URb Squelch Tempo (Delver)

[bowvamp]

Ok, here it is, my modern debut. The idea behind this deck was originally to mimic as best I could the Legacy tempo decks, but I quickly realized that was impossible with Daze, FOW, Stifle and Mongoose missing. Without Daze/FOW, tempo needs to have mana open for interaction which in turn is a negative tempo investment especially without instant speed search. Without Mongoose, green becomes a whole color splashed only for Goyf which denies either R or B as the third color.

But Stifle is a whole other story. Modern does have a stifle replacement. Squelch not only cantrips, but in Modern it has more targets than Stifle does in legacy. Squelch Tempo eventually became so focused on exploiting the advantage Squelch gives that it went up to 4 copies MD, just like Canadian does with Stifle in Legacy.

The choice of Rb being the primary and secondary splash colors was easy. Rise/Fall fits directly into the tempo strategy with its bounce, and wrecks more complicated strategies with its discard. It's only a 2-of MD, but don't let that fool you. Dark Confidant is imho the most overrated card in Modern, but in a tempo deck he is a necessary evil. There's no way that this deck will beat strategies like Jund or Control without him. Grim Lavamancer was to patch up the obvious weakness to weenie as well as provide a non-combat source of damage. He even shrinks early goyfs.

Finally, here's the decklist.
4 Dark Confidant
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Grim Lavamancer
4 Spellstutter Sprite

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Mana Leak
2 Rise
4 Serum Visions
2 Slaughter Pact
2 Sleight of Hand
4 Spell Pierce
4 Squelch

4 Darkslick Shores
1 Island
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Steam Vents
3 Sulfur Falls
1 Watery Grave

[Phoenix Ignition]

You need 3-4 Snapacaster Mage and I wouldn't ever run Spellstutter Sprite without the complementary ~2 Vendilion Cliques. Cliques by themselves are already impressive, but with Sprites there is just no excuse for not having them in there.

Running Snapcasters will let you drop from 4 of a few of these instants (Mana Leak is more of a 3-of I'd say) to 3, so makes room for himself while adding to your creature count. I understand he and Grim lavamancer share food, but they can both be run in the same deck as long as you are mindful of that fact (keep 1-2 good instants in the yard).

4 Spell Pierce should become a mix of that and Spell Snare, the card is just too good right now in Modern. At least a 1-of to make opponents careful of when to throw out their 2-drops.

4 Squelch seems a bit heavy, especially if you consider how some Legacy tempo decks only run 3 Stifles and Squelch costs more. Drawing a card is nice, but a lot of times you'd probably rather keep that mana open to counter the thing they are playing instead of stopping a fetch land or something like that. Perhaps put the 4th in the Sideboard for the decks it is really good against (Pod, Storm).

[bowvamp]

@PI
Yeah, your post makes a lot of sense, especially about Mana Leak being a 3-of. I had actually been thinking about a split of Leak and Remand or losing Leak altogether. The problem with Mana Leak is that it becomes hard to gain tempo at two cmc. With Remand I could at least do cool tricks like bouncing my own spells away from counters to capitalize on the low-land high-spell count of my deck relative to the field.

I'm not sure Snapcaster/Clique are good ideas, but I'm willing to try them at least. The reason I say that is the mana requirement. My curve ends at 3 for a reason - I run 18 lands in addition to 6 filter spells that make sure I reach two lands by turn two and potentially end up at 3 if I've got a MU that requires it. Lands are card disadvantage, so a tempo deck that is trying to reactively 1-for-1 for a profit needs to be aware of running out of answers. I know the Delver.dec builds all run Snapcaster & Clique, but they also run 20-22 lands and have a higher curve.

Squelch is a 4-of. While Snapcaster & Clique are debatable, Squelch really isn't atm. It hits fetches in pretty much all decks, and as long as it is used somewhere generally gives positive tempo.

