Davirel doesn't seem that great because he's very vulnerable to damage. You can get at least one discard out of him, which is great, and he'll be amazing against decks that can't aggro him, but he's going to be lackluster against the creature decks that can hit him for 2 easily. I think he's going to take at most 2 slots in the main but could be a good 4-of in the sideboard for the control match-ups. For example, he could take the place of Delerium Skeins easily.
The card I'm far more excited about is Liliana's Triumph. It will be great against creature decks and dropping a Liliana will just make it amazing. It's instant-speed too.
The one-of Adiliz is interesting. I don't like the sorcery speed, but it seems to have worked. It also has a main-deck Roast and Izzet Charm. I'm also not sure what the Gut Shots in the sideboard are for.
I've been running two Surgical Extraction as my graveyard-hate of choice lately. It's nice because it costs no mana (tempo!) and hits a wide variety of decks with particularly troubling cards. Other options, like Relic of Progenitus, just feel a bit too slow most of the time.
However, I saw the success of dredge at the SCG Open last weekend. My shop has a lot of ex-dredge players and I wouldn't be surprised if I see a lot of dredge decks for a month. This has me asking what I should include in the side-board.
Our main-deck plan of burning some of their creatures, countering some of their spells and trying to win with tempo mostly works, but Creeping Chill really makes that annoying because they randomly get a few uncounterable Lightning Helix.
The options seem to be:
Surgical Extraction - Still probably a great card. I'm running 2, maybe should go up to 3.
Relic of Progenitus - A bit slow, but replaces itself. The first mode is basically useless against Dredge.
Graffdigger's Cage - A strong card, but uses up a draw. Probably the most "permanent" solution. However, it doesn't affect many other decks that are popular right now.
Magma Spray - I'm running two of these anyhow. I was thinking of swapping for a different removal spell, but exile is more important than ever.
Lava Coil - It's a new one that hits a little harder than a bolt and has that exile clause. Can do double-duty against larger creatures and recursion.
Hmmm, this card is interesting. It's probably not worth it over Raven's Crime because it doesn't have Retrace, but it's nice to see some more solid one-mana discard spells being printed.
Mission Briefing feels a little weak. It's like Snapcaster, but with a "scry 2" on it instead of a 2/1 body. The 2/1 on Snapcaster is very often relevant, and he's a Wizard for Wizard's Retort/Lightning. I just don't see Mission Briefing being good enough to take the slot over another instant that just does work on its own. It's going to be very mana intensive.
I like some of these low-CMC decks with Wizard's Lightning and/or The Flame of Keld. However, they seem to be lacking a top end. Is that just made up for by the FoK (or Sword-Point Diplomacy in DeadWing's list)?
Even in classic RDW I find that Chandra and Rekindling Phoenix are two of our best value cards and help us close out games that get slowed down early. I'm unsure if FoK can make up the difference. Is a fast game 1 good enough that they belong in the sideboard?
Liliana, the Last Hope could potentially be a sideboard option now that she doesn't conflict with Liliana of the Veil. However, with so few creatures in the 75 she's best brought in against creature decks and they're usually all over here and I'd probably just rather run a sweeper again.
I've been struggling lately with having enough pressure in the deck. The number of games I've lost to a strong board position with no way to do damage are just too frustrating. I don't want to mulligan a hand with an amazing curve just to try to find a damage source, but sometimes I feel like I need to. I'm still liking Asylum Visitors in the board for this reason. They can really put on pressure against Valakut, Tron or UW control. It's just frustrating they interact poorly with Smallpox. I like that they're faster that Dark Confidant. They won't draw you a card as reliably, but the madness probably makes up for it.
Why one ghost-quarter main? It feels like the sort of thing where you'd probably just want it to be a swamp since you already have a sideboard plan for the land-heavy match-ups and there aren't *that* many match-ups where it's important in the main deck. The best reason I can think of is because it pairs well with Fatal Push and I've triggered revolt more than a few times by using Ghost Quarter.
Other than that it looks pretty stock as a 24-land list that's not trying to do anything cute, which seems to be where this deck wants to be. I need to find a set of Dark Confidant because I'm feeling they're better than Asylum Visitor in most cases.
Unfortunately you cannot copy your racks or afflictions and still get the triggers. The untap phase doesn't actually give any player priority, so the first time you'll get priority is in the upkeep phase after the beginning-of-upkeep triggers have gone on the stack, so anything you copy won't get its own beginning-of-upkeep triggers. There's also no way to copy in your end step because it says "until end of turn" so it will stop copying during the cleanup phase, unlike effects that say "at end of turn" which trigger at the start of the end-turn phase. (I'm not as sure about that last point, but I'm pretty sure that's how it works).
