[Deck] U/W Delver Blade

[boneclub24]

I'm sure people are sick of me posting these deck threads, but I want input.

Creatures: 13
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Vendilion Clique

Spells: 25
4 Path to Exile
4 Serum Visions
3 Vapor Snag
3 Spell Pierce
3 Spell Snare
3 Remand
2 Psionic Blast
2 Sleight of Hand
1 Dismember

Artifacts: 2
2 Sword of Fire and Ice

Land: 20
7 Island
4 Seachrome Coast
3 Ghost Quarter
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Moorland Haunt

[Mr. Safety]

Vapor Snag seems weak...you don't really need more creature removal considering 4x Path, 1x Dismember, and 2x Psionic Blast. I would put at a minimum Echoing Truth or Into the Roil into that slot, maybe even Boomerang. A one-off Cryptic Command might even be useful.

Ask yourself this: what happens when you leave out the fetchlands and use Leonin Arbiter alongside Ghost Quarter and Path to Exile? Aven Mindcensor is also good in this type of setup.

[chags]

I don't necessarily think the vapor snags are bad here, they fit the deck's plan well enough. I would certainly cut one for a one of echoing truth or into the roil, boomerang however seems "meh". This is deck is screaming for runechanter's pike...or maybe that is just my love for that card talking. SoFI is certainly quite good but fitting a pike or two in there could be disgusting. I might also want mana leak over the spell pierces with the spell pierces going to the board but perhaps the 2 cmc is too much on them. I wouldn't bother with cryptic at all since this deck just wants to go fast and cheap on it's spells.

EDIT: He only runs one fetchland so adjusting for arbiter is not very difficult but that being said I think that is a very different deck then what he set out to do here. If I were going to use mindcensor and arbiter I'd also want the new legendary dude meaning less instants and sorceries and more dudes which also means Delver would need to be reevaluated.

[Mr. Safety]

I don't necessarily think the vapor snags are bad here, they fit the deck's plan well enough. I would certainly cut one for a one of echoing truth or into the roil, boomerang however seems "meh". This is deck is screaming for runechanter's pike...or maybe that is just my love for that card talking. SoFI is certainly quite good but fitting a pike or two in there could be disgusting. I might also want mana leak over the spell pierces with the spell pierces going to the board but perhaps the 2 cmc is too much on them. I wouldn't bother with cryptic at all since this deck just wants to go fast and cheap on it's spells.

EDIT: He only runs one fetchland so adjusting for arbiter is not very difficult but that being said I think that is a very different deck then what he set out to do here. If I were going to use mindcensor and arbiter I'd also want the new legendary dude meaning less instants and sorceries and more dudes which also means Delver would need to be reevaluated.

Boomerang + Leonin Arbiter + Ghost Quarter = mana denial in the early game. Boomerang is the only option of any that have been mentioned that actually bounces lands. Modern is a format where you win by turn 4 with Twin/Affinity/sligh or you win on turn 12 by grinding card advantage. Boomerang allows a tempo-style deck like this one to be much heavier on disruption in the early game.

[Borealis]

Right, but as chags said that's a completely different deck. U/w delver would certainly run wasteland if it was an option, but devoting any spells toward mans denial changes the game plan dramatically.

I would be interested to see a deck that runs Thalia, Aven mindsensor, leonin arbiter, and probably chalice of the void with some other land disruption. But that's not a delver deck by any stretch.

[Mr. Safety]

I think you guys are right...it just looked so tempting to play Leonin Arbiter alongside those 3 maindeck Ghost Quarters. With Delver/Snapcaster as the focus (and Geist as the finisher) it's a different deck. I agree.

I still feel that the Vapor Snags could be something different...I understand their use, I'm just not sure a different option isn't better. Here are a few on my mind (that are good in a surprisingly high amount of matchups):

Condescend
Hindering Light
Mana Tithe
Silence
Early Frost
Telling Time
Feeling of Dread
Harm's Way


I think Early Frost and Condescend are pretty hot, especially for a 2-3 slot and not a central focus. Mana Tithe is hit or miss (just like Daze in legacy) and get's worse the longer the game lasts. Harm's Way in particular seems like it has some great potential for creating some lopsided combat situations. Probably the one that really piques my interest is Feeling of Dread...tapping down 2 creatures and then having the ability to do it again for the same cost (2 mana each time) seems pretty good to me, especially for a deck like this one that is looking to capitolize on tempo to outrace opponents.

[boneclub24]

Okay, lots of suggestions. I'll try and hit some of the key ones:

Runechanter's Pike: The card is okay, but I don't really like relying on outside resources to make my equipments good. Being able to go turn 3 Geist turn 4 equip swing seems nice, but Sword of Fire and Ice is good almost all the time without any help. It's also a card advantage monster that can win games by itself.