Use cases:
Pod (pod activation, kiki activation, fetches)
Tron (targetting a karn ultimate, Expedition map, really anything)
Storm (fetches are all that I can see, but they run 16-18 lands)
Twin (twin-effect, spellskite, fetches)
Affinity (Equip, Tezz if he becomes popular)
Zoo (fetches, pws, equip, lavamancer, seal of fire)
Jund (Lilliana, Garruk, fetches, lavamancer, fulminator mage)
RDW (fetches, shrine, lavamancer, FoD)
Martyr-Proclamation (Martyr, FoD, Wayfarer, Student of Warfare, Elspeth)
Loam (Fetches, Lilliana, and Assault if desperate)
Bant (Fetches, KotR, Equip, Elspeth)

Right now I'm most concerned about Tarmogoyf as it is very hard to get rid of as the deck is right now.

[Phoenix Ignition]

Well I really think snapcaster is worth it, as well as clique. But if you need more kill spells for Goyf, Dismember is always a good option. Works well with Snappy too!

[ahg113]

Another card for thought, Trickbind. I like that better than Squelch, as it hits triggered abilities (storm) as well, and for repeatable effects (equipping, or...) it prevents future shenanigans. Also, the split second will sometimes be relevant to break potential responses.

I think 8 such spells would be a little excessive, but maybe a split of 3/2, 3/3, or 4/2 would fit your purposes well.

Cheers,
trickbind would make my deck sad, but luckily, it's nigh a forgotten card

[bowvamp]

Yeah, trickbind could go in the board if Storm becomes a serious threat to the deck, but tbh I don't see that happening.
I've decided from testing a 3-1 split (from hell no less) of Pierce/Snare works best as Snare actually keeps most opponents on their toes in G2/G3. It's also another way to solve the Goyf problem. I could go for a full 4 Snare, but then I'd be risking my tron MU which is scary. Then again, Squelch hits everything in that deck like a boss.
Dismember has a ton of life loss especially given that we run Confidant. I would only consider it if Tombstalker saw any play whatsoever. Seriously, that card is really undervalued atm and Confidant is really overvalued. *sigh* If I were to run more creature removal it might be something like Smother or Terminate.
As far as Rise/Fall goes, Rise is really the only side that's been doing anything surprisingly. Fall just hits their lands too often. Seriously, what is it with all the people in Modern who trash blue as a color then turn around and play 22 lands in their Sligh/Zoo lists?

[Mr. Safety]

Someone mentioned Remand, and I think that its one of the better counterspells, especially for tempo. Not dealing with it permanently isn't too big of deal when you're hitting for at least 3 a turn. The card draw means you'll be drawing extra cards during your turn AND your opponent's turn. That seems relevant in a tempo deck.

I tend to agree on Snapcaster Mage...doubling up on Bolt/Mana Leak is good tech. I would start with 2 and see how it goes before adding 3 & 4.

Those are my initial thoughts...I love the concept and I feel its a great option.

[Mirrislegend]

Needs VClique. Also, 18 land when you seem to want to Snapcaster into Squelch?

[bowvamp]

18 lands is the point of this deck. Snapcaster isn't in my list. V. Clique has been subpar in testing. I've changed my list around a little, but the basic components are all still there:
18 lands
6-8 Dig spells
2 Slaughter Pact
4 Squelch
4 Delver
4 Lightning Bolt

This version of the list is a bit more gy reliant, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem as Surgicals still don't do anything against us. It runs Tombstalker over Confidant and has faster clocks instead of Fae counters. IMHO this is the next evolution of the least represented archetype in the format.

//MD
4 Delver of Secrets
3 Grim Lavamancer
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Mana Leak
4 Serum Visions
2 Slaughter Pact
3 Sleight of Hand
4 Squelch
4 Darkslick Shores
1 Island
4 Steam Vents
3 Sulfur Falls
2 Watery Grave
4 Spell Snare
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Raven's Crime
4 Magma Jet
2 Tombstalker
2 Fettergeist

//SB (at the moment)
4 Ratchet Bomb
3 Relic of Progenitus
4 Cruel Edict
4 Surgical Extraction