Raven's Crime is amazing. It gives our deck a lot of live top-decks since it turns every land into a discard spell. It's not the most exciting card, but it gets it done. The main drawback is that it's the simplest 1-for-1. If you are playing against an opponent who is holding everything they draw then it can be pretty terrible since it won't get you ahead and let you get them down into rack range. The grindy match-ups are where it really shines if you can keep your opponent's hand relatively small so that they have to discard something useful.
I've been running some extra Asylum Visitor in the sideboard for those match-ups where my opponents are just going to try to hold their cards (control and some combo). It's a good clock for a cheap cost that is also useful against a lot of creature decks, but against the low-creature decks it provides pressure where The Rack and Shrieking Affliction do not.
How have those running Bontu's been liking it? I'm seeing it in a few sideboards. It seems like the primary contenders for that spot are Flaying Tendrils, Damnation and Night of Souls' Betrayal. I haven't had a chance to actually test it so I'm not sure if the exile vs. untap is relevant.
When is it better than the other options? When is it worse?
I've been playing 8-rack for a little while now. I'm definitely loving having 3-4 Surgical Extraction in my board because it helps shut down so many problems cards such as Tron lands, Ancestral Vision and Ad Nauseam. I bring it in for a surprising number of match-ups.
However, I feel like it's not quite enough for the dredge in my metagame. I'm considering some number of Relic of Progenitus or Nihil Spellbomb in my side for the graveyard decks. I'm not particularly enamored with Leyline of the Void due to its cost if drawn beyond the starting hand.
Spellbomb can be easily activated in this deck due to the density of black. It can be activated without mana if necessary. It replaces itself. It hits only their graveyard so your Raven's Crime are still safe.
Relic can incrementally hit the opponent's graveyard and can still be activated at instant speed, but it does hit both players.
What does the thread thing of those two graveyard hate cards?
I find myself switching decks often, but that is because the most interesting part of the game is exploring and learning something new. If I play enough with a deck it gets a bit stale and I find more enjoyment out of playing something entirely fresh. Sure, I'm always learning the nuance of a deck even after 100 games, but it's just not the same as your first 10 games with a deck. This may get in the way of mastery for competitive viability, but it's just more enjoyable for me
The trick for me was to realize when I was getting bored with a deck and being willing to let it go. Sure, I could probably put more reps in on my UW control deck, heck, it's even T1 on some lists right now! But I've played it too much and I'm ready to move on, so I'm using its popularity to trade off the cards for other staples or decks I'm building.
My key insight was accepting that I have this pattern and leaning into it. I have ~4 decks build right now, but I've played so many other modern decks over the last two years. I don't know if you're the same way, but you might want to consider accepting your fate and figuring out how to make it work well for your events and budget.
Sounds like you're back to doing a more mid-range build. Kalitas is still a great card. He's amazing against many fair decks and any graveyard strategies. If you're seeing a lot of tribal or Company decks in our meta, bust him out. It's insane how quickly he can turn around a race and take over a board when backed by a few removal spells.
I think the reason that people have pushed away form the mid-range versions of the deck is that the format is very fast right now in the abstract. Dredge, Infect, Burn and Death's Shadow all require responding immediately to threats. That takes away the luxury of casting sorcery-speed spells.
Of course, that's only true if that's truly your metagame. If your local area is a bit slower then I think going for some value threats like Liliana, Jace, Goblin Dark-Dwellers and Young Pyromancer is great.
Of course, if you're going with YP and Gitaxian Probe then you're basically playing Grixis delver, which is a similar, but different style of deck.
I wanted to love Titi, but it's just a bit more of a temp card and doesn't fit too well in a control deck, I've observed. Also huge anti-synergy with delve creatures which are really strong.
The card I'm far more excited about is Liliana's Triumph. It will be great against creature decks and dropping a Liliana will just make it amazing. It's instant-speed too.
2 Island
2 Mountain
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Mutavault
1 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Steam Vents
Creatures (18)
4 Delver of Secrets
2 Grim Lavamancer
3 Nimble Obstructionist
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Soul-Scar Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Abrade
2 Burst Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Remand
2 Risk Factor
4 Wizard's Lightning
4 Opt
1 Abrade
2 Alpine Moon
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Entrancing Melody
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Magma Spray
2 Negate
1 Dispel
2 Surgical Extraction
On another topic, Izzet Wizards got 8th place at the SCG Open this weekend. There were two of the deck in Day 2, so it still has some legs.
http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/124723
4 Delver of Secrets
1 Grim Lavamancer
3 Nimble Obstructionist
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Young Pyromancer
1 Adeliz, the Cinder Wind
2 Vendilion Clique
Lands (21)
2 Island
1 Mountain
4 Flooded Strand
4 Mutavault
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Spirebluff Canal
2 Steam Vents
2 Abrade
1 Izzet Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Mana Leak
4 Opt
2 Spell Snare
4 Wizard's Lightning
1 Roast
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Alpine Moon
2 Gut Shot
3 Negate
2 Spell Pierce
2 Surgical Extraction
The one-of Adiliz is interesting. I don't like the sorcery speed, but it seems to have worked. It also has a main-deck Roast and Izzet Charm. I'm also not sure what the Gut Shots in the sideboard are for.
