the drawback on requiring 2 blue mana. It can be used as a force spike early, Mana Leak mid-game, and counterspell late game. It has a flexibility that other 2 mana "counters" dont.
One aspect that you seem to be overlooking is its ability to coincide and compliment with tasigur. Sculpting your graveyard in long, grindy games is crucial, and the ability to delve away 5, or even 10 cards in the late game can be game changing.
I am under the belief that 4 or 5 delve spells are ideal, and the choice between murderous cut or logic knot is generally that 5th spell. Logic Knot gives you a hard counter while Murderous Cut gives you a Path to Exile.
Hey mate, I changed my list to this after doing some more research, reading this thread (mostly older posts) and some more testing.
4x Delver of Secrets
1x Young Pyromancer
1x Vendilion Clique
4x Snapcaster Mage
2x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1x Gurmag Angler
Instants (24)
4x Thought Scour
2x Spell Snare
2x Fatal Push
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Remand
3x Terminate
1x Logic Knot
1x Deprive
2x Kolaghan's Command
1x Electrolyze
1x Murderous Cut
4x Serum Visions
Mana Base (19)
4x Polluted Delta
4x Scalding Tarn
1x Bloodstained Mire
2x Watery Grave
1x Steam Vents
2x Island
1x Swamp
1x mountain
1x Spirebluff Canal
1x Darkslick Shores
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Ceremonious Rejection
2x Dispel
2x Disdainful Stroke
2x Countersquall
1x Anger of the Gods
2x Collective Brutality
1x Izzet Staticaster
2x Nihil Spellbomb
1x Dreadbore
1x Smash to Smithereens
So, a couple of changes, I added an extra land and switched up the mana base. I currently have 17/13/13 for sources, but I am debating on changing the Sulfur Falls for another fetch land (either another blue or just another Bloodstained Mire). The mana base was too painful at 18 and getting stuck on two lands is a terrible feeling. Swapping out one Young Pyromancer for a Vendilion Clique is more of a personal choice, but I really like having "some" sort of information, and certain cards are hard to beat with this deck. Moving the Dreadbore to the sideboard allows me to play 24 instants with Serum Visions being the only main deck sorcery. I cut the discard for a Deprive and Logic Knot as they aren't noticeably more difficult to cast than Mana Leak and are far better against decks we struggle with; Tron and Spaceshift. For the sideboard, cutting down Disdainful Strokes wasn't easy, but my local meta does not have as many "big mana decks" as online, but still enough for the card to be useful.
Sideboard:
Burn:
-1 Kolaghan's Command
-3 Terminate
-1 Delver of Secrets
-1 Electrolyze
+2 Countersquall
+2 Dispel
+2 Collective Brutality
My plan is to be able to interact for turns 1-3 (we almost always lose game 1), try and stick a threat turn 3-4 and then ride that threat out. I cut some of my 3 drops for cheaper spells, essentially trading our normal 2-1 or 3-1 in Kolaghan's Command and Electrolyze for Collective Brutality and then Terminate and a delver of secrets for counter magic.
UW Control:
I have not faced this matchup very much. I would imagine bringing in 1 or 2 dispel and two 2 Countersquall for a fatal push, terminate, and electrolyze is the play here. Maybe even a 2nd terminate or Murderous Cut for a Disdainful Stroke.
-1 fatal push
-1 terminate
-1 electrolyze
+1 dispel
+2 Countersquall
TitanShift
Pray
-2 Fatal Push
-2 terminate
-1 Murderous Cut
-1 Electrolyze
+2 Disdainful Stroke
+2 Collective Brutality
+2 Countersquall
Why the Brutality? We aren't beating a "resolved" Prime Time, so removal does not look like our friend. Brutality can strip a ramp spell or spaceshift, and deal two damage. My main goal here is to stick a threat and get a clock going ASAP. Disdainful Stroke hits Hour of Promise, Spaceshift, and Primetime.
UR Storm
-3 Terminate
-1 Electrolyze
-1 Murderous Cut
-2 Kolaghan's Command
+2 countersquall
+2 Dispel
+2 Collective Brutality
+1 Nihil Spellbomb
I like to keep in my Fatal Push's to take out their creatures. Kolaghan's Command doesn't do enough in this matchup, and I would rather have counter magic. I tend to be very active with my counters, even trading one for one early with them can set them back far enough where they can't go off. Pay attention to their graveyard and hand size.