There are some nice cards in that list, Mr. Safety, but I feel like they are just a little too narrow. Cards like Harm's Way and Feeling of Dread can win a lot of board states, but they can't stop things like a Twin combo or something of that nature.

[Mr. Safety]

Yeah...as soon as you said that I was immediately convinced. All of those options are specific to winning an aggro match by protecting your own threats or stifling tempo.

Are you having trouble with Twin? Have you tested against it at all?

[boneclub24]

Yeah...as soon as you said that I was immediately convinced. All of those options are specific to winning an aggro match by protecting your own threats or stifling tempo.

Are you having trouble with Twin? Have you tested against it at all?

I've tested against a lot of Twin, and this deck has an excellent matchup against it.

[Mr. Safety]

Hmmm...then what are your bad matchups, or have you gotten that far yet?

[boneclub24]

I would probably say Affinity is an uphill battle, but I haven't done enough testing against enough decks to know for sure.

[Mr. Safety]

Spell Snare is an all-star in that matchup, hitting a lot of relivant cards (Plating, Ravager, Vault Skirge.) Your maindeck Ghost Quarters should deal with Inkmoth/Blinkmoth Nexus. You have 4 Paths and 4 Snapcasters to recur those Paths...I would say that your affinity matchup shouldn't be too bad. If they consistently outrace your removal/disruption (very possible) then I would say that Meddling Mage could be a decent sideboard inclusion. Four sideboarded Hurkyl's Recall alongside your removal/disruption seems like it should really put you in favor games 2-3. I would even go as far as saying you are probably 50/50 or even slightly favored against affinity game one TBH.

[Borealis]

Boneclub, I have a couple suggestions as well.

First, I'd probably cut the Psi Blasts. Maybe they've been good for you in testing, but they seem expensive and a bit narrow. I feel like you could use another Dismember if you really need the removal, or just lean on your Vapor Snags to keep the fatties off the table. 3x Snag and 4x Path with 4x Snapcaster should be enough to keep the table pretty clear on the opposing side, so really Psi Blast is just direct damage. I think there are better options in the 3-slot.

One option is to run the 4th Geist. Crazy, I know, but I think it's the thing to do here. It's the best offense in the deck, except obviously a flipped Delver on turn 2, and you can afford to sandbag one in hand while you swing with the other. At worst, they are a usually worth a Psionic Blast with no damage drawback and "Suspend 1".

Another suggestion I have is to run 1-2 Steelshaper's Gift and vary your Swords. If you want to go aggro, a Maindeck configuration like this would be ideal:

2 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Sword of Fire and Ice

SoBAM is another maindeck option, and I'd probably include a SoFAF somewhere for Jund and Melira Pod type decks. But you obviously can vary the Sword count however you deem necessary for your meta.

Steelshaper can be just a 1-of, but you want to hit the Swords in this deck pretty much all the time. I'd probably cut the Sleight of Hands for the Gifts, as they don't do enough, while Steelshaper will always be a valuable tutor card. Maybe you only run 1 Steelshaper's Gift due to the possibility of drawing both Swords naturally, but that's your call. I personally wouldn't run a Blade deck without at least 1 copy of the equipment tutor though.

Mana Leak seems a bit better than Remand, but again that's personal opinion. I'd rather counter their spell than tempo them, especially when it's something like a Tarmogoyf or Pod or Liliana, etc. Remand sets you back just as much sometimes, since you still need to spend mana on the card you drew for it to have any in-game effect. Mana Leaks are also better after sideboard if your run other (real) counterspells.

[Mr. Safety]

This is probably the first time I've been able to say this definatively: Rune Snag is better than Mana Leak in this deck. It works similarly in the early game but still allows it to be good late game. It's pretty much a hard counter the second time you play it, and the third time in a game it's a hard counter in all but the rarest of circumstances.

4 Delvers, 2 Vendis, 4 Snapcasters, and 3 Geists seems like it should be good enough to get you there. Steelshaper's Gift and Swords will go a long ways towards pushing your clock faster.

[Borealis]

I would disagree. I think the only time Rune Snag is better is when you are running 4 and not running Snapcaster Mage.

[Mr. Safety]

Oh yeah...Snapcaster exiles cards when it flashes them back. DOH! You are right sir. That sort of defeats the purpose of building them up in the graveyard. :rolleyes:

I guess I should do this then, in light of the troll-ish nature of my last post:

ADMIT I WAS DEFINATIVELY WRONG!

I am still working on Harm's Way...it seems like it could be a fantastic way to protect Geist of Saint Traft and deal with a slew of x/1 threats. You can attack into bigger threats with Geist and prevent 2 damage, redirect it to that threat and profitably get your beats in with the 4/4 angel.