However, I saw the success of dredge at the SCG Open last weekend. My shop has a lot of ex-dredge players and I wouldn't be surprised if I see a lot of dredge decks for a month. This has me asking what I should include in the side-board.
Our main-deck plan of burning some of their creatures, countering some of their spells and trying to win with tempo mostly works, but Creeping Chill really makes that annoying because they randomly get a few uncounterable Lightning Helix.
The options seem to be:
Right now I'm thinking I"ll run a 2/1 split of Surgical Extraction and Graffdigger's Cage with 2 Magma Spray. Thoughts?
Even in classic RDW I find that Chandra and Rekindling Phoenix are two of our best value cards and help us close out games that get slowed down early. I'm unsure if FoK can make up the difference. Is a fast game 1 good enough that they belong in the sideboard?
I've been struggling lately with having enough pressure in the deck. The number of games I've lost to a strong board position with no way to do damage are just too frustrating. I don't want to mulligan a hand with an amazing curve just to try to find a damage source, but sometimes I feel like I need to. I'm still liking Asylum Visitors in the board for this reason. They can really put on pressure against Valakut, Tron or UW control. It's just frustrating they interact poorly with Smallpox. I like that they're faster that Dark Confidant. They won't draw you a card as reliably, but the madness probably makes up for it.
I have one quick question about your list:
Why one ghost-quarter main? It feels like the sort of thing where you'd probably just want it to be a swamp since you already have a sideboard plan for the land-heavy match-ups and there aren't *that* many match-ups where it's important in the main deck. The best reason I can think of is because it pairs well with Fatal Push and I've triggered revolt more than a few times by using Ghost Quarter.
Other than that it looks pretty stock as a 24-land list that's not trying to do anything cute, which seems to be where this deck wants to be. I need to find a set of Dark Confidant because I'm feeling they're better than Asylum Visitor in most cases.
I've been running some extra Asylum Visitor in the sideboard for those match-ups where my opponents are just going to try to hold their cards (control and some combo). It's a good clock for a cheap cost that is also useful against a lot of creature decks, but against the low-creature decks it provides pressure where The Rack and Shrieking Affliction do not.
When is it better than the other options? When is it worse?
However, I feel like it's not quite enough for the dredge in my metagame. I'm considering some number of Relic of Progenitus or Nihil Spellbomb in my side for the graveyard decks. I'm not particularly enamored with Leyline of the Void due to its cost if drawn beyond the starting hand.
Spellbomb can be easily activated in this deck due to the density of black. It can be activated without mana if necessary. It replaces itself. It hits only their graveyard so your Raven's Crime are still safe.
Relic can incrementally hit the opponent's graveyard and can still be activated at instant speed, but it does hit both players.
What does the thread thing of those two graveyard hate cards?
The trick for me was to realize when I was getting bored with a deck and being willing to let it go. Sure, I could probably put more reps in on my UW control deck, heck, it's even T1 on some lists right now! But I've played it too much and I'm ready to move on, so I'm using its popularity to trade off the cards for other staples or decks I'm building.
My key insight was accepting that I have this pattern and leaning into it. I have ~4 decks build right now, but I've played so many other modern decks over the last two years. I don't know if you're the same way, but you might want to consider accepting your fate and figuring out how to make it work well for your events and budget.
I think the reason that people have pushed away form the mid-range versions of the deck is that the format is very fast right now in the abstract. Dredge, Infect, Burn and Death's Shadow all require responding immediately to threats. That takes away the luxury of casting sorcery-speed spells.
Of course, that's only true if that's truly your metagame. If your local area is a bit slower then I think going for some value threats like Liliana, Jace, Goblin Dark-Dwellers and Young Pyromancer is great.
Of course, if you're going with YP and Gitaxian Probe then you're basically playing Grixis delver, which is a similar, but different style of deck.
I wanted to love Titi, but it's just a bit more of a temp card and doesn't fit too well in a control deck, I've observed. Also huge anti-synergy with delve creatures which are really strong.