Eldrazi Tron
Pray
-1 Electrolyze
-2 Fatal Push
-1 Vendilion Clique
+1 Ceremonious Rejection
+2 Disdainful Stroke
+1 Smash to Smithereens
You need to Spell Snare chalice on two. You need counter magic on two for this matchup, which makes playing on the draw difficult, which is one of the reasons for the Smash to Smithereens.
GDS
I love this matchup for some reason. One, they do a lot of damage to themselves. Two, we have chump blockers and the same size creatures. Three, we have fliers. Four, we have a ton of cheap interaction. Five, we have a ton of reach. I don't know how many times I have bolt-snap-bolt and then bolt again and deal 9+ damage to close out a game here. I always try to keep heavy draw/filtering hands or a hand with Nihil Spellbomb. Remanding a delve threat feels great. Honestly, you don't need to sideboard here, but you can put in Nihil Spellbomb depending on your list.
Affinity
-1 Vendillion Clique
-2 Terminate
+1 Ceremonious Rejection
+1 Collective Brutality
+1 Smash to Smithereens
Yeah, this is an interesting one. When your removal lines up it feels great. I just try to keep them off of Cranial Plating and then try and race, which is actually rather each given our interaction and larger fliers. Electrolyze and Kolaghan's Command are always a 2-1. Make sure to keep interaction-heavy hands post-board. I like Brutality because it helps race and kills a majority of their threats while giving us bonus health. Rejection should be obvious, and Smash helps us race as well.
Side Note: I have my first "big" event this weekend and I am super excited. I have been jamming 1-2 leagues per day online and constantly changing 2-4 cards, but I am set with this 75 for the event. It is a PPTQ at the biggest store in the Twin Cities area so I expect there to be a big turnout. Unfortunately I don't have time to get extra practice in tomorrow or friday but I am feeling confident nonetheless.
I asked myself the same question and cut them. After doing more research (specifically reading some higher level SCG articles), I realized that discard should be an "all or nothing" type of action. Considering that I only played two, it was very easy for me to take them out. When I compounded that thought with the fact that I prefer remand and other "counters" (not mana leak), I cut them without hesitation.
To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't play this deck without Snapcaster. He is just so good and allows you to get back in games you otherwise shouldn't have, allows you to close out games, and anything in between.
If you insist on playing this deck without Snapcaster God, I would try something lower to the ground, maybe even a UR Delver type list. 4x Swiftspear, 4x Young Peezy, 4x Delver, 2x Grim Lavamancer and then some extra burn.
4x Delver of Secrets
4x Snapcaster Mage
2x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1x Gurmag Angler
2x Young Pyromancer
Instants (26)
4x Serum Visions
4x Thought Scour
2x Spell Snare
2x Fatal Push
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Remand
3x Terminate
2x Kolaghan's Command
1x Electrolyze
1x Murderous Cut
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Dreadbore
Mana Base (18)
4x Polluted Delta
4x Scalding Tarn
2x Bloodstained Mire
2x Watery Grave
2x Steam Vents
2x Island
1x Swamp
1x Spirebluff Canal
1x Blood Crypt
2x Ceremonious Rejection
1x Dispel
4x Disdainful Stroke
2x Countersquall
1x Anger of the Gods
2x Collective Brutality
1x Izzet Staticaster
2x Nihil Spellbomb
Notable card choices:
Young Pyromancer - Go wide strategies and cards like Young Pyromancer are so difficult to deal with for many decks. Grixis Death's Shadow struggles mightily against this guy, and the clock he can put on decks with out 29 Instant/Sorceries is a beating. He also covers an area for this deck that it is inherently weak to, Planeswalkers.
Remand over Mana Leak, Deprive, and Logic Knot - Our deck is a tempo deck, and being able to slow down an opponent while allowing us to stay even in cards is exactly what this deck needs. Snapcaster Mage, flashing back a Remand feels so great and allows us to dig deeper for an answer to a problem, or allows us to get that much closer to closing out the game against many decks we are trying to race. Let's not forget remanding a delve threat
Murderous Cut - This card has been great for me as a 1-of. Considering I only run 18 mana (which I will cover later) and only 3 delve threats, this card reads "Pay 1 Black, destroy a creature". I would recommend running this card over a 3rd terminate if you were to cut anything in this list (likely for a 19th land). Considering I am running only 2 fatal Push's, this is also a clean answer to Master of Waves.
Dreadbore - One of the most difficult problems of this deck, as mentioned above, is planeswalkers. This one-of is rarely a bad draw and being able to snipe out a problematic planeswalker is very meaningful against a few decks in the meta. Again, along with 1 terminite, I could see this being a 4th Remand or another land.
Mana Base - 18 Lands? Yes. With only Three 3-drops and 11 cantrips, this deck can manage with 18 lands. I am likely to bump up to 19 lands if I am losing games because of mana, but so far that hasn't been a big issue.
Side Board:
Disdainful Stroke - What a noob! Not! Tron and RG Valakut have been our most difficult matches in the past, and bring in Disdainful Stroke has been nothing but amazing against these decks, specifically RG Valakut. It used to be Countersquall, but that does not stop a Prime Time. Terminate hits PrimeTime after the damage has already been done, and I hate trying to attack a mana base as it is difficult at instant speed, and honestly, attacking a mana base is simply a speed bump. I have loved this card, but playing 3 may be the right number.
Grave hate - I try and race decks that utilize the graveyard, but the spell bombs are excellent because they are cheap and replace themselves.
I am happy that people are still playing this deck and taking it in their own way. Yes, DeathShadow is great, but often times a flipped delver can "get there" against them in a way that Death Shadow can't.
Chandra works well, but I take her our in a fair amount of matchups. She is fantastic in the mirror, she is great if you can play her on an "empty" board or a board with a single x/4 (or less toughness) creature. Her ability to kill a lot of the 3 toughness threats I mentioned earlier, pound 2 against a resolved walker, or get a hulk on line turn 5 can be great.
You are right, she does seem awkward in a draw-go style deck, but I only cast her when the board is clear, and as a 1-of I don't see her often, but when I do, I am generally happy. Her versatility allows her to shine in many games, especially in the mid-late game.
The toughest matchups are Mardu Vehicles and BG variants. The BG variants (Counters and Energy) can grind extremely well, and then the creatures get out of range of magma spray/harnessed lightning. This deck does great against zombies (I don't think I've lost a match), has a decent matchup against Temur Energy. Ironically, Chandra does a very good job against both our weakest matchups.
Edit: For the Tower, I would take out 1 anticipate, 1 censor, and I am unsure of the last card. Perhaps it is moving Chandra to the sideboard.
I don't like it. Against good competition they know you do this. Whenever I play Online Qualifiers or Competitive Leagues, people keep in their cheap removal for g2 expecting exactly this. I do have to question the level of competition you have been playing against if this strategy works. If you want to actually go the "tempo" route, I would run 2-4 Stormchaser Mage and cut the DragonMaster Outcast.
I have been having good success with a few 3-2 and 4-1 finishes recently (since Marvel ban) in competitive league's and qualifiers online. Here is my list.
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
4 Harnessed Lightning
2 Magma Spray
3 Sweltering Suns
3 Disallow
1 Void Shatter
4 Censor
1 Negate
2 Essence Scatter
1 horribly awry
4 Glimmer of Genius
2 Hieroglyphic Illumination
2 Anticipate
1 Pull from Tomorrow
4 Wandering Fumarole
9 Island
4 Mountain
4 Aether Hub
2 Dispel
3 Negate
1 Essence Scatter
1 Dragonmaster Outcast
2 incendiary flow
2 Thing in the Ice
2 magma spray
I am planning on giving Dynavolt Tower a try. The card is great against midrange decks, and that seems to be the theme of current decks. It also deals with the pesky x/3's in the format AND Planeswalkers (which the deck sucks against) including all these creatures:
That doesn't even include all the x/2 it kills off of a Glimmer or one of our counter spells. I think it could have a great place (again) in a deck like this, where Planeswalkers and out of range of Magma Spray cards just do work against us.
2x Nimble-blade Khenra
1x Nef-crop entangler
1x bloodrage brawler
1x battlefield scavenger
2x miasmic mummy
3 drops
1x Baleful Ammit
2x wasteland scorpion
2x thresher lizard
1x neheb, the worthy
2x merciless javelineer
5 drops
1x horror of the broken lands
Non-Creature
1x cartouche of zeal
1x consuming fervor
1x brute strength
1x splendid agony
1x wander in death
1x electrify
1x liliana, death's majesty
1x stir the sands
1x wander in death
1x unburden
1x cartouche of zeal
1x fling
1x tormenting voice
2x pursue glory